Lewis Atkinson MP: speeches

Speeches

• 11 Sept 2026 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  Will the right hon. Member give way?

• 9 Sept 2026 · Summer Health and Resilience · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Secretary of State to her place and look forward to engaging regularly with her and the ministerial team. International evidence makes the link between extreme heat and poorer mental health across the population increasingly clear. The Office for National Statistics estimates that one in every 32 suicides in recent years in the UK has been attributable to extreme heat. Will the Secretary of State give her assessment of the impact of extreme heat on mental health? As she goes about her role, will she ensure that she pays as much attention to NHS mental health waiting lists as she does to physical health waiting lists?

• 1 Sept 2026 · Policing in Cleveland · Hansard source

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  The deaths of PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough have, of course, been felt acutely in Cleveland, but they have also been felt more widely across the whole north-east and the policing family. I pay tribute to colleagues across the House, including my right hon. Friend the Member for Redcar (Anna Turley), who has spoken with dignity as a local representative in the light of those terrible events. As the Home Secretary said, some of the officers stepping forward to provide mutual aid are from neighbouring forces, such as Northumbria, Durham and others. Unfortunately, the sad reality is that three of the four forces that have had the highest fallen officer numbers from 2015 are north-east forces. That makes the Home Secretary’s point about the need for fundamental change in the funding formula. Those officers are, despite the cuts, putting themselves back into duty and providing mutual aid at enormous personal cost. As she reviews the funding formula, will she ensure that officers have ongoing access to wellbeing and mental health support to help them respond to communities as they have been?

• 14 Jul 2026 · General Practice Partnership Model · Hansard source

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  The GP patient satisfaction survey results are out, and I am really proud that the Sunderland Central and Sunderland East PCNs show a satisfaction rating of 83%—notably higher than the national average. Will the Minister join me in thanking everyone who works in primary care in Sunderland? Equally, does he recognise that there is more to do, and what does he believe is the role of primary care at scale in that? We have the Sunderland GP Alliance working across Sunderland as a whole. What is his policy intent for primary care at scale in further improving access?

• 9 Jul 2026 · Timms Review: Interim Report · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister and the steering group for their work. Their findings that disabled people find the assessment process dehumanising and stressful reflect the conversations that my constituents have had with me. Paragraph 64 of the review finds that “the reliance on PIP has likely increased due to difficulty accessing vital services and support, such as community mental health services” and Access to Work. Does he agree that the reform of disability benefits in the future must go hand in hand with improving those support services, such as by widening Access to Work and, in particular, cutting NHS mental health waiting lists, which are far too long? The Minister referred to falling waiting lists; I gently say to him that while physical waiting lists are falling, mental heath waiting lists have not been falling. The longest waits have increased since last December, and the Government need to get a grip on it.