Lewis Atkinson MP: speeches

Speeches

• 3 Jul 2025 · NHS 10-Year Plan · Hansard source

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  It falls on each Labour Government to reform and renew the NHS in the service of patients, and that includes mental health patients; from my consultations, I know that they are a key priority for the people of Sunderland Central. I welcome the plan’s emphasis on empowering patients by providing them with information and choice through the NHS app, including on waiting times, but the Secretary of State will know that information about mental health waiting times is often poor, as are the waiting times themselves. In the 10-year plan, will he commit to making sure that empowerment applies equally to people seeking mental health services and those seeking physical health services?

• 3 Jul 2025 · British Film and High-end Television · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for her statement and her Committee for its work on this important area. I also thank her for mentioning the Crown Works Studios site, which is in my constituency, so she will understand why I am such a proud champion of our regional film and screen industries. The Select Committee’s inquiry recommended some regional elements to tax incentives, and—understandably, I think—the Government response says that those will be considered at fiscal events. Does she agree that there is a very strong case for a specific regional element of tax incentives for the film and screen industry, given its current concentration in the south-east despite the potential for growth in areas such as Sunderland and the north-east?

• 3 Jul 2025 · Creative Industries Sector Plan · Hansard source

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  Thanks to a Labour council, mayor and Government working together, diggers are now in the ground at the Crown Works site in my constituency, preparing it for transformation into film studios. The selection of a private sector partner is now starting, so can the Secretary of State say how the Government’s industrial strategy for the creative industries, which specifically mentions this project, will ensure that the scheme is delivered, while also supporting the wider screen industry cluster in north-east England?

• 3 Jul 2025 · Creative Industries Sector Plan · Hansard source

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  11. What recent progress her Department has made on delivering the creative industries sector plan.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Armed Forces Recruitment: North-east England · Hansard source

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  I absolutely do, and that applies to both the regular forces and, for example, the cadets and reserves, as others have mentioned. The 6% pay increase last year and the 4.5% increase this year are hugely important to ensuring that serving personnel of all types receive above the national minimum wage, but equally important is action on housing, not only for serving personnel but for their families. We are talking about serving men and women. Historically, of course, personnel in the north-east and across the country were men, but the recruitment of talented, patriotic women into our armed forces is critical. We should not apologise for saying that for anyone, men or women, serving needs to be compatible with family life. Everyone who is inspired to serve understands that, at moments of conflict and crisis, they must be willing to go wherever our nation needs them to go, without notice and at significant cost to their families. The psychological bargain, as it were, is that in times of peace and for planned activities in the UK—for example training—the more certainty that we can give serving personnel about where they will be, the better. That allows them plan their lives, increases retention and, critically, increases attraction into our armed forces in the first place. I would be grateful if the Minister could update us on that. Finally, at the end of that cycle through from recruitment to retention is aftercare and care for our veterans. The veteran population in Sunderland is fortunate to have a fantastic veterans’ charity, Veterans in Crisis—it was an honour to host the Minister for Veterans and People there recently. Ger Fowler, the founder of the charity, says that people feeling they will be looked after when they leave is another advert for the forces.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Armed Forces Recruitment: North-east England · Hansard source

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  I absolutely share my hon. Friend’s sentiments. The strength of the veterans’ charities network also speaks to the wisdom of the Government’s approach to veterans. It is about building a network of support for veterans—on top of the fantastic work that our veterans charities do—through Operation Valour and the £50 million that the Government are investing, recognising the strength of community that already exists. It has been a really good debate this afternoon, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute. I hope that by giving people in our communities the opportunities that they need while strengthening our armed forces, we can make some changes in the coming years to strengthen recruitment under this Government.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Armed Forces Recruitment: North-east England · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under you in the Chair, Dr Allin-Khan. It is a privilege to participate in this debate in Armed Forces Week, given Sunderland’s proud tradition of military service and as a member of a serving armed forces family. My good friend Dr Dan Jackson, in his excellent book “The Northumbrians” on the history of the north-east, outlines in some depth the martial tradition of our region. His central thesis is that for a significant part of our history we were a border region and that over the centuries the north-east, through a range of different conflicts and wars, has contributed significantly to our nation’s defence. Men from Sunderland were traditionally recruited to the Durham Light Infantry, which I am sure my hon. Friend the Member for North Durham (Luke Akehurst) will speak about. Of course, Bernard Montgomery, having served alongside the DLI throughout the second world war, said: “There may be some regiments as good, but I know of none better.”

• 25 Jun 2025 · Armed Forces Recruitment: North-east England · Hansard source

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  I will absolutely do that. I commend the gentleman in the Public Gallery and all those who serve. The tradition of connection between place and service is so important and an asset that we must continue to use as we consider recruitment in the future. One in 20 of my constituents are veterans, probably one of the highest percentages in the UK. Sunderland as a whole—not just my constituency, but the local authority area—has 11,000 veterans. That is partly due to that proud military tradition, but also because, particularly in the ’80s during the period of deindustrialisation when the pits and the shipyards closed, young people lacked work opportunities and, naturally, they joined the forces. There are veterans alive today in my constituency who made incredibly significant contributions in the Falklands, Iraq, Afghanistan and other conflicts. As other Members have mentioned, the forces offered apprentice-style careers that gave people great life chances, apprenticeships and opportunities to travel around the world. They opened up opportunities and horizons for working-class men and women in the north-east. Our cadet units play a key part in that tradition. I will not repeat the points that my hon. Friends have made, but I want to pay tribute to the units in my constituency. For example, the excellent Southmoor academy, a local community school, has a combined cadet unit embedded in it, enriching the curriculum for those who participate and those who do not. It provides a pathway to options for further recruitment. There are also Territorial units and facilities in my constituency, in particular the Territorial Army centre in Seaburn, which is a base for the Rifles and a medical regiment. I will, however, refer mainly to issues regarding our regular forces. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor (Alan Strickland) on securing the debate and opening it, and, as he said, there has been a recruitment crisis in the wider country and particularly in the north-east of England. The most recent statistic available for Sunderland Central is that around 10 people per year have joined each of the services. If we contrast that with the 11,000 veterans across Sunderland as a whole, we can see the drop-off.

• 25 Jun 2025 · Armed Forces Recruitment: North-east England · Hansard source

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  I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. There are occasionally differences between the Tyne and the Wear, but this is absolutely not one of them. I think of the Royal Naval Association on Roker Avenue in my constituency, another representation of the community and the service of generations of seafarers and those who have served in the Navy, and I know that in his constituency HMS Calliope fulfils that role. As the Secretary of State reflected recently, the fact that three in four recent applicants for the forces gave up before they reached even the medical element or were rejected for any other reason is just not good enough. I am sure that the Minister will say more about the mobilisation of the new recruitment service, which I welcome. I understand that it will operate on a tri-service basis, which will be increasingly important as we seek to have multi-skilled forces that are able to work on that basis. It absolutely makes sense—including, presumably, economic sense—for recruitment to occur on a tri-service basis, so that different forces are not competing. Will the Minister say something about the mobilisation period, which I understand extends to 2027? How quickly does he expect the delivery of the training start date within 30 days of application? Terms and conditions are important for both attraction and retention, but when we talk about retention we sometimes miss the link back to attraction. There should be no better advert for joining the forces than current service personnel. If they are having a good experience, they are the best recruiters for others.

• 24 Jun 2025 · Middle East: British Nationals · Hansard source

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  British nationals in Israel, including the daughter of my constituents, remain concerned about their safety. The advice has been for British citizens to make their way to Egypt via the border, but there have been some reports that the Israeli Government have suggested those journeys would be unsafe. Can the Minister clarify the advice to British citizens in that situation?

• 24 Jun 2025 · Middle East: British Nationals · Hansard source

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  12. What steps his Department is taking to provide assistance to British nationals impacted by conflict in the middle east.

• 24 Jun 2025 · Department of Health and Social Care · Hansard source

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  I welcome the estimates and the CSR settlement from the Government —a record settlement for the Department of Health and Social Care and the NHS. Given the time constraints, I will focus on three key points: financial management, underlying demand and the prioritisation of spend in the estimates. We rightly focus on the headline settlements in estimates such as these, but what we do not talk about enough is the importance of good public administration in the Department. In the 19 years that I spent in the NHS before coming to this place, I saw how the previous Government had a sticking-plaster approach not just to politics, but to public administration. Budgets were confirmed at the last minute and planning guidance was outlined at the very last moment of the financial year, meaning that there was no opportunity for NHS leaders and health leaders to plan appropriately for resource spending. I particularly welcome the emphasis the Secretary of State for Health and the new chief executive of NHS England have put on restoring accountability through the foundation trust model and multi-year settlements that mean that, although I am sure NHS colleagues would like more, they at least know and can plan investment and spend-to-save decisions over that period. Secondly, Members have queried why the NHS seemingly continues to require increases. I draw the House’s attention to the Nuffield Trust’s work showing that this is about not health inflation but underlying health demand. The Nuffield Trust estimates that, as a result of population changes—mainly the ageing of the population—there is a 1.1% increase in demand every year. In addition, advances in technology add a further 1.8% increase in healthcare demand, so there is already a 2.9% increase in underlying demand before inflation, which highlights that the Government’s emphasis on reform accompanying investment is critical. Finally, to deliver that reform, the investment going in must be very carefully targeted. The evidence base is clear that investment in primary care—and we are fortunate in this country to have a world-leading gatekeeper system of healthcare through general practice—represents the best return on investment in health. Work done by Michael Wood and the NHS Confederation confirms that. Alongside investment in mental health services and wider public health, this creates the best chance for the health system to live within these estimates and to meet our constituents’ expectations.

• 20 Jun 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill · Hansard source

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  It strikes me that the judgment before us today is this: would permitting some terminally ill adults to choose an assisted death reduce suffering without inadvertently creating undue risks to others? I am clear, having worked in the NHS for 19 years, that the Bill absolutely can do that. I know the lengths that the NHS and our hospice movement go to when providing care at the end of life—the beloved pet coming in for the last cuddle, or the compassionate conversation in the middle of the night that calms fears. Some have suggested that our health service could not safely introduce assisted dying for patients who are already in regular contact with the health service because, by definition, they are terminally ill. I know not just the professionalism of NHS staff; I have also seen the thoroughness with which other medico-legal routes—for example, Mental Health Act tribunals, which in many ways are analogous to the provisions of the Bill—are implemented. The NHS has shown over decades that it can safely implement social and legislative changes passed by this Parliament. The Abortion Act 1967 was implemented safely by the NHS, as was the regulation and provision of in vitro fertilisation under the Human Embryology and Fertilisation Act 1990. The Bill has rightly been amended to allow up to four years for commencement to allow all the necessary preparations to take place. The chief medical officer reminded us that the NHS deals with life and death decisions every day. While the processes in the Bill are new, crucially they build on a solid foundation of existing practice. Currently, under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, as others have said, a person with a terminal illness receiving critical care can say, “Doctor, I want to die. Turn off this machine.” We use a simple test under the Act to permit that. Under this Bill, there are rightly further safeguards, but the decision when someone says, “Doctor, I want to die; give me something to drink” is essentially the same. This is absolutely not about the state killing people—these people are dying at the moment. The CMO also gave us evidence, and he stressed that the secondary legislation powers are necessary to permit ongoing safe regulation. Those powers not only require the Secretary of State to ensure that codes of practice and regulation are in place; they also give him the opportunity to react post implementation should there be any concerning cases. It is right that we are thorough in our roles as legislators. I have seen at first hand my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley (Kim Leadbeater) sitting with officials from the Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Justice to ensure the workability and safety of these provisions. That is not the case for the status quo, with people dying lonely deaths of suicide or going to Dignitas. For those people, there are no checks on capacity or coercion; there is only trauma. I therefore commend the Bill to the House.

• 12 Jun 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  The volunteers of the Southwick Village Green Preservation Society have for six years worked with pride and love to improve the green in my constituency. Thanks to their efforts, it not only looks beautiful but celebrates the proud history of Southwick, including the contribution of Suddickers to shipbuilding, and in world wars. Will the Leader of the House join me in thanking them for what they do, and consider a debate on the contribution that such voluntary groups make?

• 12 Jun 2025 · Humanist Marriage · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under you, Dame Siobhain. Like others, I commend the hon. Member for Henley and Thame (Freddie van Mierlo) and my hon. Friends the Members for Tamworth (Sarah Edwards) and for Morecambe and Lunesdale (Lizzi Collinge) on securing this debate. In 2009, I got married in the National Glass Centre in my constituency, in a humanist ceremony. Because, as other hon. Members have mentioned, that ceremony was not legally binding, we had to get legally married two days earlier in Sunderland Civic Centre. Choosing a humanist married reflected the shared values of my wife and me. With our humanist celebrant, we thoughtfully worked through what we wanted to say, and the commitments that we wanted to make to each other. I would love to say that every marriage ends in a “happily ever after”. The hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden) was right to draw attention to the lower divorce rates statistic. Unfortunately, my marriage has resulted in a separation. That is a cause of sadness for me, but the shared humanist values that we committed to when we embarked on our marriage still provide an enduring basis for a positive relationship between my wife and I to co-parent our children. Even if, unfortunately, “happily ever after” is not possible in every marriage, humanist values and celebrations have significant value in bringing children up, as other hon. Members have stated in this debate. I intend to do further work in this Parliament on positive parenting in separated families. For the meat of my contribution, I will highlight how society has changed over the last 12 years, since the Government first gained the power to enact legal recognition of humanist marriages. Others have mentioned the steps made in nations of the UK other than England and Wales. I highlight the ongoing growth in the number of census respondents who are humanist or non-religious. The share of people ticking “no religion” in the census rose from 25% in 2011 to 37% in 2021—a significant rise. Around two thirds of people who get married are between the ages of 25 and 39, and among that group 48% of people ticked that they had “no religion” in the census. The current law essentially means that around half of people of normal marriageable age are being denied the choice of having a legally binding marriage that conforms with their beliefs. More widely, we have seen other advances for humanism in the last 12 years. Humanism is increasingly becoming a recognised part of the school religious education syllabus. Humanists are now officially included in national moments, such as the service of remembrance and Holocaust Memorial Day. They provide input into the moral and ethical issues of our time. I worked in the NHS during the covid pandemic, and humanists were officially consulted on, and contributed to, some of the advice that we received from the Department of Health and Social Care’s moral and ethical advisory group. A lot has happened in 12 years, yet humanist marriages are still not legally recognised. As others have said, it is overdue that we change that. The order is drafted and ready to go. We have had to wait far too long for this already. I look forward to hearing how we can get this done as quickly as possible.

• 11 Jun 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill · Hansard source

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  As well as the welcome developments that my hon. Friend alludes to in the Tees, this is about the wider north-east. In my constituency, Wastefront has a £100 million investment and is creating 100 good jobs on the River Wear. Does he agree that jobs are being made in the wider north-east through this Government’s policy and that they are under threat from the policies of Opposition parties that he mentioned?

• 20 May 2025 · UK-EU Summit · Hansard source

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  Sunderland is proud to be a city of makers, from cars to music. Without reversing Brexit, those makers need access to Europe, whether that is exporters such as Nissan, which need the certainty to export, or musicians, who need the freedom to tour. Can the Prime Minister outline how this deal will support good jobs in Sunderland, whether they be in the motor or the music industry?

• 12 May 2025 · Income Tax: Personal Allowance · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Lady for that intervention. Of course, it was the previous Government who harmonised the income tax thresholds for pensioners and those of working age alike, the situation having previously been different. I absolutely recognise the stress felt by pensioners around the land. That is why such a debate is difficult without wider consideration of pension incomes and in particular the maintenance of the triple lock, which is not the subject of this debate, but which strikes me as important to consider. As I was saying, there is a disparity between the potential benefits of a significant increase in the personal allowance for those with different levels of income, with those earning the most benefiting the most from such an increase. Members may also wish to know that there would also be significant geographic differences in the impact of any changes. The places with average lower levels of income—for example, Sunderland—would lose out relative to places with higher average incomes, which are disproportionately in London and the south-east. Were such tax changes funded by cutting public services, regions such as the north-east would lose out even more. I hope those matters of context will help inform the debate this afternoon. I will end where I started, with a reflection of public sentiment on living standards. As other Members have mentioned, there is undoubtedly a strength of public feeling on these matters. We have to be frank: it is our job to improve the incomes and lives of the people that we serve. When I am out in Sunderland Central every week, that is the key issue that people raise with me, because for years they have been no better off and, in many cases, they are struggling to make ends meet. I get it. Putting more money in people’s pockets so they can do what they want is the public’s top priority. A key part of that is managing the public finances well. We all saw what the Liz Truss mini-Budget and unfunded half-baked tax plans did to living standards.

• 12 May 2025 · Income Tax: Personal Allowance · Hansard source

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  Of course, I join the hon. Gentleman in paying tribute to his constituent for securing this debate; 250,000 signatures is an extraordinary level of engagement in the democratic process, and that is to be applauded. I will make some points about the distribution of the benefits of income tax freezes later on in my speech. The cost of the policy requested by the petition depends on the answers to the questions I just posed. Other Members may wish to speak about how they would approach such matters, but, to aid debate, I thought it would be useful to present some indicative costs. At this point, I want to place on record my thanks to the staff of the House, including those from the Petitions Committee and the Library, for their work in helping me to access such information. The House of Commons Library estimates that it would cost more than £60 billion to increase the personal allowance to £20,000, make corresponding increases to the higher rate tax threshold, and raise the national insurance threshold to £20,000 to maintain alignment. That figure is consistent with the range of costs expected by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which I also met in preparation for this debate. The IFS estimates that increasing the personal allowance to £20,000 would cost somewhere in the range of £40 billion to £90 billion, depending on the choices made on the related tax matters that I have outlined. To put those figures into context, at a minimum cost of £40 billion, the proposal would be at least as large as the tax measures proposed by the September 2022 mini-Budget, which were then quickly reversed after the economy crashed. At the higher end of the estimates—£90 billion—the cost of such a change would be around the same size as the entirety of public revenue spend on education, or two thirds of the total cost of the state pension. It is not for me, in introducing the debate, to advocate one way or another, but I urge Members contributing to speak frankly about the costs and funding of any tax changes they favour. I hope it is also useful briefly to provide some context about how individuals throughout the UK would be impacted by increases in the personal allowance. The IFS notes that the income level of one third of adults is already below the existing personal allowance. That group—those with the lowest incomes in society—would not benefit from the changes sought by the petition, while the greatest benefits would be received by those who are best off. That is to say, in net, such a change would be regressive, increasing inequalities of income.

• 12 May 2025 · Income Tax: Personal Allowance · Hansard source

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  No, I will make progress. The public expect us to do better than that and they expect us to do more. They want wages and pensions to go up faster than inflation, as is now starting to happen. They want to the personal allowance to rise. I pay tribute to Mr Frost again for calling for those measures, and to all those who signed the petition. We should be hugely thankful to have citizens who are engaged in our parliamentary democracy, as the 250,000 people who signed the petition are. I look forward to an interesting, and I hope informed, debate.

• 12 May 2025 · Income Tax: Personal Allowance · Hansard source

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  I will be brief. I thank all hon. Members for their contributions. A debate on tax policy can be somewhat dry, but it is important to remember, as hon. Members on both sides of the House have reflected, that there are personal stories and circumstances behind all the signatories to this petition and the emails in our mailboxes. People are struggling to make ends meet and trying to do the best for their families and raise their standard of living. It is important to remember that. On behalf of the Petitions Committee, I thank the Minister for his response to the debate and all the Members who attended. I particularly thank Mr Frost for instigating the petition and all the petitioners who signed it. We have had a short but important debate this afternoon on the nub of the key economic policy debates facing the country. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered e-petition 702844 relating to the Income Tax Personal Allowance.

• 12 May 2025 · Income Tax: Personal Allowance · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered e-petition 702844 relating to the Income Tax Personal Allowance. It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Stuart, and it is a privilege to open the debate as a member of the Petitions Committee. All colleagues from all parties will recognise the priority that the public place on improving living standards, as our conversations with constituents, polling and the facts of the matter tell us. The reality is that average disposable incomes after tax fell from 2019-20 to 2023-24 —an unprecedented and shocking situation in which people were left poorer at the end of the last Parliament than they were at the start of it. That is the key context for today’s debate, which has been triggered as a result of more than 250,000 citizens signing the petition on income tax personal allowances. It also speaks to wider and entirely understandable public frustration about living standards. In preparation for the debate, I had the pleasure of talking to Mr Alan Frost, the creator of the petition and a constituent of the hon. Member for Bridgwater (Sir Ashley Fox). Mr Frost, who is in the Gallery, explained that he has recently retired, having worked his whole life. He feels a sense of injustice that his state pension is considered as income for tax purposes, and that the tax thresholds he faces are not increasing. The events that led to that situation are as follows. In the 2021 spring Budget, the right hon. Member for Richmond and Northallerton (Rishi Sunak), who was Chancellor at the time, announced that the income tax personal allowance threshold of £12,570 would be frozen until April 2026. In the 2022 autumn statement, the Chancellor at that time, the right hon. Member for Godalming and Ash (Sir Jeremy Hunt), announced that the freeze would be extended for a further two years until April 2028. Following the change of Government, the current Chancellor announced in her autumn 2024 Budget that the freeze would not be extended any further, and therefore income tax personal allowances are expected to next rise in April 2028. Although Mr Frost is a pensioner and his petition reflects a desire to boost pensioner incomes, he also believes that significantly increasing the personal tax allowance would benefit those in work, boosting incomes and reducing the need for benefits. That belief reflects the reality that less than a quarter of the 37 million income tax payers in the UK are over the age of 65. The vast majority of those paying income tax are of working age and are not receiving the state pension. In their written response to the petitioners, the Government highlighted that making the suggested changes to the personal allowance would cost “many billions of pounds”. I am sure that the Minister will say more about that when he responds, but cost is a key element to discuss in our debate. It is Parliament’s responsibility to agree the ways and means of any policy it makes—that is, how to pay for what we decide to do. I gently suggest that the events of the last Parliament remind us how serious that responsibility is. The mini-Budget of September 2022 announced tax cuts costing around £45 billion without explaining how they would be funded, and the market reaction to that announcement left ordinary people paying the price. An emergency reversal of those tax changes followed, but not before high inflation and interest rates hit the standard of living. I therefore urge our debate to be conducted in full consideration of the cost and funding of any tax policy changes. Were income tax personal allowances to rise in the way suggested by the petition, there would be several other linked tax policy choices to be made, and those choices would determine the full cost of the change. For example, would the size of the tax bands above the personal allowance be maintained? Currently, the basic rate of 20% is levied above the personal allowance and up to about £50,000 of income. Would the size of that band be maintained if the personal allowance were increased by £7,500? If so, the point at which the higher rate of tax takes effect would, in turn, increase to almost £58,000, at further cost to the Exchequer. Similarly, the additional rate of tax is currently levied on incomes above £125,000, so if the personal allowance was to rise, would that level rise proportionately too? Finally, the income tax personal allowance is aligned with the level at which people start making national insurance contributions; should that level also rise to £20,000, or would we return to a more complicated tax system in which income tax and national insurance thresholds were no longer harmonised?

• 3 Apr 2025 · Supporting Musicians · Hansard source

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  Sunderland is a music city, and key to that are our great grassroots venues such as the Bunker, Independent and Pop Recs. But venues like those across the country operate on a financially precarious basis. Will the Minister update the House on how he will monitor the implementation of the voluntary levy on arena and stadium gigs, so that it can rapidly provide financial support to venues like those in my constituency?

• 3 Apr 2025 · Supporting Musicians · Hansard source

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  5. What steps she is taking to support musicians.

• 1 Apr 2025 · NHS Pensions · Hansard source

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  I declare an interest as a member of the NHS pension scheme. Can the Minister confirm that this issue arose only because the previous Government carried out their NHS pension reforms in a way that was found to be age discriminatory? More widely, does she agree that giving NHS staff the terms and conditions and the reward and recognition that they deserve also requires prompt action each year on agreeing the NHS pay award, which the Conservative party routinely failed to do when in Government?