Sojan Joseph MP: speeches

Speeches

• 19 May 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T8. Joining a cadet force offers young people a fantastic opportunity to develop key skills, including enhanced communication skills, and to improve their self-confidence and physical and mental wellbeing. What steps are the Government taking to support the cadets, and to encourage more young people to join and obtain life-changing skills?

• 19 May 2025 · Mental Health Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that patients with challenging behaviours should not be detained in a mental health ward for many, many years. They should be in a different setting. Does he agree that we do not have enough support or accommodation for patients? We need to invest more in community settings for some of these patients with challenging behaviours.

• 19 May 2025 · Mental Health Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to be called to speak in this Second Reading debate. Prior to being elected to this House, I worked for 22 years in NHS mental health services, and I am the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on mental health. This is an issue I care about deeply. It has been widely accepted that the Mental Health Act is outdated, and the need to modernise it has been talked about for some time. I pay tribute to Baroness May who, when she was Prime Minister, commissioned Professor Sir Simon Wessely to undertake an independent review of the Act, and I commend this Labour Government for introducing the Bill without delay. As Members will be aware, last week was Mental Health Awareness Week. The discussions I took part in showed how far we have come in removing much of the stigma around mental ill health, but I fear that a lot of stigma remains when it comes to discussing severe mental ill health, such as cases of schizophrenia. I therefore welcome the importance that the Government have attached to the Bill, and to updating the law so that it is fit for the 21st century. I hope that, through our deliberations, we can play our part in ensuring that severe mental ill health is treated with the respect and understanding it deserves. The Mental Health Act provides the legal framework for the detention of people when their mental ill health means that they are at risk to themselves or others, so that they can receive appropriate treatment. The Bill looks to modernise that legal framework. I welcome clause 1, which adopts the four principles of treatment proposed in Sir Simon Wessely’s independent review. By adopting those principles, the legislation will give patients greater choice, enhanced rights and support, and ensure that being treated with dignity and respect is an integral part of their treatment. This reform is long overdue. We talk a great deal about wanting to deliver personalised care in our health service. That should be the guiding principle in every part of the service, especially for the most vulnerable. Adopting the principles is about redressing the balance of power away from the system, so that the patient has more autonomy, and more say over their treatment. That will help to ensure that those in society with the most severe mental health conditions get better, more personalised care. I also welcome the statutory role that clauses 24 to 28 will give a nominated person, who will have a greater say over the patient’s treatment and care. Replacing the old hierarchical list of relatives with a person who has been selected by the patient, albeit that there will be certain safeguards in place, is an update to the legislation to reflect today’s world. Clause 3 deals with the application of the Mental Health Act to autistic people and those who have a learning disability. The clause modifies the definition of mental disorder by introducing new definitions of autism, learning disability and psychiatric disorder. As a result, people with a learning disability or those who are autistic can no longer be detained or made subject to a community treatment order unless they have a co-occurring psychiatric disorder. This is a welcome and long overdue change. Under the Mental Health Act, autistic people and those with a learning disability have experienced inappropriate care, over-medication and extended periods of detention. As we look to modernise the Act, it is wholly appropriate to ensure that they cannot be detained unless they have a co-occurring psychiatric disorder. However, concern has been expressed in parts of the learning disability and autism sectors that the change may have unintended consequences. For example, it may lead to an increase in alternative routes to detention. In particular, concern has been raised that people with high-risk behaviours who require treatment in appropriate and safe hospital environments may end up having to be dealt with by the criminal justice system if they cannot be detained under the Mental Health Act. These concerns were debated when the Bill was considered in the other place, but I would be grateful if the Minister could say whether the Government have given any further consideration to those points. I would also be grateful if he could give an assurance that he and his officials will engage with the learning disability and autism sectors as the Bill continues through this House. In the other place, the Conservatives were successful in amending the Bill to allow the extension of police powers of detention under sections 135 and 136 to other specified healthcare professionals. The amendment provoked serious concern from representatives of healthcare professionals, and I understand it is not supported by the police either. The “right care, right person” model, put in place in 2023, has already reduced the time the police have to deal with mental health patients. Will the Government look into overturning that amendment? I would also be grateful if he said how the Government will build on the Bill to ensure wider reform of, and investment in, mental health, and how we can ensure that the aims of the Bill are accompanied by high-quality mental health services, especially community services for people experiencing poor mental health. In preparation for today’s debate, on Thursday, as chair of the APPG on mental health, I was pleased to organise for a small group of Members a visit to the mental health centre at the St Charles hospital in Kensington. During our visit, we were able to spend time in the mental health crisis assessment service. This excellent facility is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for anyone in the area who is experiencing a mental health crisis. I recommend that such facilities be instituted across the country, especially in my constituency. In Ashford, there are no mental health emergency facilities. Over 2,600 people whose primary issue was recorded as mental ill health presented themselves at the A&E department at the William Harvey hospital in 2024. Such facilities would help to prevent that. I press for more support to be put in place, alongside the Bill.

• 19 May 2025 · Mental Health Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Member not think that the deprivation of liberty safeguards, which, unlike the Mental Health Act, help to hold those who lack capacity in an environment that is not secure or locked, such as a hospital, are useful, and that bringing the two provisions together is unnecessary?

• 19 May 2025 · Mental Health Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  Sections 135 and 136 of the current Mental Health Act give the police the power to break into someone’s property or detain somebody in a public place where there is the possibility of the involvement of weapons. Does the hon. Member think that health professionals would be able to manage those kinds of situations? Would the police not be the best people to deal with those situations?

• 15 May 2025 · Gavi and the Global Fund · Hansard source

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  While noting the excellent work that Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Global Fund do in the fight against AIDS and malaria, as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for global tuberculosis I want to focus my remarks on the need to secure continued funding for programmes to tackle tuberculosis. TB remains one of the most significant infectious diseases worldwide. It was responsible for the deaths of 1.25 million people in 2023. The World Health Organisation says it is highly likely that the disease has “returned to being the world’s leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, following three years in which it was replaced by…COVID”. TB is a preventable and curable disease, but if it is not treated, someone who has active TB can spread the disease to as many as 20 people each year. Given how quickly covid spread across the globe, ending TB is critical for all of us in today’s globalised world. Indeed, TB cases in this country are currently on the rise. As we heard at the APPG’s meeting earlier this week, the latest figures indicate that there was a 13% increase in reported cases in England last year. That takes TB numbers above pre-covid 19 levels and reverses the previous downward trend. The latest figures also show that the city of Leicester has the highest rates of TB, overtaking the borough of Newham in London. Although the focus of this afternoon’s debate is global health, it is worth reflecting on the fact that the Government have inherited a steady increase in the number of TB cases domestically since 2022. It is therefore in our own interests to continue to work to eradicate TB. As the leading international funder for TB programmes, the Global Fund is a critical partner in helping to achieve the goal of finding and treating 45 million people between 2023 and 2027. “Missing” people with TB—people who are not diagnosed, treated or reported—are a major challenge in the fight against the disease and help to contribute to drug-resistant TB. Drug-resistant TB does not respond to standard first-line antibiotics, so treating it is costlier, more complex and more prolonged, and it can take three to four times as long to treat it. If cases of drug-resistant TB continue to increase, it could eventually pose a risk to global health security, including in high-income countries. The Global Fund is the largest external source of financing for drug-resistant TB responses in low and middle-income countries, and its work in this area is important. Work is being done to safeguard the decades of progress that have been made in the fight against the disease. Thanks to the work of the Global Fund, 7.1 million people with TB were diagnosed and treated in 2023. I therefore ask the Minister to reassure the House that the Government will continue to fund the Global Fund to eradicate TB from the globe.

• 7 May 2025 · India-Pakistan: Escalation · Hansard source

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  Everyone in this House knows that India has suffered a number of terrorist attacks over the years, including one on the Indian Parliament. Just last month, 26 innocent lives were lost following a devastating act of terrorism in Pahalgam. Although India has a right to defend itself and its people, does the Minister agree that war is not good for both sides, and that it is time for de-escalation and for Pakistan to work with India to eradicate terrorism from the region?

• 6 May 2025 · Victory in Europe and Victory over Japan: 80th Anniversary · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to be called to speak in this debate to honour the sacrifice our communities made during the second world war, and to celebrate the victory of democracy over tyranny. I began the week of VE Day by paying my respects at Hawkinge cemetery in my constituency. There are 96 British military personnel buried there, mostly airmen who made the ultimate sacrifice during world war two. Those airmen would have flown from RAF Hawkinge, part of which is now the site of the Battle of Britain Museum in Kent, housing the world’s largest collection of battle of Britain memorabilia. I urge all Members of this House to visit it if they get the chance. RAF Hawkinge was the nearest Royal Air Force station to enemy-occupied France. The nearest Luftwaffe fighters in Calais were just six minutes’ flying time away. As a result, the air force base and the villages in the surrounding area became a regular target for Luftwaffe bombs. With the areas around Dover and Folkestone also being subjected to long-range cross-channel shelling from German artillery batteries stationed along the French coast, it is little wonder that the area soon became known as “hellfire corner”. After the battle of Britain, RAF Hawkinge continued to play a vital role throughout the war, with British, Commonwealth and other allied pilots flying bomber escorts, reconnaissance and intruder missions from there. Indeed, Hawkinge played a pivotal part as a frontline fighter station in 1944 against Hitler’s V1 flying bombs. Operation Diver was the code name given to the RAF strategy to intercept and destroy V1 flying bombs before they reached London. RAF Hawkinge’s location and its proximity to Nazi-occupied France meant it was used as a forward base for fighter aircraft to save countless lives by intercepting the flying bombs before they reached the capital. Despite the variety of planes that flew from RAF Hawkinge during the war years, it is the Spitfire that has a particularly close connection with the aerodrome. Turning to another part of my constituency, Ashford railway works was a prime target for German bombers during the war. Around 4,000 air raid alerts were sounded, and bombs fell regularly in the area around the railway works. Although there were many fatalities as a result of these bombing raids, the most devastating took place on 24 March 1943. On this day, an air raid that lasted around three minutes resulted in the deaths of 52 civilians and one RAF pilot on the ground. A further 78 people were seriously injured. Although the railway works was the main target, the surrounding areas were also badly hit. During the raid a bomb fell on Beaver Road primary school. Thankfully, the sirens sounded in time and the children managed to get into the playground shelters. As a parent, I dread to imagine the panic and fear this bomb caused. It is little wonder, therefore, that long before the all-clear sounded, parents rushed to the school to find out what had happened to their children. When they got there, they found that, thankfully, they were unharmed. The headteacher, Miss Adams, received an award for her actions on that day, which ultimately saved the lives of the children. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to speak in this debate to recognise the sacrifices made throughout Ashford, Hawkinge and the villages, and to honour the legacy of all those who lived during world war two. We should recognise that it is our duty today to continue to uphold the values they sacrificed so much for.

• 6 May 2025 · Trade Negotiations · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister agree that by securing the best deal that India has ever agreed, the Government have put UK businesses in an incredible position to take advantage of the rapidly growing economy?

• 22 Apr 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T8. Restricted patients are mentally disordered offenders who are detained in hospital for treatment and are subject to special controls by the Justice Secretary. What additional support is my right hon. Friend’s Department providing to help mental health trusts to treat and rehabilitate these patients, so that they can be released from this secure environment in a timely manner?

• 8 Apr 2025 · Court Waiting Times: Kent · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Stringer. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tristan Osborne) on securing the debate and giving us the opportunity to discuss an issue of great concern to many of my constituents in Ashford, Hawkinge and the villages. He made an excellent speech and offered many suggestions. Many of the issues that he spoke about not only impact his part of the county, but are unfortunately only too evident in east Kent. The record and rising court backlogs that this Government inherited from the Conservatives are a threat to the integrity of our justice system. As a result of the decisions taken under the last Government, justice is simply not happening quickly enough in Kent, as in so many other parts of the country. Criminal cases are taking too long to come to trial, family court proceedings are being repeatedly adjourned and civil disputes are dragging on. The delays have a real-world impact on our constituents. To cite one example, a victim of domestic abuse contacted me because the enforcement of a child arrangement order was taking weeks to come before the family court instead of being heard urgently, as we would normally expect in such a case. I perfectly understand my constituent’s deep frustration that the delay in the family courts meant that they were not able to properly protect children who are victims of domestic abuse. Another constituent contacted me to explain the delays in a civil case that he and his wife were pursuing against a builder, which had been dragging on for a number of years. As a result of the delay, and what my constituent felt was the mishandling of his case, he and his wife believe they have been completely forgotten by the justice system. Timely and effective justice is key to increasing confidence in the system, but the delays that this Government inherited are preventing that. The scale of the delays means that this situation was not going to be addressed overnight. Indeed, the latest data from the Ministry of Justice shows that, in December, there were just over 2,900 open cases in magistrates courts in east Kent. The system is overburdened and, in some places, close to breaking. This is a result of decisions taken by the Conservatives to cut the number of courts, including the courts in Ashford, and their failure to invest in the rest of the justice system. When I previously raised the issue of court delays in Justice questions, the then Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Swindon South (Heidi Alexander), told me that the Government were providing extra funding to ensure that more cases were heard, and as a result Crown courts in Kent were on track to sit for nearly 3,000 days during the financial year that has just ended. I would be grateful if the current Minister could provide an update on that, and also on what is being done to reduce delays in magistrates courts in Kent. The Government have spoken about consistently investing in the recruitment of judges and tribunal members across all jurisdictions. That is, of course, to be welcomed. What is being done to ensure that these new recruits receive the necessary training, especially in dealing with cases involving sexual violence or domestic abuse, where delays do untold harm? What is being done to put victims at the heart of the judicial process, including giving them greater support while they navigate the system and ensuring they are getting regular updates on what is happening with their cases? Finally, in civil cases, what steps are being taken to ensure that cases that need to go to trial are dealt with more quickly, including the increased use of digitised court processes and remote hearings? Court delays have real human costs. They have a detrimental impact on the mental health of victims seeking closure and families in crisis. They also undermine confidence in the justice system for communities that depend on law and order. Justice delayed is truly justice denied. I look forward to hearing the Minister set out what steps the Government are taking to ensure that justice will be delivered in a timely manner in Kent.

• 3 Apr 2025 · Adoption Breakdown · Hansard source

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  I have been approached by my constituents about their breakdowns. As we do not have any data, we do not know how many parents are struggling in our constituencies. Does the hon. Member agree that if we do not identify adopters and support them, we will not have any adopters in the future?

• 3 Apr 2025 · Business of the House · Hansard source

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  I have previously raised in this House how the use of Operation Brock to queue freight lorries heading to Dover on the M20 causes disruption to large parts of my constituency. My constituents are not against it being used as an emergency traffic-calming measure, but I have been extremely disappointed by the decision of Kent county council and the Kent and Medway resilience forum to routinely deploy it over the school holidays—this time, it will last until 22 April. Will the Leader of the House find time for a debate on traffic management, so that we can discuss how measures such as Operation Brock should be used only as a last resort?

• 28 Mar 2025 · Water Bill · Hansard source

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  I would like to see things get better immediately. We cannot carry on as we have any longer, but what guarantee is there that by taking water into the public sector, the public’s water bills will come down and they will get the service they expect? We see problems in our public sector. For example, the NHS does not have the workforce to do the job, and we have seen waiting lists go up. Can we wait for two days before getting the water supply back in our houses if we do not have enough people to do the job? Is this the right time for the changes in the Bill, or should we give time for the actions we have taken already to come into effect and see if things get better? That is why now is not the right time to do this, but we need to talk about it because it is an important subject. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich South on introducing the Bill, but we should continue talking about and monitoring this, as it is the only way to move forward.

• 28 Mar 2025 · Water Bill · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich South (Clive Lewis) on his success in the private Member’s Bill ballot and on bringing forward this Bill, which deals with such an important topic. He deserves great credit for continuing the national debate on the quality of our waterways. I know from the many emails I have received since my election in July that my constituents in Ashford, Hawkinge and the villages are angry about the state of our waterways, and they have every right to be angry: the latest figures for my constituency show that the waterways that were polluted by sewage 1,127 times in 2023. This was allowed to happen as a result of 14 years of mismanagement and weakened regulation of the water industry by the Conservatives. The polluting of our local waterways has a real-world impact: it risks damaging our ecosystems and having an impact on people’s health. Not long after I was elected, I was contacted by a primary school in my constituency. At the end of the summer term, the school had a lovely tradition of taking some of its children to paddle in the Great Stour, which runs near the school. However, the school contacted me to say that when it took children to the river at the end of last year, 25% of those who had splashed and paddled were ill within 24 hours. I will give another example. A constituent who regularly swims in the channel off the coast of the constituency of my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Tony Vaughan) contacted me to express his deep concern about the amount of sewage that was allowed to be pumped into the sea from the combined sewer overflow. Those are just two examples of how pollution has been permitted in our waterways. This unacceptable and unforgivable destruction of our waterways should never have been allowed to happen, but that is exactly what the Conservatives did when they were in power. Many of my constituents contacted me in advance of the Bill’s Second Reading to let me know how important water quality is to them. Water is a resource that we all rely on, and they rightly feel that the system is failing them, with polluted waterways, declining service standards and increasing bills. Water companies are failing to deliver for their customers and the environment, and the public have rightly had enough. I welcome how, since my hon. Friend the Minister and colleagues entered office, they have taken immediate measures to address the failures of the last 14 years, including ensuring that funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced. I was pleased to see that compensation for households and businesses will be doubled when basic water services are affected. I was proud to support the Water (Special Measures) Bill, and I was delighted to see it receive Royal Assent last month and pass into law. The strengthening of the enforcement regime is an important sign to the water industry that things have changed under this Labour Government and that Labour Members will not tolerate the poor standards of the last 14 years. I want to see a fundamental transformation of our water industry. I also want the waterways in Ashford, Hawkinge and the villages, as well as the rest of the country, to be cleaned up and restored to good health. I will not, however, support my hon. Friend’s Bill, as the measures that he proposes go too far. I do not think it is the right time for them. This is an important issue, and we need to talk about it, but I am not convinced that bringing water services into public ownership would guarantee better services. We have heard, seen and experienced that in our NHS. What happened there? We brought in NHS England to fix the problems and now, 14 years later, we are getting rid of NHS England. We have heard hon. Members talk about standards in our schools and the standard of our roads. Is it the right time for the measures in the Bill, or is it time to take responsibility and undertake the action that Labour came into government for? In eight months, we have moved fast and taken strong actions. Should we not give those new Acts time to come into effect and see if things get better?

• 26 Mar 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q4. Medina from Lyminge in my constituency is registered blind. She recently told me how she had been failed by the broken social security system left behind by the Conservatives. She faced great difficulties getting support from Access to Work, which is essential across my constituency, and was not helped to find paid employment. It is so important that disabled people who want to work are supported to do so. What is the Prime Minister’s message to Medina and others like her, who have been abandoned and shut out of employment for far too long?

• 25 Mar 2025 · NHS Waiting Lists · Hansard source

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  I welcome that NHS waiting lists for physical health have fallen for the last five months in a row and that NHS waiting lists are down by almost 200,000 since Labour was elected, but with people who have mental health conditions eight times as likely to have to wait 18 months for treatment, what steps are the Government taking to ensure that we see the same progress in waiting times for both mental and physical health treatments? Can they deliver a parity of esteem that the Opposition failed to achieve in their 14 years in power?

• 25 Mar 2025 · NHS Waiting Lists · Hansard source

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  7. What steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of people waiting for NHS treatment.

• 19 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-seventh sitting) · Hansard source

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  I rise to speak in support of these important amendments. The prescribing, dispensing and transporting of these medications is very important. In my experience, and as the Care Quality Commission reports, many healthcare settings have issues with the storage and disposal of medications. Amendment 442 is a straightforward one that would change “may” to “must”. I think it is right that the Secretary of State “must” by regulations make the provisions listed. In oral evidence, we heard of one incident in Australia where the patient was given medication and did not take it but passed away, and then her partner took it and died. Amendment 444, which would provide that the substances must not be left unsupervised by a medical practitioner at any time, is very important. I urge the Committee to accept it, and amendment 445, which would also change a “may” to a “must”. These are straightforward but important amendments that seek to safeguard relatives, staff and the public. We must not leave these medications unattended at any time.

• 18 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fourth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Gentleman clarify something? He is making a valid point, and I have been thinking about it. As a nurse who has worked in many areas, I know that a disabled person may not be able to take medication by themselves, and sometimes a nurse has to administer it with a spoon. There may be occasions on which a person’s medication comes back out and they have to do it a few times. Is that something the hon. Gentleman is concerned about—actually pushing the medication into the person?

• 18 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fourth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Record keeping is a huge issue in our healthcare system. A huge number of coroners’ reviews have identified that record keeping has been an issue. By specifying only that clinicians need record a “recordable event”, we are leaving it as the responsibility of individual clinicians to decide what a recordable event is. It is important that a good record be available to prevent future incidents and learn good practice. Leaving it open to a clinician to decide whether something is a recordable event could lead to most issues not getting recorded. For example, if a clinician has identified that there was coercion, it will be for the clinician to decide how much documentation to do. In my view, if they have identified a coercion, that should be recorded as an incident and further investigation should be done, but the Bill leaves it up to the clinician to decide. There is no standard for record keeping across the healthcare system, so a care home’s may be different from an NHS ward’s. I think it is for the Committee to look into what “recordable event” actually means.

• 18 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend think that 10% is a high number? Does he also think that if we informed patients about the side-effects of those medications from the beginning, the number of patients opting out would probably be higher?

• 18 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  We repeatedly talk about doctors, but nurses, healthcare assistants and other professionals will definitely be involved in a hospital environment. The Bill does not talk about other professionals. Furthermore, within a hospital environment, NHS wards may be bays without individual bedrooms. Does the hon. Lady think we need to be clearer on the procedures that will happen in those areas?

• 18 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  This is a very good discussion, and with a clinician as well—maybe my hon. Friend can help here. Are we leaving the Bill to professionals to administer, who might be confused and not clear about what they should be doing? In normal current practice, when somebody has a poor prognosis and is very fragile; we use “do not resuscitate” or “do not attempt CPR” decisions. Why do we not build that into the Bill—that everyone who is going through this process should have a DNR or DNACPR in place?

• 18 Mar 2025 · Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Twenty-fifth sitting) · Hansard source

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  We had some discussion earlier about how we will potentially be assisting dying in people’s own homes—that was not previously known to us; we thought it would be always in clinical settings—so medication will be transported from where it is stored as a controlled drug, in a hospital setting, to the patient’s home. Does the hon. Gentleman think that it is important that we have clear guidance as to how we store this medication?