Sojan Joseph MP: speeches

Speeches

• 16 Jun 2025 · Air India Plane Crash · Hansard source

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  I extend my heartfelt sympathies to all those, including the many British and Indian families, who have lost loved ones. The UK and India are closely connected, and many people in both our countries are grieving after this dreadful crash. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Foreign Office staff working in the UK and India to support the families and loved ones of all those affected. I understand that around 120 victims have been formally identified using DNA samples. What assistance is the UK providing to the Indian authorities to ensure that the remaining victims can be formally identified as quickly as possible?

• 5 Jun 2025 · EU Relations · Hansard source

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  Local businesses across Ashford, Hawkinge and the villages have warmly welcomed the new agreement that this Government have signed with the European Union, telling me that it will make it easier for them to sell their products to our largest trading partner. Does the Minister agree that to build on that agreement, everything possible should be done to find long-term solutions to current post-Brexit uncertainties, such as the entry/exit system and the regular deployment of Operation Brock on the M20, to help UK-based businesses further develop trading links with Europe?

• 5 Jun 2025 · EU Relations · Hansard source

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  21. What steps he is taking to improve relations with the EU.

• 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.

• 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?

• 11 Feb 2025 · Nursing: Career Progression Inequalities · Hansard source

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  13. What steps he is taking to help tackle career progression inequalities in nursing.

• 4 Feb 2025 · National Cancer Plan · Hansard source

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  I welcome all the efforts this Government are making to improve cancer services. Early diagnosis is just as important as prevention, but we all know that patients are currently waiting several months for scan procedures. A recent visit to the GP surgeries in my constituency showed that they have spare capacity for scanning, but it is not actively offered to patients at the moment. This is due to a lack of collaborative working and communication in the health system, so will the Minister tell the House how we can improve the existing systems so that they work effectively and people can get timely procedures?

• 31 Oct 2024 · High Street Businesses · Hansard source

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  3. What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on supporting high street businesses.

• 28 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  T5. I recently met local businesses in my constituency to discuss what can be done to attract more people to visit our high streets. Will the Minister set out what action the Government are taking to help regenerate local high streets, and will he meet me to discuss this issue further?

• 10 Oct 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The deployment of Operation Brock to queue freight lorries heading to Dover on the M20 caused huge disruption and inconvenience for residents and businesses throughout my Ashford constituency. Ahead of the introduction of the new EU entry/exit system, will the Government work with the French Government, local authorities, the port of Dover, and Eurotunnel to minimise delays and ensure that Operation Brock is used only as a measure of last resort?