Points of Order
Debate between Caroline Johnson and Caroline Nokes
Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)
I thank the right hon. Member for her point of order and for advance notice of it. It is, of course, disappointing to hear of these delays, which will have been noted by those on the Government Front Bench. If she requires further advice, I am sure that the Table Office will be happy to provide it.
Dr Caroline Johnson (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)
On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Like my right hon. Friend the Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton), I am experiencing difficulties in getting responses from the Government. Back in November, along with other right hon. and hon. Members, I wrote to the Chancellor about budgetary measures, but we did not receive a reply. I raised that on 3 December —during Treasury questions—and again on 27 December, and I chased the Government further on 14 January, but we have still received no response. A food business in my constituency wanted some support with exporting last summer. We chased the Government on 5 August, 24 September, 12 November, and 6 and 28 January, but we have received no response.
Finally—this is my final example, rather than the final response that is missing; I could give many more examples—a constituent had a problem involving vehicle excise duty, so I wrote to the Government on 4 October. Again, despite that being repeatedly chased, there has been no response. What on earth can Members do? Either the Government do not know the answers, or they have complete disrespect for the House, its Members and my constituents in not providing them.
Madam Deputy Speaker
I thank the hon. Member for her point of order. She will have heard me say earlier that this is not a matter for the Chair, but she has taken the correct steps by raising it during questions and on other occasions. Like the right hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Wendy Morton), she could take advice from the Table Office, and those on the Government Front Bench will certainly have heard her concerns.
Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
Debate between Caroline Johnson and Caroline Nokes(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)
I call Dr Caroline Johnson to ask the final question.
Dr Caroline Johnson (Sleaford and North Hykeham) (Con)
The House has agreed this afternoon that cultural sensitivities should not get in the way of police investigations. However, it would appear that they have and they perhaps still are, and that victims have been let down and that current victims might be being failed even today. There is a specific problem with gangs of organised men, who are systematically raping and abusing young children. Within that group, there is an over-representation of men of Pakistani heritage. We need to understand why, but piecemeal investigation, town by town, will not help us to do that, will not serve the interests of victims, by ensuring they get the justice they deserve, and will not prevent future cases.
Access to Primary Healthcare
Debate between Caroline Johnson and Caroline Nokes(4 months, 1 week ago)
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Madam Deputy Speaker
Yes, several times. It is not me; I have never been a Health Minister. I reiterate that interventions will have to be short. I will be imposing a time limit, as we have to hear from an enormous number of Members this afternoon.
Dr Johnson
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I have talked about the challenges the NHS faces. I will come shortly to the achievements of the Labour Government so far in the Department of Health and Social Care.
Turning back to technology, I was saying that I agree with the Secretary of State on how technology can improve NHS services. Over the last few years, in my professional capacity, I have seen improvements in making communication between primary and secondary care and within secondary care much more efficient. As a patient, I have used the askmyGP service, which is an excellent way to communicate with a GP, particularly for working people. I have also used the NHS app, which millions of people have downloaded and which has huge potential. I hope he intends to build on that potential and harness the benefit of AI for diagnostics in particular.
The Secretary of State and I also agree on the importance of prevention. It is vital to make the NHS accessible to those who need it, but it is even better if people stay healthy in the first place. Before the election, he was supportive of measures to protect children from the dangers of vaping—measures I campaigned for actively. In fact, he was quite critical that it had not been done sooner, as in some respects was I. Given that the legislation has already been written and that it passed both Second Reading and Committee stage with the support of his friends on the Labour Benches, why is it taking him so long to produce a tobacco and vapes Bill? Can he guarantee that he will deliver it, like a present, in time for Christmas—for clarity, I am hoping for this Christmas?