Mental Health Bill [Lords]

Debate between Caroline Nokes and Luke Evans

Consideration of Lords message
Monday 8th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. The hon. Gentleman will know that there is ample opportunity for him to contribute to the debate. That was a very long intervention.

[Dr Evans]

I am grateful to you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for stepping in on that basis. We have had plenty of chances to debate this Bill, both in Committee and many times in the mental health debates that I am partial to. We could go through why the last Government changed the interventions of NHS England and brought in integrated care boards to allow for a joined-up structure to be put in place. We now see a new iteration coming forward but, yet again, we do not know how much it will to cost to get rid of NHS England. We do not know the redundancy packages for the ICBs and how much they will cost. That is fundamental.

One thing we do know is that, as the chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists has said, the change to the investment standard alone will cost the sector £300 million. That is investment that could have made a difference to mental health provision. I do not want to get into the heated politics any further, and I do not want to delay the House any further this evening, but the Government’s position on the mental health investment standard is crucial when it comes to delivering this Bill.

I thank the Minister for his constructive approach, and for the way in which he has taken ideas forward and looked through the Bill in fine detail. I know he cares deeply about getting this right, as do many Members of this House. It is imperative to ensure that compassionate, modern care is delivered to those who need it most when it comes to dealing with serious mental health conditions.

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

Mental Health Bill: Legislative Scrutiny

Debate between Caroline Nokes and Luke Evans

Thursday 22nd May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)]

I commend the hon. Member for Bracknell (Peter Swallow) and his Committee for the report. We on the Opposition Benches will be looking favourably at it, especially as the Bill goes into Committee. I have one technical question. He talked about restraint for people who have autism and learning disabilities. Currently, the timetable for working out whether they have a mental health disorder or it is related to their condition is 28 days. Did his Committee look at that from a human rights perspective, to see whether it is the right time in which to make that assessment?

Business of the House

Debate between Caroline Nokes and Luke Evans

Thursday 16th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

Order. It may be helpful to Members to know that I will run this session until 11.45 am. It would therefore be very helpful if we had short questions and answers, so that I can get in as many Members as possible.

[Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)]

Leicestershire was one of the areas hit by significant flooding. Fortunately, my constituency is relatively okay, bar pockets such as Shenton, Barwell, Sheepy Magna and Witherley. The problem is that they do not hit the Government’s threshold for funding because they are too small and often experience flooding only to roads and connectors, rather than houses. Will the Leader of the House write to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ask him to reconsider the formula, and to provide for isolated communities that are cut off but do not get breaches into houses? That problem is fundamentally difficult to solve.

National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill

Debate between Caroline Nokes and Luke Evans

Committee of the whole House
Tuesday 17th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Dr Luke Evans]

On a point of order, Ms Nokes. We are debating the National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill, in which I am not sure that Brexit is mentioned. I look to your leadership to decide whether the hon. Gentleman is in order.

[The Second Deputy Chairman]

I thank the hon. Member for his point of order. He will be aware that it is important that Members stay in order. The hon. Member for Milton Keynes North (Chris Curtis) has given some context in his speech, but he might be reminded of the need to stick to national insurance contributions.

Points of Order

Debate between Caroline Nokes and Luke Evans

Monday 18th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

I thank the hon. Member for his point of order, and for giving advance notice of it. He will be aware that there is no general rule against Members referring to matters that are devolved to Scotland. There are some restrictions on the tabling of questions on devolved matters, but those restrictions are far from absolute. Questions that relate to various matters, including those in which UK Ministers have taken an official interest, are permitted. More generally, as ever, what right hon. and hon. Members may say in the House is subject to the discretion of the Chair.

[Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. On Thursday 14 November, I tabled a UQ that was successful. In a supplementary question, the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull East (Karl Turner) said that he was disappointed, “to put it mildly”, that I was unable to mention any of the funding that the Government had put into the NHS. In the two minutes that I spoke, I mentioned that funding three times. I have since written to the hon. Member to make him aware of that. He has apologised; however, I look for your guidance on how he may correct the record.

[Madam Deputy Speaker]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for having given notice of his point of order. As he well knows, the Chair is not responsible for the accuracy of hon. Members’ speeches, but he has put his point on the record and confirmed that he has written to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull East. I am sure that settles the matter.

Winter Fuel Payment

Debate between Caroline Nokes and Luke Evans

Tuesday 10th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Dr Luke Evans (Hinckley and Bosworth) (Con)]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I seek your guidance. I was under the impression that in the Chamber we should refer to Members, Friends or even the constituency. Is that correct?

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Caroline Nokes)]

The hon. Member is absolutely correct. May I just helpfully point out to all hon. and right hon. Members that, in seeking to make repeated interventions, they are actually cutting into each other’s time? I have made the point previously about the correct way to address each other, through me as Deputy Speaker. Interventions need to be a great deal shorter because they are just cutting into the time for the debate and there are an awful lot of Members who wish to contribute.