Asked by: Sojan Joseph (Labour - Ashford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of his Department's policies on the adequacy of the care available to people living with dementia; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a (a) more coordinated and (b) long-term approach to foster improvements in (i) support, (ii) research, (iii) diagnosis and (iv) care.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). We would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. This could include, but is not limited to, support groups, tailored exercise programs, mental health services, and learning engagement opportunities.
To support ICBs, the Government is investing in dementia research across all areas, from causes, diagnosis and prevention to treatment, care and support, including for carers.
We remain committed to recovering the dementia diagnosis rate to the national ambition of 66.7%. To help realise this ambition, the Government will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic services through investment in new capacity, including magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners.
The Government is committed to improving dementia care through empowering local leaders with the autonomy they need to provide the best services to their local community, including those with dementia.
Asked by: Sojan Joseph (Labour - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed removal of funding for the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme on the ability to (a) promote and (b) increase apprenticeship engagement among (i) students and (ii) teachers.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Promoting apprenticeships and technical education routes remains a key part of this government’s education policy. The decision to not continue the Apprenticeships Support and Knowledge (ASK) programme was based on the following:
Schools and colleges seeking support to raise awareness of apprenticeships and technical education can access a range of online and in-person initiatives, including:
Around 2,000 volunteers, comprising of employers and apprentices, have formed the Apprenticeship ambassador network (AAN), a department-supported network. The AAN visit institutions sharing compelling experiences about apprenticeships. The AAN covers 70% schools and colleges in England and aims to align an ambassador to every secondary school and further education college by March 2026.
Asked by: Sojan Joseph (Labour - Ashford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support public health action to tackle tuberculosis.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England’s joint tuberculosis (TB) action plan for England details actions to achieve a 90% reduction in people with TB by 2035 and is aligned with the World Health Organization’s elimination targets. The plan is available at the following link:
The United Kingdom’s pre-entry TB screening programme operates in 102 countries to reduce the importation of TB by screening applicants for long term visas from high TB incidence countries. People are screened in line with the UK Tuberculosis Technical Instructions, which are available at the following link:
Active TB disease can be prevented by identifying, testing, and treating people with TB infection. People who are close contacts of individuals with infectious TB are also tested for infection, so they can be treated before the disease develops.
NHS England’s national latent TB testing programme for migrants from high incidence countries operates in 27 of the 42 integrated care board areas in England.
In March 2025, NHS England and The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital published a Getting it Right First Time review of TB services, which included a series of recommendations to reduce unwarranted variation in clinical practice and improve care, especially to underserved populations. The report is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/girft-review-of-tuberculosis-national-report.pdf
The UKHSA, in collaboration with key stakeholders, is leading work to develop a new national action plan for 2026 to 2031, which includes a call for evidence.
Asked by: Sojan Joseph (Labour - Ashford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with international counterparts on tackling the global TB epidemic in preparation for the World Health Assembly in May 2025.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is a leading donor in the fight against tuberculosis (TB) and engages closely with international partners to tackle the disease. Our £1 billion commitment to the Global Fund (2023 to 2025) will provide TB treatment and care for 1.1 million people, screen 20 million people for TB and provide 41,800 people with treatment for multidrug-resistant TB. This is complemented by our investment in Unitaid to improve access to key TB products, and support to World Health Organisation (WHO) and others to strengthen health systems.
Asked by: Sojan Joseph (Labour - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme for raising awareness of (a) apprenticeships, (b) traineeships and (c) T Levels in (i) Kent and (ii) England.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) programme has played an important role in promoting apprenticeships and other technical education routes over the last nine academic years. Over this period there has been a significant increase in the interest and understanding of apprenticeships and technical education pathways which has been influenced by the ASK programme and other government initiatives to raise awareness of these routes.
The Careers and Enterprise Company’s Future Skills Questionnaire (FSQ) shows that in 2023/24, 88% of year 13 and 80% of year 11 were aware of and understood apprenticeship related options after their education in England. FSQ also shows that students are over twice as likely to report awareness of apprenticeships between year 7 and year 11 (from 38% to 80%, almost on a par with A levels). In Kent, 77% of year 11 students reported understanding apprenticeships compared to 79% awareness of A Levels.
FSQ data also show that since the T Level programme was launched in 2020, awareness and understanding of the T Levels has increased from 37% in 2021/22 to 47% in 2023/24.
Data from the Parent, Pupil and Learner Panel Survey also shows that awareness of T Levels is growing rapidly. 50% of students in years 9 to 11 knew about a T Level in 2023, up from 14% two years earlier.
The Traineeship programme was closed on 31 July 2023 under the previous government.
Asked by: Sojan Joseph (Labour - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his planned timetable is for bringing forward measures to ban (a) trophy hunting and (b) animal smuggling.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government committed to a hunting trophy import ban of endangered animals in its manifesto and we will deliver on this. Defra is engaging with relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can deliver on this commitment in the most effective way.
As outlined in our manifesto, we are committed to ending puppy smuggling. The Government is supporting the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, a Private Members’ Bill sponsored by the hon. Member for Winchester. The Bill will close loopholes in the non-commercial pet travel rules that are abused by unscrupulous traders and give the government powers to prevent the supply of low-welfare pets to the United Kingdom. We are fully supportive of this Bill and would like to see it pass through both Houses as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Sojan Joseph (Labour - Ashford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of poor housing on the transmission of tuberculosis; and what discussions she has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and (b) local authorities in areas of high TB incidence on this matter.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Everyone deserves to live in a decent, safe, and warm home.
The government is therefore bringing forward a consultation in early 2025, setting out plans for a reformed Decent Homes Standard that will apply to both the social and private rented sectors to ensure safe and secure housing is the standard across the country.
Housing association tenants who think their house or flat is in a seriously dangerous condition – including due to overcrowding – can inform their local authority. Local authorities have a legal duty to take enforcement action under the Housing Act 2004 if they find health and safety hazards including overcrowding at the most dangerous ‘category 1’ level, using the HHSRS. Landlords are also obligated to ensure that any dwelling they rent out is free of hazards which may jeopardise the health or safety of tenants. Statutory guidance recommends that local authorities consider giving ‘high priority’ for alternative housing to families in severe overcrowding which poses a serious health hazard.
We continue to work closely with the Department for Health and Social Care to ensure that housing supports the health and wellbeing of residents.
The UK Health Security Agency collects statutory TB incidence notifications in England and uses this to support service planning and public health action - we suggest contacting them about their work with local authorities.
Asked by: Sojan Joseph (Labour - Ashford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking with his international counterparts to help tackle (a) tuberculosis and (b) other illnesses.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK has played a significant role with international counterparts to tackle tuberculosis (TB) in recent decades.
Since 2002, TB deaths have been reduced by 36 per cent in countries where the Global Fund invests. The UK is a leading donor to the Global Fund and will this year co-host the 8th replenishment of the Global Fund together with South Africa.
We have also worked through our support to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The UK is an important investor in product development partnerships such as the TB Alliance, contributing to the development of the new BPaLM/BPAL regimen for multi-drug resistant TB.
The UK also works with international counterparts to tackle a wide range of illnesses, including TB, through our support to the World Health Organisation, Unitaid, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and other multilateral and bilateral health programming.
Asked by: Sojan Joseph (Labour - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum on avoiding the routine deployment of Operation Brock during school holidays.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Kent and Medway Resilience Forum (KMRF) is operationally independent from His Majesty’s Government (HMG). The KMRF's decision to deploy Operation Brock ahead of the Easter getaway was taken after extensive discussions, taking into account previous disruption during peak periods, expected traffic levels and safety of road users.
The deployment of Operation Brock and other traffic management measures are continually kept under review by the KMRF to ensure they are designed and implemented in the most effective way possible.
The Department continues to work on new approaches to long term traffic management in Kent, considering a combination of off-road sites and technology to manage the flow of traffic to the portals during periods of high traffic volumes, keeping the strategic road network clear. We are also working on improvements in traffic forecasting using better data, AI and learning from recent experience which could mean that the use of Operation Brock on a precautionary basis could be reduced in the future.
Asked by: Sojan Joseph (Labour - Ashford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing restrictions on pavement parking on pedestrians with (a) a visual impairment (b) people with mobility issues, (c) children and (d) parents with buggies.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government fully understands the serious problems that vehicles parked on the pavement can cause for pedestrians, especially people with mobility or sight impairments, as well as those with prams or pushchairs. The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to our consultation in 2020 and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. As soon as the Government has decided its preferred way forward, we will announce the next steps and publish our formal response. In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to manage pavement parking.