One of my priorities since entering Parliament has been social care.
I am the co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Adult Social Care and have raised the issue both in the House and privately with Ministers from the Department of Health and Social Care.
Sojan Joseph, MP for Ashford
The Minister for Social Care has actively engaged with the APPG, providing positive updates on what the Government is doing to help relieve pressure and fix our broken care system, particularly through the 10-Year Health Plan.
I know that without fixing our broken care system, we will not be able to build an NHS fit for the future.
We have hundreds of patients stuck in hospitals in East Kent, unable to be discharged due to the poor state of our social care system.
There are currently 61 patients stuck in mental health beds alone – roughly one-third of the total designated beds for mental health – and hundreds more stuck on wards, putting further strain on A&E departments.
Mr Joseph says fixing the broken social care system will help free up hospital beds
All are unable to be discharged because of the state of our social care services.
This is not good enough, and the Government recognises that, which is why it has provided over £20 million in funding for Kent’s social care services.
However, despite the £20 million more in social care grants this financial year from the Government, the Reform-led Kent County Council (KCC), which oversees social care, appears more concerned with infighting and suspensions than with delivering for Kent residents.
Unfortunately, social care is not the only area where Reform at KCC is failing to deliver.
They frequently miss deadlines for responding to letters and often neglect vital casework — such as ensuring safe access to Chilmington Green School, which was opened without a safe route for children to reach it.
Patients previously being treated by the Costa Coffee store in the William Harvey Hospital, Ashford
I have been actively pursuing KCC on this issue since the summer, yet they have still failed to act and provide a safe route for pupils.
This problem extends beyond mainstream education.
A large portion of my casework relates to young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Despite £15 million in additional funding for SEND in Kent, most children with SEND and their parents are not seeing the benefits.
If anything, Reform seems determined to make their lives harder through cuts to SEND transport assistance under their so-called DOGE programme.
Public transport has also been a long-term issue in our county. The Government has allocated £23 million for bus services and £54 million for road maintenance this financial year – including £15.9 million in additional funding.
Yet again, this is not being used properly.
The café at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford was screened off earlier this month, to offer privacy to patients being treated in corridors
It is vital that the Reform-led Council put aside its petty internal infighting and focus on making the public services it was elected to manage function properly.
They must ensure that the substantial funding from central Government is spent effectively and work collaboratively with all agencies – from healthcare leaders and borough councils to my colleagues here in Westminster – so that they can deliver for my constituents in Ashford and the rest of Kent.