Westminster Hall Debate on Acquired Brain Injury

On Thursday 4^th December a Westminster Hall Debate took place in parliament on the ‘Potential merits of a comprehensive acquired brain injury action plan’ . MPs taking part included Sir John Hayes, MP for South Holland and the Deepings (Con), James Frith MP for Bury North (Lab), Jonathan Brash, MP for Hartlepool (Lab), Wera Hobhouse, MP for Bath (Lib Dem), Wendy Chamberlain, MP for North East Fife (Lib Dem), Liz Twist, MP for Blaydon (Lab), Charlotte Cane, MP for Ely and East Cambridgeshire (Lib Dem), Apsana Begum, MP for Poplar and Limehouse (Lab), Alison Bennett, MP for Mid Sussex and Spokesperson for Care and Carers (Lib Dem), Caroline Johnson, MP for Sleaford and North Hykeham and Shadow Minister for Health and Social Care (Con) and Ashley Dalton, Minister for Public Health and Prevention (Lab).

Those that took part highlighted numerous suggestions of what the ABI Action Plan should include, citing examples from their own constituents.

Sir John Hayes (Chair of the APPG) gave a detailed and informative speech and stated “the (ABI Action) plan needs to include a focus on better community rehabilitation and on how that will help to achieve real change for people with ABI.”

He was followed by Jonathan Brash who noted that “brain injuries change lives, but failure to act destroys them."

Wera Hobhouse mentioned the Lancet commission on dementia prevention, intervention and care which identifies traumatic brain injury as a modifiable risk factor, which alone is estimated to contribute to around 3% of global dementia cases.

Long standing member of the APPG for ABI and advocate for people with acquired brain injuries, Liz Twist discussed issues for children with brain injuries and the need for the integration of mental health and neurological care.

Charlotte Cane discussed the difference specialist rehab services, such as that offered by Brainkind, can make and the need for family support. She stated that “a clearer, fairer process is needed to ensure that people get the rehab support they need, and then the appropriate housing and care support as they move back into the community.”

Apsana Begum cited the experience of her constituents, who lost their son to suicide in prison following numerous failings to provide support. In addition to easier access to serious case reviews, she requested that duties should be placed on national bodies, Government services and social services to collect and analyse data, and to share it with each other.

Alison Bennett highlighted that although “the (brain) injury itself may often be sudden, the struggle that follows is not. For better or worse, it is shaped by the systems meant to support recovery.”

Responding, Ashley Dalton stated the action plan would be published in the next 6 months and would set out clear priorities across health, social care, education, justice and beyond in a bid to move towards rehabilitation and long-term support being better embedded throughout public services.

She stated that rehabilitation is the cornerstone of recovery and independence and that the department are thinking through carefully what the action plan will say about community rehabilitation.

She closed by confirming the action plan would deliver a joined-up approach across health, social care, education, justice and beyond, ensuring that rehabilitation and long-term support are no longer fragmented.

You can watch the debate in full by clicking here

You can also see a full transcript of the debate on Hansard here. 

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Acquired Brain Injury will next meet on Tuesday 9^th December 2025 when the Department for Health and Social Care, who are leading the work on the ABI Action Plan, will update MPs and Peers on progress with the plan. We will write to give you a full update after the meeting.

Thank you to everyone who contacted their MP – many of whom were mentioned in the debate. MPs have extremely high work loads and demands on their time, do keep in touch with them about future opportunities if they did not respond or were unable to take part this time.