Adam Dance
MP for Yeovil · Liberal Democrat · United Kingdom
“As the hon. Member knows, small abattoirs are at breaking point in almost every imaginable way. One big issue is contradicting and inconsistent inspections. Does he agree that the Government urgently need to set out a clearer plan to streamline the regulation system?”
“The petitioners therefore request “that the House of Commons urges the Government to put pressure on the Post Office to ensure a replacement operator for the post office in the area is in place before the current site is closed; and to consider how to provide communities with more resilient in-person services.” Following is the full text…”
“One of my relatives went into hospital to get intravenous antibiotics but later died in that hospital due to being stuck there. She was ready to move on to a community hospital, but she gave up because she was scared in the hospital—they did not keep an eye on her, she fell out of bed and cracked her head open, and she later passed away.”
“My constituency neighbour will know that in Somerset and Dorset, we get older models of buses no longer used elsewhere. At the same time, rural bus depots, such as the one in Yeovil, are closing. If a bus breaks down from Ilchester on the way to Dorchester, passengers have to wait over an hour for a replacement bus. Does my hon.”
“AI is increasingly being used to make cutting-edge assistive technology for people with special educational needs and disabilities, but the industry is a bit of a wild west, and access for young people in areas such as Yeovil is uneven. Will the hon.”
“The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to put pressure on the Post Office to ensure a replacement operator for the post office in the area is in place before the current site is closed; and to consider how to provide communities with more resilient in-person services.”
The complete record
Every one of 329 lines we hold for Adam Dance, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 7.
“I beg to move, That this House is concerned about NHS dentistry; notes that over a quarter of a million people have signed a petition calling for urgent action to save NHS dentistry and make it fit for the 21st century; regrets that nearly 14 million people were unable to access NHS dentistry in England in 2025; welcomes the Government’s commitment to both tackle and rebuild dentistry for the long term; and calls on the Government to set out a clear timetable for the fundamental reform of the NHS dental contract, and to improve retention of NHS dentists and access for patients across the country. Around 14 million people, or one in four people, were unable to access NHS dental care in early 2025. Some 56% of children in Somerset did not see an NHS dentist in 2025.”
“I find it worrying that the Government seem to have quietly dropped their promise to deliver 700,000 more dental appointments by broadening the definition of “urgent” dental appointments for clinical reasons.”
“I agree with the hon. Member, and I will come on to that issue later. During covid, people missed appointments, and then got completely taken off the dental list. One local working in dentistry summed it up perfectly when they told me that, “NHS dentistry is in terminal decline.” Patients have had to either go private or go without a dentist. Just before the general election, I had a £1,600 bill for a root-canal filling that needed to be redone. I was fortunate, in that I could afford that, but many people would have had to have the tooth ripped out. In a cost of living crisis, this is more than a problem. In my public survey, 87% of respondents rated private dentistry as unaffordable. To be fair, the Government have made a good start by providing 100,000 urgent dental appointments. That is great, but the target is 700,000.”
“I totally agree with the hon. Member, and I will come on to that point later. I hope the Minister can clarify my point about broadening the definition of “urgent” dental appointments for clinical reasons, and I am happy to give way if he wants to do so now.”
“Schools in my area have had their own ways of promoting good oral health, but I also understand the drive to support and manage this nationally, so will the Minister meet me to hear from schools in my area, and talk about what we can do to support them without adding more burdens?”
“I will move on, but if the Minister could remember to address that question later, it would be most helpful. On urgent care, we Liberal Democrats would go further by introducing a £750 million dental rescue plan and flexible commissioning, which would guarantee an NHS dentist for everyone needing urgent and emergency care. I welcome the Government’s work on prevention, and particularly the support for supervised toothbrushing. I have raised this with the Minister before, but schools in my area rightly pointed out that when all the tasks that teaching staff have to do are factored in, sometimes getting the toothbrushing scheme in place is not possible.”
“The system basically sets quotas on the number of patients a dentist can see on the NHS. If they go over that quota, dentists are not paid and will have to cover the cost of material, lab work and other overheads. One of the biggest problems with the system is that it underpays for treating patients with complex and high needs. The Government’s recent changes are a welcome first step, with new care packages for patients with very high needs, and higher rates. NHS Somerset is doing all it can and has increased units of activity by 10,000 from 2025-26.”
“I totally agree with the hon. Gentleman, my constituency neighbour. I will come on to contracting later, but he is completely right on that point. Dentists in my area are asking why there is no funding for them to do school visits, as they would be happy to come in and support. We also need to look more broadly at the way we inform families. What makes people in Yeovil really angry, however, is that we have all known for years what is wrong. We have an underfunded system with an NHS dental contract from 2006 that just does not work—100% of respondents I surveyed from dental practices in Yeovil said that the contract is not fit for purpose. Just about everyone agrees with that, as we have heard today. The biggest issue is units of activity, which are like tokens that the NHS gives to local dentists to use each year.”
“I urge the Minister to provide a clear commitment to getting the consultation on fundamental reforms done this summer, no matter how distracting a new Secretary of State, a by-election and a change of Prime Minister may be—let us get on with it. I hope the Minister will also use this debate as an opportunity to go further and provide a clear timetable for when formal negotiations will start, as well as a firm deadline for rolling out the new system in this Parliament. I know that the Minister is committed to getting this right, and that he is working with a difficult brief, but there seems to be a disappointing trend emerging with this Government, whether in social care, defence, investment or dentistry: if it is hard, kick it down the road. We were promised change, so please work with us to deliver that.”
“Of the local dentists I surveyed, 100% said that they were not satisfied with the Government’s progress on improving the NHS dental contract, while 82% of the public I surveyed rated the Government’s performance on NHS dentistry as poor or very poor. Two years into this Government, we are still waiting for proper changes to the NHS dental contract; if we factor in early discussions, consultations and then actually drafting and proposing the thing—we all know how long those things take—I am sure the Minister is aware that if this is kicked down the road any further, the Government will not be able to deliver on their promise to roll out a new NHS dental system by the next election.”
“Similarly, the Government’s recent announcement of 50 new dental school places from 2027 is great, but that is a rise of only 6%—a drop of water in the dental Sahara desert that is the south-west. I think it is fair to say that dentists trained in Portsmouth will probably stay around there and instead of coming to fill demand in Somerset, which is a real tragedy because as a community we have so much to offer. I invite the Minister to come to Somerset to talk with us about how we can get that across to dentists. Ultimately, we need fundamental changes to the NHS contract, how we fund it and how we recruit.”
“Mark, who is about to retire after 39 years as a dentist in Yeovil—thank you for your hard work, Mark—has been saying to policymakers and the press since the mid-1990s that we would end up in exactly this situation if we did not attract dentists to places like south Somerset, which lose out because NHS dentistry tends to be concentrated around dental training schools and urban centres. It is therefore a good start that the Government will require younger dentists to work in the NHS after graduation for around three years, but that is only a short-term fix, just like the golden hello bonus—another one-off fix. We need to write proper workforce planning for health and social care into law, including projections for dentists and dental staff.”
“At the same time, dental practices in Yeovil tell me that the cost of materials, energy and labour have gone through the roof, while missed appointments or last-minute cancellations are costing practices a fortune. We need the Minister to set out how the Government plan to fund NHS dentistry properly. Will he also set out what steps he is taking to support dentists with day-to-day costs, particularly in relation to resourcing and cancellations? There is one other big issue that we have to address: getting dentists to work and stay in rural areas such as Somerset.”
“That meant that a lot of people lost spots during covid. Local providers, the NHS and I are doing our best locally, but there is only so much we can do within those rules. I urge the Minister to make reintroducing permanent patient registration rights a priority in contract reforms. Even then, without proper funding such changes will not work. Since 2010, the amount of the NHS budget spent on dentistry has more than halved. Integrated care boards, which oversee local NHS services, have also been making serious budget cuts, with 50% of their staff having to be made redundant. That has left us in a situation where we invest less of our health budget in dentistry than any of our European neighbours, according to data from the OECD.”
“That is because, technically, people are only with a dentist for as long as a course of treatment, which means that if someone lives in Yeovil, Crewkerne or Chard—or in the rest of my constituency—they do not have the right to be permanently registered with their local NHS dental practice. When we got the new practices open, there was no guarantee that locals who needed a dentist most would get one. That is madness. We had people travelling 200 or 300 miles to come to one of our new dental practices, and someone a mile down the road could not sign up. What is the point of opening a new dental practice in our area if it does not benefit all—or even half—of the people there? That part of the contract also means that to stay with their NHS dentist, someone needs to have six to 12-monthly appointments to keep their spot.”
“I completely agree with the hon. Member on that point. We have seen that in my constituency and others in Somerset: one place will be on a higher rate, and another place will be on less. Ultimately, we need to get rid of that system if we want more NHS dentists, and look at alternatives, such as the weighted model suggested by the Health and Social Care Committee. But that is not all. One of the frustrating things that I found when we were setting up a new NHS dentist in my area is that dentists cannot prioritise locals. The dental contract means that people do not register with a dentist as they do a GP; they can attend any dental practice that is taking NHS patients, even if the practice is based miles away.”
“There is always a dig like that from the Labour Benches. Look, that was back in 2010. I was 18 at the time—I turned 34 on Saturday. Things have changed. The hon. Gentleman’s Government is in power now, and they are making a bit of a mess of a few things at the moment. This is something they could be really proud of; they could deliver change for the people of this country who voted for them. Get out there, make change and get their teeth sorted.”
“Like me, the hon. Member represents a rural constituency. Does he agree that this issue affects us a lot worse in rural areas? We do not have universities close by to train dentists.”
“I thank the Minister for all his replies to my questions. Can he give me a timescale for when the contract will change? He also mentioned to the hon. Member for Bridgwater (Sir Ashley Fox) that Somerset is an outlier, so will he take me up on an offer to visit Somerset?”
“Resolved , That this House is concerned about NHS dentistry; notes that over a quarter of a million people have signed a petition calling for urgent action to save NHS dentistry and make it fit for the 21st century; regrets that nearly 14 million people were unable to access NHS dentistry in England in 2025; welcomes the Government’s commitment to both tackle and rebuild dentistry for the long term; and calls on the Government to set out a clear timetable for the fundamental reform of the NHS dental contract, and to improve retention of NHS dentists and access for patients across the country.”
“It is late; I will be quick, so that we can all go home, brush our teeth and get some sleep. I thank everyone for their contributions to the debate, my co-sponsors —the hon. Members for Sunderland Central (Lewis Atkinson), for Waveney Valley (Adrian Ramsay) and for Farnham and Bordon (Gregory Stafford)—and the Minister, who I hope will follow up on what we have discussed today. I will leave the House with my survey results again: 100% of dentists in Yeovil constituency and 82% of the public are not happy with the progress that this Government have made on fixing NHS dentistry. Let us roll up our sleeves, work across parties and finally get it fixed. Question put and agreed to.”
“We have had some huge wins for defence firms in Yeovil, such as Leonardo and Honeywell, but lots of other small and medium-sized enterprises doing cutting-edge defence work in Yeovil tell me that they cannot properly plan without the DIP. What reassurance can the Minister give Yeovil’s defence SMEs that the limbo will end so that they can plan investment and provide quality jobs? Will he meet with them to discuss that further?”
“Staff shortages and a lack of proper training have seen both Jack, a wheelchair user, and Kathy, who is visually impaired, suffer accidents at Yeovil Pen Mill. As Kathy points out, at the moment things are only getting worse, with staff retiring after years of service and GWR not hiring replacements beforehand. Jack even described to me how she was made to feel responsible for her accident, because she needed to use a ramp. That is not good enough and not acceptable at all. Our charter makes it clear as day that accessibility is the responsibility of Great British Railways, not passengers. I hope the Government will listen and take on board our ideas, because we need this Bill to succeed if we are to get the trains working for people in Yeovil again.”
“The charter guarantee on the reliability of services, and amendment 55’s requirements for better links between rail travel and onward transport, such as buses or active travel, will mean that people like Janine will be able to use Yeovil junction more reliably. At the minute, a lack of bus services means that when trains are late, people miss the bus and are forced to wait ages to get home, or they have to fork out for a pricey taxi. Hopefully, we will also get a safe active travel route to Yeovil junction. Finally, our charter’s guarantee relates to improving the accessibility of trains, stations, the areas around stations and replacement services. It will force more action to support disabled passengers in rural areas because this is a real issue in Yeovil.”
“Our charter guarantee of proper seating for any single part of a rail journey longer than 30 minutes will mean that something finally has to be done about the overcrowding on trains from Yeovil junction, which makes travel for people like Colin a nightmare, even when they get off their train and try to get the next one. Only the other day, I was chatting to a disabled passenger on the overcrowded train to London, and she told me that if she wants a seat, she has to fork out lots more money for first-class tickets to have the peace of mind that she will not have to stand. Our charter calls for proper services, including good wi-fi, clean toilets, and catering—and a few plugs would help. It would also mean that long journeys should not be an uncomfortable nightmare.”
“Our passenger charter and our amendments would provide a range of guarantees that would address the challenges that people in Yeovil face when trying to get a train. They would back up those guarantees with a framework for compensation for failures to comply with the charter, such as delay repay. Our charter’s guarantee about value for money would mean that apprentices such as Gregg would not be priced out of rail travel. He worked out that currently it would cost him £5,200 for an annual train ticket to Exeter—a quarter of his salary—instead of £1,750 if he lift-shares with a friend. We can see why people do not use the trains at the moment.”
“Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for keeping us on time and on track—much better than some of the trains I have travelled on. I will speak in favour of new clause 1, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Didcot and Wantage (Olly Glover), and amendment 55, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Glastonbury and Somerton (Sarah Dyke). When the Government came into office with a promise to do something about the shocking state of our trains, people back in Yeovil all said, “Finally—it’s about time”, which happens also to be what they say if the train eventually shows up. There is a lot to welcome in the Bill, but it needs to go further if we are to address the problems with rail travel in Somerset. Luckily enough, us pesky Liberal Democrats have some ideas that the Government can support today.”
“Does my hon. Friend agree that we need the international summit to crack down on fraudsters and scammers abroad? I have a constituent with disabilities who lost £70,000 to a romance fraud, with no checks having been done by the bank. Does the summit not also need to look at that issue?”
“To end the exemption for old buses that are not fully accessible under the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000 will mean that kids from rural constituencies will not be able to get a place on a bus to sixth form anymore, due to the limited bus stock and funding. Will the hon. Member join me in urging the Government—”
“This is a very important subject. I have disability issues, and I tried to take my life when I was at school. My youth club saved my life. We really need more youth clubs, but in Somerset we now have none. Does the hon. Lady agree that we need better youth provision in our rural communities?”
“The hon. Member talks about the hospitality sector thriving. Does he share my concern that if the Government introduced a tourism tax, our areas could really suffer?”
“Pharmacists such as Max, who runs South Petherton pharmacy, are taking care of constituents from the other side of my constituency. Our pharmacies in rural areas are expected to do more and more with little extra help. Does my hon. Friend agree that alongside greater funding, we need to see the Government use the NHS workforce plan to properly expand the pharmacy workforce?”
“Can the Minister commit to abolishing or reworking the resit policy to meet the needs of a wide range of young people with SEND more flexibly? I could go on for hours about this subject, but I have bent the ear of the Minister many times, so I will leave it there.”
“Can the Minister set out when the research into universal screening will conclude, and whether the Government will commit to adopting it, if that is supported by the research? We cannot help young people develop essential skills without working out how they learn best. More broadly, can the Minister please promise that the upcoming reforms to the SEND system will not mean that children with SEND lose the right to dedicated time with teaching assistants or speech and language therapists to help develop essential skills? The maths GCSE post-16 resit policy sees too many young people with SEND forced to retake exams that are just not useful for them. It comes with stigma and takes time away from developing the skills they actually need.”
“Yeovil college does an amazing job with vocational and technical education, but we need the Government to go further. Can we make AI and digital skills training a core part of the national curriculum as its own subject? If we want to innovate, we need teaching that focuses on the skills needed for business and self-employment, although I may be biased because I ran my own landscaping company. Thirdly, we sadly have pockets of real deprivation in Yeovil. Will the Minister extend pupil premium funding to disadvantaged young people aged 16 to 18, so they can get the quality education or training they want, rather than having to work any old job—or worse? My final ask, unsurprisingly, relates to SEND.”
“I thank the hon. Member for Bracknell (Peter Swallow) for securing this important debate. For years, we have had an education system that looks pretty good on league tables or spreadsheets but does not really help young people develop essential skills for dealing with this rapidly changing world. Rather than repeat remarks that I have made before, and that other hon. Members have made today, I will cut to the chase and list some issues and solutions that I urge the Minister to consider—so grab your pen, Minister. The first issue is funding. Somerset is one of the 40 lowest funded education authorities in the UK. We need to see a level playing field for funding, with an increase in school and college funding per pupil above the rate of inflation every year. The second issue is the type of skills we are teaching.”
“I totally agree that screen time can be damaging for young people just given a phone or an iPad, but does the hon. Member not agree that screen time can be beneficial if used in the right way to help people with disabilities such as dyslexia?”
“I thank the Minister for giving way and for answering all my questions, as always. Concerned parents in Yeovil also tell me that kids who have autism, obsessive compulsive disorder, sensory issues or attention deficit disorder cannot find apprenticeships or work, nor have they had help developing the skills they need to get into the creative or agricultural sector. Can the Minister set out what more the Government are doing to support rural schools and employers to get neurodiverse people into those industries?”
“Red diesel costs have rocketed from 78p a litre on 26 February to around 98p a litre now. For Nick, who farms in South Petherton, price rises mean an extra £7,000 per week cost that he basically has to take on the chin. Can the Secretary of State tell Yeovil farmers what steps he is taking to support them with the cost of red diesel?”
“Brave young constituents in Yeovil reported historical cases of sexual abuse, but workforce shortages in the police, terrible communication and other failings meant years of stress, delays and the Crown Prosecution Service ruling that it could not advance prosecution despite the evidence threshold being met. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need urgent investment to ensure that the criminal justice system can address historical cases of sexual violence and communicate clearly with victims? No young person should see justice denied.”
“Will the Secretary of State outline what steps he is taking through the criminal justice system to support victims of violence against women, particularly those who report historical cases of sexual violence? Several of my young constituents have faced terrible communication, years of delay, and ultimately the Crown Prosecution Service not progressing with prosecution.”
“Rural crime, particularly equipment theft, continues to cost our farmers huge sums. Will my hon. Friend join me in urging the Government to do more?”
“Jack is a lad from my constituency with autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder and sensory issues, and he has a great ambition to work on a dairy farm. Will the Minister look into what she and colleagues can do to give support and confidence to farmers so that they can support passionate young people with special educational needs and disabilities, like Jack, into farming?”
“Employees of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service tell me that funding cuts have seen shift systems worsening; rope, water and animal rescue services being scaled back and watches usually running with around six firefighters instead of nine. Does the hon. Member agree that that is putting unexpected pressure on stretched rural fire and rescue teams and will cause a damaging workforce and equipment crisis, all of which may ultimately put people’s lives at risk?”
“Rural communities face unique challenges when it comes to prevention and addressing accidents. We are more isolated, we have terrible signal, we have roads more likely to lead to crashes and agriculture is Britain’s most dangerous industry. Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that any national accident prevention strategies must focus on rurality and be matched by proper investment in public health funding, which areas such as Somerset have always lost out on?”
“What is being done to push the private sector to invest more in development and using alternatives? When we cannot be sure that it is effective, testing on animals is not science—it is just violence. My constituents want no part in it.”
“In that context, the Government’s “Replacing animals in science” strategy is a strong start, and I welcome the funding commitments that have come with it. However, I hope the Minister can answer a few questions. On standards, beyond increasing the number of inspectors, what steps are being taken to strengthen regulation and oversight of animal testing, if the Government will not commit to a clear target for phasing it out? When will we see regulation and guidance on AI-informed decision making? How will the Government keep guidance up to date, given how quickly AI is developing? Finally, while it is great that the Government are committed to international leadership and co-operation on ending testing on animals, what action has that commitment translated into so far?”
“We love our pets like family, so when I see videos of dogs and other animals used for testing in poor conditions, I cannot help but think of my Roo. Of course we have regulations meant to make sure that testing is ethical, but the report for 2024 by the Government’s own Animals in Science Regulation Unit shows that some establishments are still failing to provide proper care for testing animals. That is not good enough and we should stop it immediately. Given that animal testing is cruel and often not efficient, my constituents tell me that they want to see a clear pathway to phasing it out as soon as possible, and in particular an end to animal toxicity testing. We have a real shot at that, thanks to amazing developments in AI, large datasets, cell engineering, cutting-edge disease modelling and other technology and methods.”
“I thank the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) for leading the debate. I also recognise and thank the hundreds of Yeovil constituents who signed this petition and previous petitions on this subject. Research now shows that the failure rate of translation of drugs from animal testing to human treatments is around 92%, and has been for the past few decades. Those failures are due either to safety concerns or to the fact that the product does not work. However, more than anything, testing on animals, including thousands of dogs and primates, is cruel. Like many of my constituents, I have a lovely dog, who is called Roo. No matter how hard our day might be, when we see that smile and waggy tail, it makes everything so much better.”
“My office has been waiting over six months for DWP replies to certain cases. Citizens Advice has reached out because it is not getting replies either. Will the Minister commit to getting us those responses this week, and will he commit to greater resourcing for responding to Members, particularly in relation to universal credit?”