National Accident Prevention Strategy

Adam Dance Excerpts

Tuesday 28th April 2026 Westminster Hall

[Sir Andrew Mitchell]

The hon. Gentleman makes an extremely good point, and he adds that particular tragedy to the tragedies that I have already mentioned. Of course he is right that, with modern technology racing ahead in so many ways, our data should be better and more effective at informing the decisions that are made. He made that point with great eloquence.

What is currently lacking is a clear, coherent and sustained national strategy to bring these efforts together. At present, responsibility for accident prevention is fragmented across multiple Departments: Health, Transport, Housing, Education and others. The result is a system in which responsibility is dispersed, co-ordination is inconsistent and prevention too often falls through institutional gaps. That is why I believe there is now a compelling case for a national accident prevention strategy. Such a strategy would have benefits across the whole of Government: safer roads for the Department for Transport, reduced pressure on the national health service for the Department of Health and Social Care, less spending on benefits for people unable to work because of accidents for the Department for Work and Pensions and higher productivity for the Treasury. A national accident prevention strategy must therefore be led by the Cabinet Office, which has the oversight necessary to set cross-Government priorities and to co-ordinate and align the activities of different Departments to achieve them.

Becky Hickman and RoSPA should be asked to produce a report for the Government on what such a strategy might look like. It should, in my view, be based on a few clear principles: first, ministerial leadership at the centre of Government, ensuring accountability and direction; secondly, a clear focus on prevention, rather than simply reacting after harm has occurred—the very point that the hon. Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher) was making just a moment ago.

[Adam Dance (Yeovil) (LD)]

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?

[Sir Andrew Mitchell]

I think I agree with what the hon. Gentleman says, except that I would not wish to make an exceptional case for the countryside. This issue affects all part of our country. As he will know, the royal town of Sutton Coldfield is an ancient town and is therefore not part of the countryside as such, although within the royal town of Sutton Coldfield we have the biggest municipal park in Europe, so we at least doff our caps to the issue of rurality.

I was listing the number of clear principles that I thought should inform a report of the type I have described. I had mentioned two; the third is indeed the better use of data, so that we understand where risks are emerging, where interventions are needed and whether policies are working. I suspect I will carry the two hon. Gentlemen who have intervened on me on that point: the hon. Members for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme and for West Dorset (Edward Morello). The fourth principle is a serious focus on those most at risk of accidental harm. The fifth and final principle is a sustained approach to public education and awareness, so that safety is embedded across the life course from childhood through to older age.

I want to return briefly to the human reality behind all this: a child walking to school, a friend cooking a meal at home, a parent swimming in the sea on holiday—ordinary stories with tragic endings. As Members of Parliament, we all know of searingly heartbreaking, awful occurrences such as poor Natasha’s death. We have the evidence and the tools, and we have the example of other countries such as Australia and Finland, where co-ordinated Government accident prevention strategies are already in place. What is missing in the UK is the sustained national leadership to bring those together.

We should not accept a situation in which tens of thousands of lives are lost each year to preventable accidents. We should not accept a system that is fragmented when lives depend on co-ordination. We should not accept avoidable suffering when the knowledge, tools and capacity to prevent it already exist. Ultimately, it is not just about policy, but about whether we are prepared to act on what we already know: that far too many lives are being lost unnecessarily, and that that does not have to be the case.

Those are all non-party political points. There is no party politics in this. I appeal to the good sense and experience of all Members of this House in the hope that together we can support the Government to drive that agenda forward with vigour.

Qatar: Israeli Strike

Adam Dance Excerpts

Wednesday 10th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I thank my hon. Friend for his commitment to these issues, and I can confirm that the Foreign Secretary is, practically as we speak, in consultations with friends and allies about what further steps we might take.

[Adam Dance (Yeovil) (LD)]

I have said this before, but so many constituents from Yeovil—some as young as 11—have told me that they are so frustrated that Britain is not doing more. Will the Minister reassure my constituents that the Government are doing all they can to make sure that these strikes do not break down the peace process completely and that enough aid gets into Gaza now?

[Mr Falconer]

The hon. Gentleman’s young constituents are absolutely right, and I can reassure them that we are doing everything we can to try to ensure that the mediation continues, that progress towards a ceasefire is made and, of course, that aid gets into Gaza.

Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Adam Dance Excerpts

Tuesday 10th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I thank my hon. Friend for the question, and I recognise the strength of feeling in Pembrokeshire, Lincoln and so many other places. I will not repeat for him the manifesto commitment on which we were both elected. I am sure his interest, like that of so many in this House, will be on the conference next week, and we are of course talking with our friends and allies about our approach to it.

[Adam Dance (Yeovil) (LD)]

An 11-year-old constituent wrote to me, and simply said,

“why are we not doing more?”

That sums up the outrage in Yeovil at the crisis in Gaza. Can the Minister tell my constituent what steps he has taken with allies to ensure that all aid routes to Gaza are reopened, and what consequences there will be if they are not?

[Mr Falconer]

The hon. Gentleman’s constituent asks a perfectly reasonable question. I often feel frustrated in this House by my inability to say what we are doing diplomatically with our allies and partners, which I cannot always advertise on the Floor of the House as we are doing it. I am sure it was obvious to many Members during the statement last week that work was ongoing on this package of sanctions, and I understood the frustration of so many Members, which I am sure is shared by his 11-year-old constituent, that I could not say more then. I would like to reassure them and the House that, whenever we are not in this place, we are working with our friends and allies behind the scenes to try to reopen aid routes, secure the release of hostages and ensure a two-state solution.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Adam Dance Excerpts

Monday 2nd September 2024 Written Corrections

The following extract is from Questions to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on 30 July 2024.

[Adam Dance]

A 25-year-old constituent of mine went missing in Sardinia on the evening of Saturday 13 July. The Italian authorities called off the search on Friday, so will the Foreign Secretary meet me to urge the Italian authorities to help to find my constituent?

[Stephen Doughty]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for representing the concerns of his constituent’s family. I recognise that this is a very distressing time for them. He will that know consular officials are providing support to the family and have remained in regular contact with the authorities in Italy, and the ambassador has raised this case with the Italian authorities.

[Official Report, 30 July 2024; Vol. 752, c. 1169.]

Written correction submitted by the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty):

Oral Answers to Questions

Adam Dance Excerpts

Tuesday 30th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Catherine West]

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has been very clear that what has happened in the last couple of weeks in Bangladesh is not acceptable—we have raised it on a number of occasions—including the nature of the judicial review that is currently being undertaken by the Government of Bangladesh.

[Adam Dance (Yeovil) (LD)]

A 25-year-old constituent of mine went missing in Sardinia on the evening of Saturday 13 July. The Italian authorities called off the search on Friday, so will the Foreign Secretary meet me to urge the Italian authorities to help to find my constituent?

[Stephen Doughty]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for representing the concerns of his constituent’s family. I recognise that this is a very distressing time for them. He will that know consular officials are providing support to the family and have remained in regular contact with the authorities in Italy, and the ambassador has raised this case with the Italian authorities. They have ended the active search, but the investigation is ongoing, and I would be happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss it further.