Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will fund and deliver a public awareness campaign in rural Somerset to promote the updated Highway Code as part of the new Road Safety Strategy.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran THINK! advertising campaigns nationally to raise awareness of the changes.
Local authorities are responsible for delivering road safety education and have a statutory duty to take steps both to reduce and prevent collisions. THINK! Highway Code campaign resources are available for local authorities to download from the THINK! website and are free to use for educational purposes: https://www.think.gov.uk/campaign/highway-code-changes/.
Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts across England and Wales encouraging compliance with the Highway Code.
Guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.
In addition to the Highway Code activity, THINK! also runs paid advertising campaigns focused on the priority issues of speed, drink driving and drug driving. The primary audience for these campaigns is young men aged 17-24, who are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured on the road than drivers aged 25 and over. All THINK! campaigns are run nationally, therefore rural Somerset is included.
As set out in the Road Safety Strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the phonics screener for the early identification of dyslexia in primary schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Early identification of need and support is critical to improving outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with dyslexia.
There are several assessments in place to measure progress and help teachers to identify where pupils may require additional support with literacy. These include the phonics screening check, the end of key stage 1 non-statutory assessments and the key stage 2 statutory assessments. The phonics screening check helps teachers to identify pupils who may need extra help and enables schools to benchmark their pupils against national performance. This is not specifically designed to test for dyslexia.
The English Hubs programme is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, with a focus on supporting children making the slowest progress in reading. Reading Ambition for All is a continuous professional development programme to support the lowest attaining children in reading, with a particular focus on those with SEND. This programme is delivered by 34 English hubs, reaching more than 600 schools, this academic year.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of changing the national curriculum to increase awareness of cancer prevention amongst pupils in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It is important to educate people about causes and symptoms of cancer, and we are supportive of efforts to do this at an early age.
Revised relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance was published on 15 July 2025. Cancer awareness and other specific cancer-related content is included. At secondary school, as part of their studies on health protection and prevention and understanding the healthcare system, pupils will be taught the importance of taking responsibility for their own health, including regular self-examination and screening.
Schools may teach about cancer awareness in other areas of the current national curriculum. The secondary science curriculum ensures pupils are taught about non-communicable diseases, such as cancer, and the impact of lifestyle factors. In design and food technology, schools should highlight the importance of nutrition. We are developing a new national curriculum with teachers, curriculum experts, pupils and parents, which schools will start teaching from September 2028.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase training on Personal, Social, Health and Economic education for teachers in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The revised relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance was published on 15 July 2025.
The department will invest £3 million in a teacher training fund over the next two years to ensure that the new curriculum has the greatest impact and £5 million to pilot healthy relationships training delivered by external providers.
Following the Curriculum and Assessment Review, published on 5 November 2025, we will strengthen financial literacy content and sequencing in citizenship and maths. More details on the conclusions and recommendations from the Curriculum and Assessment Review are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-final-report.
To ensure all pupils benefit from the refreshed national curriculum, we will ensure that core training throughout a teacher’s career has a strong focus on high-quality adaptive teaching, formative assessment and high expectations for all. This includes initial teacher training and the early career framework.
The government commissioned Oak National Academy to develop resources for schools in line with new curriculum requirements.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she had made of the potential implications for her policies of the British Dyslexia Association's report entitled Lost in the system: Councils’ blind spot on dyslexia, published on 3 February 2026.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As reflected in the British Dyslexia Association’s report, the effective early identification and intervention is critical in improving the outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. In an inclusive education system, settings should be confident in accurately assessing children and young people’s learning and development and meeting any educational needs with evidence-based responses.
There are a number of national assessments already in place to measure progress and help teachers identify where pupils may require additional support with literacy, such as the phonics screening check, and end of key stage 2 assessments. A range of measures have also been introduced that aim to support the effective teaching of reading, including for those with special education needs and disabilities or those at risk of falling behind. This includes the English Hubs programme, the reading and writing frameworks, the Reading Ambition for All programme and the published list of department-validated high-quality phonics programmes for schools.
To further support settings to identify need early, we are strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve early identification in mainstream settings, including through collaboration with UK Research Innovation.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of local authorities' guidance on how to (a) assess or (b) identify (i) dyslexia or (ii) support literacy difficulties.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As reflected in the British Dyslexia Association’s report, the effective early identification and intervention is critical in improving the outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. In an inclusive education system, settings should be confident in accurately assessing children and young people’s learning and development and meeting any educational needs with evidence-based responses.
There are a number of national assessments already in place to measure progress and help teachers identify where pupils may require additional support with literacy, such as the phonics screening check, and end of key stage 2 assessments. A range of measures have also been introduced that aim to support the effective teaching of reading, including for those with special education needs and disabilities or those at risk of falling behind. This includes the English Hubs programme, the reading and writing frameworks, the Reading Ambition for All programme and the published list of department-validated high-quality phonics programmes for schools.
To further support settings to identify need early, we are strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve early identification in mainstream settings, including through collaboration with UK Research Innovation.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the social housing sector in (a) Yeovil constituency, (b) Somerset and (c) England.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 28 January 2026 (HCWS1283)
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of trends in the level of administrative errors made by social housing providers when a resident transitions from Housing Credit to Universal Credit.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The verification process to assure that the correct housing amount is included in the Universal Credit Award provides opportunities for claimants to challenge the amount, should they disagree with the amount verified as correct by their Landlord/Housing Provider. This amount also features on their monthly award statement so continues to be transparent.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to help improve the efficiency of His Majesties Revenue and Customs' operations.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As published in the Spending Review 2025 Departmental Efficiency Plans, HM Revenue and Customs will be delivering significant efficiencies of £886m per year by 2028-29 in five areas:
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
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 raise awareness amongst men in Yeovil constituency about the risks of breast cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service in England encourages everyone, including men in the Yeovil constituency, to check their breast and chest regularly for firm lumps, changes or thickened areas of tissue, and to consult their general practitioner straight away if they have any concerns.
To increase knowledge of cancer symptoms, and address barriers to acting on them, the NHS runs Help Us Help You campaigns. These campaigns focus on recognising a range of symptoms, as well as encouraging body awareness, to help people spot symptoms across a wide range of cancers, including breast cancer, at an earlier stage.
NHS England and other NHS organisations, nationally and locally, publish information on the signs and symptoms of many different types of cancer, including breast cancer. Further information on breast cancer symptoms in men can be found on the NHS.UK website, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/breast-cancer-in-men/symptoms-of-breast-cancer-in-men/