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 expand screening programmes for cancer in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving cancer screening services in line with the National Cancer Plan and as part of the 10-Year Health Plan’s shift from sickness to prevention.
In Yeovil, lung cancer screening is already proving transformational in the early diagnosis of lung cancer, and we will implement the full roll out of lung cancer screening by 2030, meaning every eligible person in England will have received their first invitation for a check. The programme is expected to diagnose up to 50,000 cancers by 2035 and at least 23,000 at an earlier stage, potentially saving thousands of lives.
We have extended NHS bowel cancer screening to cover people from the age of 50 and between now and 2028, we will increase the sensitivity of the faecal immunochemical test (FIT) to 80µg Hb/g, rolling this out nationally by 2028. Combined with increased uptake this will deliver 17,000 earlier diagnoses by 2035 and save almost an additional 6,000 lives.
Later this year we will also start to offer self-testing for human papilloma virus (HPV) to women who have missed their cervical screening appointments by at least six months. This expansion aims to overcome barriers that stop women from taking up cervical screening which can both prevent and catch cervical cancer early.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what role rural public libraries will play in the delivery of the National Year of Reading in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Public libraries are central to the success of the National Year of Reading’s campaign to engage people of all ages with reading. The Reading Agency has been appointed to work with sector partners to deliver and support public library engagement. The Summer Reading Challenge in 2026, and World Book Night, the annual celebration of reading for adults on 23 April 2026, will be key moments for libraries during the National Year of Reading 2026. Throughout the year, The Reading Agency will provide public libraries with resources, toolkits, and print and digital materials to support their work.
Somerset libraries launched its participation in the National Year of Reading on 16 January 2026. All 32 statutory static libraries in Somerset, including five in the Yeovil constituency, will participate across the year, through existing initiatives as well as specific National Year of Reading events, activities and promotions.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help increase access to libraries in rural areas with limited transport links.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 requires all local authorities in England to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service. Each local authority is responsible for assessing the needs of their local communities and designing a library service to meet those needs within their available resources.
Library service provision, including the number and location of static libraries, should take account of factors such as the rurality of the area and the availability and cost of public transport links. The statutory library provision in Somerset is delivered from 32 static libraries, as well as a mobile library service and a home library service.
The Government is committed to getting local government back on its feet. The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2026-27 will make available £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England in 2026-27, a 6.1% increase compared to 2025-26.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what role Young Futures Hubs will play in the delivery of the National Year of Reading in Somerset.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The National Year of Reading is a Department for Education initiative, in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust.
Young Futures Hubs will bring together services to improve access to opportunities and support for young people at community level, promoting positive outcomes and enabling them to thrive. Local Authorities participating in the programme will co-design the services in each hub alongside young people in the community to ensure it meets local needs.
Young Futures Hubs are just one part of delivering support within a much wider youth landscape, and will work closely with core services and wider initiatives spanning youth, education, employment, social care, mental health, youth justice and policing.
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 assessment he has made of the potential merits of including Tourette's in the independent review into mental health.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This review focuses on mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism. Tourette’s is a neurological disorder and therefore it will be at the Chair's discretion as to how far the review considers Tourette's with this in mind.
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 assessment he has made of the need to (a) increase and (b) ringfence funding for lobular breast cancer research.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises the crucial need for research into all forms of cancer, including lobular breast cancer. It remains committed to the role of research to drive a stronger collective understanding of the biology behind lobular breast cancer and to improve outcomes for women.
Government responsibility for delivering cancer research is shared between Department for Health and Social Care with research delivered by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology with research delivered via UK Research and Innovation, which includes the Medical Research Council.
In November 2025, the NIHR issued a highlight notice encouraging applications for new research into lobular breast cancer, to improve the detection, diagnosis, treatment, and long-term surveillance of patients.
The NIHR continues to welcome high quality funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including lobular breast cancer.
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 proportion of funding was allocated to local authorities in the South West for road maintenance for 2025-26.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The 2026-27 Local Government Finance Settlement will make available £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England, a 6.1% increase compared to 2025-26. The majority of funding in the Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.
The Department for Transport has also allocated £300 million in capital funding for highways maintenance to local authorities in the South West for the 2025/26 financial year.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to councils in South West England to complete road maintenance words to help reduce potholes.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises that historic underinvestment has made it difficult for authorities to maintain their roads in the way that they would want to. The Government has therefore confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment into local highways maintenance over the next four years. This new, four-year funding settlement is in addition to the Government's investment of £1.6 billion this financial year, a £500 million increase compared to last financial year. The Department’s confirmation of increased funding allocations for the next four-year period has given authorities the certainty to plan ahead and shift away from short-term fixes to proactive and preventative maintenance to stop potholes from forming in the first place.
Between 2026/27 to 2029/30, local highway authorities in the South West are eligible for £1.5 billion of this highways maintenance funding. In addition, the West of England Combined Authority is receiving highways maintenance funding consolidated as part of its £540m million City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, and from 2026/27 will receive increased Transport for City Regions funding worth £752 million in total up to 2031/32.
Finally, the Department recently announced a new rating system for local highway authorities. Under this system, all local highway authorities in England received a red, amber or green rating based on the condition of their roads, how much they spend to maintain their roads, and whether they do so using best practice. The ratings will be updated annually and provide an incentive to highway authorities to further adopt best practice. They enable the Department to identify where councils need to improve and to support them.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the number of potholes to be fixed in (a) Yeovil constituency (b) Somerset and (c) England.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. The Act does not set out specific standards of maintenance, as it is for each individual local highway authority to assess which parts of its network need repair and what standards should be applied, based upon their local knowledge and circumstances. The Department does not hold data on the time taken by local highway authorities to repair reported potholes, but national guidance recommends that defects and potholes which require urgent attention should be made safe at the time of inspection or as soon as possible.
This financial year, for the first time, local highway authorities were required to publish transparency reports setting out progress on highway maintenance, including the number of potholes they estimate they have filled in recent years. This information can be found on the websites of relevant local highways authorities. For the case of the constituency of Yeovil, Somerset Council is the responsible local highway authority.
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, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to the funding allocation model of Skills Bootcamp in Wave 7 on providers' ability to maintain services.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are giving local areas greater control of the delivery of Skills Bootcamps in line with our commitment to devolution; supporting areas to use Skills Bootcamps to more closely meet the needs of their local employers and economies.
As part of this, a new funding model for local areas from 2026-27 will ensure the distribution of funding remains fit for purpose and sustainable as the programme matures.
Under devolution, local areas are the commissioners of Skills Bootcamps and can plan provision according to local skills priorities. They are responsible for decisions relating to the allocation of funding to individual providers in line with their preferred commissioning method.
We will continue to work with local areas on the implementation of the new funding methodology.