Adam Dance MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 15 Oct 2025 · Knife Crime · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Member give way?

• 15 Oct 2025 · Educational Assessment System Reform · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Lewell. I thank the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Josh Dean) for securing this debate. With severe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia, I struggled at school and hated exams. The current system of exam-based learning has a role to play in higher education, but it is far from perfect. Today I will focus on the changes we can make to the assessment system so that it is fairer on neurodiverse students because there is an attainment gap. The British Dyslexia Association found that in the 2023-24 academic year, just two in 10 students with special educational needs achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSE, compared with over half the students without SEND—that is an attainment gap of over 30%. Current assessments, such as GCSEs, are focused on an intense number of written exams, which favour good memory recall, fluent reading and writing and correct spelling in a high-pressure, timed environment. When someone’s strength lies in creative thinking, problem solving or practical or artistic work, then exams are not testing or rewarding for their strengths. While assistive technologies can make a huge difference, they are not available for too many neurodiverse people. The BDA found that only one in five dyslexic pupils say they have access to assistive technology at school—that is shocking. The bigger problem is that too many neurodiverse kids do not have their needs identified at all. I come back to to dyslexia: 80% of dyslexics will leave school without their needs formally identified—unless, of course, they are lucky enough to come from a high income family, as 90% of children from households earning over £100,000 have a formal diagnosis, according to the BDA. That is just not fair. The result is not just an attainment gap, but damage to mental health. Seven in 10 people with dyslexia say it has made them feel bad about themselves—I know that all too well. Nearly eight in 10 say people assume they are not clever. I have a list of demands for the Minister today—and they are demands, because things as they stand really are not good enough. One, identify and support needs for early universal screening and better teacher training on neurodivergence. I have written to the Minister to ask for a meeting on that and I am still waiting to hear back. Two, reduce the intensity and number of exams and have more coursework or continuous assessments where possible. Three, introduce and properly invest in more vocational and functional pathways. Yeovil college in my constituency is fantastic at that. Four, invest in access to assistive technologies and integrate it into teacher training and testing as early as possible. Five, get a designated mental health professional in every school who is trained to support SEND children with anxiety at school. Finally, look at removing spelling, punctuation, and grammar marks from non-English exams. As listeners can tell, I struggle even reading my own speech. People are struggling on a daily basis and we need that support. If we act on this, we can finally move towards an education system that teaches and tests for the strengths in all of us. Surely that can only be a good thing.

• 15 Sept 2025 · Children with SEND: Assessments and Support · Hansard source

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  With my ten-minute rule Bill, I have given the Minister good ideas to take forward. Will she look at including them in the White Paper?

• 15 Sept 2025 · Children with SEND: Assessments and Support · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 15 Sept 2025 · Children with SEND: Assessments and Support · Hansard source

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  Although it is great to see so many Members here to debate this issue, it shows how dire things are in the SEND system. Somerset is one of the 40 lowest-funded education authorities in the UK. I have heard from many constituents, such as Becky, whose son has been denied mainstream education for over a year because no school feels that it has the resources to support him, and Kayleigh, who is struggling to get the one-to-one provision that her child’s EHCP requires. People in Yeovil are worried about the planned changes in the upcoming SEND White Paper: Ministers have failed to rule out scrapping EHCPs without a clear vision of what comes next, and people fear a similar mess to the recent attempts at personal independence payment reforms. In the time that I have, I will focus not on negativity, but on what steps we can take to change things. The Government have to make sure that they do several things if they want to start fixing the SEND system. They must not just cut provision to save money. A child’s right to assessment must be protected. For a start, I suggest that the Government support my ten-minute rule Bill on universal screening and teacher training on neurodivergence. We also need to invest in new special school places and education centres. Finally, all our councils need funding fairly, by extending the profit cap from children’s social care to SEND provision, and by making sure that the national Government support any child whose needs exceed a specific cost threshold. The Government cannot afford to get this wrong. Change cannot just mean more cuts; it has to be built on the experience and knowledge of everyone involved in education. Young people across the country deserve so much better. Since my ten-minute rule Bill, I have had thousands of people across the country support that motion, and my casework is going through the roof. We need change now, and I hope the Government listen.

• 15 Sept 2025 · Children with SEND: Assessments and Support · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way? It will take 10 seconds.

• 10 Sept 2025 · Neurodivergence (Screening and Teacher Training) · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision about screening for neurodivergence in children at primary school; to make provision about teacher training relating to neurodivergence; and for connected purposes. I thank hon. Members across the House for their support, and I thank the right hon. former Member for West Suffolk for bringing forward similar Bills in the past. School was hard for me, and that is putting it lightly. Dyslexia meant that reading and writing was challenging. Words seemed to float all over the page—in fact, they are doing so right now, so I ask hon. Members to please bear with me through this speech as I am likely to make some mistakes. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder meant that concentrating was a nightmare, with the slightest thing pulling my attention away. I believed that school was not for me, I fell behind, I was bullied and I certainly acted out. I am not alone in that. Since I started campaigning, I have heard from so many people who struggle, from constituents to celebrities such as Jamie Oliver, who is a great advocate in this area. I wish I could share them all today, but we would be here for many days. Around one in seven people in the UK have what we might call neurodivergence. It is a non-medical umbrella term describing the ways people’s brains may develop or work differently from the norm. In some ways, we are all neurodivergent to a greater or lesser extent. Neurodivergence is not a weakness, a condition or a flaw—I want to make that crystal clear. In other ways, it is a superpower and you can do anything you want with the right support—I definitely have with what I have done today. We are problem solvers, critical thinkers and fantastic creators, but with those strengths come challenges such as reading, writing, social skills or maths. That does not mean there is anything wrong with us; it just means that we learn and understand things differently, and we might need to be supported in different ways from others. I was lucky at school, because I was identified and got the support I needed. That is why I am standing here today. That support gave me the confidence to fight for what I believe in. Getting into politics and into this place was certainly not on my agenda at school, but I feel that I have to do all I can to make sure that everyone in communities such as Yeovil and beyond get the help that I had in school, or better. Despite all the progress that our country has made in recognising and empowering neurodiverse people, and despite our amazing educators working their socks off—believe me, they do—things seem to have got worse in places such as Somerset since I was at school. Our schools are under-resourced, under-supported and local authorities are totally underfunded. We have the phonics screener, but this test does not cover all the areas that neurodiverse people may struggle and need support with, such as attention control or working memory. Evidence also suggests that neurodiverse children can just memorise the words for the test, meaning that their actual needs may be overlooked. That is one of their superpowers! Even when a child’s needs are identified, there is no proper dedicated special educational needs and disabilities training in initial teacher training or continuous professional development programmes. Nor is it there for teaching assistants. Our overworked teaching staff are pretty much just left to get on with it themselves, and that is not good enough. Some schools manage fantastically, particularly when they are properly funded, but others are struggling. In some ways, this is another of those postcode lotteries we hear so much about. Our children, their families and our teachers deserve better. That is why I am introducing this Bill today. Members will be pleased to know that it is not complicated. In fact, the idea behind it is fairly simple. It is about getting the Government to use their resources and knowledge to bring everyone together to act, so that we can create a system to better identify neurodivergence and support children early on. What I am proposing can be broken down into three parts. First, we need to define what we are introducing: universal screening, and teaching training on this. Before the legislation can come into effect, the Secretary of State must lay a report before the House that defines neurodivergence. Secondly, we need a programme of universal screening for neurodivergence in primary school age children. This would preferably be a light-touch, teacher-led process. As I have said, we all sit on the spectrum of neurodivergence in some way—no matter what others say—so the screening should not be about labels but about creating a profile of strengths and weaknesses. This will help teachers to identify where all their pupils sit on the spectrum of neurodivergence and the level of support they need, from in-classroom adjustments to more formal referrals. Finally, we need proper teacher training. The Secretary of State must produce statutory guidance on training for teachers on neurodivergence in initial teacher training and in continuous professional development. This should be for all teaching staff. This training should provide teaching staff with: a clear understanding of neurodivergence, knowledge of how it presents differently in different people, and the tools and resources to support their pupils. I do not want this Bill to be about forcing labels on young people. That will not help. Again, it is about helping teachers to identify all their pupils’ strengths and weaknesses. The Government will be pleased to know that it is not about forcing costly screeners on schools either. While I have not set out a preference, the Universal Classroom has worked with teachers to create a universal screener that will be free, so this will not break the bank. Most importantly, this is not about putting more burdens on to our fantastic teachers. I personally believe that teachers do far too much for far too little pay, support or thanks. I urge the Government to look at the National Education Union’s list of 23 admin tasks that teachers should not be doing. This Bill is about empowering teachers to do what they signed up for and care deeply about—namely, educating and supporting all their pupils. To go back to the Universal Classroom screener, it only takes five to 10 minutes per pupil. With the profiles from a screener like that and with better training, all our teachers will have the confidence to make the right adjustments for each child in their class. Even small things such as different paper, extra time or time-out cards can make life-changing differences. I know this only too well. What I am proposing today is no silver bullet. It must go alongside other changes in education. If the Government would rather take on these measures in their upcoming White Paper or in some other legislation, fine, I do not really care. All that matters is that we get on with it. We have had enough debating and enough promising. Let’s bring everyone together, roll up our sleeves and take the next steps to making education inclusive and accessible for every child. Question put and agreed to. Ordered, That Adam Dance, Tessa Munt, Ed Davey, Munira Wilson, James MacCleary, Freddie van Mierlo, Ian Roome, Ann Davies, Clive Jones, Lewis Cocking, Juliet Campbell and Vikki Slade present the Bill. Adam Dance accordingly presented the Bill. Bill read the First time; to be read a Second time on Friday 21 November, and to be printed (Bill 303).

• 10 Sept 2025 · Qatar: Israeli Strike · Hansard source

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  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?

• 10 Sept 2025 · Russian Drones: Violation of Polish Airspace · Hansard source

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  Does the Minister agree that we need to take stronger steps to deter Putin? That starts with seizing billions in frozen Russian assets across the UK and using them to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia, because Putin has shown that if we give him an inch, he will take a mile.

• 9 Sept 2025 · Neurodivergent People: Employment · Hansard source

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  Does my hon. Friend agree that the challenges neurodiverse people face with employment often start at school, and that we need universal screening for neurodivergence, alongside proper teacher training, so that our fantastic teaching staff are given the tools and confidence to identify and support all their pupils?

• 9 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  I wish to speak in favour of amendments 12, 13 and 17, and Liberal Democrat new clauses 2, 3, 6 and 7. The Bill has been an absolute shambles from the start; there was no consultation with disabled people, and there has been last-minute chopping and changing. The Timms review and the removal of the PIP elements of the Bill are welcome, but the process that got us there has left disabled people in Yeovil fearful, and with little confidence in the Government. For example, my constituent Noel has unfortunately been unable to work due to a degenerative condition. He receives universal credit and has been left deeply distressed by the proposed changes; he visits my office almost daily for support. He is not alone. So many people in Yeovil have made it clear that the proposals are just unfair. The whole point of the Bill, as far as I can tell, was to get people back into meaningful work and lower the welfare bill—things that I think we all want—but at no stage has the Bill done what is needed to help get people back into meaningful work: address the crisis in our NHS and social care system, and our growing chronic health issues. I have constituents who would have ended up homeless as a result of the original proposals, and now, without a full impact assessment, we do not really know what effect the Bill will have on our constituents. I am really concerned that people with Parkinson’s and conditions like MS will effectively be excluded, as a result of the criteria, from the higher rate of the health element of universal credit. At the very least, I urge colleagues to support amendment 17 to address that. The original Bill was supposed to save around £5.5 billion, but the Institute for Fiscal Studies predicts that the amended version will deliver basically no savings over the next four years, as over that period, the forecast savings from reducing the universal credit health element for new claimants will be offset or exceeded by the cost of increasing the UC standard allowance. What is the actual point of this Bill?

• 9 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

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  I completely agree with my hon. Friend and neighbour. We will see a huge impact from ICBs having to make a 50% cut. We are already seeing the impact in Yeovil, as hon. Members will have heard me say. The maternity unit has had its funding cut, and is being shut for six months. The Bill was not produced with disabled people; lots of its content is being removed; there is no impact assessment; and the Bill is not likely to make any real savings. This tells me that the Government should go back to the drawing board, and either withdraw the Bill, or adopt the Lib Dem amendments and new clauses that require proper consultation and impact assessments. Either way, the Government must stop making decisions about disabled people without them. I thank some Labour Back Benchers for having a backbone and voting against their Government in support of disabled people. I hope they do so again today.

• 1 Jul 2025 · Waterloo-Reading Line: Class 701 Trains · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister and the Government agree that it is vital to try to get more electric trains across the south-west? After meeting with the railways, I know they are concerned that they will find it hard to replace the diesel stock with electric stock down in Somerset. Can we urge them to push and look at getting more investment into electric trains?

• 1 Jul 2025 · Waterloo-Reading Line: Class 701 Trains · Hansard source

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  Many feel that the railway services in Yeovil are not good enough. Does my hon. Friend agree that in rural areas we need to replace the old trains that we rely on, some of which are more than 40 years old—a lot older than I am—and improve access and staffing at railway stations so that constituents with disabilities can use trains in a safe manner?

• 1 Jul 2025 · ADHD: Impact on Prison Rehabilitation and Reoffending · Hansard source

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  I have spoken to people who found out in prison that they have neurodiverse conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which I also have. If they had been supported at school, things would have been different. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to roll out universal screening for all neurodiverse conditions at primary school level?

• 25 Jun 2025 · GP Funding: South-west England · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister visit Ariel Healthcare in Chard in Somerset, where the building is really not fit for purpose, and meet the GPs to talk about their concerns?

• 25 Jun 2025 · GP Funding: South-west England · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dame Siobhain. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Newton Abbot (Martin Wrigley) for securing this important debate. GPs are the front door of our health service, particularly in rural constituencies such as Yeovil and many others in the south-west. Despite their hard work, GPs in Yeovil are stretched thin because the necessary funding and support simply are not there. Everyone deserves access to safe and accessible local healthcare, and all of our constituents should be able to see a GP within a week. Unfortunately, 23% of patients in Somerset are waiting more than 14 days for an appointment, and over 7% are waiting more than 28 days. I have heard from too many constituents who have waited that long or even longer, which is also not good enough. We need to ensure that everyone has the right to see a GP within seven days, or within 24 hours in urgent cases, and we need more GPs to deliver that. We should also ensure that everyone aged over 70 or with a long-term health condition has access to a named GP. Many of my residents and constituents are concerned that they do not know who their GP is, or that they do not have access to a named GP. They find it concerning that they regularly have to see different GPs or locums. Many of our GP surgeries are struggling with their buildings. As I have previously said, I am grateful to have received confirmation from the Minister that Crewkerne health centre and Church View medical centre in Neroche are set to receive a share of the £102 million to deliver upgrades to their practices, but other surgeries are seriously struggling and feel overwhelmed and overlooked. Ariel Healthcare in Chard urgently needs funding and support to upgrade its services to help local residents with urgent needs. We cannot support our GPs in isolation. We desperately need to improve public transport in the south west so that people can get to their appointments. The cancellation of the No. 11 bus service in Yeovil highlights that issue, and residents, particularly those who are vulnerable, now struggle to access Preston Grove medical centre and Hendford Lodge surgery. We also urgently need to fix NHS dentistry, because people are forced to go to their GP or hospital for help. Can the Minister provide a clear timeline and costed proposals for fixing the NHS dental contract? The British Dental Association has only had scoping meetings so far, so I hope the Minister and the Government will push that. We also need to increase investment in public health. Somerset is 11th from the bottom in public health grant allocation despite having a growing public health crisis, particularly around addiction. I was a public health cabinet member for two years and we had only £100,000 to push dental health. It is just not good enough. On average, we are £13.6 million short across the country, and public health desperately needs reforming. I hope the Minister takes on board our calls to ensure that GPs in the south-west get the funding they deserve and desperately need to support our residents. Without our fantastic GPs, there is no future for our NHS.

• 25 Jun 2025 · GP Funding: South-west England · Hansard source

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  I spent an evening with one of my local pharmacists, and it was so shocking that people were coming 20 or 30 miles to his pharmacy, because it was the only one open near my village of South Petherton. He was struggling so much because he could not get the medication that people needed, despite the fact that they were travelling so far to try and get medication from him. Does my hon. Friend agree that that is just not good enough and that the Government need to support pharmacies a lot more?

• 25 Jun 2025 · National Armaments Director · Hansard source

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  Will the Minister give way?

• 25 Jun 2025 · National Armaments Director · Hansard source

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  The Minister must be a mind reader. Will she give us a timescale for when the new medium-lift helicopter contract will be awarded? I hope it will be awarded to Leonardo in my constituency.

• 25 Jun 2025 · National Armaments Director · Hansard source

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  Will my hon. Friend join me in urging the Government to award the New Medium Helicopter contract to Leonardo UK in Yeovil, and to reassure us that a “defence dividend” will include supporting jobs, apprenticeships and the resilience of domestic defence firms across the south-west?

• 24 Jun 2025 · Department for Education · Hansard source

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  I totally agree. It is sorry to see that so many of those centres have gone, and we need to invest more. The earlier that children’s needs are identified and supported, the more likely they are to succeed. Researchers, for instance at University College London, have already developed a screener that goes far beyond the current phonics screening, and it is really cost-effective. I hope that the Government’s schools White Paper, which is due in the autumn, will set out a plan for rolling out such screeners across schools. Once children’s needs have been identified at school, we need to ensure that our teachers are fully equipped to help. That is why we urgently need better internal teacher training and continuous professional development for teachers and other education professionals, including teaching assistants and senior staff. We must also ensure that SENCOs are represented on senior leadership teams, and are given dedicated time to do their work properly. I hope that the Minister or the Secretary of State will update us on the progress made on teacher training, and tell us when we can expect those teachers to be rolled out. There can be no better investment in the future of our country than investment in education and young people. Ensuring that everyone has a good-quality education and career always provides a return, as I know from my personal background of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia. I left school having had support, but I was severely bullied, to a point where I was sprayed with deodorant and set alight when I got off the school bus, so I know how vital such support is. Without the support that I was given at school, I would not be here today: I would either be in prison or I would have taken my own life. This is so important—so please, let us get on with universal screening and teacher training for neurodiverse conditions.

• 24 Jun 2025 · Department for Education · Hansard source

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  I welcome the investment for our teachers, school buildings, free school meals and SEND support, but I remain concerned about SEND provision in Somerset. I know from personal experience and from listening to constituents just how much of a difference giving SEND children the support they need can make. Teachers go above and beyond to give children in their classes the education they deserve, but we have a SEND system in crisis. It feels like we have gone backwards from when I was at school, which is, I am sorry to say, thanks to the cuts made under the previous Conservative Government over many years. As in so many other areas of life, parents in Yeovil are often left with a losing draw in a postcode lottery, waiting months to get the support their children deserve. There are two really effective ways that the Department can invest its budget to improve the outcome for SEND children at school. The backlog for education, health and care plans is too high in Somerset, and it is of course right that Somerset council receives more money to urgently support EHCP provision, but not every SEND child needs an EHCP for support. Instead, we urgently need universal screening for neurodiverse conditions at primary schools. That would be a fantastic way of empowering teachers to identify the individual needs of children in their classes and to adapt their teaching.

• 18 Jun 2025 · Businesses in Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  There are over 3,400 fantastic businesses in Yeovil that provide amazing services for our communities, from big employers such as Screwfix and Leonardo to local businesses such as Ben Russell’s hairdressers or the Somerset Cheesecakery in Ilminster. Thanks to terrible Government Budgets, unfair trade deals and soaring energy prices, many businesses in Yeovil do not feel supported by central Government. This Government can change that. I am sorry if this sounds like a list of local demands but, well, it basically is. The Government changes to national insurance are an unfair jobs tax. Let us get rid of that, and instead, reverse Conservative tax cuts for big banks, increase the digital services tax to 6% on social media giants and raise the remote gambling duty for online gambling companies. Next is our family farms. Farmers deserve some actual support, because in Yeovil they have lost trust in this Government. To start, the family farm tax has to go, or at least be delayed until April ’27 as the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee suggests. We also need to strengthen the grocery code so it has some actual teeth to support farmers. Finally, our high street businesses need banking hubs. I was happy to have secured a banking hub for Crewkerne, but, despite having the same needs, Chard and Ilminster were denied one because they had cash machines. They are not alone. Will the Government expand the criteria for approving banking hubs and commit to rolling out a few more than 350 banking hubs? I could go on about funding for vital bus services, such as the No. 11 bus in Yeovil, and the need for better broadband, greater investment in apprenticeships, greater defence spending to support jobs in Yeovil and so on, but time is short, so I will just say that I hope the Government take on board my asks and those from hon. Members today, because then we might finally start to get a Government who help rural businesses thrive rather than getting in the way.

• 17 Jun 2025 · Disabled People in Poverty · Hansard source

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  One of the most common reasons why people claim PIP in Yeovil is poor mental health. Does my hon. Friend agree that to support vulnerable people’s mental wellbeing, the Government must urgently change course on the proposed cuts to PIP and introduce proper staff and accessible mental health hubs in every rural community?