Adam Dance MP: speeches 2026

Speeches

• 15 Sept 2026 · Saudi East-West Oil Pipeline · Hansard source

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  Residents in rural parts of Yeovil continue to raise concerns with me about the rising cost of domestic heating oil due to conflicts abroad. Prices have sometimes hit as much as £1.10 a litre. As the nights draw in and winter comes around, what steps will the Government take to develop a price cap for heating oil? Just giving money to local authorities is not good enough; it does not support everyone.

• 15 Sept 2026 · Tourism: Overnight Visitor Levy · Hansard source

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  Those working in hospitality across Yeovil have told me that a tourism tax will impact jobs, growth and our high streets. We want to encourage tourism in our area, not decrease it. What steps is the Minister taking to strengthen support for rural hospitality, and will he meet me and representatives of the sector to talk about how we can boost tourism in rural Somerset? We need a commitment that local residents and businesses will be consulted before any decision is made.

• 9 Sept 2026 · Education and Skills Reform · Hansard source

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  I would like to welcome what I hope is the end to post-16 resits. That is something I have been calling for, because the current situation punishes neurodiverse people. I would also like the Secretary of State to explain what early identification means. Does it mean universal screening for neurodiversity? Will she commit to ensuring that access to assistive technology through lending libraries is expanded to Somerset? I am really keen that Somerset does not miss out on anything just because we do not have a mayor.

• 9 Sept 2026 · Summer Health and Resilience · Hansard source

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  I have been contacted by families in Yeovil with disabled relatives who are unable to leave their flat and rely on carers. During the recent heatwaves, one family reported indoor temperatures of over 49°C, with no air con. Public transport and lots of other public spaces do not have air con either. What steps will the Secretary of State take to protect housebound individuals and their carers from the public health risk of heatwaves?

• 9 Sept 2026 · Public Confidence in the Police · Hansard source

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  Thank you for being here today. Will you commit to asking the Policing Minister to meet my local police force and me to discuss the custody unit, which is a huge issue in my constituency? The decision was made well before my time, but it is affecting the community throughout south Somerset.

• 9 Sept 2026 · Public Confidence in the Police · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for Pendle and Clitheroe (Jonathan Hinder) for securing the debate. I was just going to intervene, but after hearing this important debate, I want to take part. One big way that confidence in the police has been damaged in Yeovil constituency is under-investment. For years, we have had fewer officers and less funding. The result is a force that is not visible enough for my constituents, who then feel that the police cannot help them. That is a damaging place to be as a society. In Yeovil, we do not have the money or staff to run a custody suite, even though the police station is being revamped and is going to reopen. Officers are therefore away for hours after an arrest, and I found it so frustrating when I was out with the police on a ride-around that we spent as much time driving to the nearest custody suite, in Bridgwater, as we did in our community. That is just ridiculous. The result is that antisocial behaviour, drug misuse and shoplifting have got so bad that businesses are considering their futures. I have heard recently from a series of business owners—even of toy shops such as The Entertainer—who are at their wits’ end, and I have heard similar stories from residents. Whether at work or out and about, locals feel unsafe. I recently held a drop-in event between 3 pm and 6 pm with the police in Chard in my constituency. When I got to the event, eight police officers were there and police vans were outside, but a police van was stolen right in front of our eyes—just outside the event. That was the first crime. Secondly, a guy came to speak to us who had just come from Snowdon Park in Chard, where his bike had been stolen. Thirdly, the hairdressing salon opposite, which had only opened the day before, had its windows smashed. Fourthly, a considerably drunk guy walked past and fell over right in front of our eyes. That all happened in the middle of the day on a Thursday when I was holding that event. I even asked the police, “Have you put this on?” because it was mind-blowing that this was happening in our communities. I have been meeting regularly with the police and our fantastic police and crime commissioner. Ultimately, we need investment to expand officer numbers and build a custody suite in Yeovil. The cost of a lack of officers is huge. It is unsafe for communities, businesses are closing and people are leaving our area. Our police community support officers do amazing work in south Somerset, but one issue for them is that they are not allowed handcuffs. Some forces do allow PCSOs to have them, but our force does not. The PCSOs sometimes tell me they do not feel safe. At other times they say, “We want to do the job well, and we could detain someone, but we physically cannot because we do not have the tools for the job.” That is one of the pressures on our local police force that I am trying to address. If the Minister would back me on that issue, it would be very helpful. I hope the Minister will commit to meeting not just me but residents, the police force, the council and businesses in my constituency. The missing piece of the puzzle is Government, because it is ultimately down to them: we need more investment. I hope the Minister will meet me to discuss these issues.

• 2 Sept 2026 · Rewiring the State · Hansard source

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  I welcome the First Secretary to her place. One area of the state that needs rewiring is support for neurodiverse people, because lots of decision makers do not get it. Will the First Secretary appoint a Minister for neurodiversity to the Cabinet Office to help ensure decision makers across the country get it and solve the challenges related to neurodivergence that they may face?

• 1 Sept 2026 · Face-to-Face Banking: Rural Areas · Hansard source

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  With fraud on the rise—we are seeing quite a lot of it lately—does my hon. Friend agree that all banking hubs should have fraud-trained staff?

• 14 Jul 2026 · Support for Pig Farmers · Hansard source

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  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?

• 8 Jul 2026 · NHS Corridor Care · Hansard source

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  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. Does the hon. Lady agree that we need a lot more investment in social care to ensure that does not happen and our relatives do not have to go into hospital in the first place?

• 8 Jul 2026 · NHS Corridor Care · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member is making a fantastic speech. On the topic of staff, one of the biggest problems in Yeovil hospital is bullying culture, as we saw in the Baroness Amos report in relation to maternity. Does the hon. Member believe that staff should be free to speak up without the worry of losing their job?

• 8 Jul 2026 · Government Support for Bus Services: West Dorset · Hansard source

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  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. Friend agree that if depots for repairs are going to be closed, we need newer buses in West Dorset and Yeovil?

• 8 Jul 2026 · Government Support for Bus Services: West Dorset · Hansard source

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  My biggest concern is that we have no electric buses in Yeovil. There is nowhere to charge them because other depots have been shut down. How will we cope with an electric future if First Bus is closing depots?

• 8 Jul 2026 · Hundredstone Post Office · Hansard source

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  After amazing campaigners secured more than 900 signatures, I present this petition on the closure of the Hundredstone post office in Yeovil, which will leave locals with no in-person post office and banking services. 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 of the petition: [The petition of residents of the United Kingdom, Declares that an alternative operator for the Hundredstone Post Office site in the Morrisons Daily on Glenthorne Avenue in Yeovil must be provided before the store ’ s closure 29 July 2026; and further declares that the current model for local services, whereby bank services often operate in post offices and post offices often operate in shops, means that local people lose almost all of their in-person services when shops, as is often the case in the current business and regulatory environment, don ’ t survive. 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. And the petitioners remain, etc.] [P003221]

• 8 Jul 2026 · Defibrillators in Police Vehicles · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is making a fantastic speech. Does he agree that as well as defibrillators, there should be bleed kits in the back of police cars? Yeovil town council has introduced bleed kits across the town, as well as defibrillators. Does he agree that we need both in police vehicles?

• 8 Jul 2026 · Societal Impact of AI: Government Policy · Hansard source

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  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. Member join me in urging the Government to publish guidance for schools on best practices for AI assistive technology for SEND?

• 7 Jul 2026 · Fraud Strategy 2026-29 · Hansard source

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  They are good things and I will come on to them later, but we do need more support for vulnerable adults and young people—something I will also come on to.

• 7 Jul 2026 · Fraud Strategy 2026-29 · Hansard source

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  I totally agree that Scotland should join, because we should work together against fraudsters, not in isolation or silos. Short of catching the fraudsters themselves, my constituents who were defrauded provided every scrap of evidence that they or their businesses could, but they were all told by Action Fraud that there was no line of inquiry. I welcome the strong start on international co-operation and the introduction of an online crime centre, a new abuse taskforce and more data-driven policing. If properly supported, that work could help us to take a proactive approach to addressing the types of fraud that my constituents were victims of. Will the Minister look into whether the cases that Action Fraud failed to follow up can be reopened with those new systems in place? Lots of my constituents are still out of pocket. Despite that, there are still some real challenges with the strategy. The big question is whether, given the scale of the problem, £250 million is enough. Will we be able to afford the technology and the workforce to keep up with fraudsters? Is the strategy fully costed, or will we find ourselves in a situation like that of the defence investment plan, for which the money just is not enough? I know for a fact that we do not have enough police officers to do outreach to all the people vulnerable to fraud in Yeovil and south Somerset. Given that we are losing billions to fraud, surely it would be a smart move to invest a bit more in fighting it. The expansion of awareness campaigns such as “Stop! Think Fraud” is great, but what are the challenges to that? How will current approaches be improved to reach more people and be more effective, given that fraud cases are still on the rise? Another glaring issue is that the strategy provides no changes to the current system of largely voluntary charters and Ofcom oversight of social media and tech platforms to prevent fraud. Two thirds of authorised UK financial fraud last year happened on social media. In fact, through things like paid advertising, these companies could be making a profit from fraud on their platforms. It is not good enough, so why are the Government and Ofcom not doing more? The Online Safety Act 2023 gives us tools to fine social media companies for not reducing harm, but will they be properly used? Will the Minister commit to push Ofcom to prioritise fraud enforcement? Will the Government give Ofcom a hard deadline to implement the fraud advertising codes of practice, which would set out rules for ads online? We could talk for hours and hours about the different types of protection that need to be in place, but sadly for me—and luckily for everyone else—we do not have hours, so I will focus on the cases of two constituents and the questions about safeguarding that they raise. Christopher lives with developmental language disorder and struggles to produce or retain complex information. He is very agreeable and is known to give consent even if he does not really understand, which makes him incredibly vulnerable. He was targeted by romance fraudsters, who misled him, largely online, into believing that he was in a romantic relationship with one of their gang. He was convinced to travel to Hungary to buy a property for them to live in. He invested £70,000 in a property that was never transferred to him. After that, he was persuaded to purchase a rundown property in Yeovil and was misled into joining a property scheme that he could not afford. He ended up taking on loans to manage his debt. My team and I managed to get him the £70,000 back from Lloyds after his therapist reached out to us, but that case raises serious questions about how effective protections are for the most vulnerable people. About 7% of the population have DLD, and many more have other forms of learning difficulties, which can make them just as vulnerable, so we are not talking about a small number of people. Banks’ fraud protection systems rely on automated texts or AI, which the fraud strategy continues to support as a key safeguard, but that is not good enough for someone with communication challenges or learning difficulties. Christopher’s therapist faced endless barriers in trying to get in contact with Lloyds; they were turned away from the branches and told to go online. We need clarity from the Minister about how the Government will work with the banks to ensure that their safeguards are accessible for people with neurodiversity and disabilities. Will the fraud victims charter establish a right for vulnerable people to access in-person specialised support in bank branches or banking hubs? We also need clear routes for therapists and support providers to flag concerns to financial services and the police. Christopher should not have been able to take out those loans without it being flagged. The second case that I want to raise is that of Jason, a veteran who served in the Navy. He has come up from Somerset to sit in the Public Gallery today—welcome, Jason. Jason was a victim of wealth creation and property investment schemes run by trainers who styled themselves as social media influencers and targeted veterans and military personnel. These influencers promote themselves and their lifestyle online. They then go to veterans such as Jason, bigging up their military background to build trust. The combination of slick social media, a background that people think they can trust and the promise of training courses that offer financial freedom can be pretty convincing. That is especially true when we consider that far too many of our veterans are facing hardship that, according to Trussell, means that they are twice as likely to run out of food than those who have not served. In reality, the training courses do not deliver the skills and high-figure salaries promised. Instead, people get basic technology and mindset training. The people running these schemes know that what they offer is absolutely rubbish, but they will convince people to invest in more sessions and to recruit others until they are trapped. Jason ended up spending over £20,000 on training. It got so bad that he even considered taking his own life. Thankfully, Jason is with us and has turned things around. He is now working a fantastic job and has completed an Ironman to raise awareness and money for his community. Sadly, others felt they could not find a way out, like Danny Butcher, who took his own life and in whose name a foundation has been set up, of which Jason is a trustee. The fraud strategy does not give us much on how to deal with cases like that, where people are clearly being taken advantage of and misled, but where proving fraud is a challenge. I hope the Minister will commit to looking into how measures in the strategy can be used to investigate these types of practices. What we urgently need is proper protections and warnings on social media about the risks posed by this industry. We already have warnings in place for gambling and social media. We even provide warning labels for public service broadcasts. Why can we not do that for wealth creation influencers? Jason and other veterans have been fighting for the Financial Conduct Authority to fully regulate the property training industry across the UK. Jason is not the only one, and I have heard from many people who have been drawn into this. The Government also need to investigate the practices and impact of the broader influencer wealth creation industry. It is not just veterans, and if we do nothing, more and more vulnerable people will be ripped off. It is no overstatement to say that we are fighting a war with fraudsters. For far too long they have been one step ahead. I hope that the Minister will be able to address the issues we have raised today and will commit to setting up a meeting with me and her ministerial colleagues, so that we can talk in more detail about these cases. This issue is not going away, and I will not either until I have seen stronger protections put in place.

• 7 Jul 2026 · Fraud Strategy 2026-29 · Hansard source

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  On banking, one of the biggest issues for Christopher was that his carer was turned away by Lloyds many times and sent online. We often see that issue because banks are shutting and we have banking hubs. Does the Minister agree that the banks should work more with people with neurodiversity and disabilities and work more to see those people face to face? There should also be more support in our banking hubs.

• 7 Jul 2026 · Fraud Strategy 2026-29 · Hansard source

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  I agree with some of what the hon. Gentleman said, and I will come on to talk about why banks should have more face-to-face contact with people instead of sending them online. It is even simple, little things. One constituent was scammed into paying a clean air zone charge, which does not exist, because it popped up on a sponsored page on Google. Another agreed to send Amazon vouchers to their elderly mother, but they actually sent them to a scammer. In April, in response to this problem, the Government came forward with the 2026 to 2029 fraud strategy. They have committed £250 million to the plan over the next three years. There is a lot to welcome in the strategy, particularly the establishment of the fraud victims charter and the new Report Fraud scheme to replace Action Fraud, which was totally useless.

• 7 Jul 2026 · Fraud Strategy 2026-29 · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That this House has considered the potential merits of increasing fraud protections and the Fraud Strategy 2026 to 2029. It is a pleasure to lead this debate with you in the Chair, Mrs Harris, and I thank the Minister for being here. Fraud has been spreading like the plague for years, infecting almost every aspect of daily life: online, on the phone, at work or out and about. People do not know who or what to trust. Fraud costs the UK economy more than £1 billion a year, yet sentencing is well below its 2010 level. In 2025, British consumers lost £1.2 billion to fraud—a four-year high. What does that rise mean? My constituent’s small business in Ilton was scammed out of more than £3,000worth of orders through a credit card scam, wiping out their business. Another constituent’s elderly mother had debts run up by an estranged relative, who used her details to the extent that bailiffs came round. Another constituent was tricked into investing hundreds of thousands of pounds into a building company that then shut down. Lots of constituents have been defrauded out of thousands of pounds by tradespeople for half-done work or work that never actually happened.

• 7 Jul 2026 · Fraud Strategy 2026-29 · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her answers. Does she agree that we should fully regulate the property training industry? That is a huge issue across the whole country and affects lots of people. As the Minister rightly said a second ago, people do not come forward because they are embarrassed, which is also why, unfortunately, they take their own lives.

• 1 Jul 2026 · Flood Insurance: Reform of Flood Re · Hansard source

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  Ilminster residents, like Krystal, who have houses on floodplains tell me that they cannot obtain insurance, although people living up the road can. The Minister has confirmed that the eligibility criteria remain under review. Will she commit to reviewing the exclusion of homes built after 2009, and will she also undertake to make the whole process fairer, so people like Krystal, throughout my constituency, can obtain affordable insurance?

• 30 Jun 2026 · High Street Regeneration and Unlawful Storefronts · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. Member agree that in rural areas we need a lot more banking hubs, because the banks are going, and that we should scrap business rates for start-ups and independent businesses? Rural communities are losing shops big time.

• 30 Jun 2026 · Defence Investment Plan · Hansard source

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  Page 68 of the DIP makes clear that Proteus, being developed at Leonardo in Yeovil, will be key to future warfare, but lots of other SMEs doing cutting-edge defence work in Yeovil tell me that their hiring and investment decisions have been trapped in limbo by delays to this plan. What reassurance can the Secretary of State give Yeovil’s other defence SMEs that the MOD actually has the money to back the research and development of advanced defence kit by Yeovil’s defence sector?