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 improve access to NHS dental care for people with clefts in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that certain groups of patients may be more vulnerable to oral health problems, including patients with clefts.
NHS England commissions services for children, young people, and adults with a cleft lip and/or palate. The patient pathway can start from pre-birth and continues into adulthood. Cleft services provide care through multi-disciplinary teams, and the comprehensive care pathway will include elements such as paediatric dentistry, restorative dentistry, and orthodontics. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d07-cleft-lip.pdf
Regarding access to general primary care National Health Service dentistry, the responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. We have asked ICBs to commission extra urgent dental appointments. ICBs have been making extra appointments available from 1 April 2025.
ICBs are also recruiting dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years.
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 improve training on cleft in (a) undergraduate dental education and (b) ongoing dental professional development.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The standard of training for dentists is the responsibility of the General Dental Council (GDC) who set the outcome standards expected at undergraduate level and approve courses and dental schools to write and teach the curricula content that enables their students to meet the GDC’s outcome standards.
Whilst not all curricula may necessarily highlight a specific condition, they all nevertheless emphasise the skills and approaches a dentist must develop in order to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients.
NHS England commissions services for children, young people, and adults with a cleft lip and/or palate. The patient pathway can start from pre-birth and continues into adulthood. Cleft services provide care through multi-disciplinary teams, and the comprehensive care pathway will include elements such as paediatric dentistry, restorative dentistry, and orthodontics. Further information is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/d07-cleft-lip.pdf
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, whether he plans to review the adequacy of the £30,000 grant cap for the Disabled Facilities Grant in England.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In England, the Government continues to fund the locally administered Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) which helps eligible older and disabled people on low incomes to adapt their homes.
We have provided an additional £172 million across the current and previous financial years to uplift the DFG, which could provide approximately 15,600 home adaptations to give older and disabled people more independence in their homes. This brings the total funding for the DFG to £711 million in 2024/25 and 2025/26.
We continue to keep all aspects of the DFG under consideration. Recently, we carried out a review of the upper limit for the DFG. We are currently considering the findings.
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 encourage young people in Yeovil constituency requiring mental health support to seek help.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to creating an environment that promotes good mental health, prevents people from developing mental health problems, reduces stigma, and improves the lives of young people living with a mental health problem, including those in the Yeovil constituency.
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to transform mental health services to improve access and treatment, and to promote good mental health and wellbeing for the nation. This includes improving assertive outreach, investment into mental health emergency departments, increasing access to evidence-based digital interventions, and providing mental health support teams in schools and colleges
In Somerset more widely, the Open Mental Health Alliance is a partnership between local voluntary organizations and the National Health Service, created to improve the way people in Somerset receive support with their mental health by integrating teams across mental health services and acute hospitals and by providing access to a number of specialist services. These include a range of third sector bodies offering a single point of contact, enabling patients to access the appropriate assistance, be it care in the community, talking therapy, community mental health, or acute services.
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 help reduce stigma around mental health in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to creating an environment that promotes good mental health, prevents people from developing mental health problems, reduces stigma, and improves the lives of young people living with a mental health problem, including those in the Yeovil constituency.
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to transform mental health services to improve access and treatment, and to promote good mental health and wellbeing for the nation. This includes improving assertive outreach, investment into mental health emergency departments, increasing access to evidence-based digital interventions, and providing mental health support teams in schools and colleges
In Somerset more widely, the Open Mental Health Alliance is a partnership between local voluntary organizations and the National Health Service, created to improve the way people in Somerset receive support with their mental health by integrating teams across mental health services and acute hospitals and by providing access to a number of specialist services. These include a range of third sector bodies offering a single point of contact, enabling patients to access the appropriate assistance, be it care in the community, talking therapy, community mental health, or acute services.
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, whether he is taking steps to establish a specialised service for people with very severe myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue symptom in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We published the final myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), delivery plan on 22 July, which focuses on boosting research, improving attitudes and education, and bettering the lives of people with this debilitating disease.
The commissioning of ME/CFS services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs), including the NHS Somerset ICB, which covers the Yeovil constituency, based on their local population. The ME/CFS final delivery plan includes an action for the Department and NHS England to explore whether a specialised service should be prescribed by my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for very severe ME/CFS.
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 NHS England is taking to raise awareness of Type 1 Diabetes and Eating Disorders among healthcare professionals in diabetes and eating disorder services in (a) Somerset and (b) England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is currently funding five Type 1 Disordered Eating (T1DE) pilots, with the aim of increasing understanding of the characteristics and care needs of people with T1DE, assessing the feasibility of the service delivery model and build the evidence base for an integrated diabetes and mental health pathway.
Pilot sites are delivering a national high level service specification alongside testing local novel approaches to improving care including to awareness raising of the condition amongst both diabetes and eating disorder health care professionals. A national evaluation is currently underway to assess the impact of the five current pilot services. NHS England will review the evaluation findings to understand further opportunities to promote awareness of T1DE amongst healthcare professionals beyond the five pilot areas.
NHS England works alongside its partners to support the delivery of key messages around diabetes education and awareness. This includes through a digital diabetes platform which is developing educational resources for T1DE.
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 impact of the NHS (a) funding and (b) commissioning structures on Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy provision in South West England.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service keeps under review the range of services it offers patients. The use of stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy is thought to prolong overall survival and improve quality of life. NHS England provides the treatment to those eligible across England.
Our £70 million investment in new radiotherapy machines will ensure that the most advanced treatment is available and accessible to patients across the country. By March 2027, up to 27,500 additional treatments per year will be delivered, including up to 4,500 receiving their first treatment for cancer within 62 days of referral, helping to treat more cancer patients in faster time.
Adiditionally, the Department is working closely with NHS England to make sure we have the right workforce with the right skills up and down the country. This includes cancer care and radiotherapy treatment services.
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, whether he plans to require Integrated Care Boards to provide sustainable funding to enable (a) the continuation of successful pilot projects on Type 1 Diabetes and Eating Disorders and (b) those projects to become regional centres of excellence.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has provided up to £1.5 million a year for the five current Type 1 Disordered Eating pilots for three years. This funding is transferred to integrated care boards on an annual basis and in 2025/26 has been ringfenced.
Decisions on funding for future years have yet to be taken.
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 recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) clinical oncology workforce shortages and (b) staffing levels on the adoption of innovative cancer treatments by NHS Trusts.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are building our cancer workforce. As of June 2025, there are over 1,800 full time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in the speciality of clinical oncology in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England. This is almost 440, or 31.5%, more than 2020.
Following additional investment through recent spending review settlements, trainees across 16 cancer-related specialties, including clinical and medical oncology, increased from 623 to 773 per year, a 24% increase.
To grow the workforce, NHS England has been expanding specialty training places in key cancer professions. Targeted national campaigns and outreach activities, for example in clinical oncology, also promote cancer career pathways, with a focus on increasing applications to under-supplied professions.
Training Academies in Imaging, Endoscopy, and Genomics are being delivered across regions to provide intensive skills development and support new models of care, including for cancer patients. Ongoing investment in practice education enhances clinical supervision, education and training across cancer and diagnostic workforces, increases placement capacity, supports staff retention, and contributes to high-quality patient care.