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 help support people to purchase affordable electric charging points for existing homes in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To further accelerate the uptake of EVs, the Government offers grants to support the installation of chargepoints in residential and commercial properties. The Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant supports the provision of chargepoints for residents in flats and rented accommodation with grants of up to £350. SMEs and residential landlords can also claim car park grants of up to £15,000 and £30,000 per site towards the cost of infrastructure works and chargepoints.
Additionally, on the 13 July, the Government announced the £25m Electric Vehicle Pavement Channel grant to further support local authorities in England to adopt pavement channels. This will allow EV drivers to access their domestic electricity tariffs by safely connecting a home EV charger to their vehicle parked on-street and adds to published local authority guidance and chargepoint grants.
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 proportion of the NHS budget was allocated to primary care NHS dentistry excluding patient charge revenue in each financial year since 2010-11; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of the NHS budget that will be allocated to primary care NHS dentistry excluding patient charge revenue in each year from 2026-27 until 2029-30.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Prior to 2023/24 there was no specific dental budget allocation, as dentistry formed part of a wider budget which included community pharmacy and optometry. Since 2023/24, there has been a specific dental ringfence allocation for integrated care boards. This includes primary, secondary, and community dentistry and is set net of patient charges. The following table shows the dental budget as a proportion of the total National Health Service budget in each of the last two years:
Year | Proportion of NHS budget |
2023/24 | 2.17% |
2024/25 | 2.12% |
Note: the figure for 2025/2026 is not yet confirmed.
The details of budget allocations within each Government department for future years is still being determined. The Department is working to provide the detail and certainty needed on future funding and spending plans. This includes preparing for the first multi-year planning round for the NHS in more than half a decade, which will give local leaders the certainty they need to deliver.
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, how much funding his Department plans to provide for NHS dentistry in each of the next three financial years.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Prior to 2023/24 there was no specific dental budget allocation, as dentistry formed part of a wider budget which included community pharmacy and optometry. Since 2023/24, there has been a specific dental ringfence allocation for integrated care boards. This includes primary, secondary, and community dentistry and is set net of patient charges. The following table shows the dental budget as a proportion of the total National Health Service budget in each of the last two years:
Year | Proportion of NHS budget |
2023/24 | 2.17% |
2024/25 | 2.12% |
Note: the figure for 2025/2026 is not yet confirmed.
The details of budget allocations within each Government department for future years is still being determined. The Department is working to provide the detail and certainty needed on future funding and spending plans. This includes preparing for the first multi-year planning round for the NHS in more than half a decade, which will give local leaders the certainty they need to deliver.
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 discussions he has had with NHS dentists on rises in the costs for (a) NHS dental practices and (b) (i) laboratories and (ii) dental materials.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is continuing to meet the British Dental Association and other representatives of the dental sector on a regular basis and some of these meetings have included the discussion of costs associated with delivering National Health Service dental care.
In addition, the Government is conducting a research project to better understand the costs and pressures associated with running a dental practice in England.
As part of this research, a survey was launched on 13 May 2025 and closed on 16 June 2025. This included questions on laboratory fees and dental materials as well as other associated costs with running a dental practice.
We are currently reviewing and analysing responses to understand 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 assessment the has made of the adequacy of the 1.68% uplift to the practice expenses element of the NHS dental contract in 2023-24, in the context of changes to the costs of running a dental practice.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The pay elements of the 2024/25 National Health Service contracts for general dental practitioners and salaried dentists were all uplifted by 6%, in line with the independent Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration’s recommendations. The overall contract value was uplifted by 4.64%, net of pay and expense elements. Uplifted payments were backdated to 1 April 2024.
Whilst no specific assessment of adequacy has been carried out, the use of a gross domestic product deflator for expenses was consistent with other areas across the NHS, including for general practitioners and ophthalmology.
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 Ten Year Health Plan on community hospital bed provision in Yeovil constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Our 10-Year Health Plan is creating a National Health Service truly fit for the future, keeping patients healthy and out of hospital, with care closer to home and in the home.
An impact statement for the plan will be published shortly.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of education, health and care plans on neurodivergent school children in rural communities.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department is determined to restore confidence in the system of support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), so that all children and young people get the chance to achieve and thrive in their education. Our aim is to improve educational outcomes.
The department is working with and listening to parents, local authorities, SEND organisations, education settings and others on how best we can strengthen the SEND system. We want to deliver better support for these vulnerable children and young people and their parents, and we are committed to getting this right. We will continue with this engagement over the summer, in preparation for consultation on a Schools White Paper in the autumn.
We have made no decisions yet on the future of education, health and care plans. There will, however, always be a legal right to additional support for children and young people with SEND.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to reduce provision of support for children with SEND in Yeovil constituency in the next four years.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department is determined to restore confidence in the system of support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), so that all children and young people get the chance to achieve and thrive in their education. Our aim is to improve educational outcomes.
The department is working with and listening to parents, local authorities, SEND organisations, education settings and others on how best we can strengthen the SEND system. We want to deliver better support for these vulnerable children and young people and their parents, and we are committed to getting this right. We will continue with this engagement over the summer, in preparation for consultation on a Schools White Paper in the autumn.
We have made no decisions yet on the future of education, health and care plans. There will, however, always be a legal right to additional support for children and young people with SEND.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether residents in Yeovil constituency will be consulted on changes to the provision of education, health and care plans.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department is determined to restore confidence in the system of support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), so that all children and young people get the chance to achieve and thrive in their education. Our aim is to improve educational outcomes.
The department is working with and listening to parents, local authorities, SEND organisations, education settings and others on how best we can strengthen the SEND system. We want to deliver better support for these vulnerable children and young people and their parents, and we are committed to getting this right. We will continue with this engagement over the summer, in preparation for consultation on a Schools White Paper in the autumn.
We have made no decisions yet on the future of education, health and care plans. There will, however, always be a legal right to additional support for children and young people with SEND.
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 prescribing medical cannabis as a treatment for the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made by the Department of the potential merits of prescribing medical cannabis as a treatment for symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Where there are demonstrated therapeutic effects, we would expect manufactures to apply to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for a marketing authorisation (licence) for their medicines, to enable prescribers to be confident of the medicine’s quality, safety and effectiveness.
Assessment by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) would then precede any routine prescribing on the NHS.