Speeches by Dance.

“An 11-year-old constituent wrote to me, and simply said, “why are we not doing more?” That sums up the outrage in Yeovil at the crisis in Gaza. Can the Minister tell my constituent what steps he has taken with allies to ensure that all aid routes to Gaza are reopened, and what consequences there will be if they are not…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for securing this vital debate. Does he agree that one fantastic way to support young people with ADHD and their teachers is to have universal screening for neurodiverse conditions at primary school and to increase teacher training on such conditions?”

“I start by thanking the fantastic staff at Yeovil district hospital’s maternity unit and paediatric staff across the country for their hard work. I also thank the Minister for Secondary Care for coming to the Chamber this evening to respond to the issues raised, which are important for Yeovil and South Somerset. In Jan…”

“Does the Minister agree that the timescale given to our NHS staff, and telling them on Teams or not telling them at all—with them finding out on social media—is not the right way to treat them? Imagine how that makes those staff feel.”

“I agree with the hon. Gentleman, and I will come on to that point now. In September last year, reports described Musgrove Park’s maternity unit as “traumatic, super-hot and overcrowded”. Measures such as extra beds are being put in place. Expecting that overstretched service safely to take on extra cases from Yeovil is…”

“I agree with my hon. Friend and I will come to that point later in my remarks. In letters and at meetings, I have directly asked senior leaders at the trust for reassurance that the service will reopen after six months, but they have been unable to give it. My No. 1 priority is my constituents’ health and safety. I app…”

“I totally agree; it really is just not good enough. [Interruption.] I hope the Minister is listening. I urge the Department of Health and Social Care to do all it can to maintain and support NHS Somerset in ensuring the return of safe maternity services to Yeovil district hospital. Just as with the closure of its hyper…”

“In January, the Care Quality Commission warned that paediatric care at Yeovil district hospital requires significant improvement. The maternity unit has suddenly closed, initially for six months, creating real fear. This follows the closure of the hospital’s hyper-acute stroke unit. May we have a debate in Government t…”

“Maternity services in Yeovil are due to shut on Monday, after a deeply flawed Care Quality Commission inspection in January, and are to be moved to Musgrove Park hospital in Taunton, which does not have capacity for an extra 1,300 births a year.[Official Report, 19 May 2025; Vol. 767, c. 10WC.] (Correction) Although th…”

“As you know, this is a joint application. Thank you very much, Chair and Committee members, for this opportunity. About 10% of the UK population is dyslexic. However, approximately 80% of dyslexic pupils are leaving school undiagnosed. For too many children, including those who have had their dyslexia identified, class…”

“It was really easy. I just emailed our colleagues, Juliet emailed hers, and that was it.”

“Thank you for your support.”

“We did discuss that, but our problem, as you know, is that lots of Members go home on a Wednesday evening because they already have stuff booked in the constituency on Thursday. We were concerned that if we went for a Thursday, it would be hard because there would be other constituency events booked in, so we may not g…”

“Yeovil has some truly beautiful religious buildings, and polling of the general public shows that 75% of people agree that church buildings are important for society. Holy Trinity runs a baby bank, supporting three to four families each week with essential items for newborns, such as nappies and baby grows. The church …”

“In Yeovil, 7.9% of working-age adults claim PIP, which is higher than the average for the south-west. For my constituents, PIP is not some kind of luxury; it allows them to live their lives, manage their disabilities, go to work and do daily tasks that people without disabilities can do. For example, one constituent to…”

“Constituents of mine in Yeovil have been given unfair fines at car parks run by Parkingeye, Excel Parking and Euro Car Parks due to unclear signs, faulty ticket machines, bad apps and poor road markings. Does my hon. Friend agree it is clear that private parking companies cannot be trusted to regulate themselves?”

“The 700,000 new urgent dental appointments cover only a third of the need for urgent care, and are being funded by simply recycling underspends in an already stretched budget. Does my hon. Friend agree that what we actually need in Somerset is new money to invest in NHS dentistry, as promised at the election?”

“Constituents of mine with disabilities have had accidents at railway stations in Yeovil because of the lack of support staff and inaccessible systems for booking assistance. Does my hon. Friend agree that Great Western Railway and other operators must be made to ensure that there is proper support staff at stations suc…”

“One of the key messages from farmers at the that forum that I held in my constituency was that they have lost trust in this Government and in investing in sustainable farming. Does the Minister recognise that ending SFI with no warning has only worsened the loss of trust? What plans do the Government have to restore Ye…”

“Farmers in my constituency have told me that the Government’s changes to agricultural property relief have damaged their mental health, and some of my constituents have taken their own life. Does my hon. Friend agree that, rather than worsening the mental health crisis in farming, the Government should address it by sc…”