Written questions by Dance.

What steps she is taking to help support people to purchase affordable electric charging points for existing homes in Yeovil constituency.

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.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of prescribing medical cannabis as a treatment for the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of mandating digital prescribing for medical cannabis.

Cannabis-based products for medicinal use are Schedule 2 controlled drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. Electronic prescribing of Schedule 2 and 3 Controlled Drugs in NHS primary care settings has been operational since 2019.It is mandatory for electronic prescriptions for controlled drugs in Schedules 2 and 3 to be sent using an advanced electronic signature and sent via the NHS Electronic Prescribing Service as part of enhanced security measures.There are no current plans to make legislative changes to enable similar systems in private healthcare to prescribe Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Ten Year Health Plan on community hospital bed provision in Yeovil constituency.

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.

With reference to the 10 Year Health Plan for England, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of neighbourhood health centres on the provision of community hospital services in Yeovil constituency.

On 3 July 2025, the Government announced the 10-Year Health Plan and set out its vision for a Neighbourhood Health Service to bring care into local communities, transform access to health services, and prevent unnecessary hospital admissions.Neighbourhood Health Centres will play a key role in realising this vision and transforming healthcare access by bringing historically hospital-based services into communities and addressing wider determinants of health in communities across the country, including in places like Yeovil.On 21 July 2025, I wrote to Members of Parliament highlighting that the Department and NHS England have written to integrated care boards (ICBs) and local authorities to invite applications from local places to participate in the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme.

Pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2025 to Question 62375 on Buses: Safety Belts, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of 3-point seat belts on passenger safety.

The Road Safety Observatory, supported by the Department for Transport, summarises and reviews research on road safety, including seat belts. It identified research indicating that 3-point seat belts in vehicles can reduce the serious injury rate by 60% compared to being unrestrained. There is no specific assessment for buses. The Road Safety Observatory synthesis on seat belts is available from the RoSPA website and can be found at the following link:- https://www.rospa.com/siteassets/images/road-safety/road-safety-projects/road-safety-observatory/vehicles-seatbelts.pdf.

Whether residents in Yeovil constituency will be consulted on changes to the provision of education, health and care plans.

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.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the family of Michael Frison who went missing in Sardinia on 13 July 2024.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been providing consular support to Michael Frison's family since his disappearance in Italy in July 2024. Officials have remained in contact with the Italian authorities to seek updates on the investigation. Our thoughts remain with the family at this difficult time.

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.

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.

How much funding his Department plans to provide for NHS dentistry in each of the next three financial years.

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:YearProportion of NHS budget2023/242.17%2024/252.12%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.

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.

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:YearProportion of NHS budget2023/242.17%2024/252.12%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.

Whether she plans to reduce provision of support for children with SEND in Yeovil constituency in the next four years.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

What discussions he has had with NICE on the impact of their severity modifier on people with secondary breast cancer in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) the UK.

The Department has regular discussions with colleagues in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), including on the impact of the severity modifier on people with secondary breast cancer.NICE carried out a review of the implementation of the severity modifier in September 2024 and found that it is operating as intended. This showed that the proportion of positive cancer recommendations is higher, at 84.8%, than with the end-of-life modifier it replaced, at 75%, and the proportion of positive recommendations for advanced cancer treatments is also higher, at 81.1% compared to 69%.Since the introduction of the severity modifier, NICE has recommended all but one of the treatments for breast cancer that it has assessed. These treatments are now available to eligible National Health Service patients.NICE has commissioned research to gather further evidence on societal preferences that will inform future method reviews.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that every student leaves school with CPR training in Yeovil constituency.

All state-funded schools, including those in Yeovil, are required to teach first aid as part of the statutory health education curriculum, as part of relationships, sex and health education (RSHE). This includes dealing with common injuries, calling the emergency services and administering CPR, including developing an understanding of the purpose of defibrillators.The department is currently reviewing the RSHE curriculum, including establishing whether any additional content is needed.

If he will implement the recommendations in Breast Cancer Now’s Setting the bar too high report in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) the country.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations on whether new medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service based on an assessment of their costs and benefits. NICE has processes in place to review its methods to ensure that they keep pace with best practice and are suitable for the evaluation of emerging new medicines.NICE concluded a comprehensive review of the methods and processes it uses for health technology evaluations in January 2022, and introduced a number of changes that make its methods fairer, faster, and more consistent.NICE’s board considered a review of the severity modifier at its public meeting on 25 September 2024, in light of its implementation to date, and concluded that it is operating as intended, so no change to the modifier is needed at the time.NICE has no immediate plans to make further changes to its methods in response to the Breast Cancer Now report’s recommendations, but is monitoring the impact of the changes made following the methods review, and has committed to considering modular updates to its methods and processes in the future. NICE has also commissioned research to gather further evidence on societal preferences that will inform future methods reviews.

What steps she is taking to improve the (a) identification and (b) support for neurodivergent girls at school.

This government’s ambition is that all children with special educational needs receive the right support to succeed in their education.We have established a neurodivergence task and finish group, chaired by Professor Karen Guldberg from Birmingham University, to provide an expert view and make recommendations on how to best meet the needs of neurodivergent children and young people within mainstream education settings. Additionally, the Expert Advisory Group (EAG) for inclusion, led by Tom Rees, is providing sector-led advice on inclusive education practice.The department introduced the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme in 2024. The programme deploys health and education specialists to build teacher and staff capacity to identify and better meet the needs of neurodivergent children in mainstream primary schools and was delivered in over 1650 (around 10%) of all mainstream primary schools in its first year.Building on this success, the programme has been extended for the 2025/26 financial year to a further cohort of around 1200 additional mainstream primary schools.The programme is being evaluated, and learning from delivery of PINS approach is informing policy development around how schools support neurodivergent children.

What steps he is taking to support research into how neurodiverse conditions manifest in women.

The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR is funding a number of research projects on neurodiverse conditions including research into a new psychometric tool assessing the presentation of autism in women.The NIHR continues to welcome funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and social care, including neurodiverse conditions. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. Welcoming applications on neurodiverse conditions to all NIHR programmes enables maximum flexibility, both in terms of the amount of research funding a particular area can be awarded, and the type of research which can be funded.

What assessment he has made of the gender gap in neurodiversity diagnosis in (a) Yeovil constituency, (b) Somerset and (c) England.

We recognise that diagnosis rates of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are lower in women and girls and lower than the best evidence on prevalence. This may reflect differences in how autism and ADHD present in males and females, which may make these conditions more difficult to identify in women and girls.Some information on autism and ADHD diagnosis rates by gender can be taken from the Health and Care of People with Learning Disabilities, Experimental Statistics 2023 to 2024, published by NHS England, and based on 54.7% of registered patients. This data shows that 0.82% of females have an autism diagnosis recorded on their general practice (GP) record, whereas for males it is 1.84%. For ADHD, 0.9% of women had an ADHD diagnosis on their GP record, compared to 1.6% of men.National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on autism and ADHD set out considerations for clinicians when assessing for autism or ADHD, including highlighting that autism and ADHD may be under-recognised in women and girls.