The Department does not collect information about the number of unpaid carers, including those living in West Dorset.

The government understands that digital connectivity is more important than ever in light of Covid-19 and the need to work from home. Superfast broadband (speeds greater than 30 Mbps) is now available to 97% of UK homes and businesses, up from 50% in 2010 as a result of the government’s £2 billion Superfast Broadband Programme. This means the vast majority of premises already have access to speeds far in excess of those required for home-working.

In order to ensure all remaining premises are able to access the connectivity they need, the government has launched the broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) in order to give every premises the legal right to request a decent, affordable broadband connection, providing download speeds of at least 10Mbps and upload speeds of 1Mbps. Ofcom has stated that a 10Mbps connection will allow multiple users to simultaneously use the internet, including web browsing, video streaming, video calling and gaming, and should be sufficient for home working requirements. According to Ofcom’s latest figures, just 0.4% premises in the UK are still without access to a decent broadband connection when taking into account both fixed and fixed wireless access.

The government is also committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible to make sure UK citizens have access to the connectivity they will require in future. Since the initial lockdown began in March 2020, UK Gigabit coverage has risen from 18% to 65% today. By 2025, the Government’s goal is for at least 85% premises to have access to gigabit-capable networks and we are investing £5 billion to ensure hard-to-reach areas are not left behind in the digital revolution.

DCMS continues to work alongside Ofcom to encourage Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to go further to support low-income families. Following our discussions with the telecoms sector, affordable social tariffs are now available from BT, Virgin Media, Hyperoptic, Community Fibre and KCOM for £15 per month to those on Universal Credit as well as other means-tested benefits. These ISPs operate in 99% of the UK. We continue to encourage all operators to introduce affordable tariffs.

In terms of mobile coverage, 99% of premises in the UK have indoor 4G coverage from at least one mobile network operator (MNO), with 81% of premises covered by all four operators.

To ensure all corners of the country are connected, the government’s £1 billion deal with the MNOs to deliver the Shared Rural Network, will see operators collectively increase mobile phone coverage throughout the UK to 95% of the UK landmass by the end of the programme, underpinned by legally binding coverage commitments. The programme will also provide guaranteed extra coverage to 280,000 premises, with further indirect improvements over time, including better indoor coverage in around 1.2m business premises and homes.

When determining whether a premises is eligible for the broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO), Ofcom takes into account data from Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) on the provision of a fixed wireless service over their networks. Broader mobile coverage is not taken into account.

As part of Ofcom’s Connected Nations report MNOs are formally asked to provide a list of the premises where they are able to offer a service that meets the broadband USO specification, excluding any premises where they do not have sufficient capacity to serve Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) users. Ofcom’s analysis is based on this list of premises. MNOs are required to provide data that is as accurate as possible, but individual circumstances may mean actual availability is unable to match the prediction.

Ofcom does not include Vodafone and O2 in this analysis. Vodafone has not provided an estimate of premise level coverage which factors in the capacity available for FWA users, and O2 currently does not offer a fixed wireless service.

In terms of accuracy of this data, Ofcom tested whether fixed wireless could deliver decent broadband. It measured and published FWA performance service on the EE 4G network as part of its USO work programme (Annex 1 Page 84).

Where a premises is indicated to have an available fixed wireless service that meets the USO specification but this turns out not to be the case, the customer is eligible to apply for the broadband USO.

The government does not think the extensive deployment of 5G infrastructure will result in fixed broadband becoming redundant.

As set out in 2017’s Future Technology Infrastructure Review, the government wants to ensure the UK has access to world-class digital connectivity in order to meet the growing demands of the consumers of the future. Both 5G and gigabit-capable fixed broadband infrastructure is essential to ensuring this, and that is why we have committed to delivering nationwide gigabit connectivity as soon as possible, with at least 85% connectivity by 2025.

Our ambition is for the majority of the population to have access to a 5G signal by 2027, and we also want to ensure that UK businesses reap the full benefits of 5G. All four mobile network operators have launched their 5G networks and our internal analysis suggests that 5G services are available in more than 385 locations across the UK.

Through the Wireless Infrastructure Strategy we want to set out the development, deployment and adoption of 5G and future wireless networks in the UK. The government recognises the importance of ensuring that our wireless connectivity ambitions are technology neutral, and will complement other technologies including fixed broadband infrastructure.

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) carry out local area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspections. Inspectors will look for evidence of how children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (or both) are identified and how their needs are assessed and met. They also look for evidence of how they are supported to move on to their next stage of education, the world of work and wider preparations for adulthood.

Dorset, which includes the district of West Dorset, had a local area SEND inspection in January 2017 and were required to produce a Written Statement of Action to improve in four areas of significant weakness. They were revisited by Ofsted and the CQC in February 2019 and were found to have improved in two of the four areas. An Accelerated Progress Plan to address the two areas that had not made sufficient progress was then put in place, with the department and NHS England providing challenge and support to make the required improvements. By January 2021, the department and NHS England judged that Dorset had made sufficient progress in both areas.

The department is currently working with Ofsted and the CQC on an amended SEND inspection framework. Dorset’s SEND services will be inspected again as part of this.

The Health and Care Bill proposes to put integrated care systems on a statutory footing. This represents a significant opportunity to improve the local planning and provision of services to better meet the needs of babies, children, young people and families, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Statutory functions regarding children and young people with SEND would transfer from clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to integrated care boards (ICBs) from April 2022. This would include a responsibility for the ICB to agree joint commissioning arrangements for the provision of education, health and social care required by children and young people with SEND. We are working with the Department for Education and NHS England and NHS Improvement on bespoke guidance for ICBs to clearly set out the statutory functions that will transfer from CCGs to ICBs on SEND.

Ofcom is responsible for measuring 4G coverage through its Connected Nations reports and reports at a local authority level.

Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2021 Annual Report, published on 16th December 2021, shows that 81.3% of the Dorset Unitary Authority area had good quality 4G geographic coverage from all four mobile network operators (MNOs), with 99% from at least one operator. This compares to 4G geographic coverage in London Boroughs ranging from 94.3% to 100% from all four operators.

Ofcom is responsible for measuring 4G coverage through its Connected Nations reports and reports at a local authority level.

Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2021 Annual Report, published on 16th December 2021, shows that 81.3% of the Dorset Unitary Authority area had good quality 4G geographic coverage from all four mobile network operators (MNOs), with 99% from at least one operator. This compares to 4G geographic coverage in London Boroughs ranging from 94.3% to 100% from all four operators.

My Department has not made a comparative assessment of the disparity of earnings between areas with fast and reliable mobile connectivity and areas with slow and unreliable mobile connectivity. In Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2021 report published on 16 December 2021, 92% of the UK landmass is covered by a good 4G signal from at least one operator with 69% of the country covered by all four operators.

Rural coverage continues to improve but remains less extensive than in urban areas; 91% of the UK’s rural landmass has 4G coverage from at least one mobile network operator, compared to almost 100% of the urban landmass.

The Government has a commitment to extend mobile 4G coverage to 95% of the UK landmass through the Shared Rural Network programme. There are a number of significant benefits that widespread mobile coverage will enable, including positive impacts on GDP, employment and productivity, alongside facilitating access to online public services, and wider wellbeing benefits, that will allow rural communities and businesses to thrive.

The Government is committed to providing necessary digital infrastructure across the UK to ensure that people and businesses have the connectivity they need, and in the years ahead.

Operators are required to minimise the visual impact of network infrastructure, particularly in more sensitive locations such as National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Planning law also allows for local planning authorities to assess the visual impact of certain infrastructure, such as new masts, and decide whether it is appropriate for the proposed location.

The Government also supports the view that operators should use existing structures and buildings for hosting infrastructure, and share sites where possible, to reduce the environmental impact of installation.

The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement monitor the booster vaccine programme to ensure its effectiveness, including the Primary Care Networks (PCNs) delivering vaccinations in Dorset. There is a high demand for booster doses, with all 18 PCNs in Dorset delivering the service across 31 vaccinations sites. Additional provisions are also in place for those who are housebound, elderly, or in care, to ensure they can receive their booster dose.

Accession could see 99.9% of British exports being eligible for tariff-free trade with members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP/TPP-11). £1.8bn worth of goods were exported to CPTPP countries by over 1,300 businesses in the South West of England last year.

HM Government published a scoping assessment in June 2021 that showed accession could result in a gross value added benefit to the South West of England of £106m, and increase real wages across the United Kingdom by £800m in the long run, compared to 2019 levels.

HM Government will always consider the opportunities and other impacts on the agricultural industry of any trade agreement we negotiate. In addition, the independent Trade and Agriculture Commission will scrutinise new free trade agreements once they are signed, providing an additional layer of independent scrutiny.

Our trade agreements unlock new opportunities for our agriculture, food and drink sector and we will continue to work with producers and suppliers to make sure the sector is represented in future free trade agreements.

The UK is a nation that trades seafood internationally. The majority of UK fleet landings are exported, whilst most of the fish we consume is imported.

Through direct engagement with industry and by working in partnership with Seafish and other organisations, Defra works closely with seafood businesses to inform our negotiating positions in Free Trade Agreement negotiations.

Defra will always champion UK seafood producers. In line with the government’s manifesto commitment to build markets for British produce at home and abroad, we are committed to increasing domestic consumption of locally sourced seafood and expanding opportunities for the UK seafood sector overseas.

We have secured trade agreements with 70 countries, plus the EU, covering trade worth £766 billion last year, delivering benefits for communities across the country.

An impact assessment is published when the text of a new free trade agreement is laid in Parliament, which presents the economic benefits of the deal. For example, compared to the United Kingdom not having an agreement with Japan, output in the South West of England is expected to be £90 million higher in the long run (in 2017 terms).

Data on the number of people receiving state support for their social care costs are collected at a local authority level by NHS Digital. At the end of 2020/21, there were 3,900 people in receipt of local authority supported long-term care in Dorset. Though an end of year figure for short-term care is not available, there were 1,855 people in receipt of local authority supported short-term care in Dorset during 2020/21.

The information requested is not available for West Dorset, as data is collected at local authority level.

Any educational institution which provides full-time provision to five or more pupils of compulsory school age (or one or more pupils of compulsory school age who is ‘looked after’ or has an education, health and care plan) is required to register with the Secretary of State for Education as a school. It is a criminal offence under Section 96 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 to conduct an independent educational institution unless it is registered.

The department has not made any estimate of the number of pupils in unregistered schools. Those conducting an unregistered school are committing a criminal offence and they do not generally inform the department about the school’s operation. It is not therefore possible to accurately estimate the number of children attending an unregistered school.

The department and Ofsted continue to investigate any institutions where intelligence or evidence suggest the operation of an unregistered school. Section 97 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 permits no-notice inspections of institutions believed to be operating in breach of the registration requirement.

Between 1 January 2016 and 31 August 2021, 119 settings subject to a Section 97 inspection were identified as operating as an unregistered independent school. Joint work between the department and Ofsted has led to 101 of these settings changing their provision to operate lawfully, and no longer in breach of the 2008 Act. In that time, five successful prosecutions have been brought against those responsible for conducting illegal settings.

The department consulted in 2020 on extending the registration requirement to education institutions that operate full time but only offer a very narrow curriculum, which are currently allowed to operate without registration. The department will respond to this consultation soon, setting out next steps. The department has also committed to taking forward measures to make it easier to investigate and prosecute unregistered schools, including in the 2019 Integrated Communities Action Plan. The department intends to take forward such measures when a suitable legislative opportunity arises.

As set out in DSIS there will be significant opportunities for UK Defence Manufacturers in meeting the requirements for enhanced Army Capabilities. Further information will be available on the publication of the Equipment Plan and Land Industrial Strategy.

The Farming Investment Fund is not geographically targeted. I would encourage farmers, growers, foresters and contractors in all areas, including those in West Dorset, to consider what equipment, technology and infrastructure would most improve their business and to take this opportunity to invest to help their businesses to prosper.

Department officials are challenging South Western Railway (SWR) over the performance of the West of England Line where performance has fallen below the standards required recently. The South Western Railway National Rail Contract contains provisions to incentivise the operator to ensure services are run to the agreed timetable and where this is not the case, actions be taken to rectify any causation factors.