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To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many and what proportion of households in Somerton and Frome constituency did not have access to fibre optic broadband on 1 May 2023.
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many and what proportion of households in Somerton and Frome constituency did not have access to fibre optic broadband on 1 May 2023.
Currently, over 89% of premises in the Somerton and Frome constituency can access a superfast broadband connection. Over 51% have access to a gigabit-capable connection and 38% have fibre to the premises.
The Government is committed to working with broadband suppliers to ensure 85% of UK premises can access gigabit-capable broadband by 2025, and then for nationwide coverage by 2030. We are on track to achieve our target.
As part of Project Gigabit, the Government’s £5 billion mission to deliver lightning-fast, reliable broadband across the UK, we have begun launching procurements that give subsidies to broadband suppliers to build gigabit-capable infrastructure to premises that will not be reached by suppliers’ commercial plans alone. In the coming months, we plan to launch a procurement that will improve broadband connectivity for premises in Somerton and Frome.
Constituents in Somerton and Frome have also made excellent use of the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme which provides a subsidy of up to £4,500 for residents and businesses towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband. More than 960 premises in Somerton and Frome have received a fast, reliable connection through the voucher scheme, worth over £1.5 million.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce sewage discharges in Somerton and Frome constituency.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce sewage discharges in Somerton and Frome constituency.
Last year, Government published the Storm Overflows Discharge Reduction Plan, requiring water companies to deliver their largest ever infrastructure investment - £56 billion capital investment over 25 years.
In February 2023, I asked water and sewerage companies to set an action plan on every storm overflow in England. I have also announced water companies will face higher penalties that are quicker and easier to enforce.
In Frome and Somerton, the Environment Agency (EA) are scrutinising Wessex Water’s performance and asset management on a number of fronts, including:
- Working with Wessex Water to implement event duration monitoring to understand how often and for how long storm sewage overflows occur. This enables them to address their network performance and reduce spills.
- Continuing to take tough action where water companies cause sewage pollution of our watercourses by incidents, whether through failing assets or poor maintenance. The EA have a number of enforcement cases against Wessex Water pending.
The EA also regulate private discharges from small-scale sewage treatment works in this rural catchment. They have a monitoring programme, and failures in discharge quality are subject to robust follow-up and, if appropriate, formal action to ensure improvements are made.
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department has taken to support rough sleepers in Somerton and Frome constituency during the winter 2022-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department has taken to support rough sleepers in Somerton and Frome constituency during the winter 2022-23.
This Government remains committed to ending rough sleeping and tackling homelessness. In September 2022, we published a bold, new strategy, Ending Rough Sleeping for Good , which is available here. The strategy sets out cross government action and how we are investing £2 billion over three years to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.
This includes allocating up to £500 million over three years to 303 local authorities across England through the Rough Sleeping Initiative 2022-25. In the financial year 2022/23 Mendip was allocated £398,230 from the Rough Sleeping Initiative. This funding is giving local authorities the resources to offer accommodation, support, and a route off the streets for people sleeping rough in Somerton and Frome.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the NHS dentistry provision in Somerton and Frome constituency.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the NHS dentistry provision in Somerton and Frome constituency.
No specific assessment has been made. However, NHS England asked dental practices to return to full delivery of contracted activity from July 2022 including in Somerton and Frome constituency. In September, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlines how we will meet National Health Service (NHS) dental needs and increase access to dental services, including in Somerton and Frome constituency.
The plan includes improvements to ensure dentists are renumerated fairly for more complex work, allowing greater flexibility to reallocate resources and to utilise dentists with greater capacity to deliver National Health Service treatment, whilst enabling full use of the dental team. The plan also includes streamlining processes for overseas dentists and holding the local NHS to account for dentistry provision. In addition, Health Education England is also reforming dental education to improve the recruitment and retention of dental professionals.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help improve access for young people to mental health services in Somerton and Frome constituency.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help improve access for young people to mental health services in Somerton and Frome constituency.
In September we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlines how we will increase access to National Health Service mental health services, including in Somerton and Frome. Through the NHS Long Term Plan, we are investing an additional £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24 to expand NHS mental health for adults, children and young people in England, including in Somerton and Frome.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that access to NHS dental care is easily accessible across Somerton and Frome.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that access to NHS dental care is easily accessible across Somerton and Frome.
National Health Service dental practices, including those in Somerton and Frome, have been asked to meet as many prioritised needs as possible, focusing on urgent care and care for vulnerable groups, including children, followed by overdue appointments. We have made an additional £50 million available for the remainder of the 2021/22 financial year to allow more patients to obtain access to NHS dental care. Patients in Somerton and Frome can contact the Somerset Dental Helpline for access to urgent dental care appointments.
The Department and NHS England are developing proposals for dental system reform, working stakeholders such as the British Dental Association. The reforms include proposals to improve patient access, reduce health inequalities and make the NHS a more attractive place to work for dentists.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he plans to take to help ensure that the businesses in Somerton and Frome constituency that have benefited from the construction of Hinkley Point C will have a future pipeline of contracts to move on to...
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he plans to take to help ensure that the businesses in Somerton and Frome constituency that have benefited from the construction of Hinkley Point C will have a future pipeline of contracts to move on to...
The Government has been clear that it wants more new nuclear power. Our Net Zero Strategy confirms plans for at least one large-scale nuclear project brought to the point of Final Investment Decision by the end of this Parliament, subject to clear value for money and all relevant approvals. Any large-scale nuclear new build project would be expected to offer similar opportunities for the supply chain as at Hinkley Point C.
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to accelerate the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband across Somerton and Frome.
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to accelerate the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband across Somerton and Frome.
We are backing Project Gigabit with £5 billion so hard to reach communities are not left out. The constituency of Somerton and Frome falls within Phase 3 (Lot 6) of Project Gigabit. Somerton and Frome’s designation as a ‘Future Phase’ reflects the extensive gigabit delivery now contracted to take place across Devon and Somerset, including the extensive additional delivery now confirmed by Openreach following their announcement of their target to reach 25 million premises by 2026.
The last of Project Gigabit’s Phase 2 procurements start in late 2022 and we expect Phase 3 procurements to follow directly, with all areas under contract as soon as possible. Due to the dynamic nature of the UK telecoms market we will regularly review and respond to opportunities for future procurement wherever possible.
The Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) programme is delivering new gigabit-capable connections in Somerton and Frome via contracts with Wessex Internet and Truespeed which were awarded in December 2020.
Somerton and Frome is covered by Wessex Internet’s full fibre network for North and South Barrow, Babcary, Woolston, Queen Camel and Marston Magna. This particular project is nearing completion, with Wessex Internet being ready to connect customers in these areas from October 2021.
If it becomes clear that any premises will miss out from the UK’s broadband upgrade, Project Gigabit will make sure that they are included in its plans.
To accelerate delivery, premises in rural areas may also be in line for funding through the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, with up to £210m allocated to the scheme over the next four years to support hard to reach communities. The voucher scheme offers up to £1,500 for homes and £3,500 for businesses to help to cover the costs of installing gigabit broadband to people’s doorsteps when used as part of a group scheme. Home and business owners can check the eligibility of their address and then look up suppliers in their area by going to https://gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk/.
Somerton and Frome has made good use of the scheme so far, seeing 698 voucher connections worth £1.1m, with a further 699 vouchers to be connected, totalling over £2.3m.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to meet demand for school places in Somerton and Frome constituency.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to meet demand for school places in Somerton and Frome constituency.
Supporting local authorities to ensure sufficient school places continues to be one of the Government’s top priorities. That is why we have committed to spending £7 billion on school places up to 2021, which, along with our investment in the free schools programme, we expect to deliver 600,000 new places. Somerset received £14.6 million of basic need funding between 2011 and 2015, which helped to create almost 3,000 new places between 2010 and 2015. It has also been allocated a further £24.5 million to create the places needed by 2019.
My Lords, I have no idea whether the Member voted for it or did not vote at all. It is irrelevant and perhaps I should not have mentioned it. However, not one Conservative supported the amendment; that is my point.
My Lords, I have no idea whether the Member voted for it or did not vote at all. It is irrelevant and perhaps I should not have mentioned it. However, not one Conservative supported the amendment; that is my point.
My Lords, in moving the approval Motion, I should like to say a few brief words in anticipation of the noble Lord, Lord Tyler, moving his amendment. We fully debated the draft order in Grand Committee on Wednesday 4 March, the proceedings of which are reported in Hansard. I am...
My Lords, in moving the approval Motion, I should like to say a few brief words in anticipation of the noble Lord, Lord Tyler, moving his amendment. We fully debated the draft order in Grand Committee on Wednesday 4 March, the proceedings of which are reported in Hansard. I am...
That the draft order laid before the House on 29 January be approved. Relevant Document: 6th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments, considered in Grand Committee on 4 March.
That the draft order laid before the House on 29 January be approved. Relevant Document: 6th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments, considered in Grand Committee on 4 March.
My Lords, I want briefly to intervene, having listened to the contribution of the noble Lord, Lord Tyler. For once in my nine or 10 years in this House, I want to say something almost party political, because his contribution today has veered into that area. I was always under...
My Lords, I want briefly to intervene, having listened to the contribution of the noble Lord, Lord Tyler. For once in my nine or 10 years in this House, I want to say something almost party political, because his contribution today has veered into that area. I was always under...
My Lords, before expressing a view on this amendment, perhaps I may take the opportunity to set out the legislative background to the order. Section 2(1) of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 established, among other things, the Boundary Commission for England. Under Section 3(3) of the Act, the commission may...
My Lords, before expressing a view on this amendment, perhaps I may take the opportunity to set out the legislative background to the order. Section 2(1) of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 established, among other things, the Boundary Commission for England. Under Section 3(3) of the Act, the commission may...
My Lords, in moving the amendment I can, as the Minister indicated, be as brief as possible because there has been a full discussion both in your Lordships’ House and in the other place. Three major issues are at stake. First, I want to make it clear to your Lordships...
My Lords, in moving the amendment I can, as the Minister indicated, be as brief as possible because there has been a full discussion both in your Lordships’ House and in the other place. Three major issues are at stake. First, I want to make it clear to your Lordships...
Amendment to the Motion Leave out from "that" to the end and insert "this House declines to approve the draft order laid before the House on 29 January".
Amendment to the Motion Leave out from "that" to the end and insert "this House declines to approve the draft order laid before the House on 29 January".
My Lords, I am grateful particularly to the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, for analysing the situation so carefully, as always. I understand the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours, and I bring this amendment before the House with considerable regret because it is exceptional. I was struck by...
My Lords, I am grateful particularly to the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, for analysing the situation so carefully, as always. I understand the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours, and I bring this amendment before the House with considerable regret because it is exceptional. I was struck by...
My Lords, it is a fatal amendment, so the statutory instrument would die and the Boundary Commission’s original parliamentary recommendations would stand, at least for the moment.
My Lords, it is a fatal amendment, so the statutory instrument would die and the Boundary Commission’s original parliamentary recommendations would stand, at least for the moment.
My Lords, what would be the effect of the amendment to the Motion being agreed?
My Lords, what would be the effect of the amendment to the Motion being agreed?
My Lords, I thank those noble Lords who have spoken in this short debate, particularly the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, who made some excellent points. I will take back the issues that he raised and look at them for the future, as he asked, but I can deal with one...
My Lords, I thank those noble Lords who have spoken in this short debate, particularly the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, who made some excellent points. I will take back the issues that he raised and look at them for the future, as he asked, but I can deal with one...