The situation in North Devon in recent weeks has been unacceptable. As the Prime Minister told the House on 2 September, we expect the situation in North Devon to be resolved in the coming weeks.

The local National Health Service trust has set out a provisional timeline for reopening birthing services which is available at the following link:

https://www.royaldevon.nhs.uk/maternity-and-obstetrics/nddh-birth-services-temporary-changes/

The situation in North Devon in recent weeks has been unacceptable. As the Prime Minister told the House on 2 September, we expect the situation in North Devon to be resolved in the coming weeks.

The local National Health Service trust has set out a provisional timeline for reopening birthing services which is available at the following link:

https://www.royaldevon.nhs.uk/maternity-and-obstetrics/nddh-birth-services-temporary-changes/

The situation in North Devon in recent weeks has been unacceptable. As the Prime Minister told the House on 2 September, we expect the situation in North Devon to be resolved in the coming weeks.

The local National Health Service trust has set out a provisional timeline for reopening birthing services which is available at the following link:

https://www.royaldevon.nhs.uk/maternity-and-obstetrics/nddh-birth-services-temporary-changes/

The United Kingdom’s position on the Falkland Islands is long‑standing - sovereignty rests with the UK, and the Islanders’ right of self‑determination is paramount.

As the Strategic Defence Review set out, a core role for Defence is the protection of the UK’s overseas territories, which includes maintaining a defensive military posture in the Falkland Islands consisting of air, land and maritime forces.

We review that posture regularly to ensure it reflects all relevant developments. I am confident that our current military presence is at the appropriate level to ensure the defence of the Islands.

DCMS recognises the vital contribution that tourism and self-catering businesses make to the UK economy, particularly in rural and coastal constituencies such as Torridge.

DCMS regularly engages with representatives from across the tourism sector, including those operating in rural and coastal areas, to understand their specific priorities and to support the continued growth of the visitor economy. A few weeks ago I was pleased to participate in a roundtable at Crealy’s Theme Park with representatives from the visitor economy in Devon, hosted by the Devon Association of Tourist Attractions, where we discussed how the government can work with the industry to grow the sector.

DCMS also works closely with VisitBritain, VisitEngland, and Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs), including the Devon LVEP, to ensure that the unique challenges and opportunities of coastal and rural tourism are reflected in national policy. We remain committed to working in partnership with the industry to promote the UK’s diverse tourism offering and to ensure that areas like Devon continue to thrive as world-class destinations.

DCMS recognises the vital contribution that rural and coastal self-catering and tourism businesses make to the economy of Devon.

On business rates, the Government has introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion, to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills following the revaluation. As a result, over half of ratepayers will see no bill increases, including 23% seeing their bills go down next year.

The Government has also protected the smallest businesses  from the impact of the increase to employer National Insurance by more than doubling the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. That means more than half of businesses with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change in 2025/26.

We are also continuing to develop policies to bring down electricity costs relative to gas for the non-domestic sector and intend to consult on options to reduce costs and make low carbon heat the economically rational choice for a wider range of businesses.

DCMS and VisitBritain are actively working to boost visitor numbers and extend the tourism season for coastal and rural operators. The ‘Starring GREAT Britain’ campaign uses the UK’s film and television heritage to drive international visitors into rural destinations, increasing the profile of areas where many self-catering businesses are located.

The forthcoming Visitor Economy Growth Strategy will cement these measures, providing a long term plan to increase visitor flows, maximise sector value, and deliver sustainable growth for our coastal and rural communities.

Following the closure of the 2025 Environmental Land Management Capital Grant, Catchment Sensitive Farming have worked with farmers and land managers to prepare for the 2026 Capital Grants round. Catchment Sensitive Farming advice is very popular and there is the need to prioritise advice and support visits for those who have already requested one. This means Catchment Sensitive Farming are now focusing efforts on those who have already requested a visit to support 24 items in the 2026 Capital Grant offer. Once the offer opens in July Catchment Sensitive Farming will start accepting new requests for advisory visits.

Catchment Sensitive Farming acts as an advisory and endorsement route for relevant Farming Grants and includes Capital Grants and Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier where applications have included specific items.

In the 2025 scheme year, the Rural Payments Agency received 271 Capital Grant and Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier applications from farm businesses in Devon and Cornwall that required and had received Catchment Sensitive Farming support from Natural England. Of these, there are three applications that have not been offered an agreement as yet.

It is important that people have access to the services they need, and, especially for vulnerable and terminally ill patients, for them to be located in the community, where possible.

Community diagnostic centres (CDCs), such as the Devon and Torbay CDC in Torquay, and the Exeter Nightingale CDC, are supporting one of the Government’s top priorities for health, to shift care from the hospital to the community. CDCs offer local populations a wide range of diagnostic tests, including phlebotomy, closer to home, and greater choice on where and how they are undertaken, whilst also reducing pressure on hospitals.

The 2025 Spending Review confirmed over £6 billion of additional capital investment over five years across new diagnostic, elective, and urgent care capacity. This money is allocated to systems for them to invest as locally determined.

Investment in diagnostic services, including phlebotomy, is delivered through CDCs and local commissioning arrangements. It is up to local systems to determine how investment supports clinic-based services and domiciliary provision.

In Devon, the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (RDUH) operates community phlebotomy services across the county, including in rural areas. The service provides planned weekday blood tests across local community hospitals, such as Holsworthy Community Hospital and Torrington Hospital. RDUH provides a "Community Collect" service, while home visits for housebound patients can be arranged. Some general practices in Devon are also providing blood tests for patients, as required for a hospital purpose. Further information on the RDUH is available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/services/acute-trust/royal-devon-university-healthcare-nhs-foundation-trust/RH8

Multi-year allocations of the Local Authority Bus Grant allocations were published on GOV.UK on 5 December 2025.

The Government is committed to supporting our Protected Landscapes, including Dartmoor, recognising their vital importance to national priorities.

The Secretary of State will continue to engage with a wide range of partners and stakeholders on Dartmoor as part of this work.

The Dartmoor Land Use Management Group has been established to provide a collaborative and co-ordinated approach to land management on Dartmoor. Its purpose is to bring together farmers, conservation bodies, public agencies, and other stakeholders to help rebuild trust and improve working relationships.

The Secretary of State recently announced a new partnership between Dartmoor, Defra and social entrepreneur Dr Hilary Cottam OBE, working to transform the way uplands land can support food production and create new income opportunities, alongside wider public benefits.

I would be happy to attend the Dartmoor Forum this spring subject to confirmation of the date.

We are aware of the challenges faced in accessing a National Health Service dentist across the country, and we are taking steps to address this, including by increasing the availability of urgent dental care and reforming the dental contract.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population is delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. There are a number of forums for engagement, and NHS England regions lead on engagement with ICBs. For Torridge, this is NHS England South West.

We have asked ICBs to commission extra urgent, non-emergency, dental appointments to make sure that patients can get the treatment they require. ICBs have been making extra urgent dental appointments available since April 2025. NHS Devon ICB, which includes the Torridge and Tavistock constituency, has been asked to deliver 24,269 additional urgent dental appointments as part of the scheme.

On 10 December, I met with several Members of Parliament from the South West to discuss their proposal to expand the number of Government-funded places provided to Peninsula Dental School. Tackling the geographical disparities in access to National Health Service dentistry is vital, and I welcome efforts which strive to help deliver this ambition.

As announced in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will make it a requirement for newly qualified dentists to practice in the NHS for a minimum period. We intend this minimum period to be at least three years. That will mean more NHS dentists, more NHS appointments, and better oral health.

Integrated care boards are continuing to recruit dentists through the Golden Hello scheme. The scheme offers a £20,000 recruitment incentive payment to dentists to work in those areas that need them most. The scheme remains a national priority.

The Secretary of State and I have regular discussions with Sport England, on a range of topics including the promotion and development of the sporting offer across England. Whilst we haven’t discussed these sports specifically, DCMS officials have discussed the promotion and development padel and pickleball with Sport England.

It is positive to see the growth of many emerging sports such as padel and pickleball.

Government fully recognises the importance of hospitality businesses in rural communities, that’s why we’re providing support through a range of measures to ease pressures.

We continue to monitor key agricultural commodities and work with the hospitality sector, supported by the UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group, which tracks prices, supply, inputs, trade, and recent developments.  The Zero Carbon Services Hospitality trial offers free energy and carbon-reduction advice. We will introduce permanently lower business rates for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000. The Employment Allowance has been increased to £10,500, meaning 865,000 employers will pay no National Insurance Contributions enabling businesses to employ up to four full-time staff on the National Living Wage without incurring employer NIC costs. While insurers make commercial decisions based on risk assessments, the Financial Conduct Authority requires firms to offer fair value and monitors compliance, acting where necessary.

The government implemented a new standard method for assessing housing need via the revised National Planning Policy Framework in December 2024. The revised method aligns with our ambition to deliver 1.5 million safe and decent homes this parliament and better directs new homes to where they are most needed and least affordable.

National policy is clear that the standard method should be used by local authorities to inform the preparation of their local plans. Once local housing need has been assessed, authorities should make an assessment of the amount of new homes that can be provided in their area. This should be justified by evidence on land availability and constraints on development, such as National Landscapes, and any other relevant matters.

Planning Practice Guidance makes clear that where strategic policy-making authorities do not align with local authority boundaries, or where the data used in the method is not available, such as in National Parks, an alternative approach may have to be used. In these instances, authorities may continue to identify a housing need figure using a method determined locally.

Local authorities should also make their own assessment of size, type, and tenure of housing needed for different groups in their local communities, including those who require affordable housing, and reflect this in their planning policies. This can draw on locally held data such as the number of homeless households or those in temporary accommodation.

School buildings are integral to high and rising standards and need to be fit for the future. That is why we remain committed to improving the condition of the school estate, and the School Rebuilding Programme (SRP) continues as part of that.

The department wrote to Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust in July 2023, to inform them that Tavistock College has been placed in Group 2 of the SRP. Projects have been prioritised according to the condition of their buildings and other relevant criteria. We anticipate that Tavistock College will commence with planning and feasibility work early in 2026. SRP projects typically take between two and five years to deliver.

Specific start dates will be communicated to the school and responsible body at least a month in advance of project start and, where possible, we will bring projects forward if we are able to do so. The scope of the works will be discussed with the school and responsible body once the project enters delivery.

Ministers meet regularly with MPs of all parties to discuss rail infrastructure projects at surgeries.

The government is not responsible for providing access to post boxes.

Section 29(6) of the Postal Services Act 2011 requires Ofcom, as the independent regulator, to secure the provision of sufficient access points.

Royal Mail is currently required by Ofcom’s Designated Universal Service Provider (DUSP) condition 1.8.1 to provide a post box within half a mile, by straight line distance, of the premises of at least 98% of users of postal services.

I refer the Rt. Hon. member to the answers I gave to Questions 34236 and 34237 on 7 March 2025.

Additionally, as set out in the Plan for Implementation, the New Hospital Programme (NHP) review used a range of data to assess in scope schemes including the North Devon District Hospital scheme. This included assessing each scheme under criteria for mitigated risk, including health deprivation, deliverability and transformation opportunity.

As part of this process, the review also used professional expertise and judgment of clinical, programme, construction and finance colleagues from within the NHP, the Department and NHS England to identify and overlay other factors of concern before the schemes were prioritised.