Peter Heaton-Jones

Superfast broadband coverage is available to over 80% of UK premises and the Government remains committed to providing 95% coverage to homes and businesses by December 2017.

Commercial broadband delivery is expected to cover 13,862 premises in the North Devon constituency. By the end of the Connecting Devon and Somerset project, coverage is expected to have increased to 39,744 premises.

This data is included in the table in the House of Commons Library: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/business-papers/commons/deposited-papers/?house=1&search_term=Department+for+Culture%2c+Media+and+Sport&itemId=122028#toggle-163

More than 2.5 million additional homes and businesses now have access to superfast broadband as a result of the Government’s intervention and 40,000 more are gaining access every week.

On 3 November 2015 the Secretary of State for Education launched a public consultation seeking views on the government’s proposals for the implementation of the English Baccalaureate.[1] The consultation will run until 29 January 2016.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/implementing-the-english-baccalaureate

Business planning and financial allocations have not yet been completed and Natural England is not yet in a position to announce the level of funding for the South West Coast Path national trail for 2018/19.

Natural England wrote to each of the national trail partnerships last December making an interim offer of 50% of the funding made to each of the national trails in 2017/18. The offer was an advance contribution towards the costs the partnerships would incur in 2018/19 in the absence of Natural England being able to confirm its overall funding position for 2018/19.

Department and Council officials have met to discuss the arrangements for taking forward the scheme to improve the North Devon Link Road between South Molton and Bideford which was announced in May. The meeting was constructive and we will continue to work closely with the Council leading up to their submission of a final business case in 2020. The Department has given provisional approval to investing £82.1m towards the £93.1m scheme.

North Devon will continue to be served by search and rescue (SAR) helicopters operating from military bases at RMB Chivenor through to 1 October 2015 and RNAS Culdrose through to 1 January 2016. A new UK SAR helicopter service operating from new bases at Cardiff St Athan and Newquay Airport will take the place of SAR helicopter services currently operated out of RMB Chivenor and RNAS Culdrose. The start of these new services will coincide with the end of the military services at Chivenor and Culdrose, leaving no gap in SAR helicopter cover for south west England and south Wales. New helicopters offer improved operational capabilities and promise enhanced reliability.

My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has many discussions with stakeholders across the health and care sector. I have written to the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) asking it to consider the impact of its proposed fee rise on part-time workers, which was raised by hon. Members at a Westminster Hall Debate held on 14 March 2019. The HCPC responded to this letter on 1 May, explaining the practical difficulties and potential perverse incentives of introducing differential fees for part-time workers.

A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified 79 items of correspondence received since 24 September 2018 about the HCPC’s decision to increase registration fees. This figure represents correspondence received by the Department’s Ministerial correspondence unit only. In addition to this, the Department has received nine Written Parliamentary Questions on this matter, and engaged with hon. Members at a Westminster Hall Debate on the proposed HCPC fee rise on 14 March 2019. The HCPC is independent of Government and funded by registrants’ fees on a cost recovery basis.

The Government believes that local areas are best placed to assess local need and distribute resources accordingly. This year, Devon CCG received over £20m extra funding, as part of our commitment to invest an additional £8bn in the NHS by 2020-21.

Devon STP has developed plans to deliver high-quality healthcare on a sustainable footing. An additional bespoke support package has been developed by NHS England to address local challenges.

Ministers have regular meetings with NHS England and the North, East and West Devon Success Regime to discuss their plans in this area. This work has now been incorporated into the work on the local Sustainability and Transformation Plan.

The Success Regime’s consultation commenced on 7 October regarding community services in East Devon. The consultation sets out options which will ensure there is consistency in the way community services are provided across the county. The aim is to provide the right care first time for people closer to home to avoid being admitted to hospital.

The formal consultation concluded on 6 January 2017 and the next phase of the Success Regime will look at how services are provided in acute hospitals.

The redesign and delivery of frontline health services is a matter for the local National Health Service – clinically led by frontline NHS organisations and clinicians who are closest to the needs of communities and therefore best placed to make decisions in the interests of their patients.

All substantial service reconfiguration proposals must be consulted on, and assured by NHS England taking into account the four reconfiguration tests as mandated by the Government in 2010.

There are 44 Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) covering the whole of England. STPs are being developed within their local area, with support from NHS England. The Department expects individual STPs to take account of challenges specific to their area including a rural population.

Proposals are at a draft stage but we expect all local leaders to be talking to the public and stakeholders regularly – it is vital that people are able to shape the future of their local services.

Consular staff in the US have been providing consular assistance to Marcus Hutchins since his arrest in August 2017, in line with what the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) can offer British nationals overseas which is set out in our public guide ‘Support for British nationals abroad: A guide’. Consular staff will continue to offer support to Mr Hutchins and liaise with US local authorities to gain regular updates on his case. Consular staff have also provided assistance to Mr Hutchins’ mother since his arrest.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protects customers when a financial services firm fails, and is independent from government and industry. It is accountable to both the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority for the effective operation of the scheme.

Her Majesty’s Treasury has conducted no formal assessment of the effect on the customers of Alpha insurance of the decision taken by the FSCS to award return of premium refunds following its insolvency. The rules setting out the operation of the scheme allow for premium refund compensation, where a suitable replacement provider cannot be found to take on the policies of an insolvent firm.

The Home Office has published data on the number of migrants who crossed the Channel between November 2018 and January 2019.This information can be found at the link below:
https://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-committees/home-affairs/Correspondence-17-19/19-03-05-Letter-from-Sir-Philip-Rutnam-KCB-Permanent-Secretary-Home-Office-Migrant-boats-in-the-channel.pdf

The department does not routinely publish breakdowns of asylum claims by method of arrival or type of claim. This information is recorded but not in a format that can easily be retrieved and could only be obtained at disproportionate costs.

The Home Office does publish data on the number of applications for asylum in the UK, in its quarterly Immigration Statistics release, the latest release published 24th May 2019. The number of asylum applications for main applicants by country of nationality, made since January 2019 can be found in table as_01_q for main applicants:
Latest edition available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-year-ending-march-2019/list-of-tables#asylum

Since January, more than 50 people who arrived illegally in the UK in small boats have been returned to Europe.

Details of how to apply to Coastal Communities Fund Round 5 and the timetable for bids will be available in early 2018.

We are advising prospective applicants that they should not wait until then before developing their plans for revitalising their coastal communities.

I announced on 4 September that Coastal Communities Fund Round 5 will open for applications in early 2018 with £40 million of funding available.

Hon Members with coastal constituencies should encourage prospective applicants to make an early start in developing their plans for revitalising their local communities.