SERIOUS concerns about broadband issues in villages across the Wellington area were raised in Parliament on Monday (October 28) by MP Gideon Amos.

Mr Amos received an assurance that a Ministerial meeting would take place to discuss the problem.

A roll-out of superfast broadband for rural communities has been managed since 2011 by the much-maligned Connecting Devon and Somerset (CDS) agency, which is jointly owned by Somerset and Devon county councils.

But the CDS performance has been so poor that there have been calls for its board to be sacked and its work to be taken over by a Government Department instead.

Mr Amos told the House: “In the parishes of Ruishton, West Hatch, Staple Fitzpaine, and Neroche, the term ‘Connecting Devon and Somerset’ is clearly understood as exactly what is not happening in the two counties, rather than a description of the so-called delivery agency.

“Cabinets and trunk cables are in place, but there is still no sign of houses being connected.

“Will the Minister, or the Minister for Data Protection and Telecoms, meet MPs for the affected areas to understand how those houses can finally be connected?”

Minister for Local Growth Alex Norris in reply said: “I am grateful for the question, although I was sorry to hear it.

“Those are contracts from the previous superfast broadband programme, which has been superseded by Project Gigabit.

“That means that Connecting Devon and Somerset is responsible for the management and oversight of the contracts, which are jointly funded by central Government and local authorities.”