THE "serious broadband connection issues" experienced by those living in villages surrounding Taunton and Wellington have been raised in Parliament by MP Gideon Amos.

The Taunton and Wellington MP appeared in Parliament on Monday, October 28, to raise the issue of poor broadband in villages across his constituency.

Mr Amos received an assurance that a Ministerial meeting with the Minister for Local Growth or the Minister for Telecoms would take place to discuss the problem.

He 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?"

In reply, the Minister for Local Growth, Alex Norris, 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"Those are contracts from the previous superfast broadband programme, which has been superseded by Project Gigabit.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.

"The communities in discussion deserve a high-quality service, so I or the Minister for Telecoms will meet the Honourable Member."