The cross-government Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review – led by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport – will explore what makes investment in full fibre and 5G networks attractive. It will establish what, if anything, government can do to promote the right conditions to achieve widespread coverage.

The review will underpin government’s strategy to remain a world leader in connectivity in the coming decades – raising productivity and creating the balanced economy of the future. The aim is to create the conditions for connectivity that is ultrafast, reliable, long-lasting and widely available to UK homes and businesses.

Matt Hancock, Minister of State for Digital said:

Government has already committed more than £1 billion to supporting a business case for investment in full fibre and 5G networks through investment programmes and initiatives like our Barrier Busting Task Force.

We’d like to build on what has been achieved so far, by removing future barriers before they arise, and ensuring that market and policy conditions are as good as they can be to maximise investment in new technologies.

The Review will consider the types of competition that different parts of the telecoms market in different areas of the UK can support, with implications for the level and makeup of investment. For more information, please see Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review: Terms of Reference (PDF, 82.4KB, 2 pages)

DCMS will be seeking a wide range of evidence, including from across industry and the investor community, and will shortly be issuing a Call for Evidence.

A report, to be published in Summer 2018, will identify options available to government to promote an attractive and stable environment for investment.

Minister for Africa visited Harare shortly after the resignation of President Mugabe to meet the new President, members of the opposition and civil society

Today, 28 November, Universities Minister Jo Johnson officially ‘cut the turf’ for the new undergraduate village at the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology.

The student facilities, located in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, will comprise 78 accommodation pods, as well as a library, café, bar, screening room and shop. The village will officially open in September 2018.

Founded by Sir James Dyson, the Institute gives students the opportunity to study for an engineering degree while concurrently working as part of Dyson UK. Over 850 students applied for 25 places in the first year of the course, which started this year.

Universities Minister Jo Johnson said:

The value of a skilled workforce to Britain’s future was spelt out in last week’s Budget, making clear that better training and skills are key to raising productivity and growth.

The Dyson Institute is a brilliant example of a new, innovative and high-quality provider that has taken advantage of the government’s reforms to offer something genuinely exciting. It is giving students the opportunity to get hands-on experience at Dyson while studying for their degree, learning about everything from robotics to software to aerodynamics. It is playing an important role in educating the next generation of much-needed engineers, giving young people the skills they need for the jobs of the future. It has been a pleasure to be here today and see the brilliant work of the Institute in action.

Recent government reforms through the Higher Education and Research Act have made it easier for new providers – like the Dyson Institute – to enter the sector and award degrees, giving students more choice and boosting competition to improve teaching quality.

Sir James Dyson said:

My attitude has always been to take on young people, graduates, and give them immediate responsibility. Dyson takes on hundreds of graduate engineers every year and we mentor them through. If you walk around, you can see that there is already a campus feeling here in Malmesbury – cafes and restaurants full of people working and learning. It just seemed absolutely natural to take it one stage further by taking on school leavers and giving them a really unique and rigorous engineering education.

Jo Johnson’s inspired legislation is enabling us to do something entirely new and very exciting – this is not an easy option for a student to choose but we are developing some truly exceptional engineers who will develop future Dyson technologies.

Today’s visit comes the day after the launch of the government’s Industrial Strategy, which sets out a vision for Britain to boost people’s skills and earning power.

This Thursday, 30 November, the Department for Education is also hosting its own Skills Summit, bringing together education experts and top employers to tackle the nation’s skills gap.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has today announced Viagra Connect (containing sildenafil 50mg) will be formally classified from a prescription only medicine (POM) to a pharmacy medicine (P). This means it could be available without prescription for use by men over 18 who have erectile dysfunction.

This decision was made following a reassuring assessment of the safety of the Viagra Connect, advice from the Commission on Human Medicines, and a public consultation earlier this year with positive outcome.

If marketed, the medicine will be sold from pharmacies following a discussion with the pharmacist. Pharmacists will be able to determine whether treatment is appropriate for the patient and can give advice on erectile dysfunction, usage of the medicine, potential side effects, and if further consultation with a general practitioner is required.

Viagra Connect will not be sold to those with severe cardiovascular disorders; at high cardiovascular risk; liver failure; severe kidney failure; or taking certain interacting medicines. Use of Viagra Connect in these groups of men must continue to be under the supervision of a doctor.

Making this medication more widely available will help direct men who might not otherwise seek help into the healthcare system and away from the risks that come with buying medicines from websites operating illegally.

Erectile dysfunction medicines are a popular target for criminals selling unlicensed and counterfeit medicines. Over the past 5 years, investigators from MHRA have seized more than £50 million of unlicensed and counterfeit erectile dysfunction medicines.

Mick Foy, MHRA’s Group Manager in Vigilance and Risk Management of Medicines, said:

This decision is good news for men’s health. The move to make Viagra Connect more widely accessible will encourage men to seek help within the healthcare system and increase awareness of erectile dysfunction.

Erectile dysfunction can be a debilitating condition, so it’s important men feel they have fast access to quality and legitimate care, and do not feel they need to turn to counterfeit online supplies which could have potentially serious side effects.

People living in Mytholmroyd are being urged to vote on which wall finish they would prefer as part of the new £30m flood alleviation scheme in their village.

Information leaflets about the consultation on the section of wall between Caldene Avenue Bridge and Whitehouses are being delivered to around 2,000 households along with a token they can use to choose which of 2 design options they prefer.

Sample panels of the 2 stone wall finishes have been built by stone masons for residents to view in the carpark outside Mytholmroyd community centre.

Boxes will be placed at the local post office and community centre in the village for people to post their token to indicate their choice.

The 2 alternative finishes were put together following discussions with a landscape group, made up of local residents and interested parties, helping to shape the scheme.

Helen Batt, Environment Agency director for the flood schemes in the Calderdale area, said:

Our project team has worked closely with the landscape stakeholder group and architects to come up with these two designs following feedback that residents would prefer us to use natural, traditional materials which are in keeping with the local environment. We thought it would be good to let the whole village choose between the two options and have a say on the final design.

The consultation will run from Monday 4 December to Sunday 10 December. Three drop-in sessions are being held at Mytholmroyd community centre during the consultation for residents to talk to the project team. The sessions are planned for Monday 4, Wednesday 6 and Thursday 7 December, between 3pm and 8pm.

The final decision will be submitted as part of the planning application for area F of the scheme which stretches from Caldene Bridge to Hawksclough Bridge.

The Environment Agency provides free warning of the risk of flooding from rivers. Sign up for this service, find out if your home is at risk and keep up to date with the latest situation by visiting www.gov.uk/flood or call Floodline on 0345 9881188.