Friday 18th October

Friday, 18 October 2024 07:34

By Steve Haigh

According to new government figures, Sixty-four thousand children in Somerset were not seen by an NHS dentist last year. Two by-elections will be held for seats on Somerset Council at the end of November. Supported employment schemes in Somerset say they’re seeing a good proportion of their students, who are disabled, going into paid work...and more.

According to new government figures, Sixty-four thousand children in Somerset were not seen by an NHS dentist last year. John Watt an NHS dentist in Somerset says that so many children not having their teeth regularly looked at will impact on other parts of the NHS.

Two by-elections will be held for seats on Somerset Council at the end of November. It follows the resignations of Councillors, Dixie Darch and Sarah Dyke as Liberal Democrat members for Rowbarton and Staplegrove and Blackmoor Vale respectively. Until the by-elections take place, all casework will be handled by the other division members for each area, with Councillor Derek Perry handling matters in Rowbarton and Staplegrove, and Councillor Nicola Clark handling Blackmoor Vale. Following the resignations, the composition of Somerset Council is Liberal Democrats 59, Conservative 33, Green Party 5, Labour 5, and Independent 6, with 2 seats vacant.

Supported employment schemes in Somerset say they’re seeing a good proportion of their students, who are disabled, going into paid work. It follows a House of Lords report calling for more to be done to help young disabled people get back into the workplace.

Somerset Council has signed an expression of interest in working more closely with Dorset and Wiltshire councils. The government is seeking the views of all three councils on finding common ground where they can collaborate on things like planning and transport. Last month, the councils submitted a request for devolution, calling themselves the "Heart of Wessex" but stressed this would not be a merger of the councils.

Organisers of the Yeovil Literary Festival say this year’s event will be their biggest ever. A number of pre-festival presentations take place today at Yeovil Library with the festival proper starting next Thursday.

More from News

Monday 16th June

The new owner of Yeovil Town says he’s in talks with Somerset Council about buying back Huish Park. Water levels at some of Somerset’s reservoirs are below what they should be for this time of year. A Chard woman has been recognised in the King's Birthday Honours... and more.
Friday 13th June

Police are appealing for witnesses to a road traffic accident near Chard, which left one person with life-threatening injuries. Texas Rocks in Middle Street, Yeovil, has closed temporarily following a significant fire. A Yeovil dental hygienist has been named as a finalist in the Ms Great Britain competition...and more.
Thursday 12th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance has criticised the Chancellor’s Spending Review for not delivering real change for Yeovil and South Somerset. The CEO of Leonardo UK states that they’re working towards closing the gender pay gap within the company. Yeovil Town is relocating its first-team training camp to Bristol... and more.
Wednesday 11th June

People in Somerset are being asked for their views on the state of the county’s roads and footpaths. A trial is being conducted at Yeovil Hospital to investigate whether administering shorter courses of antibiotics to patients can effectively treat sepsis. Somerset Council says it has no plans to reopen a block of public toilets in Chard...and more.
Tuesday 10th June

A mother from Chard says schools need to do more to identify students with dyslexia. A fire in a van that caught alight at Stoke-sub-Hamdon is being treated as accidental. A former Yeovil-based police officer, who made it appear he was working when he wasn’t, has been barred from policing...and more
Monday 9th June

Somerset Council is giving £1.5m to Hill View Special School at Ash near Martock to prevent it from closing. Two men have been convicted of killing a Yeovil man they mistakenly believed to be a convicted paedophile. People across Somerset are being asked to make a note of any wildlife they see...and more
Friday 6th June

Community Speedwatch volunteers in Keinton Mandeville have stopped monitoring the local traffic because of online and verbal abuse. Redstart Primary School in Chard has been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted. A care home resident in Glastonbury has raised more than one thousand pounds for Children's Hospice Southwest by knitting soft toys...and more.
Thursday 5th June

Yeovil MP Adam Dance says he’s been told the temporary closure of the maternity unit at Yeovil Hospital will not be made permanent. Firefighters have dealt with a fire on a coach carrying passengers at Vagg Hill in Yeovil. The authorities in Chile are holding a man who lives in Milborne Port after being found with class-A drugs in a suitcase...and more.