Local News

East Devon’s MP Simon Jupp joined the Prime Minister this morning at Exeter College ahead of a major speech to launch a new plan to transform the training and skills system to help boost the economy.

The Prime Minister and Simon Jupp MP were given a tour of Exeter College’s specialist Devon and Exeter Construction Training Centre’s facilities and met Principal John Laramy and students. The PM took part in tutorials in bricklaying, carpentry and shaving wood and promised a radical shake-up of adult and vocational education to end the “bogus distinction” between academic and...

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has called on people across the South West to download the new NHS Covid-19 app, which has now launched across England and Wales following rigorous testing and successful trials.

The NHS Covid-19 app will alert users if they have been close to someone who later tests positive for coronavirus, as well as providing risk alerts based on a user’s postcode, allow users to scan QR codes to check in at venues on the app and allow people to book tests, if they have symptoms.

The app works by logging the amount of time you spend near other app users...

A team of researchers based in the Westcountry has been awarded nearly £2.5 million from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

The researchers at the University of Exeter Medical School and the University of Plymouth will work with the NHS, patients, the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration South West Peninsula (PenARC), and the Peninsula Clinical Trials Unit (PenCTU)*, to investigate whether an intensive group-based behavioural programme called PROGROUP is less costly and more effective than usual care for people with severe obesity, and can save money.

The...

Fishing is one of the few activities that one can do by themselves and be both relaxed, yet completely engaged. It’s you, the water, time, and a bit of technique. Depending on where you fish, or what kind of catch you’re looking for, you can modulate the experience and take it as easy or intense as you want it to be. You’re in control. You’re calling the shots. But truth be told, sometimes even the most avid fishing fans may want to switch things up a bit. This is where kayaking comes in. Kayaking and fishing from a kayak are among the fastest-growing incarnations of the sport. It’s...