Dear All,
As the period of national mourning continues, it is time for my latest update.
A National Moment of Reflection will take place at 8pm on Sunday 18 September to mourn the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and reflect on her life and legacy. Update readers are invited to take part in a minute’s silence to mark this Moment of Reflection.
With normal parliamentary business and political campaigning suspended, my week has been focussed on events marking the Queen’s 70-year reign and issues affecting our bay.
My week started last Saturday with a train journey to London ahead of Parliament sitting on Saturday Afternoon to debate and agree a formal address to the King. The address formally giving the House of Common’s condolences on the death of the Queen and the traditional assertion of loyalty to the King. During the debate the Speaker also took the Oath to King Charles, followed by a selected number of members including the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition.
Amidst the debate last Saturday, I was thinking of another lady who had a big influence on my life, my Mother Linda. It would have been her 68th Birthday, but sadly she passed away in 2014. I have been to a Royal Garden Party once, back in July 2007, taking my Mum as my guest. We both got to see the Queen and it was a day she very much enjoyed as a result. It is a reminder how the Queen was very much woven into the fabric of our national life and society.
Sunday morning saw me head back home in time for the formal proclamation of King Charles III outside Torquay Town Hall (Top Left). The event was organised by Torbay Council. It was also welcome to see some of the touching tributes left outside the Town Hall. (Top Right)
On Sunday evening I headed to Paignton Parish Church to join their service of prayer and reflection for the late Queen. Whilst there I signed the book of condolence (Bottom Left).
After the service I headed up to London in order to be present for the presentation of the addresses from both Houses of Parliament to the King (Bottom Right). The King spoke well and emphasised the constitutional position of his role. Those who were watching may have spotted the two ceremonial maces of each house being covered with a cloth whilst he did so. The maces are a symbol of Royal Authority, yet if the King is present it is inherent his authority is there to do so hence covering them.
With parliament suspended, Tuesday and Wednesday saw me working in the Department for Transport, plus holding meetings relating to issues affecting our bay, including a meeting with a Home Office official about the hotel they are using in Paignton. More on this below.
Wednesday saw the Queen’s coffin received into the Great Hall of Westminster ahead of her lying in state. More on this below, including vital information if you are thinking of travelling up to London to be part of this.
Yesterday I returned home in time for the Special Commemoration Service Marking the Death of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Paignton Parish Church. I was honoured to be asked to read the lesson and the South Devon Choir performed beautifully during the service.
Today I held meetings with residents here in the bay and my latest update with Network Rail about their bridge works on Torbay Road.
This week’s update is below and includes:
State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Bank Holiday, Refuse Collections Paused, Period of National Mourning, Torre Abbey Exhibition, Torbay Weekly Reflects, Clergy Take Oath To The King, Energy Costs, Autumn Booster Jab, Torbay Road Bridge, Paignton Hotel, Kev’s Column: Her Majesty and finally……Great Escape.
State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,
The State Funeral of Her Majesty The Queen will take place at Westminster Abbey on Monday, 19th September at 1100hrs BST.
It will be shown live on the BBC and other major TV networks.
I have been advised the Vue Cinema in Paignton, St Luke’s Church, Torquay and St Matthias Church, Wellswood will be screening the funeral for those who wish to watch the proceedings with others.
A Committal Service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, will take place later the same day at 1600hrs. This will also be televised.
The start of Monday’s events will be the end of the lying-in-state at 06:30am as the last members of the public are admitted to Westminster Hall to pay their respects.
At 10:44am the Coffin will be borne in Procession on the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey. Royal Navy sailors have the honour of pulling the State Ceremonial Gun Carriage bearing the Queen’s coffin, a duty they have performed since the funeral of Queen Victoria in 1901. Some 98 sailors will haul the two-and-a-half-ton ceremonial carriage, with a further 40 sailors marching behind the vehicle acting as brakes.
The last time the state gun carriage was used was in 1979 for the funeral of Louis Mountbatten, it also bore the coffin of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965 and King George VI in 1952. You can find out more about it on the Royal Navy website by clicking
here.
The Procession will arrive at the West Gate of Westminster Abbey at 10:52am where the Bearer Party will lift the coffin from the State Gun Carriage and carry it into the Abbey for the State Funeral Service. The service will commence at 11am. A 2-minute silence will be held at the end of the funeral at approximately 11.55am. Torbay will mark the start and end of the silence by firing maroons from the harbourside.
After the Service, Her Majesty’s Coffin will be borne through the Abbey, returning to the State Gun Carriage for the Procession to Wellington Arch, Hyde Park Corner, arriving at 1300hrs (1pm). At Wellington Arch, the Coffin will be transferred to the State Hearse to travel to Windsor. You can find all the details of the timings and location of the key events and the ceremonies taking place on the Royal website by clicking
here.
The Queen will be buried together with the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor.
If you are thinking of heading up to London or Windsor for the events on Monday do plan ahead. Estimates suggest hundreds of thousands of people could head to Central London to pay their respects and there will be significant pressure on all modes of public transport, especially long-distance trains in and out of the capital over the next few days. As Monday is a Bank Holiday, peak time ticket restrictions will not apply, but full weekday timetables will still be running given likely demand.
Trains are expected to be busiest after the funeral service concludes and, whilst extra services are being planned to our region, a long wait may be necessary before you can get on a train back to Devon, including potentially waiting overnight. I understand a train will be platformed at London Paddington through the night to offer an additional “waiting room”, should it be needed. I would suggest checking the National Rail website before setting out to find the latest travel information. You can find it
here.
Finally, if you cannot make it to London to pay your respects books of condolence are also available here in the bay for you to sign and several churches will be holding memorial services. You can find details on Torbay Council’s website by clicking
here.
Floral tributes may also be left at the following locations:
- Outside Torquay Town Hall
- Outside Paignton Library
- On the Western Lady Pier in Brixham
Bank Holiday,
To allow as many people as possible to pay their respects, Monday 19
th September has been declared a Bank Holiday.
This means many businesses will be closed and Stagecoach will be operating a Bank Holiday Sunday service on Monday 19th September 2022. Torbay Buses, Country Bus, The Torbay Community Development Trust, and the Dartmouth Steam Railway & Riverboat Company will not be operating services on this day.
Schools will also be closed on Monday.
Refuse Collections Paused,
SWISCo will not be collecting waste and recycling on the day of the state funeral to allow their staff to observe and mark this event.
Collections will continue as normal from Tuesday 20 September and crews will be working on Saturday 24 September to complete as many rounds as possible.
I am advised if your waste and recycling isn’t collected on the usual collection day, to leave it out and crews will collect it as soon as possible. The Recycling Centre at Tor Park Road in Paignton will also be closed on Monday.
Period of National Mourning,
A period of National Mourning for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II continues.
The period of National Mourning will continue until the end of the day of the State Funeral (Monday 19
th September). You can find full guidance for businesses and other organisations on the Government website by clicking
here.
Torre Abbey Exhibition,
Torre Abbey is restaging an exhibition which celebrates the many times Queen Elizabeth II visited the Bay during her reign.
The exhibition can be viewed for free in the Medieval Undercrofts, with the space also being available as a place for reflection and quiet contemplation.
More information, including opening times, can be found on Torre Abbey’s website by clicking
here.
Torbay Weekly Reflects,
During Her Majesty’s reign she made many visits to South Devon and touched the lives of many people living here.
This week the Torbay Weekly reflected on the Queen’s long reign and her impact on South Devon.
An e-version of this week’s paper has been posted online and can be found by clicking
here.
Clergy Take Oath To The King,
One aspect of the late Queen’s life which she regularly discussed was her own Christian faith.
As Monarch she held the title 'Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England'. These titles date back to the reign of King Henry VIII, who was initially granted the title 'Defender of the Faith' in 1521 by Pope Leo X. It is noted on our coinage by the “FD” included after her name.
Clergy being ordained into the Church of England therefore take an oath to the sovereign. An Ordination Service at Exeter Cathedral this week was the first under King Charles III, with Ruth Beckett from Torquay (Who will be based at St Pauls, Preston and Christchurch, Paignton) becoming the first to affirm an oath to King Charles III. Her quote was: “To be the first to affirm my oath to the new King was amazing, but in Ministry we affirm our allegiance to Jesus who is the same yesterday, today and always”.
Congratulations to Ruth on her ordination which was a significant moment not only for her, but the whole Church.
Energy Costs,
In last week’s update I reported on the announcement about Government support for energy bills which was announced shortly before the sad news of Her Majesty’s death.
The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) which will give people certainty with their bills. The EPG will apply from 1 October and will discount the unit cost for gas and electricity use. It comes in addition to the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme and other financial support for low-income households which has already been announced.
It has been confirmed Parliament will reassemble next week, following the period of national mourning, with the House of Commons due to sit next Friday (23
rd September) for a statement for the Chancellor. It is expected more details will be announced of support being offered in his comments.
Autumn Booster Jab,
The autumn Covid booster rollout has started.
People aged 65 and over, people who are immunosuppressed and health and care workers are now able to book in online by clicking
here or by calling 119.
Around 26 million people across England will be eligible for an autumn booster over the comings weeks, which includes over 50s, those with a weakened immune system, health and social care workers and care home residents and housebound people, in line with guidance set out by the JCVI.
Torbay Road Bridge,
As mentioned above, earlier today I had my latest session with Network Rail chasing for progress with and information about their overrunning bridge work on Torbay Road.
Passing through the site last night it was good to see the team on site working and the latest update confirmed some welcome progress has been made with 2 concrete pours out of a planned 4, having now taken place on the North Side of the Bridge. This should see work completed on that side of the bridge, plus the footpath re-open in the 1
st week of October.
Once this is done the emphasis will shift to the southern side, with that work expected to complete by early December. Whilst this revised timescale is far beyond what was advised earlier this year, it fits with the update I received three weeks ago.
The road will remain open during the daytime, with some overnight closures (Midnight till 5am) needed. A full closure will be needed to apply the final road surface, yet this will be delayed until January.
As emphasised before there are plenty of lessons to be learned by Network Rail from these works and whilst today’s update was helpful, it has been deeply frustrating how often my team and I have had to chase information over the last 8 months.
I aim to have another meeting with Network Rail in 2 weeks time.
Paignton Hotel,
In last week’s update I covered how the Home Office has decided to use a hotel in Paignton for accommodating those who have applied for asylum in the UK.
When notified as local MP I raised several queries about this suggestion, including the impact it may have on the ability to house those needing temporary housing locally. I know local Conservative Councillors also raised their objections, with Torbay Council making representations as well. The use went ahead before a response were received to any of our points.
In light of this earlier this week I met with a Home Office Official to raise these points and a number of others about the hotel being used.
We covered issues around the poor arrangements for arrival, the lack of replies beforehand to representations made, how the hotel would be managed and the length of time this property was likely to be used for in light of the new Home Secretary’s clear comments on ending the practice of using hotels for this purpose.
In response I was advised the usage was likely to be reviewed after an initial 3-month period and there was nothing in the contract which would compel it to be used beyond this if issues with the hotel were assessed as requiring this use to cease. It was indicated they were not involved with a second property which has been named online or for that matter any other hotel in Paignton.
A further development this week came on Tuesday (13 September) as Torbay Council served a Planning Contravention Notice (PCN) on the hotel which is the first stage in enforcement proceedings. The hotel is being asked to provide a response to several questions and return this to the Council within 21 days of the notice being issued. This is the first stage in planning enforcement action, which could end the use of it permanently. The enforcement action would be against the owner of the hotel.
Whilst some answers were given, for example confirmation screening is done (via biometric checks) before people are placed in any accommodation and security is on site, my points and those of residents were not fully addressed. I have therefore arranged to meet with the relevant Minister next week.
Kev’s Column: Her Majesty
Every fortnight I write a “Kev’s Column” for the Torbay Weekly and you can read the latest edition by following the link below:
https://www.kevinjfoster.com/news/kevs-column-her-majesty
and finally……Great Escape.
Ending on a different note the last couple of weeks have been challenging for Paignton Zoo, who thankfully have been able to re-open this week following cases of bird flu being identified recently.
Yet the re-opening day had only just got underway when they were hit by a bit of monkey business as 2 gibbons escaped their enclosure. Whilst it might sound like a great escape, I am advised the two escapees remained within about 50 metres of their home, before both being returned to it. You can read more by clicking
here.
That is all for this week.
God Bless The Queen and God Save The King.
Best Wishes,
Kevin
