Dear All,
After a momentous week at Westminster, it is time for my latest update.
Last weekend Hazel and I were away from the bay as we took some time to visit her Grand-Children.
After a few hectic weeks it was good to be able to spend some time with them, although it will not surprise many update readers to hear my phone was busy ahead of the close of nominations for the Conservative Party Leadership on Monday. A bit more on this below.
Sunday evening saw me travel up to Westminster ahead of what was set to be a few momentous days there.
Monday was focused on clearing any outstanding work in my ministerial brief. It is something I have always done before reshuffles as I never want to leave a successor with a pile of work to greet them.
Monday also saw me at the Despatch Box after the Speaker granted an Urgent Question on the future of Great British Railways (Top Left). An urgent question is when the Speaker agrees with an MP's request that the Government should gave a short statement and answer questions on an issue he deems “urgent”. You can watch the session on Parliament’s website by clicking
here.
Tuesday saw another chance to appear at the Despatch Box, this time responding to issues at Avanti Trains, which run the West Coast Mainline (Top Right). It is safe to say they are having some significant issues and plenty of MPs turned up to ask me a question. You can watch the session on Parliament’s website by clicking
here.
Later in the evening I attended an event organised to discuss East West Rail, the project to reinstate a dedicated rail line between Oxford and Cambridge (Bottom Left). It is one of the most significant projects to re-open a rail link lost during the Beeching Era and, given parts of the former track bed between Bedford and Cambridge has been built on, is prompting some debate as it will require large new sections of rail to be built.
Wednesday saw me hold meetings at the Department for Transport, attend Prime Minister’s Questions, then hold a Tea Room Surgery for MPs wanting to raise issues about the rail services in their constituency. Many other Ministers had cancelled their meetings on the afternoon of the reshuffle, as it is never an easy time, but I did not want to let colleagues down by doing so myself. It turned out to be the last thing I did as a Minister. A bit more on this below.
Thursday morning saw me in early for Prayers as I reclaimed the seat I occupied in the Chamber until I was appointed a Minister in April 2019. It was also good to be able to raise issues directly on behalf of our bay on the floor of the House (Bottom Right). The Labour MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport had secured a question on bringing Civil Service jobs to the Southwest, so I managed to get a supplementary question in on it. You can watch it by clicking
here.
Last night Hazel visited me in London and we spent a couple of hours with her Grandson touring the Houses of Parliament. The parliament building is now open to visitors and if you would like to have a tour yourself (or sit in the Gallery to watch a debate) do contact my office.
Earlier today I travelled back to Torbay as my expected slot as Duty Minister was no longer relevant and spent the evening catching up on some local issues.
Finally, don’t forget clocks go back on Sunday as British Summer Time Ends, which means a big job for some in Parliament. A bit more below in the inset story.
This week’s update is below and includes:
This Week, Leaving Government, Brixham Road Closure, Pedestrianisation Debate, New Plan For Torbay Tourism, Crime Rates, Police Officer Numbers Rising, Police Speeding Crackdown, Torbay Council Set to Borrow £8m For Building Projects, Rough Sleeping Camp Cockington, Local Chippies Up For Award, Halloween Poster, Leaves on The Line?, Dawlish Rail Line Work Progresses, Kev’s Column: Leadership and finally…….An Old and Bold Pilot.
This Week,
If Andrew Neil’s show “This week” was still running a feature length edition would have been needed last night.
Within a week not only had the Leadership of the Conservative Party changed, but a new Cabinet had been formed and Prime Minister Sunak had taken his first set of Prime Minister’s Questions.
Over the last weekend I spoke with Rishi Sunak about his campaign, along with members of both his and Boris Johnson’s team. Following our discussions, on Sunday morning I confirmed I would support Rishi for the leadership. You can read my reasons for doing so on the Torbay Weekly website by clicking
here.
After the upheavals of recent weeks it is vital we now have a period focussed on the job we have been elected to do.
Leaving Government,
As mentioned above, after a phone call with the new Prime Minister on Wednesday night, I left my Ministerial post at the Department for Transport.
Having previously held the challenging immigration brief for nearly 3 years, one of the longest stints in recent times, it was sad to leave a role covering railways, which have always been of interest to me, after only 2 months. Yet the new Prime Minister has the right to pick a team as he sees fit and, given the challenges facing our nation, personal disappointment cannot cloud anyone’s judgment about the need to be a united team which focuses on the issues affecting our nation.
In my letter to the Prime Minister following our call, I included at the end a quote from the famous letter sent by George H Bush to Bill Clinton, to be read once he was President. Despite a long election campaign and much personal disappointment, George Bush shows enormous magnanimity in stating how he would be rooting for his success. As I do for the Prime Minister given our nation’s need for him to succeed in tackling key challenges, not least the cost of living, NHS backlogs and delivering economic stability.
This said my most important role is to be our bay’s advocate in Westminster. It is a role which is an honour to hold and one I relish, with plenty of requests for a question and a few debates already submitted since Thursday.
Brixham Road Closure,
Proposals to close a busy section of Brixham Road from January to May 2023 are being challenged by Anthony Mangnall and Myself.
Whilst the biggest impact will be on Brixham by effectively shutting the route most commonly used to travel to it, the detour route will run down Goodrington Road meaning residents there will see significant levels of traffic passing their homes. Anthony and I are working together on challenging this proposal and calling on Torbay Council to not grant permission for such a lengthy closure on this route as the highway and planning authority. The works are linked to the Inglewood Development.
You can read more about the details of the roadworks proposed on the developers website by clicking
here.
Pedestrianisation Debate,
The debate about major changes to Torbay Road in Paignton is continuing, with traders expressing their views on the recent changes.
There are sharply contrasting views, although it is worth noting the consultations carried out previously by the Council and the local Community Partnership which indicated support for the overall approach.
You can read the latest comments on Devon Live by clicking
here.
New Plan For Torbay Tourism,
I welcome the new plan to make Torbay the UK’s premier visitor destination and help boost the local economy which has now been adopted by Torbay Council.
The Destination Management Plan sets out the interventions which can help propel the English Riviera forward, building on the strengths of the destination and the opportunities to achieve a more sustainable and resilient destination. The objectives for the life of the plan are:
- Recover – to return to 2019 spend and visitor levels by 2024.
- Grow – achieve an additional £75m of tourism spend and 1,500 new jobs by 2030.
- Rebalance – achieve more sustainable visits all year round with 40% from October to March.
The objectives will be achieved by the following priorities:
- Markets, positioning and branding – attracting new and existing visitor markets and an improved reputation and profile for the destination.
- Destination development – new product investment and developments of the existing offer
- Destination management – better destination management and visitor welcome
- Organisation and delivery – clear delivery arrangements
Four priority themes are identified in the new Plan, which are Food and Drink; On and in the Water; UNESCO Global Geopark; and Culture and Events.
It is interesting to note the Plan has four target growth markets which are:
• Fun by the Sea Families
• Young Actives
• Cultural Explorers
• Business Tourism and Events
A six-week consultation on the proposed English Riviera Destination Management Plan 2022-30 was carried out earlier this year with a survey aimed at local businesses, residents and other stakeholders.
I look forward to working with both the local tourism sector and Torbay Council as we take this forward.
Crime Rates,
The latest figures released this week confirm Devon and Cornwall continues to have the third lowest crime rate of the 42 police force areas in England.
Given the end of lockdown the Police had expected figures to rise as, for obvious reasons, offences such as shoplifting and alcohol related anti-social behaviour fell heavily when strict social distancing requirements were in place.
Overall crime rose by 9.3% in the year up to the end of June, the latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures show. The national average rise in overall crime was 12.5%. Yet residential burglary offences in Devon and Cornwall fell by 1.1% in the last year.
You can read more on the BBC website by clicking
here.
Police Officer Numbers Rising,
The national recruitment drive for 20,000 extra Police officers is continuing, with the latest figures this week confirming 313 additional officers have been recruited in Devon and Cornwall as part of this drive.
Since the recruitment drive was launched in 2019, the 43 police forces across England and Wales have seen an additional 15,343 police officers recruited. These are in addition to the additional officers recruited under the budgets passed by our Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez.
The latest figures also show there are now more female police officers than since records began, with over 50,000 women in forces across England and Wales. Of the recruits hired since April 2020, 42.5 per cent are women
Police Speeding Crackdown,
This week Devon and Cornwall Police’s Roads Policing Team visited a location often raised with them: Browns Bridge Rd & Beechfield Ave, Torquay.
3.5 hours enforcement was undertaken there this week, between two Speed Detection Officers. As a result a whopping 148 drivers will be receiving Notice of Intended Prosecutions!
It’s an urban 30 MPH zone, so do bear this in mind when driving through the area.
Torbay Council Set to Borrow £8m For Building Projects,
At a meeting last night Torbay Council approved borrowing an additional £8m to help complete several building projects, including a new hotel near Torquay Harbour.
The additional borrowing, due to costs increasing on the projects, will have an impact of £600,000 on the Council’s revenue projects. Its safe to say there was some debate about this proposal last night and you can read some of the comments made on Devon Live by clicking
here.
Rough Sleeping Camp Cockington,
A couple of residents had contacted Cllr Andrew Barrand and Myself about some people sleeping rough in woods at Cockington.
Given the encampment lacked any basic facilities the situation was not sustainable and outreach teams were in touch to offer help to find more suitable accommodation for those staying there. The outreach team is funded by grants given to Torbay Council by the Government as part of work to reduce rough sleeping. You can read more on Devon Live by clicking
here.
If you are concerned about someone sleeping rough in the bay, then you can contact the outreach team via the details given on the Council website. You can find them by clicking
here.
Local Chippies Up For Award,
There is nothing more traditional about the British Seaside than a portion of fish and chips, along with the odd seagull trying to nick one.
It is therefore good to note two Paignton chip shops have made it on to the national Top Ten shortlist for the Best Newcomer, while a Torquay outlet has made it into the Top 20 in the running for Takeaway of the Year. You can read more on Devon Live by clicking
here.
Well done to those shortlisted.
Halloween Poster,
Monday is Halloween and many will be enjoying parties or even a bit of “Trick or Treating” as part of it.
Yet not everyone is a fan of this event and for many older or vulnerable people getting a knock on the door in the dark from a stranger is a far from fun experience.
If you would rather not take part and don’t want to have trick or treaters knock on your door, you can download a poster to print and display from the Devon and Cornwall Police website by clicking
here.
Leaves on The Line?,
Autumn brings with it the beautiful sight of leaves changing colour, plus the less welcome one of trains being affected by leaves on the line.
Whilst it may sound odd to think a heavy train can be affected by a simple leaf, the reality is they can cause the tracks to become more slippery, meaning trains miss platforms or signals.
One innovative way of keeping lines clear of them, an adapted LandRover fitted with brushes was demonstrated this week. You can see it and read more about its work on the BBC website by clicking
here.
Dawlish Rail Line Work Progresses,
Regular train travellers will have been watching the progress of the works at Dawlish, part of the major investment secured to improve resilience, following the collapse of the line during a storm back in 2014.
Network Rail gave a major update on the works this week, including their plans for the months ahead. They also supplied new aerial footage showing the progress being made.
The first section of new sea wall – which runs for 360 metres along Marine Parade south west of Dawlish station – was completed in July 2020. Construction of the 415 metre second section – stretching from Coastguard breakwater northeast of Dawlish station to Colonnade breakwater – began in November 2020 and was substantially completed in August 2022 following the installation of 164 wall panels, 203 pre-cast blocks and 189 recurve units, which return waves back out to sea.
Engineers from Network Rail plan to work around the clock over Christmas to lay the foundations for a new bridge at Dawlish railway station.
You can read more and see the footage on Devon Live by clicking
here.
Finally I am expecting to get another update on a long running bit of work by Network Rail, the bridge on Torbay Road, next week.
Kev’s Column: Leadership
Every fortnight I write a “Kev’s Column” for the Herald Express and you can read the latest edition by following the link below:
https://www.kevinjfoster.com/news/kevs-column-leadership-2
and finally…….An Old and Bold Pilot.
Ending on a different note there is an old saying of their being “no such thing as an old and bold pilot”, yet one man celebrating his 101
st birthday this week may beg to differ.
Mr Robert "Bob" Hendon flew Spitfires and Hurricanes during World War II and, despite having been shot down during the war, is still able to tell the tales of his time in the RAF 80 years ago. You can read more on Devon Live by clicking
here.
That is all for this week and enjoy your weekend.
Best Wishes,
Kevin
