Dear All,
After a week which saw wet weather dominate, it is time for my latest update.
My week started last Saturday morning with my first Christmas event of 2022, the Friends of St Matthias Christmas Fair. It was good to see so many residents there and to catch up with a couple of regular update readers, whilst also picking up a couple of Christmas decorations and a few craft gifts.
This was followed by heading up to St Martin’s Church, Barton for their patronal festival, which was not just a chance to join in with the full ceremony of a traditional mass, but also reflect on the last year for the church and celebrate it.
After the service Cllr Hazel Foster and I headed over to St Marychurch Precinct to see the works created by the St Marychurch Yarn Fairies to mark remembrance. A bit more on this below.
Saturday afternoon and evening saw me spending time with family and catching up on a few emails.
Remembrance Sunday was focused on remembering with gratitude those who answered the call of duty, left to serve our country, but never returned to our bay having made the ultimate sacrifice. In the morning I attended the Civic Remembrance Service in Torquay organised by Torbay Council, followed by the parade afterwards.
Later in the afternoon I headed to the War Memorial in Palace Avenue Gardens, Paignton to join the service of remembrance organised by Paignton Royal British Legion. A reception open to all who participated in the service was held at Paignton Conservative Club afterwards. The food provided is paid for by club members holding a raffle in the run up to remembrance.
Having not been selected for a question and with no votes in Parliament likely until much later in the day, I was able to spend Monday working here in the bay. This included getting out on the doorsteps with Cllr Andrew Barrand in the morning and with the team in St Marychurch in the afternoon (Top Left). It is always good to talk with residents on the doorsteps about what is concerning them and to catch up with some regular update readers whilst doing so.
Tuesday saw a mixture of meetings in parliament, including my first meeting of the Backbench Business Committee. This Committee can schedule debates in Parliament and is a helpful way to become aware of what is due to be discussed, plus get issues selected for debate. I therefore sought to join the committee when I returned to the Backbenches last month.
Tuesday evening brought a chance to attend a briefing with Air Vice Marshal Paul Godfrey OBE, Commander Space Command. This may sound very sci-fi, but the defence interest in space is growing, not least when the potential impact of aggressive disruption of satellite communications or navigation systems is considered. It was an interesting insight into a rapidly developing area of our military’s work.
Wednesday saw me attend a Bill Committee, question the Immigration Minister and ask my first question at Prime Minister’s Questions since 2019 (Top Right). A bit more on all of these below.
Thursday morning saw me in the House of Commons Chamber as the Chancellor of the Exchequer gave his Autumn Statement to MPs, with a lot to digest for our bay from it. I include a bit more on this in the update below.
After the Autumn Statement I headed back to our bay in time to catch the Torbay Business Forum Dinner, where Torquay resident and Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez was speaking (Bottom Left). It was good to not only hear Alison’s thoughts on policing, but also get some initial feedback on the measures announced earlier in the day from local businesses.
Today was focussed on getting out and about here in our bay. This included visiting The Cottage Café which is under new management, a visit to St Margaret’s Academy and a trip over to Paignton Picture House to see the latest plans for its revival (Bottom Right), more on this below.
Finally, this evening Christmas very much arrived in our bay, with the switching on of the Christmas Lights in Torquay Town Centre.
This week’s update is below and includes:
Prime Minister’s Questions, Autumn Statement, Paignton Picture House Exhibition, Asylum Hotels, Shark Fins Bill, Torquay United VIP Treats, Debenhams Demolition, Brixham Road Closure, Watcombe Survey, Rail Strikes, Public Health Report Highlights Alcohol Issues, Kev’s Column: Triple Lock and finally……. Bizarre Hotel Requests Revealed.
Prime Minister’s Questions,
As mentioned above I got a chance to ask a question at Prime Minister’s Questions this week.
Whilst the session is notorious for involving a large amount of party-political knockabout, since being elected I have been clear I won’t use the chance to ask a question during it simply to score party political points. Therefore, I picked a subject which has been regularly raised with me over recent months, the pressures on local tourism and hospitality businesses, including rising energy prices and business rates. This being particularly timely given the Autumn Statement due the next day.
You can watch my question and the answer given on Parliament’s website by clicking
here. As the Prime Minister was away at the G20, the Deputy Prime Minister answered questions in his place.
Autumn Statement,
Yesterday the Chancellor gave his Autumn Statement to MPs.
Surging prices of energy and food on international markets have impacted on prices here in the UK, with inflation running at 40-year highs, presenting significant challenges for the public finances, along with a need to ensure the confidence of the markets is preserved following the mistakes made in the mini-budget.
In starting there were some clear positives for our bay:
- Triple Lock Protected – State Pensions will rise in line with inflation next year, the biggest cash rise ever.
- Increase in National Living Wage to £10.42 an hour from 1 April 2023.
- No reversal of the National Insurance reduction introduced earlier this month.
- Levelling Up Fund Protected – Torbay currently has 2 bids in for funding.
- Confirmed Commitment to Hospital Build Programme – This includes a project worth up to £350m for rebuilding Torbay Hospital.
- £7.7bn in additional funding for health and social care over the next 2 years – This will include a yet to be confirmed increase in Torbay Council’s funding.
- £4bn in additional funding for schools over the next 2 years.
- Additional cost of living payments next year: £900 for households on means tested benefits (Approximately 16,300 in Torbay), £300 for pensioners & £150 for disability benefit recipients.
- £14bn business rates package, includes a freeze to business rates multiplier and a 75% retail, hospitality and leisure relief worth up to £110,000 per business.
There were also items which will be more challenging:
- Freezing of personal tax thresholds for an additional 2 years.
- Main National Insurance and Inheritance Tax thresholds frozen for an additional 2 years.
- Tax free allowances for dividends and capital gains tax also due to be cut next year and in 2024.
- Local Councils in England (Including Torbay Council) will be able to increase council tax by up to 3% without a referendum, as opposed to current limit of 2%, plus an ability to increase the adult social care precept element of Council Tax by 2%. This means a combined increase of 5% on the overall bill is possible.
- Investment Zones scheme now more focused on locations with a University, although some informal indications South Devon College, with its degree awarding status, may assist in terms of securing something for Paignton.
- Vehicle Excise Duty will be extended to electric cars.
You can listen to the full statement from the Chancellor, the response from the Shadow Chancellor, and queries from other MPs on Parliament’s website by clicking
here. BSL interpretation is available as well. You can also read the full details of the Autumn Statement on the Government website by clicking
here.
Overall, the package is one which appears to balance the need to ensure stable public finances with addressing the need to support families in the face of rising costs of living. I am also pleased to note points I raised with the Chancellor last week have been included, including respecting the Triple Lock, the impact of business rates on hospitality businesses and the need to deliver the Health Infrastructure Plan for Torbay Hospital.
As the Chancellor outlined the overall situation meant it was never going to be a statement full of giveaways and positive news, but it does deal with some of the pressing problems caused by rising prices and appears to recognise the need to support our hospitality sector.
Paignton Picture House Exhibition,
The front doors to the Paignton Picture House were again open to the public today as the Picture House team rolled out the red carpet to welcome the community into the building for a first look at their proposed plans.
The Picture House Trust, working with their design team led by AOC Architecture, have taken these conversations and responses to inform the design process. A lot of additional work has been taking place, including a range of complex surveys of various parts of the building, which are also informing the design.
The exhibition is also on tomorrow (Saturday 19th November) from 10am to 1pm and I would urge update readers to attend. The exhibition gives a first chance to see how the design proposals have evolved. Design drawings will be on display. In addition, a scale model of both the Picture House, and of Paignton Town Centre, will be available to help to explain the process and proposals.
The plans go live on the Trust's website on Monday 21st November. Responses will be collected through a short survey and this feedback used to help refine the proposals in advance of the scheme submission for Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent.
The team are aiming for works to start on site late summer/autumn 2023.
Asylum Hotels,
Earlier this week both Torbay Council and I discovered a third hotel in Torbay was being prepared for use as asylum accommodation by a contractor working with the Home Office. Again, no formal notice was given, despite an expectation to do so.
As of today, I understand the Home Office has placed a hold on using it.
As covered in previous updates I had been supporting efforts to challenge the conversion of properties in key tourism locations to longer term accommodation on planning grounds. This is to prevent precedents being set for what was designed as tourism-based accommodation for short stays, becoming poor-quality longer-term accommodation.
Yet given this latest move, Torbay Council has now issued instructions to seek a Judicial Review of the decision of the Home Secretary to use the hotels in Torquay as accommodation for asylum seekers on three grounds. These are:
1. The council had a legitimate expectation from the Home Office that no further hotels would be used in the Torbay area
2. The Home Office failed to consider the planning position, in particular the location of the hotel(s) within a Core Tourism Investment Area
3. The Home Office failed to consider the significant impact on children’s services caused by the use of the existing hotel for accommodating asylum seekers
I support the Council taking this step, not least given the lack of any meaningful engagement with or even notice provided to Torbay Council as the provider of many local services before bringing a hotel into use. In support of this move to bring a legal challenge, I raised the lack of consultation directly with the Immigration Minister on the floor of the House of Commons. You can watch my comments and his response on Parliament’s website by clicking
here.
Finally, I have had some residents get in touch following a piece in the media about two people who formerly worked at one of the hotels. I cannot give details in the update about individual cases, even where a case has or subsequently appears in the media. This said I became aware and involved earlier this week with the situation of a local family, with my team and I offering support to them.
Shark Fins Bill,
My role can certainly see a range of subjects come up, with a Bill Committee on Wednesday considering the Shark Fins Bill.
The practice of Shark Finning is a cruel and wasteful fishing practice which sees the fin cut off a live shark, then the bleeding shark thrown into the water to die a slow, painful, death. This practice has been banned in UK waters for 20 years, but a Private Member’s Bill has now been introduced by a Labour MP to ban the import and export of detached shark fins to further clampdown on this practice.
Given my interest in animal welfare issues I was asked to sit on the Bill Committee (Where a small number of MPs consider the bill line by line) and was pleased to note cross-party support for the proposed measure. You can read the Hansard record of the session on Parliament’s website by clicking
here.
Torquay United VIP Treats,
This week has sadly been a tough one for Gulls Fans, with defeat at Derby ending an impressive cup run.
Yet one bit of good news from TUFC is a new venture which will enable up to sixty local children, with autism and other learning difficulties, to experience live football – with some of them attending a professional sporting event for the very first time.
Working together with Play Torbay and Torbay Council Children’s Services, the Club will be providing VIP tours to the children ahead of each match, enabling them to meet members of the Club’s footballing staff and off-field team and familiarise themselves with the stadium and their surroundings prior to the big day. You can read more on the Club’s website by clicking
here.
Debenhams Demolition,
A meeting of Torbay Council’s Planning Committee on Monday approved a major change for Torquay’s Harbourside area.
The Committee voted to grant permission for a major redevelopment of Torquay’s former Debenhams site. The old department store will be demolished to make way for a new building and public square on the Strand, a development which will be partly funded by the Torquay Town Deal project to a value of £2.2 million. The town deal project is a £21.9 million pot of funding allocated by the Government for investment into improving Torquay and its economic prospects.
The plans, which were approved at a planning committee meeting on Monday, show a five-storey L-shaped building around a public square, all designed to increase the amount of time people spend in the town centre and help to support the local economy. You can read more and see images of the proposed development on Devon Live by clicking
here.
Brixham Road Closure,
The possible closure of Brixham Road for 4 months, starting in January, has been in the news again this week.
As reported in last week’s update, after pressure from Anthony Mangnall and myself on this issue, Torbay Council, who will decide on the developer’s application for the closure, launched a call for evidence asking for details of the impact this closure will have.
I would urge update readers who regularly travel on this route to take part. You can find the details of how to do so on the Council’s website by clicking
here.
Watcombe Survey,
Age Friendly Watcombe is a project looking at creating a more ‘age-friendly’ neighbourhood for people over 50, by making it easier to get around.
They are inviting residents to join them on the green outside the Moor Lane shops for an Age Friendly Action Day on Wednesday 23 November, between 11am and 4pm. They will also be gathering residents views on how to make it easier for everyone, especially people over 50, to get around and connect with the community by walking, wheeling and cycling. You can find more details on Torbay Council’s website by clicking
here.
Rail Strikes,
On both Saturday 19th and Monday 21st November, RMT members at Network Rail’s signalling centre near Didcot Parkway will be on strike. This is regarding a local disciplinary matter and unrelated to the other strikes which have taken place across the nation this year.
In Devon and Cornwall, local branch services will be unaffected by the strike and run to the usual timetable, however, longer distance services to London, Bristol, the Midlands and North will be impacted and only run between 0730 and 1830. You can find out more on the GWR website by clicking
here.
Public Health Report Highlights Alcohol Issues,
The Annual Report of Torbay’s Director of Public Health was published this week, giving a picture of Torbay’s relationship with alcohol.
Whilst many, including me, enjoy a few drinks socially, other aspects of our bay’s relationship with alcohol are of real concern. For example, the proportion of children permanently excluded from school due to drug or alcohol use in Torbay is much higher than the national average, according to the findings of this year’s Director of Public Health annual report. You can read Dr Lincoln Sargeant’s report by clicking
here.
I will be arranging a meeting with Dr Sargeant to discuss how I can support efforts to tackle this issue and what it would be useful for me to raise with ministerial colleagues as part of this.
Kev’s Column: Triple Lock
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-triple-lock
and finally……. Bizarre Hotel Requests Revealed.
Ending on a different note local hotel staff can often be faced with a range of requests from their guests, some of which are truly bizarre.
This week a Devon hotelier spoke with BBC Radio Devon about some of the requests he has heard, including: "Can you record a message in the voice of Sean Connery?”. You can listen to the clip on the BBC sounds website by clicking
here.
That is all for this week and enjoy your weekend.
Best Wishes,
Kevin
