Every fortnight Kevin writes a "Kev's Column" for the Herald Express and you can read the latest edition (Published on Wednesday 24th May 2023) below:
Buses
You wait a while for a bit of bus news, then two come along at once.
The first was welcome news of the Government extending funding for the £2 max fare until 31 October 2023 and providing an additional £403,923 of funding in this financial year to help improve local bus services in Torbay. The second was much more mixed as Stagecoach announced changes to its routes.
Some of the changes are positive, such as the extension of services on the Number 12 route into the early hours and doubling the frequency of the 122 Golden Hop open top bus route during the summer (The £2 max fare applies to it).
Yet an unwelcome change in Shiphay will see residents of Fowey Avenue and streets leading off it, lose their 35A/C service, which will instead operate directly along Exe Hill. This will mean a long walk uphill to access their nearest bus service. I will be meeting Stagecoach to highlight the impact of this change, plus one earlier this year on the Roselands Estate, and demand an immediate rethink.
VAT
There are 10,000 public sector organisations in the UK, the vast majority of which can claim the VAT they pay back from HM Revenue and Customs.
The 228 further education (FE) and sixth form colleges, which operate from around 850 campuses across England, were reclassified as public sector organisations in November 2022. Yet they must still pay VAT without an opportunity to recover it because they are not part of the refund scheme which applies to other public sector organisations, despite this reclassification.
South Devon College’s non-pay spending each year is approximately £15m including VAT. If they could reclaim the VAT on this, they would have in the region of another £1-2m to invest directly in education, skills and training. I therefore took the opportunity of a debate secured by my Cornish colleague George Eustice to push for FE colleges to be added to the list of public bodies for the VAT refund scheme.
Royal British Legion
The Annual Conference of the Royal British Legion (RBL) was held in our bay last weekend, it was great to welcome them here.
The annual poppy appeal and remembrance parades are the most visible parts of its work, yet in communities across the country volunteers in RBL Branches work throughout the year to support veterans and their families. Some having taken over a role from their Parents or Grandparents who served in WWI or WWII.
It was good to join with members from our local branches and those visiting our bay at the conference to reflect on the Legion’s work today and plans for its future.
Surgery Times
My next surgeries are on: Saturday 27th May 11am till 1pm at Preston Baptist Church, Old Torquay Road, Paignton TQ3 2RB and Saturday 3rd June 10am till 12Noon, St Martin’s Church, Barton Hill Road, Torquay, TQ2 8JA.
For an appointment you can either email me at [email protected] or leave a message on 01803 214989, surgeries are for personal queries from residents they would like me to help them with. There are also drop-in sessions from 10am till 1pm, Monday to Friday at 5-7 East St, Torquay, TQ2 5SD where a member of my team is available to assist residents with urgent queries.
