The Royal British Legion provides vital lifelong support to serving and ex-serving personnel and their families. I recently attended their Falklands Remembrance Service in Paignton. You can find out about the support they can provide here: www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-support/...

How We Help - Welfare Support For Veterans & AFC | Royal British Legion

We're here to help our Armed Forces community. Our support starts after one day of service and continues through life, long after service is over.

britishlegion.org.uk

At the end of last year more than 3000 children in England were waiting to be adopted, but there were less than 1500 approved families. I was delighted to participate in ITV's documentary to mark 100 years since adoption was legalised. www.itv.com/watch/news/b...

Friends and family of Holly Bedford, a Plainmoor Ladies FC player, who died in 2025 at age 33, have criticised Torbay Council for charging £8000 to install and maintain a commemorative bench. Torbay Council's current policy on memorial benches is shocking. They must agree on a new policy.

Team criticises Torbay Council charge for player's memorial bench

Teammates wanted to fulfil one of Holly Bedford's final wishes but were facing an £8,000 charge.

bbc.co.uk

Labour must overhaul the broken business rates system. I met with James, the Manager of Buzz Bingo in Torquay, as well as his team to discuss how business rates have affected the Bingo Industry and how the business is trying to transform bingo into an entertainment space.

A new pet shop has opened at the Indoor Market on Market Street in Torquay. Whiskers, Leashes and Delights (open Monday to Saturday 11am-4pm) are a local, friendly pet shop supplying affordable food and items for pets to help struggling families. I was delighted to attend their grand opening.

Dr Aslam and Dr Aung from the McCallum Ward at Torbay Hospital went above and beyond to help save an international student from drowning last week. I had the honour of thanking both doctors on Friday and hearing about their incredible efforts.

This weekend, I held a pop-up surgery to chat with constituents in Preston. Topics included the importance of mobility equipment to visitors and residents of the Bay, charity fundraising and dealing with dangerous dogs. #Torbay #Torquay #Paignton #torbayweekly #TorbayHour #BoostTorbay #southdevon

A bin has finally arrived on Browns Bridge Road in the Willows. Councillor Swithin Long and I are pleased to have got this sorted. #bins #Torbay #Torquay #Paignton #torbayweekly #TorbayHour #BoostTorbay #brixham #CommunityMatters #southdevon

It was great to be out with old friends from Paignton Canoe Club in Torquay Harbour, participating in The Big Paddle Clean Up. They perfectly timed this for low water so we could maximise the amount of litter and fishing tackle that we could rescue from the sea. #Torbay #Torquay #Paignton

My latest surgery was held at Saint Martins Church Hall in Barton today. Issues raised included supporting local businesses, the law around access to children and a national campaign regarding antimicrobial resistance. If I can be of assistance please do not hesitate to contact me by email or phone.

After calling for cross-party talks on social care, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey met with new PM Andy Burnham this week to begin these important discussions. We want to see family carers put front and centre, with guaranteed rights for every carer, including respite care.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has embarked on his programme of devolution, by giving all mayors of city regions in England a share of income tax revenue. But devolution must work for everyone. Over half of England does not have elected mayors. Torbay should not lose out on funding.

Devon and Cornwall are now officially in drought. England has received just 7% of the long-term average rainfall for July, falling to just 1% for southern England. The Environment Agency is encouraging efficient water use.

Report an environmental problem

How to report environmental incidents, including pollution, damage to the natural environment, flooding, illegal fishing or a collapsed river bank.

gov.uk

Paignton Carnival took place this week! There were huge crowds and it was lovely talking to residents and tourists on the way round. Thank you to Safe Sustainable Travel Torbay for the use of their tandem! You can get involved at www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/safe-susta... #Paignton #PaigntonCarnival

Paignton Station Update: The Station reopened on Tuesday morning to local stopping trains between Paignton and Newton Abbot. The fire damage means the platform will remain temporarily closed to the nine carriage services between Paignton and London Paddington.

Congratulations to one of Torquay’s own, Sam Tolchard, for winning Gold in the men’s bowls singles, and to one of Paignton’s own, Abigail Martin, who won Silver in the women’s floor event and Bronze in the gymnastics team event.

Phoenix Rising supports women over 18 in domestic abuse situations and having left their abusive relationships. I met with their Chief Executive, Claire, to discuss their vital work in our Bay. They also provide trauma-informed support training for professionals.

Torquay Banking Hub is expected to open in the latter part of this year. It will be located at Unit 2, 78 Fleet Walk, Fleet Street, Fleet Walk Shopping Centre, Torquay, TQ2 5EB. They will be holding a launch event and inviting community groups and connections. I will be posting further updates.

The Government has backtracked and unveiled a new bursary worth £4500 per household to help 16 to 18 year olds into apprenticeships, to alleviate the disincentive for families on Universal Credit taking up a traineeship. I have campaigned for this consistently and am thrilled to see this news.

Castle Circus Post Office has failed to reopen. I have received communications from the Post Office that the branch has not opened for operational reasons. I have pressed them to elaborate this situation with when we can expect the post office to reopen, and I will be in touch with an update.

Castle Circus Post Office in Torquay has reopened. As soon as I heard about the closure, my team and I pushed them to explore a temporary postmaster. So I am pleased to see this reopening. www.postofficeviews.co.uk/national-con... #PostOffice #Torquay #CastleCircus

Castle Circus TQ2 5RA - 154552 - Post Office - Citizen Space

Find and participate in consultations run by the Post Office

postofficeviews.co.uk

Torbay Council thinks that our area is looking 'phenomenally clean.' Does this look clean to you! Liberal Democrats are pressing for the Conservative-run Council to clean up our area, including pavements in Torquay. #Torbay #Torquay #Paignton #torbayweekly #TorbayHour #BoostTorbay #brixham

Paignton Rail Station remains closed after the fire last week. However, I have received an update from Network Rail that the station is hopefully set to reopen very soon this week. I have requested a meeting with Transport Secretary to discuss how we can address any issues that might come up.

If you need any help or want to raise an issue my dedicated team and I are there to help. We have worked on over 20,000 issues that have been raised since I became your MP two years ago. I'm proud to stand up for our community and we are working hard to make the Bay an even better place. #Torbay

Antisocial behaviour and SEND services were some of the issues my team and I encountered when knocking on doors in Barton and Watcombe. We will be focussing on tackling all the issues residents raised with us. If you have a problem please don't hesitate to write to steve.darling.mp@parliament.uk.

After hearing from residents that they were suffering from delays with receiving post in the TQ4 area, I got in touch with Royal Mail to raise this problem. I have since received the response that mail deliveries in the TQ4 area have been impacted due to colleagues being absent with sickness.

Here's what I've been up to in the last week in Torbay...

The Work and Pensions Committee, which I sit on, has published a new report urging the Government to address the more than 1 million young people not in education, employment or training by cutting NI contributions for under-25s. publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5902/cm...

Youth employment, education and training

Report of the Work and Pensions Committee

publications.parliament.uk

Here is a Friday blooper from my video inviting Andy Burnham to Torbay! Jennie is enjoying the best of Torbay's coasts! #Torbay #Torquay #Paignton #torbayweekly #TorbayHour #BoostTorbay #brixham #CommunityMatters #southdevon

Hospice leaders are calling for sustainable funding. You can add your voice to their calls by signing this petition: www.change.org/p/make-hospi...