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June 2022                                                                           June 2022

       LOCAL CHOIR NEWS                                                                     NEWS FROM WESTMINSTER

                                                                                            Last  month  saw  the  devastating  fire  on  Canford
       Music at St Peter’s Church, Dorchester offer two musical events during June. We      Heath. Over 42 acres of heathland was destroyed by
       present the second in our summer series of coffee concerts on Sunday 19 June at      the fire, and it was only the immense hard work of our
       11.45am.  Join  us  for  coffee,  a  short  organ  recital  and  some  musings  about  St   firefighters which prevented it from spreading to local
       Peter’s organ with our assistant organist, William Bishop.                           homes.  The  Chief  Fire  Officer  for  Dorset,  Ben  Ansell,
                                                                                            briefed  me  as  progress  was  being  made  and  kindly
       William  has  just  completed  his  A  levels  at  Poole  Grammar  School  but  will  be   arranged  for  a  meeting  on  the  site  the  following
       leaving us to take up an organ scholarship at Tewkesbury  Abbey in September.        week, with some of the firefighters who had been on
       Admission is free.                                                                                                    the  scene  and
                                                                                                                             in  charge  of
       On  Saturday  25  June  at  4.30pm,  we  offer  our  monthly  cathedral-style  choral                                 the  response.
       evensong. The music includes Bruckner: Locus iste, Purcell: Magnificat and Nunc                                       We  discussed  the  cause  of  the  fire,  and
       dimittis in G minor, Radcliffe: Preces & Responses, Elgar: The spirit of the Lord. Do                                 what actions the fire service are taking to
       join us for a glass of wine after the service. All are very welcome to both of these                                  keep  residents  informed.  The  fire  service
       events.  You  can  keep  up  to  date  with  Music  at  St  Peter’s  by  following  us  on                            do  a  brilliant  job  going  into  schools  to
       Facebook:  Facebook,com/musicatstpetersdorch  or  Twitter:  @musicatstpeter  If                                       speak  to  children  and  young  people
       you would like any further information do email us at musicatstpeters@mail.com                                        about  the  risks  and  dangers  of  fires  in
                                                                                                                             open  areas.  Another  great  risk  is  the  use
                                                                                                                             of  disposable  barbecues,  and  I  was
                                                                                                                             pleased  that  the  Minister  for  Farming,
                                                                                                                             Fi sh e ri e s    an d   Foo d   re c e n tl y
                                                                                                                             acknowledged  the  work  done  locally
                                                                                                                             here in Dorset and Poole in restricting their
                                                                                                                             use.

                                                                                                                             In  Parliament  we  recently  had  the
                                                                                            Queen’s Speech. For the first time in 60 years the Queen was not able to attend
                                                                                            due to her health, so Prince Charles read the speech on her behalf, supported
                                                                                            by The Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke of Cambridge. As always, it was an
                                                                                            event  of  pomp  and  ceremony,  but  preceded  the  important  debates  on  the
                                                                                            Government’s plans for the coming session. There are 38 important Bills planned,
                                                                                            building  on  the  work  done  so  far.  This  includes  £22  billion  of  support  to  help
                                                                                            families tackle the global cost of living increase. It also includes a Renters Reform
                                                                                            Bill,  providing  more  security  and  higher  quality  homes  for  more  than  4  million
                                                                                            households.
                                                                                             I’m also pleased to see the plans for the new Higher Education Reform Bill. This
                                                                                            will introduce something called the lifelong learning entitlement, which will mean
                                                                                            that everyone is able to access further training through academic or vocational
                                                                                            courses.

                                                                                             After the Queen’s Speech has been read, MPs return to the House of Commons
                                                                                            for the Humble Address to Her Majesty. This is the start of the debate, and was, as
                                                                                            is usual, a good-humoured beginning. My colleague thanked Her Majesty for her

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