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A month of reflection, optimism and challenge
The sad passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II left us all reflecting on what this amazing monarch meant to us personally. Many queued to show their appreciation, many laid flowers, and many reflected on the impact she had on us all during her reign. For Delia Cannings, the British Cleaning Council’s deputy chair, it brought back happy memories of when she met the Queen and Prince Phillip.
Delia, who was then working as head of vocational sciences at a Birmingham college, was awarded a Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education for training specifically focused on the cleaning and hygiene industry. She was invited to a ceremony at Buckingham Palace and afterwards was able to speak with both the Queen and Prince Philip. Delia recalls: "I met both the Queen and Prince Philip at the same time. It is such a wonderful memory. It was an absolute honour and I shall remember it dearly for the rest of my lifetime. After the event in the Picture Gallery, the Queen discussed the cleaning issues encountered at Windsor after the fire. The chandeliers, she mentioned, were ‘simply ghastly to clean‘ whilst Prince Philip was more concerned with the state of ditches in the countryside due to rubbish dumping. He was also mesmerised by the seethrough vacuum cleaner. ‘Such a novel idea’ he said, and asked me if I had one."
Further proof, as if it were needed, that our Queen truly took an interest in – and had an understanding of – everything.
In other news, the CHSA has called for support for the cleaning and hygiene sectors in the face of the current energy price crisis. Lorcan Mekitarian, chair of the Cleaning & Hygiene Suppliers Association, said: “Our members are being hit hard by the soaring cost of both fuel and energy… We welcome the news that the Business Secretary is capping wholesale energy costs for businesses. However, certainty fosters growth and suggestions this support is limited to just six months does not provide it for the medium to long term. We are calling on the Chancellor to do three things. First, we want HMRC to adopt a flexible approach to payments, as was done during the pandemic, to ease cashflow. Second, we want a freeze on business rates. This will give members certainty in a very uncertain environment. Finally, our members work hard to be energy efficient. We want the Government to expand the support currently offered to energy intensive sectors. The Government must also keep an open mind, ready and willing to respond to changing circumstances in the coming months.”
Since this statement, the Chancellor has produced his ‘minibudget’ which went some way to addressing some of the concerns troubling business owners. How these measures will assist CHSA members only time will tell. We look forward to hearing from the CHSA as it keeps track of business pressures during the extraordinary times in which we find ourselves.
I wish you a clean, tidy and healthy month ahead.
Neil Nixon, Editor Cleaning & Maintenance Magazine