Penzance Chamber of Commerce

Christmas 2004

The switch on of the town’s Xmas lights will be on Saturday 4th December, the first late night shopping night will be on Thursday 2nd December and every Thursday after that leading up to Xmas.

There will be several new lights this year thanks to the fund raising efforts of Hazel Trembath, she organised several events during the year and has collected over £727. The Chamber owe her a huge debt of gratitude for her continuing one-woman fund raising and the enormous amount of effort, enthusiasm and dedication that she puts into it ably supported by her other half, Roger.

The Chamber will be judging all shop window and pub displays on Thursday 9th December and the prize giving will be held in the Mayor’s Parlour in St Johns Hall on Thursday 16th December followed by a light buffet. As mentioned on last month’s page there has been a distinct reduction in the number of shops who make the effort to decorate their window displays for the festive season, there has also been a lack of quality in those who do enter into the spirit of Xmas. It is really hoped that retailers pull the stops out this year and give the judges a difficult task.

Market Jew Street

The proposals for Market Jew Street’s improvement and enhancement has caused more and more controversy the nearer we get to seeing the physical work starting. It is a real shame that those people who are now speaking out have not taken the opportunity to get involved in the decision making process at an earlier stage so that their comments and suggestions could have been incorporated.

The proposals are not going to please everyone, but everyone surely must agree that something needs to be done to enhance the infrastructure to make shopping in Penzance a safer and more enjoyable experience. We have the grant funding in place NOW, further delay could mean that the funding is withdrawn and we end up with no improvements, indeed the street could even become worse with a hotchpotch of repairs being made ad-infinitum.

The Chamber supports the proposals in principle HOWEVER we would like to make it clear to readers that we have ALWAYS had reservations about the proposals regarding the flow of traffic. We steadfastly maintain that traffic should be one-way DOWN Market Jew Street and that the proposals will do little to improve the congestion coming into the town and will even cause further congestion problems elsewhere. We continue to discuss this issue at every opportunity but would not wish for this issue to cloud or delay the progress of works.

Health and Safety Training and Supervision

One of the biggest causes of financial loss to small businesses is the cost of accidents and the resultant absence of staff. Sick absence costs British business £3.8 billion pounds a year which represents a loss of about £500 per employee, per year. Most businesses do not acknowledge this fact because they do not maintain figures of the cost of accidents and it never appears on any balance sheet.

One of the simplest ways of providing for the health and safety of employees is to provide training, indeed h ealth and safety law says

Everyone who works for you, including self-employed people, needs to know how to work safely and without risks to health. So you need to train them so they know what hazards and risks they may face and how to deal with them. Health and safety training should take place during working hours and must not be paid for by employees.

Some employees may have particular training needs, for example:

You also need to ensure that new, inexperienced or young employees are adequately supervised. It is very important that you keep records of all training to show that it is being carried out. It is also sensible to get anyone who has attended training to sign to say that they have been trained.

Failure to provide such training raises the risk of accidents and injuries occurring and is also a criminal offence which could lead to prosecution by the Enforcement Authorities (HSE or Environmental Health).

Safety UK Ltd have designated the week beginning Monday 6 th December as Safety Training Week, during this period a range of cost-effective courses will be run in their Causewayhead offices with Chamber members receiving a 25% discount. All delegates will receive a comprehensive set of notes and a certificate for each course that they attend. A separate course specifically for owners and managers will be run during the evening during which a light buffet will be available free of charge. For details of the programme please contact Safety UK Ltd on 01736-361007.

Sole traders exempt from liability insurance

From early 2005, companies that employ only their owner will be exempt from purchasing employers’ liability compulsory insurance. The decision, announced by Minister for Work, Jane Kennedy, follows a wide-ranging consultation on whether or not to remove the requirement. She said the move could benefit “hundreds of thousands of limited companies where the owner is the sole employee”.

The Government estimates that there are around 300,000 such companies across the country. The increasing cost of employers’ liability insurance premiums – some have risen by 50% in 2002 and a further 20% in 2003 – have threatened small firms with closure.

“Removing this requirement will help many small businesses whose owners have told us they cannot afford to buy this compulsory insurance. We have given everyone the chance to have their say in the matter and listened to their views,” commented Kennedy.

She added that the change will bring small companies that have a single employee who owns the company into line with similar unincorporated businesses.

However, the Forum of Private Business (FPB), a lobby group for small- and medium-sized enterprises, said that while it welcomed the decision, such a measure would only help a small number of businesses.

“Some sectors are being hit with massive insurance premium hikes, such as scaffolders, while window cleaners struggle to get employers’ liability at all. There are many conscientious employers who want to offer the best health and safety protection for their staff but their pockets are being hammered by sky-high premiums,” said Nick Goulding, FPB chief executive.

He called for more action from insurers and the Government to “end what is a major and expensive problem for many small businesses”.

Chamber Chairman, Mike Waters, said: “One way that businesses can reduce their premiums is by having an effective Health & Safety Management Plan that reduces the likelihood of accidents and injuries occurring thereby proving to the Insurance company that the incidence of claims occurring would be negligible.”

I don't know, I don't care, and it doesn't make any difference!

The Chairman has long been banging on about the apathy amongst members who do not attend meetings to put their points of view across and help formulate Chamber policy on those issues that affect all businesses as well as the local community. A challenge was issued to all local businesses on the page last month to attend meetings as decisions are being made on their behalf without their input. Did this lead to an increased turnout? – No! The last meeting also saw a presentation about the Disability Discrimination Act and how this affects all businesses, the meeting was thrown open to all businesses whether Chamber members or not. Did this lead to an increased turnout? – No!

The dictionary definition of apathy is: “indifference; lack of enthusiasm; intellectual dullness”. How any business can survive with apathetic leadership is amazing.

Albert Einstein once said “T he world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.”

Much of life involves a level of commitment that many people are totally unable, or perhaps just unwilling, to make. Inability to do so can be the result of circumstances and is usually specific to the actual commitment involved, but unwillingness is generally a certain apathy towards things in general.

The major clues when you are attempting to identify apathy, are the casual "Oh, I can't be bothered," or the deceptively unhelpful and probably dishonest, "Oh, I'll do it later." These comments will usually be made when the relevant person is virtually inactive - though they are unlikely to suspend respiratory functions, unless they are dead.

Combating apathy can be difficult, whether you are the passive being in question, or merely the observer. The former would have to want to overcome their apathy which, considering the nature of such, is unlikely to be the case. The latter can attempt to induce enthusiasm through various activities, preferably relevant to the eventual task you wish them to undertake. This is usually difficult, but in extreme circumstances possible.

If you are in a position where your life depends on the positive actions of an apathetic person, then it is probably a good idea to make peace with yourself and whatever you believe in, while you still can.

Join the Chamber

The Chamber of Commerce represents the interests of local business with the County, District and Town Councils, Government agencies and public bodies. It actively campaigns on issues affecting the business community as well as issues affecting the community as a whole. This requires finances and direct involvement by committed people, and deserves the support of every business in the region.

Our Chairman is coordinator of the West Cornwall Group of Chambers and the Cornwall Business Partnership. He is a member of the Priority Management Group 3, which approves Objective One funding in the area of Learning and Skills development He is also a member of the Penzance Regeneration Steering Group that has worked on the submission of an Objective One bid to greatly enhance the prosperity of the town and its inhabitants. Other members represent the Chamber on such bodies as the Police Consultative Committee and Tourism Committee.

All businesses have problems from time to time, and it has been proved that representation from a Chamber Officer on behalf of the member concerned can greatly enhance the prospect of a satisfactory conclusion. With major issues, such as the Penzance Regeneration Project, West Cornwall Hospital, Objective One and so on needing input from the business community there has never been a better reason for all businesses to become Chamber members - the greater our membership, the bigger our voice. JOIN NOW!

We invite membership applications from individuals and businesses large or small. For further information, visit the Membership Enquiry or Membership Application pages on this site.

Forthcoming Meetings

The next monthly Chamber Meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 7th at 7.30pm at the Pirates Rugby Club, Alexandra Road, Penzance.

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PENZANCE - THE PLACE TO BE

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