Happy New Year
The Chairman and all Council members wish all businesses a Happy and busy 2005. Why not make your New Year resolution to join the Chamber and make your voice count in the decision making processes that affect all local businesses and residents alike.
All meetings are open to all and are held at the Pirates RFC clubhouse in Alexandra Road on the first Tuesday of each month commencing at 7.30pm. The next meeting will be on Tuesday 1 st February and will also include the AGM which will be followed by a buffet and social occasion. If you would like to know more about the Chamber and its work please make every effort to attend this meeting. All Chamber members are also urged to attend the AGM.
 Tsunami Disaster
By the time you read this article Mike Waters, Chairman of the Chamber and Managing Director of Safety UK Ltd should have returned from Thailand having been involved in liaising with the Thai Government and public and private bodies in the area on health and safety issues resulting from the disaster and the subsequent clean up. He flew out on Saturday 8 th January and was scheduled to return a week later.
Mike is one of only two Health and Safety Practitioners from the UK selected to join the International effort in the affected area. Two primary issues that he was asked to become involved in were supervising the recovery of bodies from hazardous situations and the spraying of sanitising chemicals from aircraft in an effort to suppress the spread of diseases.
Prior to his departure Mike said “The fact that I have been selected to liaise with the Thai Government on these issues is a tremendous recognition of the high standards of work of Safety UK Ltd. I, like everyone else, was shocked at the scale of the disaster and the suffering of people from all corners of the globe and naturally this was compounded when we learnt of the loss of life amongst our own local residents. I am pleased that I can contribute to the International effort in a practical way as well as offering financial support.”
St Piran's Day
Friday the 4th March will see the inaugural St Piran’s Day parade in Penzance which is being organised by Howard Curnow. The parade will comprise representatives from numerous organisations and all local Primary Schools are being asked to become involved, all participants will be carrying the Cornish flag. It is scheduled to make its way from St John’s Hall, along Alverton Street to the old cattle market, then down Causewayhead around the Davy statue and back to St Johns Hall.
Similar events are held throughout the County to mark the celebration of our Patron Saint but this is the first time that Penzance has become involved in this way.
ALL traders in the town are asked to make every effort to decorate their windows in black and white, or gold and black – the Cornish colours. Traders in Launceston do so and it makes quite a spectacle that attracts shoppers from outside the immediate area. Let’s hope the same can happen in Penzance.
Hazel Trembath– Fund Raiser Extrordinaire
Hazel has announced that she is stopping smoking after decade’s addiction to the demon weed. If this isn’t praiseworthy enough she is saving the money that she would usually spend on cigarettes for the year and will donate it towards the Xmas light fund. If anyone would like to sponsor Hazel in her endeavours please contact her on 361378.
She has also started knitting her Internationally renowned chicks that will be filled with a Cadburys Cream Egg and sold at Easter to raise funds for the Xmas lights.
Xmas Lights
The Chamber decided not to organise the Xmas lights a couple of years ago due to the apathy of businesses in the town to become involved. Year after year the erection of the lights and all that goes with it was organised by a very small team of committed people with next to no support either physically or financially from those in Market Jew Street and Alverton Street. Penzance Town Council stepped into the breach and have done so ever since by commissioning Golowan to handle the erection and dismantling of the lights. As part of their remit they were asked to approach shops in the two streets for donations and, surprise surprise, the Chamber have received complaints from two traders in Market Jew Street about Golowan asking for money! This really is a very poor situation and the Chairman is even tempted to ‘name and shame’.
All businesses based in Market Jew Street and Alverton Street are asked to consider paying £5 per month by Direct Debit or a lump sum of £60 a year to the lighting fund. For further information please contact the Town Clerk’s Office on 363405.
How to make a prosperous New Year for small business
The Forum for Private Business is calling on the Government to make improving the climate for small businesses its number one New Year's resolution for 2005. A number of key issues need to be addressed as a matter of urgency if the burden on small businesses is to be relieved.
Nick Goulding, Forum of Private Business (FPB) Chief Executive, said: "The Government needs to recognise that small businesses are the backbone of the UK economy and take steps to ease the burdens that bear disproportionately on them. The limited human and financial resources they have to call upon mean that fiscal and regulatory changes impact far more heavily on small businesses than their larger counterparts. If the Government aims to make it a happy New Year for small businesses, it needs to address the issues that have been a major concern for our membership and the wider small business community throughout 2004. After extensive research, the FPB has identified a number of issues that, if tackled by the Government, would make it a prosperous New Year for the small business sector. We hope that the Government takes note and acts to support a sector that contains four million small to medium-sized businesses, provides twelve million jobs, or 58 per cent of the private sector workforce, and contributes 52.4 per cent of the UK's GDP."
Chamber Chairman, Mike Waters, joined the FPB’s call for action and stated that “it is about time that the Government recognised the enormous contribution to the economy and employment made by small businesses, especially in our District. We face an ever increasing burden of red tape as well as the onerous responsibility of being unpaid tax collectors with regard to VAT.”
The FPB's 'Top Ten' major concerns are:
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National Insurance Contributions: The Chancellor must look closely at the impact of increases in National Insurance Contributions and their effect on the cost of employment.
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VAT: There needs to be a simplification of the rules on VAT. The Chancellor must consider implementing a reduced rate for labour-intensive services and look into the discrepancies surrounding hot take-away food from supermarkets.
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Capital Gains Tax: Business owners often depend on the transferring of their business for their pension. Retirement relief needs to be restored as the current rules lead to a depleted retirement fund for owners of small businesses.
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Fuel Duty: The Chancellor must abandon his deferred rise in fuel duty if small businesses are to remain competitive
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Business Rates: The current level of business rate impacts disproportionately on small businesses and the introduction of new Small Business Rates Relief thresholds will do little to alleviate the situation.
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Integrate National Insurance and PAYE: Administering two parallel sets of regulation increases the red tape burden; integrating the two would lead to significant savings in time and money for small businesses.
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Inheritance Tax: Building capital is important for both establishing businesses and enabling them to survive. The Chancellor must increase the inheritance tax threshold and broaden business relief.
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Liability Insurance: Employers' Liability Compulsory Insurance has increased by as much as 400 per cent in some sectors. Given such increases, the imposition of Insurance Premium Tax on Compulsory Insurance should be either abolished or significantly reduced.
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The Right to Self-Employment: Making self-certification of employment status easier would alleviate many of the concerns surrounding IR35 and 19 per cent non-corporate contributions. This would create certainty in the minds of the tax payer and the exchequer regarding contributions.
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StampDutyLand Tax (SDLT): Businesses currently have to pay Stamp Duty on commercial property. This stifles a business' ability to expand or move to new, more efficient premises. The Government's decision to abolish SDLT on premises in 'development areas' is welcome, yet more needs to be done to encourage expansion and boost productivity.
Goss Moor– End to Traffic Jams
The recent announcement that the Government has at long last agreed to the removal of the Goss Moor bottleneck on the A30 spine road through Cornwall has been greeted with great relief by the local business community.
Chairman, Mike Waters said: “We have waited so long for this decision, and there have been so many false hopes that many people were sceptical that it was all going to be halted once again. The Conservative Government twice cancelled the road improvements between Innis Down and Indian Queens on cost grounds, and there was one moment this summer when it looked as if Gordon Brown might do the same. It is in the best interests of the economy, environment and community life of Cornwall that this new road is constructed as speedily as possible. I know of several companies that were considering relocating to West Cornwall but after spending many hours in traffic jams on Goss Moor simply turned around and abandoned the idea. Hopefully we will now feel the benefits of faster road networks with the rest of the UK .”
Annual General Meeting
The AGM will be held on Tuesday 1st February 2005 and will be followed by a buffet and social evening.
Nominations for officers of the Chamber would be appreciated in advance of the meeting although they will also be accepted on the night. Mike Waters will be standing for re-election to his fifth successive term of office as Chairman of the Penzance Chamber of Commerce.
It is important that all members attend. Non-members are welcome but will not have voting rights, they will however get to see how the Chamber operates and join in what should be a pleasant social occasion.
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.
The next monthly Chamber Meeting will be held on Tuesday,
February 1st at 7.30pm at the Pirates Rugby Club, Alexandra Road, Penzance.
All members and non-members are urged to attend. Let’s make 2005 the year that all businesses in the district actually start working together for the benefit of everyone.
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