Your Business Bulletin from Thanet & East Kent Chamber

Thanet & East Kent Insider

24^th July 2010 Issue No.: 

1. Upon The Navy

East Kent welcomed the Royal Navy Presentation Team to our shores last Tuesday. Many of the great and good were in attendance such as Cllr Chris Wells, cabinet member of Thanet District Council, and Bernard Butcher, Chairman of Dover District Council. Commander Jason Scott led the presentation with assistance from Navy personnel of higher and lower rank. Among the key facts that punctuated this perfectly timed and beautifully organised presentation was the surprising revelation that 60% of the servicemen and women deployed on active duty in Afghanistan are from the Royal Navy. When you take into account that Afghanistan is a landlocked country, it puts a sharp focus on the wide range of tasks currently undertaken by our senior service. It may be obvious to anyone with a maritime background, but it was news to most of the audience to learn that “95% of our imports arrive by sea”. Protecting our shipping lanes is clearly one of the major roles of the navy, especially in East Kent where we are surrounded by sea on three sides. Commander Scott asked his guests to consider how long the country could survive without replenishment from maritime trading. The answer was: “not very long”. Like all institutions financed from the public purse, the Royal Navy understandably expects “a difficult year financially” as the government undertakes the first Strategic Defence Review since 1998. Head of the Royal Navy is the First Sea Lord who must not only carry the heavy cargo of tradition by sailing in the wake of illustrious figures such as Fisher, Beattie, Mountbatten and our own Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, the then Sir Michael Boyce, but he must also navigate the difficult passage through the turbulent waters of Whitehall. The current incumbent, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, provided a recorded message which amplified considerably the signal to shore about why we should be proud of the four main elements that constitute the service: the surface fleet, submarines, Fleet Air Arm and the Royal Marines. This combination gives Britain a seat of influence at the top table of international diplomacy. The presentation summarised the navy’s work as “We protect. We intercept. We rescue. We deter. We engage.” The value of these efforts were eloquently expressed by King Charles II over 300 years previously: “It is upon the Navy ... that our health, prosperity and peace do chiefly depend"; words that we look forward to hearing again in debate in the Autumn spending review.



2. An Apprentice And £1,500

Thanet College has written to the Chamber with details of apprenticeship grants for employers. The UK is a net contributor to the EU. This is your opportunity to get some money back. The European Social Fund is providing grants to employers in the South East who are prepared to take onto their books an apprentice aged 16 – 24 years.  A grant of £1,500 is available to companies with fewer than 250 workers. There are certain conditions attached of which the most important is that the window of opportunity closes in October 2010. To find our more, contact Training Solutions at Thanet College by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by telephone to Johanna Horton, tel: 01843 605032. You might like to mention that you have been recommended by the Thanet & East Kent Chamber as it makes us feel important.



3. Ease Your Burden

Some people take enormous delight in completing complicated tax forms and filling in minute details with obscure reference codes. Most of us do not, which is why we turn to accountants and financial advisors. This Chamber is particularly well blessed with some firms which take great delight in reducing your statutory burdens and thus allowing you to get on with what you do best. If you would like to restore a kinder work/life balance or find a better way to manage your money, you might like to contact one or more of the following: Acorn Bowman Finance & Investment Management of Broadstairs tel: 01843 609365; Financial Milestones of Staplehurst tel: 01580 892874; J Cleverdon Chartered Accountants of Broadstairs 01843 866599; J W Accountancy Services of Shepherswell tel: 01304 830229; L & G Mortgage Solutions of Birchington tel: 01843 845600; Levicks Chartered Accountants of Broadstairs, Canterbury and Maidstone tel: 01843 862716; Michael Martin Partnership Ltd of Whitstable tel: 01227 770500 and Neville Weston Chartered Certified Accountants of Ramsgate tel: 01843 594571.  Jon Cleverdon reminds readers that there is a necessary deadline for submitting form P46 to HMRC of 2nd August 2010 if and only if car or fuel  benefits have changed during the quarter to 5th July 2010. He informs us that replacing one company car with another does not constitute a notifiable change.



4. EasyJet Praises Thanet

This Thanet & East Kent Chamber has a lively membership that is uniformly interested in actively promoting economic prosperity. We also have friends and associates who live outside the area but who take a close interest in our activities and often give us information, advice and encouragement to attract inward investors. One such associate has sent the Chamber a copy of the July 2010 edition of the EasyJet in-flight magazine which he was given on a recent flight from Portugal.  In an article headlined “Castles in the Sand”, reporter Bridget Stott describes the changes taking place in the East Kent coastal community which she labels as: “once the preserve of decrepit funfairs and blue-rinse grannies,” She notes that: “British seaside resorts are now a hotbed of cool contemporary architecture”. She answers her own question: “So who’s leading this urban renaissance?” with the simple answer: “Local councils along the South coast are now working closely with innovative private individuals”. One of the advantages of answering your own question is that you usually get the answer you want to hear. Nonetheless, it is illuminating to read about the first town listed. “Margate’s a prime example of the switch to ‘happening status’. The once shabby resort started to pick up when Kent County Council and the Arts Council England funded a new art gallery project – the £17.4m Turner Contemporary.” After praising Margate Old Town, the author also writes: “Just along the coast, Folkestone is basking in the success of its arts-based programme of cultural regeneration”. Of course, one of the benefits of quoting long passages of text in The Thanet & East Kent Insider is that it saves the time and effort of writing one’s own. That is a fair point and must be considered seriously for future editions. However, of more significance is that the EasyJet in-house magazine will be read by passengers from 27 countries. Although in the six months to 31 March 2010, EasyJet recorded a loss of £78.7 million, the official company report states that it continues to trade “robustly” and claims that: “54% of EasyJet’s passengers now originate from outside the UK”. This means that in the peak season of July, all EasyJet passengers will have the opportunity to hear of the regeneration of East Kent. They might even be tempted to take a flight to Manston to see for themselves. As from 27 May 2010, that could be a Flybe flight from Edinburgh and from 6 September from Manchester as well.



5. Oh Dear, Computer Crash

If you have never lost data from a computer crash, you must be complimented on your dexterity with an abacus and your ability to locate a supplier for your quill pens. For the rest of us, office life is punctuated from time to time by the shouts of anguish that accompany the bitter realisation that the brilliant 12-page report you have spent a week preparing may be lost for ever. Of course, we all know that there are ways to recover data, but these can be hideously expensive and dependent on a geeky unwashed hippy with a Led Zeppelin t-shirt who charges more than a heart surgeon. Chamber sponsor Cariss might have the answer. Not only does this company flourish without any Led Zeppelin motifs anywhere on its premises, but it also promises an on-line back up service that reduces your risk of ever having a hippy near you again. Yeah, man peace to all. Director Chris Maflin writes; “Online Backup is a unique service that allows you to back up and restore all data, files and emails held on your network. No more back up tapes. No more tape drives. Just a secure, fast and automated system that guarantees you 24/7 access to the data vital for your organisation. The Online Backup service automatically encrypts and sends your data over the internet to our secure data centres throughout the day and night. You can retrieve any individual files or restore the entire system, whatever the problem. If your server is down, you can switch to your back up files instantly, allowing all your employees to continue working without interruption. Unlike other back up systems, you can also send and receive new email while you fix your server.” Too good to be true? Give Chris a call and find out, telephone 01843 823 724.



6. Be A Beer Supporter

This Chamber’s campaign for more equitable treatment for the valuable community resource represented by our East Kent pubs has featured on television, radio and in the press and has been well-received by those with the best interests of our local economy at heart. The British Beer and Pub Association informs us that ten years ago 53% of alcohol sales were in supermarkets. That figure has now risen to 70%. We also learn that from 1998 to 2009 on-trade beer sales have declined by around 40% whereas the off-trade sales have grown by over a third. We read in the BBPA’s Statistical Handbook 2009 that UK sales by volume of beer in bottles and cans, known as ‘packaged sales’, have now overtaken draught sales. Beer tax has increased by 26 per cent since 2008. The government’s recent Big Society initiative formally recognizes the value to the community of pubs. What is needed now is an adjustment in the tax structure to recognize the difference between draught beer consumed under the watchful eye of a responsible landlord on licensed premises and under-priced packaged beer available on supermarket shelves that too often seems to find its way through to under-aged drinkers. A total of 2,365 UK pubs closed in 2009. Those that remain will be looking for a much fairer fiscal regime that rewards hard-working landlords who spend their revenue in the local community in preference to boosting the dividends paid to the remote shareholders of international supermarket chains.



7. Helping Others To Write Properly Like Wot You Does

Nor a brilliant headline perhaps, but at least you are reading this. Roger Gabriel of the Kent Economic Board has asked the Thanet & East Kent Chamber to publicise the work he is doing with the National Literacy Trust. We are happy to help our friends. As readers will be aware, illiteracy is the root cause of much social deprivation. Although some business figures have reached senior positions without ever mastering reading and writing, it is much easier if you do your own sums and author your own text. Roger writes: “We have been offered a free pilot to run in secondary schools in Thanet working with year 9 pupils, to help them to improve their speaking and listening skills.  What I need are volunteers from the business sector who would like to get involved.  You would be given 4 hours training, and would need to commit to 6 x 2hr sessions in your allocated school (with 7 other volunteers, not on your own!). If you are interested please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..”



8. Elvis Is Alive And Well Living In Thanet

Regular readers of the Chambers weekly bulletins will know that the Venerable Elvis is Thanet’s own hermit who pronounces on matters of great moral interest for the edification of the nation. His hovel is located in the misty hinterland between the disused power station in Sandwich and the abandoned limestone quarry in Manston. As befits a contemplative life that focuses exclusively on spiritual reflection, his declarations are few but worth recording. Who can forget his words noted in the Thanet & East Kent Insider of 29th January 2009: “If you lend a man £50 and you never see him again, it is probably worth it” or his comments on underhand practices in sport: “If you can’t cheat fairly, don’t cheat at all”. His guidance of 5th November 2008 is particularly appropriate as we enjoy unseasonably hot weather: “When checking the depth of a swimming pool, do not use both feet”. The Thanet & East Kent Insider has the historical right of exclusive access to the great man. It was with profound respect and some trepidation that early one morning last week, our reporter negotiated the secret pathway to the Venerable Elvis’s simple dwelling and asked him for any words of guidance for our new Prime Minister. After stroking his long grey beard, the Venerable Elvis said in a low voice: “My advice is for him to learn from the mistakes of others, because he won't have time to make them all himself”. We are indeed blessed to have such a wise man in our midst.



9.  Our Sponsors

Girlings Solicitors has been managing the managing the legal affairs of commercial and private clients for over a century. Twenty-six partners and one hundred and twenty members of staff ensure a comprehensive range of services from the local offices in Ashford, Canterbury, Folkestone, Herne Bay and Margate. Offices in France and Spain complement specialist departments for charities, individuals and companies. For details, telephone 01843 220274. Express By Holiday Inn took on the daunting task of restoring the former Prospect Inn at Minster. The result is a spectacular hotel that combines the best of Oliver Hill’s 1930s design with ultra modern facilities and technological support. Conveniently located for business guests and holiday makers in East Kent, the meeting rooms and 105 bedrooms are available at competitive prices throughout the year. For details, telephone 01843 820250. Adecco is the world’ s largest HR solutions company offering a comprehensive service of temporary and contract staffing, permanent recruitment, outsourcing, outplacement, career services, training and consulting. Officially designated as a 2009 British Superbrand, Adecco is represented in Thanet and Dover by its Broadstairs office, tel: 01843 609292. CARISS design, install and support education and business computing systems as East Kent’s leading specialist company in Open Source Software.  To lower your carbon footprint, reduce your power consumption and adopt a thin client system, call CARISS, tel: 01843 823724. Mach Associates are the high-fliers in providing Internet technologies and specialist software solutions with a particular expertise in servicing the travel industry. A Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and with ISO9001 accreditation, Mach Associates also offers reduces telecom operating cost through VOIP/PBX phone systems. tel: 0870 321 9986. Sota Connect offers a comprehensive IT service covering best-value voice, data and Internet services for companies of all sizes as well as public sector organisations. The company operates two state-of-the-art data centres of over 10,000sq ft. Sota Connect owns and operates a unique 200km fibre network from London to Ramsgate with high bandwidth Internet access giving superfast Internet connections, tel: 0800 072 2420.

Your Business Bulletin from Thanet & East Kent Chamber

Thanet & East Kent Insider

17^th July 2010 Issue No.: 

1. Update On Flybe & Manston

Flybe has contacted the Chamber with a progress report on the growth in bookings on the daily Manston-Edinburgh route which Flybe began on 27th May this year. Connectivity has been a significant factor in attracting passengers. As Chief Commercial Officer Mike Rutter put it: “The ability to travel on one ticket from Kent to Northern Ireland, elsewhere in Scotland and the far reaches of the United Kingdom is proving very attractive. We are confident that passenger traffic will be in both directions and be a further boost to the Kent’s tourism and leisure industry.” What Flybe describes as “the call of the highlands” may well be responsible for the high number of through passengers booking onward flights to the Shetlands and Orkney islands. With the school holidays almost upon us, we can expect further growth in bookings as more ‘staycation’ holiday-makers choose to take their holidays in Scotland and East Kent. Regular readers of the Thanet & East Kent Insider will know that Flybe has announced daily flights connecting Manchester to Manston beginning on 6th September 2010. Travellers who carry their green credentials in their briefcases will be impressed to learn that at last January’s 2010 Business Travel Awards, the independent panel of travel buyers and journalists judged Flybe to be the winner of the title of Best Environmental Contribution by a Company and joint winner with Air Berlin of Best Short-Haul Airline. Interestingly enough, Manchester Airport received the prize for Best UK Airport. Flybe currently carries more UK domestic passengers than any other airline and looks well set to expand its services from the 38 UK and 32 European airports where it now operates. With Manchester City getting ever closer to rivals Manchester United, local fans of both teams can be expected to take full advantage of the new 70 minute flights from Manston to Manchester. At the time of writing the quickest train journey from Broadstairs to Manchester Piccadilly Station takes four hours and six minutes and over five hours for the return, which is a long time if your team has just lost.



2. Academy FM

Kent’s newest radio station, 107.8 Academy FM, has now been on the air for nearly four months. At the board meeting of last Thursday, there was unanimous praise for the progress made to date under the day-to-day management of Pete Willson. A strong feature of Thanet’s community radio station is the opportunity provided to school children from Thanet and beyond to receive professional training in the operations and management of live broadcasts. Benefiting considerably from the patronage of East Kent’s major benefactor, Roger De Haan, the station continues to attract listeners and welcomes enquiries to its offices and two purpose-built studios located at the Marlowe Academy in Broadstairs, tel: 01843 598558.



3. How Are We Doing?

The Thanet & East Kent Insider has consistently advised caution in assessing the impact of one month’s unemployment figures, preferring to look at the year-on-year results before declaring a trend. The data released last Thursday by the ever excellent Research & Information department at Kent County Council does give some cause for optimism. At last, Thanet Wards record more falls in unemployment than increases, 16 against 7. Tunbridge Wells leads the upturn in the annual improvement in Kent with a remarkable 16.9% fall in those claiming “unemployment related benefit” in June 2010 compared to June 2009. Tonbridge & Malling is not far behind with 16.4%, followed by Sevenoaks with 14.8%. That these three districts are showing double digit gains suggests that the banking, insurance and financial sector may indeed be in recovery. The figures will be viewed with some satisfaction by a certain Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini, who opened a new agency in Sevenoaks at the beginning of last month. He may not have had Margate High Street in mind when he declared: ““We recognise the Kent region for its affluence and economic development”, but Margate Central has indeed recorded an annual fall in unemployment of 7.4%. All districts in Kent recorded positive annual gains except Shepway which sadly remains depressed with a 1.8% increase in registered jobless. An overview of the picture in East Kent is pictured in the table below.



4. The Facts

5. Golf

Last week’s edition of the Thanet & East Kent Insider promised a report on the opening of the new clubhouse extension of the Stoneless Golf Centre. This enterprising sports facility in Ebbsfleet Lane offers golfers of all abilities an opportunity to try their hand at the sport and to socialise in a warm atmosphere where formality is at a minimum.  Guest of honour at the opening ceremony was Ronnie Corbett. The very picture of sartorial elegance, he delighted a packed house with a brief but perfectly formed speech prior to unveiling a plaque commemorating the event. He referred to his long standing admiration of the Ramsgate club and mentioned that he was also a great admirer of the spirit in which the game is played; exemplified by the management of Stonelees and the behaviour of great players of the past. He mentioned Tom Watson’s words after triumphing over Jack Nicklaus by one stroke in the 1975 Open Championship at Carnoustie. Jack’s congratulations allegedly included the magnanimous comment that he had been beaten by the better golfer and he offered Watson fulsome praise. Tom Watson remarked later that not only is Jack Nicklaus the greatest golfer ever to have played the game but he is also the greatest loser. Humility is not always associated with sports stars. The players in the losing Dutch team at the recent World Cup final are presumably not golfers and certainly not members at Stonelees. Last week’s edition also included a promise to relate if Ronnie Corbett made any self-deprecating remarks about his diminutive stature. This well-loved comedian did in fact allude to his height of 5 ft 1½. He told his audience that he thought he might be late as he had been cleaning the floor of his budgerigar’s cage that morning when the door had unfortunately snapped shut. He had thought he might be stuck there all day, but then he remembered, “Ring the bell, ring the bell.”



6. More On Apprenticeships

Jayne Lawson of Chamber member King Ethelbert School has drawn our attention to some new opportunities available to anyone unemployed or a school leaver. Pie Music Factory of Ramsgate, registered charity no. 1097561, is inviting applications for 12 apprenticeships. The training consists of running workshops for young people in a variety of music styles. Pie Music factory writes: “These placements are not paid positions and do not affect your ability to claim jobseekers allowance. You will however receive access to £40 per week expenses allowance.” In addition, the same organisation is offering a 6-month course of 10 hours a week accredited by the National Open College Network (NOCN) organized on similar terms but which focuses on key skills in the music industry. This course is claimed to prepare students “to go onto higher education at Thanet College or other colleges.” For details, contact Pie Factory Music, telephone 01843 596777.    



7. Kent Children

Amy Watson, Business Planning Officer in the Strategic Planning & Review Team at Kent County Council, has contacted the Thanet & East Kent Chamber to ask members if they are interested in contributing to the Kent Children and Young People's Plan 2011-2014.  This will be the third official version which will then go for consultation in the Autumn. If you have any ideas, proposals or suggestions to improve the lives of children in Kent, feel free to contribute. Full details are on the website at http://www.kenttrustweb.org.uk/children/kct_cypp_2011_14.cfm



8. Hotel Cleaner Finds £33,000

Hoteliers in Thanet and beyond will no doubt be asking themselves if they could find more employees like Essa Khan of the Serena Hotel, in Gilgit, Pakistan. This humble cleaner who earns around £150.00 a month found a bag containing over £33,000 when cleaning the room of a departed Japanese guest. According to reports, Mr Khan immediately handed the money into the hotel manager and said; “My duty with the hotel and my family upbringing teaches me nothing else. Times are hard for everyone, but that doesn't mean we should start stealing and taking things which do not belong to us.” The manager said afterwards that the guest in question had no idea where he had left the money and was much relieved to discover its whereabouts.



9. Mechanic’s Revenge

Following last week’s account of a heart surgeon and a mechanic which left surgeon as the clear victor after his final words: “But you try doing it all with the engine running”, a narrative has reached the Chamber of the mechanic’s revenge. We have our doubts about this story, but readers must judge for themselves. Apparently some years later, the self-same highly-rated surgeon returned to the mechanic’s garage having pulled off the nearby motorway with his engine misfiring rather badly. The mechanic stepped out of his tiny office onto the forecourt and immediately recognised the smooth-talking professional who had previously got the better of him. After listening contentedly to the surgeon’s problem, he politely asked him to release the bonnet catch of his limousine and to start up the engine. As the mechanic listened to the erratic coughing of the motor, he withdrew from his trouser leg pocket a small screwdriver. Bending down over the carburettors, he made some minute adjustments which magically restored the engine to a perfectly smooth and quiet running mode and with a flourish returned the screwdriver to the pocket in his overalls. Unwilling to show his undoubted surprise at such manual skill from such oily hands, the surgeon said coldly: “Perhaps you could let me know if there is any charge and I will be on my way.” He reached into his pocket for some change. With a casual “Certainly, sir”, the mechanic retreated to his office, returning within a minute with a handwritten bill. The surgeon continued to jingle some coins in his hand expectantly until he read the invoice. “What! I don’t believe it. £58.75 for a moment’s work, just two twitches of your screwdriver. I don’t get paid that much and I’m a heart surgeon.” “I know you are”, said the mechanic, “and if you prefer I can write you out the bill again. One pound for the labour for turning a few screws in your engine and forty-nine pounds for knowing which screws to turn. The rest is VAT”. The surgeon meekly opened his wallet and paid the bill in full. The mechanic returned to his office with a broad smile on his face promising himself an extra biscuit with his tea that afternoon.



10.  Our Sponsors

Girlings Solicitors has been managing the managing the legal affairs of commercial and private clients for over a century. Twenty-six partners and one hundred and twenty members of staff ensure a comprehensive range of services from the local offices in Ashford, Canterbury, Folkestone, Herne Bay and Margate. Offices in France and Spain complement specialist departments for charities, individuals and companies. For details, telephone 01843 220274. Express By Holiday Inn took on the daunting task of restoring the former Prospect Inn at Minster. The result is a spectacular hotel that combines the best of Oliver Hill’s 1930s design with ultra modern facilities and technological support. Conveniently located for business guests and holiday makers in East Kent, the meeting rooms and 105 bedrooms are available at competitive prices throughout the year. For details, telephone 01843 820250. Adecco is the world’ s largest HR solutions company offering a comprehensive service of temporary and contract staffing, permanent recruitment, outsourcing, outplacement, career services, training and consulting. Officially designated as a 2009 British Superbrand, Adecco is represented in Thanet and Dover by its Broadstairs office, tel: 01843 609292. CARISS design, install and support education and business computing systems as East Kent’s leading specialist company in Open Source Software.  To lower your carbon footprint, reduce your power consumption and adopt a thin client system, call CARISS, tel: 01843 823724. Mach Associates are the high-fliers in providing Internet technologies and specialist software solutions with a particular expertise in servicing the travel industry. A Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and with ISO9001 accreditation, Mach Associates also offers reduces telecom operating cost through VOIP/PBX phone systems. tel: 0870 321 9986. Sota Connect offers a comprehensive IT service covering best-value voice, data and Internet services for companies of all sizes as well as public sector organisations. The company operates two state-of-the-art data centres of over 10,000sq ft. Sota Connect owns and operates a unique 200km fibre network from London to Ramsgate with high bandwidth Internet access giving superfast Internet connections, tel: 0800 072 2420.

Your Business Bulletin from Thanet & East Kent Chamber

Thanet & East Kent Insider

10^th July 2010 Issue No.: 204

1. A Question of Image

The official Chamber photographic Agency, Anton Images of Sandwich, has a range of photographs available from a selection of Chamber events during the past twelve months including the recent Business Breakfast with Laura Sandys MP and the Thanet Business Exhibition of last month. To view the collection, see the website at http://www.photoboxgallery.com/ddccand be prepared to wait a few moments for the ‘Image Not Available” badges to disappear. Visitors to the site can order simple photographic prints from as little as £0.05 each or have their favourite images printed on cards, stationery, T-shirts, mugs, calendars, glass, bags and cushions. This raises the possibility that with some judicious purchases you could wake up in the morning and see yourself on your shaving mirror, check the date on a calendar that features your physiognomy and have breakfast sitting down on top of your own image drinking your coffee from a mug with your face on it. On the other hand, you could just buy the prints to send to your mum.



2. Coastal Tourism

Tourism to British seaside resorts is definitely on the increase. “We can offer a unique product that will keep people coming” is the verdict of Professor Steve Fothergill of Sheffield Hallam's Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research (CSESR) which has just produced the report The Seaside Tourist Industry in England and Wales.  Our seaside industry in England is claimed to be “larger than the motor industry, aerospace, pharmaceuticals or steel”. The authors of the report are keen to dispel the myth that our seaside resorts are in terminal decline and they use historic employment data to justify the optimism that attends their conclusions. Their figures are based on “additional jobs in seaside resorts that are attributable to tourism.” Around 210,000 employees owe their jobs directly to seaside tourism at 121 resorts in England and Wales. Indirect employment tourism contributes even more. Blackpool is the undoubted star with 19,000 posts attributable directly to seaside tourism.  Some resorts have targeted tourism as being the main driver of regeneration. The Thanet & East Kent Insider’s own research reveals that  Southend-on-Sea Borough Council was given £25 million by the government of the day to spend on improving the built environment and promises “Big changes for a Better Southend“, see http://www.southend.gov.uk/info/200130/better_southend. The funding is dependent on the money being spent before March next year which should not create too many problems.  Southend attracts six million day trippers per year who bring in over £270 million into the local economy, according to the council. The CSESR figure for revenue direct from tourism for Southend in 2007 is a more modest £67 million. Thanet is recorded as receiving an annual injection of £100 million and Whitstable/Herne Bay £22 million Although Southend can boast the world’s longest pier, it does not have the concentration of blue-flag beaches enjoyed by visitors to Thanet. Peter Hampson, director of the British Resorts and Destinations Association, welcomed the publication of the CSESR report with enthusiasm. Speaking to the BBC’s Phil Lavelle at the end of June, he said: "People who follow the fortunes of the British seaside tourist industry have always known it is a myth that the industry is in terminal decline, but we have not had the comprehensive and convincing evidence to prove otherwise until now.” It shouldn’t need a Professor in Sheffield to highlight the charms of the East Kent coast. But, perhaps after all we should leave the last word to Steve Fothergill who surely qualifies for free ice-creams and his own stick of rock on his next visit as he declared to national television, “Who needs the Med when we have Margate? In 2010, the British seaside is the place to be.”



3. NIC Deadline

Jon Cleverdon Chartered Accountants, tel: 01843 866599,  has written to the chamber with a reminder about Class 1A National Insurance payments for the pay periods 6th April 2010 to 5th July 2010.  This Broadstairs-based accountancy firm looks after the books of many small and medium enterprises in the area. Their advice is: “As a small employer with income tax, national insurance and student loan deductions of less than £1,500 a month you are required to make payment to HMRC of the income tax, national insurance and student loan deductions on a quarterly basis. Where the payment is made electronically the deadline for receipt of payment is 22nd July 2010.” Penalties may apply for late payment.



4. Enterprise In School

Ramsgate was the scene for the Big Green Business Pitch, a Dragon’s Den series of presentations by students of Chatham House Grammar School organized by Jane Owen and her team at Chamber member, Connexions Kent & Medway, tel: 01795 439397 and 01843 593395. Joining the Chamber on the judging panel was Johnny Lewis who hosts the radio show Breakfast For Thanet each weekday morning on KMFM. Non-techies who have difficulty with a photocopier were not much in evidence as the four pseudo-companies put forward their ideas under the branding of Woodlock, Step Change, Keep Safe Industries and Shift respectively. The consummate ease with which the students handled their PowerPoint projections and promoted their Internet marketing plans would have undoubtedly impressed Messrs Bannatyne, Caan, Jones, Meaden and Paphitis who headline the popular BBC series. In a close contest, the winning Woodlock team just managed to finish ahead of its rivals with its proposal to produce custom-made guitars from recyclable timber. A distinguishing feature of the company’s plans was the attention given to existing competitors and a careful study of the targeted buyers. Chatham House is proud of its motto, Floreat Domus Chathamensis, which it translates as “May Chatham House Flourish”. Many former students have blossomed. It will be interesting to track the progress of the winning team to see if any of them can flourish to the same extent as Edward Heath, Prime Minister 1970-74, Sean Kerly, Olympic gold medallist, Frank Muir, author and humourist and a long list of distinguished senior figures in the armed services. If any locals on holiday in Buenos Aires get sick from too much corned beef and wish to repent for their sin, the current Bishop of Argentina, the Most Reverend Gregory James Venables, is an alumnus of Chatham House Grammar School and would doubtlessly wish to absolve you in return for the latest news on traffic flows at Westwood Cross.



5. Boost For East Kent

The World Cup will not be coming home to England this year, denying the Football Association considerable sums in sponsorship and image rights. By contrast, despite the efforts of some journalists and broadcasters, the English language in Britain remains the envy of the world and accounts for £1.5 billion in annual earnings from activities related to non-native speakers wishing to learn how to speak like we do. East Kent receives more than its fair share of revenue from teaching English to non-native speakers in public and private establishments. An extraordinary decision by the then Home Secretary banned non-EC students from studying English in the UK unless they had a level of English equivalent to B2 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages which is defined as “Can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics”. Banks often hear criticism along the lines of “You only lend money to people who do not need it”, but to impose a condition on foreign students that they can only come to the UK to study English if they already speak it well is almost beyond logic. It seriously imperilled export revenue of £600 million, a proportion of which finds its way every year to host families in East Kent and a wide selection of traders supplying services such as coach travel, entertainment and facilities management. Fortunately, the new ruling which came into effect on 3rd March this year has been overturned in the High Court. In a Press Release by English UK earlier today, the organisation that represents British Council accredited English schools stated: “This judgement upholds our basic case that the Home Secretary was wrong to introduce a substantive change in the entry criteria”. Hero of the hour is undoubtedly Tony Millns, the Chief Executive of English UK who brought the case to the High Court “as a last resort”. He makes the point that border controls should prevent illegal entry and not bona fide students. He makes the offer to: “help formulate a more sensible policy which our members can support and which will contribute to immigration control”. The shops, businesses, state schools and independent schools that welcome foreign learners to East Kent give you their thanks, Tony.  Your Herculean efforts in uniting the public and private sector providers in 2004 has given English UK a voice in the corridors of power which will now save jobs here and bring a steady stream of revenue to East Kent retailers throughout the summer months.



6. Golf

Requests for places at the Chamber Golf Day at Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club scheduled for Friday, 8th October 2010 have already exceeded the number playing last year. Members are reminded that teams of four are invited to take part in playing this prestigious venue which has hosted two Open Championships and been much appreciated in the past by great players such as Jack Nicklaus and Harry Vardon. Royal patronage dates back to 1910 and is continued today by Prince Andrew who in June 2009 took the trouble to attend the centenary of the first Open Championship by flying into Deal by helicopter from Windsor. The Chamber Golf Day has become East Kent’s premier corporate Golf Day. The prizes available to teams from the Thanet & East Kent and Dover Chambers of Commerce will include a new car and tickets for travel overseas.  For details, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the subject line “Chamber Golf Day”.



7. Ronnie Corbett & Stonelees

Ronnie Corbett will be returning to Stonelees Golf Centre tomorrow to open the new clubhouse extension, fifteen years after inaugurating the first clubhouse. A report will be featured in next week’s edition of Thanet & East Kent Insider. Following his first visit to Stonelees after performing at the Winter Gardens Margate, Ronnie Corbett has been a firm friend of this enterprising golf club and will be as keen as the locals to see the wide range of golfing goods now on offer in the enlarged shop. Renown for his self-deprecating humour, Ronnie Corbett often refers to his short stature. In fact he measures, 5 ft 1½ in, which for readers born after 1970 is 1m 56cm. Read next week’s edition to see if he does indeed refer to his height in his speech.



8. Health Screening

Chamber member The Spencer Wing offers a health screening service providing comprehensive medical checks for senior executives and middle managers as well as those staff working in potentially hazardous surroundings. The Spencer Wing is experienced in tailoring a course of specific health and safety sessions as an integral part of a company’s occupational health programme. For details, telephone 01843 234555. 



9. Our Heart Is Like An Engine, Or Is It?

Perhaps thinking of the valuable services offered by the Spencer Wing, Thanet’s own private hospital, one member has contacted the Thanet & East Kent Chamber with this account of a meeting between a surgeon at the hospital and a garage mechanic. We have our doubts about this story, but we leave it to you to judge. The Thanet-based heart surgeon took his top of the range Lexus to his local garage for its six-monthly service. Admiring its sleek lines and luxurious interior, the garage mechanic cast his eyes towards the back wall of the workshop behind which his battered Ford Escort was parked, diplomatically hidden from public view. Peaked by the obvious disparity in wealth and noting the soft hands and expensive suit of his customer, he plucked up the courage to say:”Me and you, we are the same basically.” “Oh, yes,” said the heart surgeon, adjusting his gold cufflinks to show just the regulation two fingers of cuff below his expensively tailored jacket. “I guess so”, said the mechanic. “What I do is, I check how it’s running, open it up, adjust the valves and then put it all back together just like new. Now that’s what you do, isn’t it?” “Well almost, I suppose it is in a way”, replied the surgeon. “Well, if that’s so”, continued the mechanic warming to his theme: “How come I am getting paid 10% of what you get. I have my tools. You have your instruments. I do the same as you do”. “Ah yes,” said the surgeon, “But you try doing it all with the engine running”.  



10.  Our Sponsors

Girlings Solicitors has been managing the managing the legal affairs of commercial and private clients for over a century. Twenty-six partners and one hundred and twenty members of staff ensure a comprehensive range of services from the local offices in Ashford, Canterbury, Folkestone, Herne Bay and Margate. Offices in France and Spain complement specialist departments for charities, individuals and companies. For details, telephone 01843 220274. Express By Holiday Inn took on the daunting task of restoring the former Prospect Inn at Minster. The result is a spectacular hotel that combines the best of Oliver Hill’s 1930s design with ultra modern facilities and technological support. Conveniently located for business guests and holiday makers in East Kent, the meeting rooms and 105 bedrooms are available at competitive prices throughout the year. For details, telephone 01843 820250. Adecco is the world’ s largest HR solutions company offering a comprehensive service of temporary and contract staffing, permanent recruitment, outsourcing, outplacement, career services, training and consulting. Officially designated as a 2009 British Superbrand, Adecco is represented in Thanet and Dover by its Broadstairs office, tel: 01843 609292. CARISS design, install and support education and business computing systems as East Kent’s leading specialist company in Open Source Software.  To lower your carbon footprint, reduce your power consumption and adopt a thin client system, call CARISS, tel: 01843 823724. Mach Associates are the high-fliers in providing Internet technologies and specialist software solutions with a particular expertise in servicing the travel industry. A Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and with ISO9001 accreditation, Mach Associates also offers reduces telecom operating cost through VOIP/PBX phone systems. tel: 0870 321 9986. Sota Connect offers a comprehensive IT service covering best-value voice, data and Internet services for companies of all sizes as well as public sector organisations. The company operates two state-of-the-art data centres of over 10,000sq ft. Sota Connect owns and operates a unique 200km fibre network from London to Ramsgate with high bandwidth Internet access giving superfast Internet connections, tel: 0800 072 2420.

Your Business Bulletin from Thanet & East Kent Chamber

Thanet & East Kent Insider

3^rd July 2010 Issue No.: 204

1. Chidren In Care, Children In Need

In last week’s Thanet & East Kent Insider, we asked readers for comments on the economic impact of foster care in Thanet. We have received a lively correspondence which emphasizes the benefits to local families and businesses of the increased income coming to the district. There has also been much criticism of some of the negative publicity that has recently been appearing in the local press. One correspondent referring to a local head teacher’s use of the word ‘dumped’ went so far as to write, “I really take exception to the use of the word ‘dumped’ and wonder what it might feel like, firstly to be a child who needs to be in foster care, secondly to be referred to as ‘dumped’ and thirdly to realise that you are unwelcome in the community that has been chosen to be your home.” Thanet and East Kent in general has a long history of offering a warm welcome to tourists, to visitors and to immigrant workers who are prepared to arrive on time and do a good job for their employer. The East Kent coastal business community will surely want to encourage inward investors with a more positive outloook. Readers may be assured that the Thanet & East Kent Insider will never refer to vulnerable children as being ‘dumped’.



2. What About Private Providers?

East Kent has some excellent private fostering agencies. One of the best is undoubtedly By The Bridge which was recently judged as “Outstanding” in all six key areas of Ofsted inspection. This private sector agency is the recipient of numerous accolades including ISO 9001 and Investor in People status and is an official sponsor of the Duke of Edinburgh awards. Despite its curious name, By The Bridge has acquired an excellent reputation for all aspects of its services. In a correspondence exclusive to the Thanet & East Kent Insider, Managing Director Nicola Tunbridge writes: “Kent is a centre of excellence when it comes to providing quality foster care. Hundreds of families earn an income from fostering and spend their money in the local community”. She praises unreservedly the “skilled parenting” offered by foster families “and the people who take on this incredibly challenging task” and offers strong words directed at one local press report that quoted a head teacher as saying foster children had been ‘dumped’ on his establishment. As she put it: “The statements in this article undermine the professional training undertaken by these families and the life-changing service they have provided to thousands of British children and young people. These children are not dumped and their foster families are not dump sites”. When an expert in fostering makes such a statement, we must treat it seriously, especially as she began her email with a decalration that “I always enjoy reading your Thanet business circular, the humour really strikes a chord with me along with the interesting content.” All the more interesting, Nicola, thanks to your contribution.



3. What Does The Council Think?

One Thanet District Councillor has kindly briefed the Chamber on the history of foster children in Thanet. We are most grateful for the background. The Councillor notes: “There has been considerable emphasis on the negative but what is needed is also an examination of  the financial benefits to Thanet of employment for foster parents.”. The Councillor continues; “In all of this we must not forget the tragedy of children who have been abused and let down by adults. Any of them who read in local papers that they are not wanted in schools and towns, where they have been sent for safety, must feel even more insecure.  A recent article in the Observer showed how well a young man did from being placed in Broadstairs after a traumatic start in life. I know of others.” We are happy to relate success stories and would welcome reports from Chamber members with news of any of their employees who have won against the odds.



4. Yet More On The Budget

Last week’s Thanet & East Kent Insider discussed the budget and its implications for businesses in the East Kent coastal business community. We welcomed the emphasis on the private sector and the need to address the national debt as a first priority. There has been reluctant acceptance by most companies contacted since last week that it is only fair that those on the lowest incomes should be taken out of the income tax system and that the changes in Capital Gains Tax could have been a lot worse. Similarly, no-one has objected too strongly to the rise in VAT on the basis that it impacts largely on discretionary spending and not on essentials such as children’s clothing and unprocessed food. Some anomalies remain. For instance, if you buy “Caramel or Millionaire’s shortcake” topped with caramel or chocolate,  Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs informs us it is zero rated for VAT. However, “Shortbread partly or wholly chococate-covered” is classified at the standard rate of VAT. Work that one out if you can. This may be an example of where  the “Millionaire” does actually profit from the budget, despite what the press reports have told us. .



5. Why is the South East Excluded From National Insurance Incentives?

We do not know the answer to this question. Readers will recall that start up companies are offered the powerful incentive of no National Insurance payments for the first 10 members of staff; a potential subsidy of £50,000. Companies in the South East and East are excluded. Powerful support has arrived from Roger Gale MP who writes: “I do not believe that it is right that “London and the South East”, embracing, as it does, areas of need such as East Kent, should be excluded in totality as “prosperous” from government concessions.” Neither do we, Roger, and we welcome your support.



6. Your Business News On The Air

Thanet & East Kent Chamber has reached agreement with 107.8 Academy FM to feature a local business each week in the Chamber news spot on Wednesday afternoons. Regular listeners to Kent’s newest radio station will have heard the Chamber’s comments on the budget, inward investment opportunities, property matters and the products and services available from Chamber members. There is now an opportunity for your company to be the main item in the Chamber business news broadcast from the Ramsgate studios. As a community radio station, 107.8 Academy FM is not allowed to accept advertising. However, companies will be allowed to be mentioned by name at least twice during the ten minutes or so of the session and your interviewer will take an understanding approach towards your operations. Pre-interview coaching is available from the Chamber if you have not appeared on the radio or television before. For more details, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the subject line “Academy FM Chamber News Spot”.



7. News From Dover

Plans for a National War Memorial on Dover’s Western Heights have received a boost from a film by KETV recording the Dover Arts Festival on 15th May 2010 which was itself designed to raise the profile of the campaign. The film is available on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYBmDGOlZ8Y Lasting just seven minutes and sixteen seconds, the film also promotes Chamber members Cloudberry and Lovely’s Gallery. Lovers of traditional art, fine wine, patisserie and good music will find something of interest in the broadcast.  There is currently no single memorial in the UK to commemorate those who died in the service of this country in the first and second world wars. The campaign for a National War Memorial seeks to create a permament site to celebrate the sacrifice made by the 1.7 million British and Commonwealth service men and women, Merchant Navy personnel and civilians who perished in the two greatest conflicts of the twentieth century.



8. Question Time

Three Chamber members volunteered their services to appear alongside the Thanet & East Kent Chamber Chief Executive at a BBC style Question Time at St Saviour’s Junior School last Thursday. Questions from the 180 pupils of years five and six touched on the attractions of working in the private sector, memories of a first paid job and cultural differences in dealing with international clients. Meeting the challenge were Joanna Hunt of Cloudberry tel: 07980 920370, Warren Dunham of Sota Solution tel: 01795 413500 and Mary Campbell of Adecco, tel: 01843 609292. The Thanet & East Kent Chamber is keen to support an enterprise culture in local schools and looks forward to working with educational establishments of all types to promote positive messages about private companies. In a BBC radio exchange with Chamber members earlier this year, Lord Digby Jones made the point that too often business is portrayed in the media as an unsavoury refuge for scoundrels. He lamented that Coronation Street, East Enders and even the Archers seemed to portray businessmen and women as villains.  The Thanet & East Kent Chamber is happy to bring a more positive message to enquiring minds. Joanna, Warren and Mary were certainly able to do that and the Chamber is most grateful.



9. Credit Control

In the last few months, this Chamber has been assisting some members with their unpaid bills. Sometimes an unfriendly word from the Chamber can assist the debtors to appreciate the error of their ways. At other times, sterner action is required. The Chamber is fortunate in being able to recommend the services of first class legal brains at Girlings tel: 01843 220274, Robinson & Allfree tel: 01843 592361, Barnes Marsland tel: 01843 221466, Macalister White LLP tel: 01843 572789, Boys & Maughan tel: 01843 234000 and Brachers tel: 01622 690691. The costs of legal action may not be high and in many cases can be recovered from the other party. The aforementioned solicitors are all fully aware of the need to balance risk and reward and will assess every case on its merits.  



10. News From The House

This Chamber is continuing its campaign to review the exclusion of East Kent from the National Insurance incentive to start up companies accounced in the emergency budget of 22nd June 2010 and mentioned in item 5 above. Last Monday, the Chief Executive of the Chamber enjoyed a discussion of one hour at the House of Commons with an MP close to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In a wide-ranging exchange of views, this Chamber stressed the importance of considering the East Kent coastal business community as a distinct economic region that should not be confused with the needs and interests of  Kent as a whole or the Greater South East. Measures were discussed to bring a sharper focus on the private sector in our area so that economic development is promoted with more vigour and local companies are freed from some of the petty regulations that restrict growth and hinder operational efficiency.



11. Thanet District Council

In a lengthy meeting yesterday, the Thanet & East Kent Chamber enjoyed a fruitful dialogue with Cllr Roger Latchford, Deputy Leader of Thanet District Council, and Louise Askew, TDC Economic Development Officer. The discussions centred on strengthening the cooperation between Thanet’s largest business support organisation and its elected representatives at TDC. The Thanet & East Kent Insider will report on the results of these discussions and will keep readers informed of progress. Many Chamber members will be aware of the business-friendly support offered by the TDC Director of Regeneration Services, Brian White, who has been instrumental in solving seemeningly intractable problems relating to planning and development. Like his counterpart in Dover, Tim Ingleton, Brian is always able to see the issue in question from the point of view of the wealth creators.



12. Beat That

Since corporal punishment was abolished in state schools in 1987 followed by its obligatory departure from fee-paying schools in 1998, reports of domestic floggings have also diminished sharply. One Chamber member, aware of the Thanet & East Kent Insider’s abiding interest in the progress of Doncaster Rovers FC and our current focus on children in care, has sent us this story. We have our doubts, but readers must judge for themselves. “One poor child, the victim of a split home and abusive parents, was brought into court and was asked by the presiding magistrate: “Well, young Shane, who do you want to live with? Would you like to live with your father?”. “No”, said the eleven year old, “He beats me.” Unperturbed, the magistrate continued: “Would you like to live with your mother then.” “No”, said Shane, “She beats me as well.” “In that case”, continued the magistrate, “What about your aunty and uncle, I am sure they would like you to live with them”. “Certainly not”, cried Shane in alarm, “ They beat me too.” “Well”, said the magistatre somewhat at a loss for choices, “Who would you like to live with?” “Doncaster Rovers”, came the immediate reply. “Doncaster Rovers?”, said the magistrate. “That’s a football team. Why on earth do you want to live with Doncaster Rovers? “ Well”, said the child with a wisdom beyond his years, “The thing is your Honour. I would feel completely safe. Doncaster Rovers never beats anybody”.



13. Our Sponsors

The Thanet & East Kent Insider is grateful for the support and sponsorship provided by Girlings, Express By Holiday Inn and Adecco. Girlings Solicitors has been managing the managing the legal affairs of commercial and private clients for over a century. Twenty-six partners and one hundred and twenty members of staff ensure a comprehensive range of services from the local offices in Ashford, Canterbury, Folkestone, Herne Bay and Margate. Offices in France and Spain complement specialist departments for charities, individuals and companies. For details, telephone 01843 220274. Express By Holiday took on the daunting task of restoring the former Prospect Inn at Minster. The result is a spectacular hotel that combines the best of Oliver Hill’s 1930s design with ultra modern facilities and technological support. Conveniently located for business guests and holiday makers in East Kent, the meeting rooms and 105 bedrooms are available at competitive prices throughout the year. For details, telephone 01843 820250. Adecco is the world’ s largest HR solutions company offering a comprehensive service of temporary and contract staffing, permanent recruitment, outsourcing, outplacement, career services, training and consulting. Officially designated as a 2009 British Superbrand, Adecco is represented in Thanet and Dover by its Broadstairs office, tel: 01843 609292.

Your Business Bulletin from Thanet & East Kent Chamber

Thanet & East Kent Insider

26^th June 2010 Issue No.: 

1. The Budget

The emergency budget of 22nd June 2010 has significant implications for all businesses in the East Kent coastal business community. An initial telephone survey of members welcomed the broad outlines of the emergency measures announced by the Chancellor, George Osborne, although the broad brush approach over-painted some issues vital to the regeneration of our local economy. Firstly, companies of all sizes seem to welcome the common sense implicit in balancing the national account by 2015/16.   As one Chamber member put it, “Any school child will tell you that if you receive £5 of pocket money each week and continually spend £6, eventually your mum and dad are going to think twice about funding your prolificacy.” This is reasonable as without credible measures to reduce debt, the country would face potentially huge costs from increased interest payments. Also, anyone who can use the word ‘prolificacy’ at eight o’clock in the morning deserves to have his views treated with respect. Secondly, the emphasis on the private sector is good news for the wealth creators. After all, the simple truth is that the public purse contains only what is confiscated from the operations of the private sector or what the government prints for itself. A certain lady prime minister famously commented on the matter in a speech at Cheltenham Racecourse in July 1982, “ And we can't avoid one unchallengeable truth. The Government has no money of its own. All that it has it takes in taxes or borrows at interest. It's all of you, everyone here, that pays. Of course, there is another way. Instead of taking money from our people openly, in taxation or loans, we can take it surreptitiously, by subterfuge. We can print money in order to pay out of higher inflation what we dare not tax and cannot borrow. But that disreputable method is no longer open to us. Rightly this Government has abjured it.” The new government has obviously decided to do the same.



2. East Kent Pubs

Before getting carried away in post-Falklands euphoria, some of the specifics of the emergency budget deserve a close examination. The rejection of the proposed rise in tax on cider will please the apple growers in Kent, but offers little solace to the workers in our East Kent pubs and the entrepreneurs who continue to support them. Tourists from all over the world appreciate public houses as unique features of our British way of life. We know that pubs contribute an important element to the social cohesion of our towns and villages. East Kent has a magnificent tradition of first-class pubs providing a community focus and a warm welcome to visitors. No-one disputes that inefficient businesses should bear the consequences of their failure to meet the needs of their customers, but the imbalance in taxes between beer sales in supermarkets and those on licensed premises constitutes nothing less than a concerted attack on our local heritage. A rise of 26% in the last two years on the taxes on a pint of beer in a pub has been the final straw for many establishments. Most readers of the Thanet & East Kent Insider will know of a pub near where they live or work where no landlord will ever call ‘time’ again. In an exclusive interview with the Thanet & East Kent Insider, Frank Thorley, owner of 25 pubs, clubs and restaurants in East Kent said, “I welcome the decision to remove the proposed tax increase on cider, but the major issue is the cheap alcohol available from supermarkets where the tax the government charges on beer is so much lower than the tax on for bar sales on licensed premises.”   Frank has a good point and we look forward to this issue being addressed in the spending review scheduled for October 2010.



3. East Kent Employers

There has been a strong reaction from East Kent companies to the announcement by the Chancellor that: “For the next three years anyone who sets up a new business outside London, the South East and the Eastern region will be exempt from up to £5,000 of employer national insurance payments, for each of their first 10 employees hired.” The objection is to the phrase: “outside London, the South East and the Eastern region” as this puts start up companies in East Kent at a potential £50,000 disadvantage against a competitor starting up in, for example, the Cotswold. The broad brush that paints the whole of the South East as a rich area largely ignores the inherited plight of East Kent. By picturing Oxford, London and Sevenoaks in the same portrait as Margate, Cliftonville and Dover, the Chancellor has confirmed a prevailing prejudice in this part of the world that the views and status of West Kent, Sussex and Surrey predominate and East Kent suffers as a result. Despite the predicted success of the Turner Contemporary, the inward investment from wind farms and a resurgent Manston Airport, the government’s own figures suggest that the Chancellor may wish to review the strategy that subsidizes new companies in the Cotswold where unemployment is 1.7% and effectively penalizes start ups in parts of Margate and Dover where the jobless figures touch 14% and 10% respectively. The budget is certainly tough but not exactly fair to East Kent. Entrepreneurs looking to start a company here may well consider that they would be starting their match on a playing field with the slope against them.



4. What Is The Chamber Doing About It?

The Thanet & East Kent Chamber has always enjoyed a positive dialogue with the elected representatives of all parties. With our associates at the Dover District Chamber of Commerce, we will continue that tradition. The Chief Executive of the Chamber has a meeting arranged at the House of Commons on Monday 28th June 2010. A media campaign has already begun; see the ITV Meridian News video available for the next few days only at http://www.itv.com/meridian-east/give-us-a-break53773/ After the advert, fast forward to 00:55 to see an excerpt from the recording.



5. VAT

The Value Added Tax rate is scheduled to rise from 17.5% to 20% from 4th January 2011. The consensus from most Chamber members outside the retail sector and its suppliers is that this is the ‘least worst option’. In other words, even if the medicine tastes bad, it is in the patient’s interest to take it if a cure is to be effected. The measure suggests that trading in our shops over the Christmas period will be frenetic as shoppers scramble to make purchases before the deadline. Boxing Day is the busiest shopping day of the year in normal times. With record crowds likely on the sales floors this year, Boxing Day promises to offer many opportunities to assess the personal hygiene of your fellow citizens. Large stores will be limited to six hours of trading as 26 th December 2010 falls on a Sunday. Small retailers and independent traders should have no such restrictions. Remote shareholders of large chain stores may complain about a perceived injustice. The Chief Executives of Debenhams and Arcadia have already shouted loudly, but local shopkeepers who extend their opening hours on the day may find that for once they will enjoy a significant advantages over the large multiples.



6. A Selection of Comments

David Frost, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), stated: "The Budget presents a courageous and forceful plan to re-balance the UK economy towards productive private-sector businesses. Companies and policy-makers will all hope that it will help to secure sustainable medium-term growth". David Kern, BCC Chief Economist: “Additionally, the OBR's forecast that UK unemployment would peak this year at 8.1% appears much too optimistic given the high level of inactivity in the economy and the expected falls in public sector employment.” Chamber member Adecco, tel: 01843 609292, produced an official text from head office for the benefit of local Chamber members which reads as follows: "We are pleased that the Government has scrapped the planned tax on jobs.  A rise in National Insurance Contributions would have added cost to hiring temporary staff.  Now more than ever, we need measures which encourage employers to take on more staff to tackle unemployment.  The rise in the threshold will assist this." Jon Cleverdon Chartered Accountants of Broadstairs, tel: 01843 866599, notes: “ Many fundamental announcements have been made which affect the taxation of most individuals. These are in addition to changes already made by the previous government, such as the 50% tax rate and changes to the tax relief available for pension contributions.” and on VAT:  “An increase in the standard rate was widely forecast. Unsurprisingly, draft legislation has also been issued setting out anti-avoidance measures to deal with transactions aimed at forestalling the increase in rate.” Finally, the British Property Federation is not entirely happy. “ Good news for ports, but nothing for those struggling to cope with empty property rates, despite pre-election sympathy from leading Tories and Lib Dems”. Liz Peace, BPF Chief Executive, had already made her position clear in a statement released four days before the emergency budget which quoted verbatim the criticism of the empty rates legislation by Caroline Spelman, Eric Pickles and Vince Cable. As she put it then: “This tax was opposed by hundreds of MPs, including the current secretaries of state for Business, Communities and Environment. If they do not undo this damaging tax next Tuesday, questions will no doubt be asked.” The redoubtable Liz will be one of those asking questions.



7. A New Scam on the Scene

Martyn Young of Atlantic Business Resources, tel: 0781 353 7456, has contacted the Chamber with news of a scam that he states “may interest Chamber members”. Martyn points out that to his knowledge four companies have been contacted by the perpetrator and two of them have been entrapped. Here is the sad story as related to Martyn, “ You get a phone call from someone purporting to be from Microsoft or an agent for Microsoft saying that they have detected that you have a problem with your computer and who hasn’t or that you have reported a problem (Your computer might ask you to send an error report from time to time). They will then get you to look in your computer’s “Event Log” which nearly always shows errors or warnings. At this point they get you to connect to a website and agree to them taking possession of your computer – they will now operate your computer remotely. They get you to agree to download some software which will “sort out” all your computer problems. Your computer will now download some cheap and nasty anti-virus software which takes forever to download. To save time, whilst downloading, they ask for your credit card details to pay for the software (Freeware). They are so convincing that many people give them their details and are stung for at least £100. On top of that the software will either fail to download fully or if it does download it will conflict with your own Anti-Virus software and cause your computer to freeze and become completely inoperable. You will then have to pay for someone like me to come and sort it out for you.”  Of course, many readers will have received an email purporting to come from a lottery of one sort or another, but the Nigerian General or ‘419 Scam’ remains one of the most lucrative. According to CrimesofPersuasion.Com, ‘This particular scam targets middle class, middle age, business and professional men who would never be as easily deceived by a lottery scam. Estimates put the losses from these "Nigerian Advance Fee" operations at over USD 1 million "every single day" in the U.S. alone.’



8. A Picture of Good Mental Health

This Chamber takes a close interest in mental health issues. East Kent Mencap has a reputation for a practical approach to mental health in the workplace. We are pleased to highlight an exhibition by East Kent Mencap's award winning Photography Group at Broadstairs Library Gallery, Broadstairs, CT10 2BS from Monday 28th June to Thursday 22nd July 2010.  All works have been produced by adults with learning disabilities.  Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 6.00pm from Monday to Friday and from 9.00am to 5.00pm on Saturdays. Broadstairs Library is closed on Sundays.



9. Coming Soon

The Thanet & East Kent Chamber is looking at the economic impact of asylum seekers and foster children in East Kent. Shortly, we will feature comments received to date. All views are welcome at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 



10. England and the Cup

The dismal performance of the England football team against Germany in the World Cup this afternoon has put a damper on the merry quips from Chamber members that usually make an appearance in the Thanet & East Kent Insider. There is perhaps room for the mordant wit of one caller to our newsroom. After declaring his disappointment at the standard of refereeing, or words to that effect, he reluctantly admitted that Germany did have the better team. He lamented that his unswerving support for the national side has been unrewarded for the last twenty years. Finally, holding back the tears, he asked cheerily: “What is the difference between the England football team and a tea bag?” After briefly considering a comment along the lines of “Which is the wurst?” or something in similarly bad taste, we had to admit that we did not know the difference. He then replied with grim satisfaction; “A tea bag stays in the cup longer”.


 

11. Our Sponsors

Girlings Solicitors has been managing the managing the legal affairs of commercial and private clients for over a century. Twenty-six partners and one hundred and twenty members of staff ensure a comprehensive range of services from the local offices in Ashford, Canterbury, Folkestone, Herne Bay and Margate. Offices in France and Spain complement specialist departments for charities, individuals and companies. For details, telephone 01843 220274. Express By Holiday Inn took on the daunting task of restoring the former Prospect Inn at Minster. The result is a spectacular hotel that combines the best of Oliver Hill’s 1930s design with ultra modern facilities and technological support. Conveniently located for business guests and holiday makers in East Kent, the meeting rooms and 105 bedrooms are available at competitive prices throughout the year. For details, telephone 01843 820250. Adecco is the world’ s largest HR solutions company offering a comprehensive service of temporary and contract staffing, permanent recruitment, outsourcing, outplacement, career services, training and consulting. Officially designated as a 2009 British Superbrand, Adecco is represented in Thanet and Dover by its Broadstairs office, tel: 01843 609292. CARISS design, install and support education and business computing systems as East Kent’s leading specialist company in Open Source Software.  To lower your carbon footprint, reduce your power consumption and adopt a thin client system, call CARISS, tel: 01843 823724. Mach Associates are the high-fliers in providing Internet technologies and specialist software solutions with a particular expertise in servicing the travel industry. A Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and with ISO9001 accreditation, Mach Associates also offers reduces telecom operating cost through VOIP/PBX phone systems. tel: 0870 321 9986. Sota Connect offers a comprehensive IT service covering best-value voice, data and Internet services for companies of all sizes as well as public sector organisations. The company operates two state-of-the-art data centres of over 10,000sq ft. Sota Connect owns and operates a unique 200km fibre network from London to Ramsgate with high bandwidth Internet access giving superfast Internet connections, tel: 0800 072 2420.