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St
John Ambulance Induction Weekend
MERSEYSIDE St
John Ambulance held an induction weekend on 16 to 17 February 2008.
The event was aimed at letting adults who wanted to become members a
chance to find out what St John Ambulance is and what it does. Also
at the event a basic introduction to first aid was thought. Pauline
Molloy, Assistant Commissioner Operations at Merseyside HQ, told us
that:- "It was a fantastic event and we had a very good
response, but our thriving organisation still needs more helpers.
Anyone who thinks they might like to join St. John, should phone
0151 298 2838 to book a place on our next Induction course to take
place in May. Just like this event all St. John Ambulance recruits
will be able to find out what we do and can have a go at first aid
over the weekend."
THE
R&A ANNOUNCES HILLSIDE, SOUTHPORT & AINSDALE AND ST ANNES OLD LINKS
AS LOCAL FINAL QUALIFYING VENUES FOR 2012.
St Andrews,
Scotland, 28 February 2008: The R&A has announced Hillside,
Southport & Ainsdale and St Annes Old Links as the Local Final
Qualifying venues for the 2012 Open Championship, which will be held
at Royal Lytham & St Annes. The clubs have historically played host
to Final Qualifying when The Open has been played over the
Lancashire links, and they will do so again in 2012.
Hillside Golf Club, Southport, Merseyside also hosted The Boys
Amateur Championship in 2000 and The British Mid-Amateur in 1996.
Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club, Southport, Merseyside hosted the
Ryder Cup in 1933 and 1937 and more recently was the qualifying
course for The Amateur Championship in 2005, when the championship
was played at Royal Birkdale.
St Annes Old Links Golf Club, St Annes on Sea, Lancashire, was the
qualifying course when The Amateur Championship was played at Royal
Lytham & St Annes last year.
Ofcom
consults on proposals for curbing unfair additional charges on
consumers' bills
OFCOM on
Thursday 28 February 2008 announced proposals to curb unfair
additional charges levied by communications providers on consumers’
bills.
Consumers face additional charges from their provider above those
they already pay for the service, whether home phone, mobile,
broadband or pay TV. These additional charges can be due to a number
of factors, including:-
* Not paying by direct debit;
* Late payment;
* Having service restored after it has been restricted or suspended
following late payment;
* Early termination fees (terminating a contract within the
specified minimum contract period).
The proposals are designed to ensure that extra charges are fair and
that communications providers clearly market the true
cost of their service.
Ofcom is seeking views on the draft guidance.
The consultation has
been published
online and
the closing date for responses is 8 May 2008.
Letters To The Editor:- "Earthquake?"
"DID anyone
else feel the earthquake? About 1.15am on Wednesday 27 February
2008?" Maggie Jones, Southport.
"DID we have an
earthquake last night?" Tom and Carol, Formby, Merseyside.
"MY dog was
going mad just before the room started shaking. Did we have an
earthquake at around 1.15am on Wednesday? I would love to know
any information about it, if it was an earthquake. If it
was not an earthquake can you find out what it was?" Jamie
Morris, Liverpool.
Editors note:-
"Thank you for your emails. We have had
quite a few requests for information about this, please
click here to
read our report on the earthquake."
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Leap Year Woes:- Extra day costs SMEs in the North West £850 million
in late payments
SMALL and
medium sized businesses in the North West will be owed £850million
on 29 February 2008, due to suppliers or customers failing to pay on time,
according to research from Barclays Local Business. The survey
found small businesses in the North West will spend an hour and a
half of the extra Leap Year day chasing up late payments, equating
on a regional level to nearly 600,000 wasted working hours or 79,600
wasted working days.
54% SMEs in the North West experience problems with late payment,
with 31% of this number admitting that customers or suppliers
failing to pay on time threatened the day to day survival of their
business. 56% of those surveyed felt they wasted valuable resources
chasing debts, while 41% of the North West's bosses are currently
using their own money to keep their business afloat while they wait
on outstanding payments.
John Davis, marketing director for Barclays Local Business said:-
"The fact that SMEs in the North West are facing a £850 million
deficit due to late payments is extremely worrying. A regular and
reliable cash flow is essential to the smooth, day-to-day running of
a business - particularly a smaller one - and the majority of SMEs
cannot afford to wait on money they are owed without feeling the
impact on their bottom-line. Chasing up late payments is a
massive drain on small organisations, which can be particularly
damaging in a challenging economic environment. Although the leap
year provides many SMEs with an extra working day, it's one that
could be put to far more productive use than chasing cash they
should have already received."
On average, at any given point during the year, SMEs in the region
are owed nearly £2,000 from suppliers or customers who have failed
to pay during the standard 30 day invoicing period. North West
entrepreneurs typically have to wait around 11 days after the
invoice due date before they get paid. As a result,
approximately 144,000 SMEs in the region have an employee dedicated
to chasing overdue payments equating to yet more costs. In those
organisations that don't have someone specifically responsible for
the job, owner managers typically have to pursue outstanding
payments personally; distracting them from the day to day running of
their business.
Davis added:- "Owners of small businesses are no strangers to
multi-tasking and already spend vast amounts of time juggling a wide
range of responsibilities. Chasing late payments is an extra burden
which they can well do without. Winning new business, driving sales,
and fulfilling customer demands are ultimately what should make or
break an organisation - clearly a manager's time is better spent on
these tasks, rather than making endless phone calls to late payers."
The survey also reveals that businesses in the North East and London
suffer the most from late payments. SMEs in the North East are owed
an above average sum of £2,870 on any given day, while their London
based counterparts face a late payment bill of £2,338. By contrast,
small businesses in Wales are owed an average of £1,100, while SMEs
in the West Midlands spend the least amount of time chasing
outstanding payments - around 42 minutes each day.
Top Tips on Tackling Late Payment:-
Go Electronic:- Encourage your clients to pay you
electronically, rather than by cheque - this will boost your cash
flow and mean funds start to earn interest immediately
Early Reminders:- Don't leave it until the last minute to
chase customers or suppliers who haven't paid - being pro-active can
often pre-empt a more serious payment problem and lead to a swifter
solution that suits all parties
Get Tough: Demand interest on late payments - you're legally
entitled to it, and it should serve as a deterrent to those who are
considering not paying on time
Peace of mind:- Run regular credit checks on new customers or
suppliers - Barclays Local Business has recently launched its Credit
Manager service, a web-based tool which helps SMEs to understand how
much credit to offer to customers, and automatically alerts them
when a customer's credit rating goes up or down
Sort your system:- Agree terms of payment at the start of all
contracts to avoid any confusion, and monitor your payment system
regularly so overdue invoices are quickly identified
Manage your own finances:- To save time, ensure you have
online and telephone banking set up - this will enable you to manage
your own finances more effectively, thereby promoting healthy cash
flow in both directions |
