Meet
the Council
Chamber President Peter Jeal met recently with Gavin Stevenson, the new Chief Executive of D&G
Council. Mr Stevenson would be very keen to meet with Wigtownshire businesses and hear of any concerns you may have, any ideas
you may want to put forward and, in general, find out what the Council can do to help you.
This will be a public
meeting, open to all businesses as well as Chamber members and, in view of having to sound businesses out, publicise the meeting
locally and so on, it looks like it will potentially be late March or early April before it takes place.
We would
very much appreciate if you would contact the Chamber at your earliest convenience with any issues that you may wish to be
discussed in this public forum so that we can prepare a basic agenda. That is not to say, of course, that you won't be
able to bring up other matters on the night - we just need a general idea of your concerns.
We appreciate this
opportunity to meet with D&G Council and potentially help to set the economic regeneration agenda for the coming years.
SCC response to Budget Bill
Commenting on the passage of the Budget Bill through the Scottish
Parliament, Liz Cameron, Chief Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
"This year's Budget Bill
has been the subject of much discussion since its draft was published last September. There is no doubt that the Scottish
Government have faced tight financial strictures in framing this budget and the results have to be viewed in that context.
"It remains disappointing and worrying that a major infrastructure project such as the Glasgow Airport Rail Link
has been lost as a result of this budget. This would have formed an important potential link in the Scottish transport
network and it is of concern that the development of our transport infrastructure has been one of the first casualties of
public spending cuts. This cannot be allowed to be repeated in future years.
"Despite this setback,
there remain a number of positives from the budget. The news that the boiler scrappage scheme will be implemented in
full in Scotland is welcome, as is the news that there will be additional resources available for education and training.
The increased thresholds of the Small Business Bonus Scheme are also welcome, although judgement must be reserved on this
until we know the full details of this year's Business Rates revaluation. Our priority is to ensure that every business
which benefits from the Small Business Bonus Scheme now will continue to benefit under the new rates regime in April."
This miniform can be used to do a simple search
for recycling centres or collections which accept recyclates from businesses in Scotland. Just choose to
search for recycling centres or collections, select your area and pick a material. Your results from the Waste Aware Business
Recycling & Reuse Directory will pop up in a new window. CloseSCC comment on interest rates
Commenting on the decision of the Bank of England’s Monetary
Policy Committee to keep interest rates on hold at 0.5% and to freeze its policy of Quantitative Easing, Liz Cameron, Chief
Executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:
“Given last month’s higher than expected inflation
rate and the return of the UK economy to growth, albeit weak at present, the Bank’s decision to keep QE on hold
is understandable. However, they are right to leave interest rates unchanged, as the real danger to our
economy remains on the down side rather than through inflation. In these circumstances and given the Bank of England’s
medium term outlook for inflation, we would hope that base rates will remain low for some time to come.”
ScotAction: help for your business
ScotAction
is the Scottish Government’s skills support package. It is an integrated package combining new and improved
measures to help individuals and businesses through the recession and will provide skills assistance - including wage subsidies
in some circumstances - for training for work, training in work and training from
work to work to help Scottish employees and businesses survive the downturn and thrive when the economy starts to
recover. Skills Development Scotland, Scotland's national skills agency, plays a leading role in
taking forward the delivery of the initiatives that ScotAction aims to deliver for Scotland. For further
information on the various initiatives that could help your business, please contact: Martin Chisholm, Skills Policy Manager at Scottish Chambers of Commerce,
Tel: 0141 204 8316; Email: mchisholm@scottishchambers.org.uk.
The Chamber of Commerce has been very active on behalf of member businesses and, over the past two years,
has been involved in a range of initiatives to support the local economy.
Although we are a local business
organisation, we have national influence through our affiliation to the Scottish Chambers of Commerce.
We are
regularly asked to comment on draft Government policy affecting businesses and receive updates which are passed on to
members through our newsletter or by email and on this, our official website.
We regularly represent members at local council and national
ministerial level and we were successful in 2008 in persuading the Scottish Government to suspend new fire regulations
on small accommodation providers, pending a review.
We have raised Wigtownshire’s profile with the Scottish Government and were
successful in securing a visit by Enterprise Minister Jim Mather to Wigtownshire to discuss local economic issues. Chamber
member businesses were present at that meeting in February 2009.
We are continuing to lobby Dumfries and Galloway Council to source goods and services from local businesses
wherever possible in order to support the local economy, a move which has received cross-party support from Wigtownshire's
councillors.
We are also working to ensure that Wigtownshire is not overshadowed
when a new tourism Destination Development Organisation is set up to work with VisitScotland.
In 2008, the Chamber launched its
VIP (Visitor Information Point) scheme to provide tourist information for visitors throughout the Machars. This is designed
to ensure our visitors receive a warm welcome and encourage them to stay in the area for longer. We are also a partner
in the Glorious Galloway Tourism initiative on behalf of Wigtown, as a theme town and the Machars in general.
We have supported local initiatives
across Mid Galloway including Fairtrade status and the Whithorn Coat of Arms project; have assisted businesses looking to relocate to the area; have held networking evenings designed
to encourage businesses with complementary activities to grasp the opportunity of growing their client base by working together
and are striving to encourage TV programme makers to feature Wigtownshire in forthcoming shows as a means of raising the profile
of the area.
In
addition, we have assisted and can assist local businesses with export documentation.
But we can only do this work with your support. If you are not already a member, then please go to the join/contact
us page for more details. As the area's largest local business organisation, you'll be in good company! Wigtown Market Promotions Group If you're interested in the activities of the Wigtown Market, please check out our Newsletters
/ Minutes page where you will be able to download the latest edition of the Market Newsletter. It's a grand day out and
helps local businesses, so don't forget to pop a visit to your local market in the diary for Saturdays. Also, the Wigtown Market website www.wigtownmarket.com is now up and running. If anyone has any items they wish to be included, please
email Wigtown Community Promotions at wcpmarketinfo@wigtownmarket.com.
Scottish Chambers News As an affiliate of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce network, we receive regular information and updates from SCC
which you can download in PDF format on our "Newsletters / Minutes" page.
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Scottish Chambers seek local expertise
Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) are
in the process of finalising their Business Manifesto ahead of the general election which most commentators expect
to take place on Thursday, 6th May. This will be ready by end March and will include reserved and devolved issues.
Many Chamber members have been engaged with SCC over recent months drafting various strategies and SCC are
now seeking member businesses
with a particular expertise or knowledge(see topic areas below). It would be enormously beneficial if any Wigtownshire
businesses were able to consult with SCC as they draft and consult on the the final papers.
EXISTING
FORMAT PLAN
Down to Business (may change title later)
Moving The Scottish Economy Into A New Era Of Growth
Scottish
Chambers of Commerce - Spring 2010
If you wish to contribute to SCC's efforts, please contact your local Chamber and your details will be forwarded to the appropriate department. Chamber backs plan to make TV programmes
THE CHAMBER of Commerce
is to explore the possibilities of setting up a community television and radio
production company with a view to promoting the area as a tourism destination.
The idea was put forward at the November Board meeting held in Newton Stewart.
Under the proposals, a funding application
would be made by a consortium of local community groups to purchase broadcast quality camera, editing and sound equipment which would allow documentaries to be made locally on a range of local topics as well as provide coverage of
events such as the Book Festival. Broadcasters would then be offered the films
either free of charge or at a nominal cost in a bid to raise Wigtownshire’s profile and promote to a wider audience everything that the area has to offer visitors.
Chamber President Peter Jeal said that it was necessary to take an innovative approach. It is just not possible to generate effective marketing with budgets of £30,000 or £40,000
without being innovative.
An initial approach to the Festival Company
was met positively and it is hoped to contact community groups across the Machars
with a view to setting up a steering group to look at the project in detail and
take it forward. British Chambers need your opinion
The British Chambers of Commerce run a monthly survey of businesses which only takes
a few minutes to complete. If you wish to take part, please log on to: http://www.britishchambers.org.uk/zones/policy/quick-poll.html.
Use Accountant in Bankruptcy to chase creditors
In Scotland, the Accountant in Bankruptcy is able to help you and your business recuperate monies owed, even in the
case of the debtor being an individual as opposed to a business.
Anyone can petition to make an individual bankrupt
in a Scottish Court and, with effect from 1st October 2009, all creditors who petition to make an individual bankrupt must
pay an administration fee of £100 to Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB). AiB have introduced the new fee in accordance with the Scottish Government’s drive for
sustainable public services, as part of a raft of measures to decrease its reliance on core Scottish Government funding and
the public purse. The new fee covers AiB’s
administration costs for processing and recording creditor petitions and undertaking checks to prevent duplication of petitions
and applications for bankruptcy. All enquiries on
the new creditor fee should be directed to AiB via their website www.aib.gov.uk or by contacting the AiB Helpline on 0845 762 6171.
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| The VIP sign being displayed by participating businesses |
Making our visitors feel like VIPs
There are eight businesses
in Mid Galloway which are Chamber VIP's - Visitor Information Points.
The idea of the VIP scheme is that participating member businesses prominently display the VIP sign, as illustrated
here, in their windows to allow visitors to come into their premises to ask for local information.
For businesses, this represents an opportunity to attract footfall
into their premises and perhaps increase their sales at the same time, as well as offering a genuine information service to
visitors, which in turn, means that visitors are more likely to remain in our area longer, helping to increase visitor spend
within local businesses.
The criteria are as follows:
* Participating businesses must be fully paid-up Chamber members
* They must display the sign prominently in their windows
* They must stock local tourist information leaflets
in their premises
* They must have a basic knowledge of local attractions, etc. (Regular familiarisation sessions
will be offered to each participating business accepted into the scheme).
Because a number of businesses are participating in the scheme,
there should always be one VIP outlet open in each location. Consideration will be given to businesses which are only open
on Saturday, but ideally, we are looking for businesses which are open on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays.
The reason for the scheme is that there
is no tourist information office in Wigtown and Machars Action, which has provided such information to visitors, is not open
at weekends or Bank Holidays. Anyone who is interested in participating in the VIP scheme should contact the chamber at: president@wigtownshirechamberofcommerce.org.uk. Scottish Hydro-Electric
Scottish Hydro-Electric, a Scottish-based company with its HQ in Perth, has recently
entered the Commercial EPC market and is keen to offer its services to Wigtownshire Chambers members. If you require further
information, please contact Doug Millar, Partnerships Team Manager North, Scottish and Southern
Energy, Inveralmond House, 200 Dunkeld Road, Perth, PH1 3AQ, UK. T: 01738 512793 or email doug.millar@scottish-southern.co.uk.
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