Bournemouth Chamber of Trade & Commerce

Bournemouth Chamber of Trade and Commerce

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Saffery Webinar – Onwards and upwards – lessons learnt in the charity sector

Saffery Champness hosted a webinar for their charity clients entitled, ‘Onwards and upwards’. Attendees shared experiences from over the last 15 months during the pandemic and talked about the lessons learnt, challenges faced and opportunities arising.

“Relentless, challenging, thought provoking and busy” were just some of the words used to describe the period.

Will Travers, Co- Founder & Executive President of The Born Free Foundation and Dean Daniels, Director of Finance at Weldmar Hospice Care were interviewed by Saffery staff.  Reflections included insight such as:

o   Unsurprisingly, it has been a year of uncertainty, with limitations on primary activities.

o   Fundraising has come to a standstill but is slowly making a return as restrictions reduce.

o   Both charities were able to make quick changes to adapt to working from home and remote meetings.

o   Whilst virtual meetings have, at times, seemed relentless, Patrons and third parties have received a seamless service.

Their top tips included:

o   Embrace change and be adaptable.

o   Do what you can today not tomorrow.

o   Don’t panic. Have faith in yourselves! Keep calm and carry on!

Casidhe  Baleri, Director – Audit at Safferys said, “Coronavirus has impacted the charity sector in an uneven and unpredictable way, with some charities having recorded a very successful year whilst others have struggled to stay afloat. Through talking, listening and sharing experience we can help to support each other. Those who attended the webinar told us that they would be keen to revisit the topic of lessons learned in a year’s time – we look forward to it!”
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Saffery Webinar – Entrepreneurs: Driving Business Performance

Saffery Champness Chartered Accountants held their second webinar of a 12-part series to support Entrepreneurs. Hosted by Alistair Hunt, a partner in the Peterborough Office, this webinar entitled “Entrepreneurs: Driving Business Performance” was joined by Chris Zanone from Centurion Safety Products and Ashley Maile from Treerange Group, who discussed the value of KPIs in driving business performance and growth.

The panel discussed the value of key performance measures, how to set them, how to track them and the importance of tailoring them so that they drive the behaviours of your employees and match the culture of your business. Some great advice was given on how to set KPIs to achieve this by focusing on performance measures which will really push your business forward whilst avoiding the trap of chasing the numbers. To see the full webinar, visit Entrepreneurs Webinar | Driving Business Performance – Saffery Champness.

William Howell, Manager- Audit in the Bournemouth Office said, “Our series of webinars provide business tips to entrepreneurs. This event was well received, with good attendance, and delivered some fantastic snippets of advice on how entrepreneurs can better measure performance to drive their business forward. We look forward to the remainder of the series with upcoming webinars covering topics in business management, tax and strategy.”

For a full programme of upcoming webinars go to Events – Saffery Champness.

 

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Free parking boost for Bournemouth town centre

New operators of a Bournemouth town centre car park are throwing open its gates for free parking for three weeks to mark ‘Covid freedom day’.

Britannia Parking is waiving charges at the BH2 car park from Monday July 19 onwards to boost business for retailers, restaurants, pubs and other firms following the relaxation of lockdown restrictions.

The Bournemouth-based firm, which operates more than 500 car parks nationwide, has teamed up with the owners of BH2 to offer free parking to all motorists for three hours followed by a £3 charge to park all day.

Its ‘Free for Three’ offer comes after the firm took over management of the leisure complex’s 175-space car park in Exeter Crescent and has been welcomed by business leaders and traders.

Britannia Parking chief executive Brian Parker said: “These have been tough times for everyone.

“Working closely in partnership with Legal & General, BH2’s owners, we all agreed that we need to celebrate the lifting of Covid restrictions and mark the new management of the BH2 car park.

“With our offer we can support the local community with free parking and help retailers and businesses by attracting more people into the town centre to boost trade and breathe fresh life into its streets.”

Britannia Parking, which was established in 1989, has taken over the BH2 car park from former operator NCP.

The ‘Free for Three’ offer will last from July 19 to Sunday August 8 for all motorists whether they are using businesses at BH2 or not.

It will be followed by a new pricing structure as well as special offers to keep shoppers, visitors and commuters coming into the town centre.

Previously, all-day 24-hour parking at the BH2 car park was £25 on a peak tariff while one hour cost £3 and three hours cost £5, so three hours free and £3 all day shows a revitalised commitment to Bournemouth.

Visit www.britannia-parking.co.uk for more details.

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Professor Bee Wee CBE, is joining Lewis-Manning Hospice Care as Visiting Professor

Lewis-Manning Hospice Care is thrilled to announce that Professor Bee Wee CBE will be joining the team as Visiting Professor.

Bee will be coming to Dorset once a year to give a talk to local hospice and end of life care palliative care teams, healthcare professionals, GPs and medical and clinical students to further inspire and develop palliative care education in the local area.

Her knowledge and expertise in the end of life sector will be an invaluable opportunity for healthcare professionals education in Dorset.

Professor Bee Wee has been an integral member of the group who recently reviewed and refreshed the framework of the ‘The Ambitions for Palliative and End of Life Care: A national framework for local action’, published in 2021 and originally launched in 2015, and highlighted the importance of personalised end of life care, focusing on what matters to people and their loved ones and making sure professionals are prepared, confident and competent. The synergy between Lewis-Manning’s organisation values and work it’s doing with other local palliative care providers on ‘Closer to Home’ end of life care projects and the Care Opinion project to ensure there is a safe, secure, impartial and anonymous way for patients to give feedback on the care they have received, makes Professor Bee Wee the ideal Visiting Professor for the hospice charity.

Clare Gallie, Chief Executive at Lewis-Manning Hospice Care said, “We are very excited for Professor Bee Wee to join Lewis-Manning as our Visiting Professor. It is so kind of her to come to Dorset to speak to us, the first Educational Lecture is planned for Friday 4th March 2022, in the afternoon. Our clinical team is delighted to be able to learn and develop their skills and knowledge so that we can continue to provide extraordinary hospice care for people in our community and we plan to open this opportunity to our partners across the Dorset care system.”

Professor Bee Wee CBE commented, “I am honoured to accept the generous invitation to become Visiting Professor to Lewis-Manning Hospice Care and look forward to speaking to the hospice team and other healthcare professionals and teams, in Dorset, who work in palliative care. I hope my words will encourage, inspire and build on what has already been achieved in improving end of life care in the local area, so that more people can live and die well.”

About Professor Bee Wee CBE (taken from NHS England’s website) Professor Bee Wee CBE,   National Clinical Director for End of Life Care, NHS England and NHS Improvement.
Bee is Clinical Lead and Consultant in Palliative Medicine at Michael Sobell House and Katharine House Hospice, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Associate Professor at University of Oxford, where she is also a Fellow of Harris Manchester College.  Bee is Honorary Professor at Sichuan University, China, and holds an Honorary Doctorate of Science at Oxford Brookes University. As NCD, she led the Leadership Alliance for the Care of Dying People and is co-chair of the National Partnership for Palliative and End of Life Care which was responsible for publishing the ‘Ambitions for Palliative and End of Life Care: a national framework for local action’ in 2015. She was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list in 2020 for services to palliative and end of life care.

About Lewis-Manning Hospice Care
Lewis-Manning Hospice Care is a charity established 29 years ago, providing extraordinary care to patients and their families facing a life-limiting illness across Poole, Purbeck and East Dorset. We offer a range of free hospice care services aimed at helping people to live well through their illness, closer to home.

These include:
– Day hospices, virtual and in person
– Creative arts & wellbeing support
– Lymphoedema clinic for cancer patients
– Better breathing clinic
– Bereavement & family support

Every year we support nearly 500 local people and we develop new services, based on patient need and identified gaps in the area. To do this we need to raise over £1.6m every year. Without these funds we could not exist.
Our important work increases people’s physical and social well-being, reduces isolation and loneliness, supports people to stay in their homes longer, and alleviates the huge pressures on family and carers.

lewis-manning.org.uk             Registered charity no. 1120193

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Saffery Champness Accountants host Cyber Security webinar to support entrepreneurs

​On the 24th June, Saffery Champness Chartered Accountants held the first in their 12 part programme of webinars to support Entrepreneurs.  This first webinar was entitled “Managing your business:  Cyber Security” and Jamie Lane, a partner in the Bournemouth Office chaired the webinar, with guest speakers from Saepio Information Security, where all aspects of protecting your business from cyber attacks were discussed.  Whilst many businesses have successfully focused on their technology, especially during the pandemic where remote working has become the norm, the risk from cyber attack events has increased significantly.

Jamie Lane advised, “This is the first of our new series and was well attended from entrepreneurs seeking tips to manage what is an ever-increasing risk in their business.  We are excited about the variety of topics that are going to be covered in our series and especially welcoming many guest speakers along the way.”

 Saepio outlined some quite scary statistics at the outset of the webinar which would be enough for any CEO to take this risk to the top of the board agenda.   91% of respondents to the UK Government Cyber Breaches Survey had encountered an information security incident in the first half of 2021 however 81% of respondents had no dedicated security resource.  With sensitive data and GDPR compliance leading to record fines, and the amount of cyber fraud committed increasing significantly in recent times, Saepio set out some simple but valuable ideas on where business could focus some of their attention to help mitigate risk.

There were some great tips, including using the NSCS Board Toolkit as a resource to manage cyber risk in your business as well as their ‘Exercise in a Box’.  Conducting penetration tests atleast annually to ensure you understand any vulnerability and utilising multi-factor authentication are also good tips.  To see the full webinar visit 24 June – Entrepreneurs Webinar | Managing your business: Cyber security – Saffery Champness.

For a full programme of upcoming webinars go to Events – Saffery Champness.

 

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Skydiving for the Sheltered Work Opportunities Project – Cherry Tree Nursery & Chestnut Nursery

Nigel and Andy, two of our members of staff,  are skydiving to raise money for the Sheltered Work Opportunities Project (SWOP) Volunteers welfare. This is scheduled to take place on Monday 2nd August 2021.

Nigel, not content with being strapped to a bi plane on a wing walk last year, is now going to jump out of a plane to raise funds for our project.This time Nigel with be joined by Andy from Chestnut Nursery.

We aren’t sure if they will be holding hands doing it but they are both raising money for our project’s Volunteers at Cherry Tree Nursery and Chestnut Nursery.

Nigel says – ‘Into the blue…’  Mental health affects all of us at some point in our lives and these past fifteen months have seen many people at breaking point. Mental illness is invisible and presents differently for each person. We are receiving lots of new referrals for our charity and are committed to helping as many as we possibly can.  I have made a choice to challenge my own anxieties and fears, which are temporary compared to many of the people we work with and I can use their incredible coping skills and strategies to help me face my own particular fears of heights and flying. I’m sharing this challenge with Andy from Chestnut Nursery and I am sure this will help and again, reflects back on the caring, supportive and community ethos of our charity. Please support me, Andy and our charity.

Andy says –  Working at Chestnut Nursery has given me a deep respect for our Volunteers. The courage that it takes for them to overcome the challenges of living with a mental illness is inspiring. So much so that despite my phobia of heights, I am challenging myself to leap out of a plane – please donate to support our important cause.

The Virgin giving link is the following –

https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/donation-web/charity?charityId=1009922&campaignId=17828&utm_source=extbtn&utm_campaign=donatebtn

Donations can also be made in our retail shops , open Tuesdays to Sundays 10 am – 3 pm.
Cherry Tree Nursery: Off New Road Roundabout, Northbourne, Bournemouth, Dorset BH10 7DA
Chestnut Nursery: 75 Kingland Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1TN
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TC Group: Government issues further guidance on the fifth Self-Employed Income Support Scheme

The fifth Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant, which covers the period from May to September 2021, is available to be claimed from late July. If you are potentially eligible, then HMRC will contact you in mid-July.

The qualifying criteria under the fifth tranche of SEISS are very similar to those for the fourth tranche. You must also declare that you intend to continue to trade and reasonably believe that there will be a significant reduction in your trading profits due to COVID from 1st May 2021 to 30th September 2021.

The level of the fifth SEISS grant to be paid will depend on the reduction in your turnover between 2020 and 2021. If the reduction in turnover is 30% or higher, then the grant is 80% of the three-month average profits capped at £7,500, but if the turnover reduction is less than 30%, then the grant is 30% of the three-month average profits capped at £2,850.

The turnover calculation can be complicated; therefore, we suggest you contact your usual TC adviser on 0330 088 7111 to establish these numbers.

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BCP Council: Submit a funding bid for a community project

BCP Council are inviting residents, businesses and community groups to submit bids for funding from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Neighbourhood Portion for local projects which will improve, benefit and shape the development of their community for the future. The CIL Neighbourhood Portion is a fund generated from new housing developments for reinvestment back into improving local community facilities.

£1.2 million is available, and bids for projects can range from a few hundred pounds to tens of thousands of pounds where funds are available. Deadline is 5th July 2021.

For more information and application, click here. 

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Restart scheme – empowering people back into work

Restart is a brand-new government scheme that will support thousands of people who have been out of work and claiming Universal Credit for at least 12 months to build confidence, skills and find work.

You can find out more about Restart at an upcoming information event on 28 June 1pm – 3:15pm. This will cover:

  • ‘What is Restart’, who it will help and how it works
  • Hear from participants, partners, employers and staff
  • DWP views on the exciting future ahead

Find out more and register here. 

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BCP Council: How can we use digital technology to improve lives?

BCP Council’s  Smart Place programme is looking to use and develop technology to create digital solutions that will improve the lives of local people. From making affordable smart devices, promoting local jobs and events, creating augmented reality experiences, tracking local air quality and more, they want to make a worthwhile difference. They also want to support local businesses by accelerating the roll-out of high-speed networks to provide much better digital connectivity. Do you have ideas of how you want to see technology used? Then please let them know!

BCP Council want to ensure a focus is placed on doing the things that matter to you, which is where YOU come in! Please take a few minutes to complete their short survey below and tell us whether you agree with their aims and objectives. You have until 6 July.

Have your say. Click here.