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See link for an insight into First Aid training with Expert Response Training.

https://youtu.be/I-4_AtMClok

The MHA Manufacturing & Engineering Report, now in its seventh year, is a go-to report when it comes to understanding the sector, its opportunities and challenges.

MHA benchmarks SMEs across the UK to paint a national picture of the Manufacturing and Engineering sector. To broaden the content of this report and make it more useful as a benchmarking exercise, MHA has changed it’s methodology this year. In addition to collecting responses to a client survey, they’ve compared them to in-depth quantitative analysis which has been done in conjunction with its data insights team. 

A copy of the report can be downloaded here. If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in the report in more detail, please email John Atkins, Manufacturing lead, MHA Larking Gowen.

With the tax year-end drawing closer, accountants at Mapus-Smith & Lemmon recommend now is the time to plan financial strategies for optimum tax efficiencies.

Samantha Melton, chartered certified accountant at the Downham Market office, says: “Across the board, both on a business and personal level, we are encouraging tax payers to make financial planning a New Year priority for the 2019/20 year end on 5 April 2020 and beyond.  We can devise strategies for minimising tax liabilities, increasing business profitability and maximising personal wealth.”

The firm’s checklist includes making the most of personal tax allowances, enhancing capital allowances, holding on to more profit, planning ahead for retirement, utilising ISA allowances and minimising inheritance tax.

In the current tax year, each individual is entitled to a personal allowance of £12,500 tax-free income.  Within a family, it might be appropriate to make the most of this by transferring income to a spouse, partner or child as a gift. Also worthy of consideration are the Marriage Allowance, pension scheme contributions and Gift Aid donations.

For business owners, the Annual Investment Allowance has increased from £200,000 to £1 million for plant and machinery expenditure (except cars) incurred from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2020 and there is the Enhanced Capital Allowance for energy-saving equipment and low carbon emission cars as well as Writing Down Allowances and the Structures and Building Allowance.

Beyond managing corporation tax to best advantage, it is beneficial to look at ways of holding on to more business profit whether it be through dividends or taking a salary; pension contributions, incorporation of a partner, personal tax allowances and personal income from property rental used for business purposes.

For tax-efficient savings there is now a range of ISAs including the Lifetime Isa, Help to Buy Isa and Junior Isa and then there are benefits of putting savings into pension schemes.  Each saving option has its own characteristics.

Finally, inheritance tax (IHT) receipts have reached a record high and for those whose estates will exceed the existing nil-rate band, forward planning can help to minimise the impact of IHT.

For help regarding these complexities and any other accounting queries, please contact Samantha Melton on 01366 383300.   

FreeSeminar Ready for Growth Event to Take Place in Norfolk

Claire Brooks, managing director of Suffolk based, Box-it East, the confidential document storage company, will be the keynote speaker at ‘Ready for Growth’, an event for Norfolk businesses taking place on Wednesday 23rd November at North Walsham.

The event has been organised by Genix the business support organisation and Alex Till the CEO of Genix said, “Our aim is to inspire and inform local businesses. We’re thrilled that Claire has agreed to speak. She’ll talk through how she has expanded the business, building new secure warehousing and employing staff. Claire has a wealth of experience from project planning, customer care, sales, finance and HR. We’ll no doubt gain some top tips for growth and hear about the pitfalls to avoid.

“This will be a useful morning for any business, ambitious to expand and my thanks to Neil Burr of DesignTec who is sponsoring the event.”

During Ready for Growth there will be ideas from DesignTec on how to grow a business online and Larking Gowen Chartered Accountants will explain how to cover the costs involved when growing a business and managing cash flow.

There will also be the opportunity to ask questions of a panel of business support organisations Genix has brought together and free refreshments and networking opportunities.

Ready for Growth has been commissioned by NNDC and Cllr Nigel Dixon, Cabinet Member for Business and Economic Development said: “The event is designed to support traders and businesses who are looking to expand their business and benefit from the insights of fellow entrepreneurs and business support organisations. I would urge businesses to come along to the event and find out more.”

Ready for Growth, is free to attend and takes place at Scarborough Hill Country Inn, in North Walsham on Wednesday 23 November, from 9.30am until 12.30pm. Booking is essential and spaces are limited. To book go to www.genix.org.uk/?p=seminars or call Genix 0800 096 3013.

Now in its fourteenth year, the annual Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Business Survey asks all East Anglian based businesses from across the sector to join forces and take part. The survey was launched today by MHA Larking Gowen, Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors, at Roarr! Dinosaur Adventure, Norfolk. 

All businesses in the tourism, leisure and hospitality sector including restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions as well as retailers in the tourism hotspots are being encouraged to participate in the independent survey.

Speaking at the launch, Chris Scargill, Tourism Partner at MHA Larking Gowen, said, “Interesting times lie ahead; the collapse of Thomas Cook and financial uncertainty in other carriers, combined with a greater call to go green, make a UK stay even more appealing. I’m confident that by working together, businesses in the region can make the most of this and ensure our region develops further into the holiday destination of choice in the UK.

“Understanding how we are doing and sharing views will help business. Once again, we’re undertaking the largest independent survey of its kind for your region and we need the help of the sector to do this. The information we gather helps to provide representative and accurate data about the sector. The survey covers many key aspects, creating a useful benchmark. Feedback indicates how welcome this data is. We are grateful to those who participate and also to others in the sector who encourage people to take part”

You can take part in the 2020 Tourism, Leisure & Hospitality Business Survey online at

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/TBS2020/

Many of the businesses that provide services to this sector fully support the annual survey and this year the survey is sponsored by Adnams, Camplings, Howes Percival, Lloyds and Purcell.

Joanna Nicholls, Partner at Howes Percival LLP, said, “We are delighted to be involved in MHA Larking Gowen’s Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Business Survey once again. All businesses across the sector based in East Anglia are strongly encouraged to participate in the Survey to make their views count. It provides a great insight into what is happening within the sector and helps to support the growth of the vibrant and diverse businesses across the region.”

Those who fill in the survey remain anonymous in the published report, which provides an annual snapshot of the sector across East Anglia. The survey includes questions about the short and long-term impact of issues like Brexit, the National Living Wage (NLW) and the National Minimum Wage (NMW), and delves into questions around the use of plastics, profit margins and, more generally, how businesses have performed in the last year. The results are published as an annual brochure which will be launched on 28 April.

Attleborough-based renewable heating expert Finn Geotherm has reached the milestone of ensuring £20 million in Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) payments will be shared among the hundreds of domestic, and commercial, customers for which it has designed and installed ground and air source heat pump systems.

The RHI is a government initiative designed to reward people for choosing to switch to a more environmentally friendly form of heating. Administered by the official regulator Ofgem, the scheme is available for domestic customers under the Domestic RHI, and for commercial customers under the Non-domestic (Commercial) RHI. Based on the amount of clean, green heat produced, both schemes provide tax-free quarterly payments for seven years under the Domestic scheme or 20 years for Commercial.

As one of the UK’s longest established renewable heating companies, Finn Geotherm has been helping its heat pump customers apply for this tax-free incentive since it was first introduced in April 2014. The company has kept a log of all the payments it has secured for its domestic and commercial customers and this has now reached a total of £20 million pounds.

However, the current RHI scheme will end for all new applications on 31st March 2021 so Finn Geotherm is encouraging anyone considering a heat pump to act now. Ground and air source heat pump projects have to be installed by a qualified installer and registered for the RHI before this date in order to be included.

Guy Ransom, Commercial Director at Finn Geotherm, said: “At a time when we all need to be doing our bit to tackle the climate emergency, the RHI scheme provides a great added incentive for customers to benefit from upgrading their heating and hot water systems to low carbon technology such as heat pumps.

“Our team has worked tirelessly to ensure that as many of our customers as possible receive this generous incentive, enabling them to significantly cut their heating costs and energy use, while enjoying warmer and more environmentally friendly homes and workplaces. With the RHI scheme ending in March 2021, we’re keen to help as many more customers as possible to lock into the scheme and benefit from the RHI payments when they switch to a better form of heating. We’re encouraging people to get it while it’s hot!”

For more information on ground and air source heat pumps and details on Finn Geotherm, visit www.finn-geotherm.co.uk.

We are thrilled that Norwich Puppet Theatre has been recommended for half-term activities by The Guardian! https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/feb/02/family-holiday-uk-planner-daytrips-minibreaks-holidays?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other The article says: “Budding animators will be in their element at Norwich Puppet Theatre, which has excellent children’s workshops this half-term, along with performances of Goldilocks and Puss in Boots. Youngsters (five and over) can make their ultimate side-kick in puppet form, while older children can try using wire armature to make movable characters with plasticine.” Bring the family, and come along and try our programme from 15th to 24th February!

It’s a proper festival of the best visiting Puppet companies for these shows

Wednesday 19th February A Bird in the Hand Theatre presents Midnight at 11am and 2:30pm

Thursday 20th February Hand to Mouth present Goldilocks at 11am and 2:30pm

Saturday 22nd February Lyngo Theatre present Puss in Boots at 2:30pm

And lots of children’s workshops too! Saturday 15th February 1030-1200 Perfect Partners https://puppettheatre.co.uk/whats-on/workshops/perfect-partners

Saturday 15th February 1-2:30pm Family Workshop Shadow Theatres https://puppettheatre.co.uk/whats-on/workshops/family-workshop-shadow-theatres

Tuesday 18th February 1030-1200 Armatures Skills Workshops https://puppettheatre.co.uk/whats-on/workshops/skills-armature

Wednesday 19th February 1030-1200 Cats and Dogs https://puppettheatre.co.uk/whats-on/workshops/big-cats

Thursday 20th February Story Land special family event with Goldilocks show: https://puppettheatre.co.uk/whats-on/workshops/story-land

Saturday 22nd February Story Land special family event with Puss in Boots show: https://puppettheatre.co.uk/whats-on/workshops/story-land

Monday 24th February 1000-1130 Little Tots Creative Play: Lines and Squiggles for ages 18 months to 5 years: https://puppettheatre.co.uk/whats-on/workshops/little-tots-lines-and-squiggles

Book on line or phone us today at 01603 629921

Microsoft are just one of the growing number of leading technology companies trying to crack the code of cancer using AI, but this big upcoming project is something that really impressed me.

On November 1st, I visited Microsoft’s Future Decoded Business Day 2016 at the ExCel in London. I sat in the Auditorium hearing about all the new really cool stuff going on at Microsoft where I learnt about the new project, of the most precise quantification to kill a cancerous tumour.

This AI looks through the pixels of a radiology scan, and does the job that would take a doctor 1-2 hours to segment the organs and allows the doctors to produce a quantitative analysis on which parts of the tumours are cancerous.

Microsoft’s goal here is not to replace doctors, but the capabilities of machines are to work as complements to the capabilities of experts.

This is just one of the many ways Microsoft are trying to “solve” cancer. Adding to the new Microsoft Research machine-learning project, aiming to absorb all documents and help predict which drugs and combinations can be most effective.

Although the research is still very early stages, Working with Artificial Intelligence, Microsoft are aiming to crack the code of Cancer for 10 years time.

Pure, the professional recruitment company for the East of England, has worked with Birketts LLP and accountancy firm PEM to deliver a series of business breakfasts designed to help demystify the potentially imminent IR35 changes to ‘off-payroll’ workers in the private sector.

With many complexities and uncertainties still surrounding the proposed reforms to Intermediaries Legislation, known as IR35, more than 170 HR professionals, business owners and self-employed workers attended the region-wide events looking for expert guidance on the changes, which are due to come in to effect for private sector businesses on 6 April.

Ian Walters, CEO at Pure and host of the breakfast briefings, said: “These proposed regulations are still only in draft form, having been postponed due to Brexit, and now they are also in the process of further consultation. However, despite these uncertainties, there is a real possibility that medium and large businesses will need to be ready and legally compliant in less than two months’ time. We know many businesses like the flexibility of working with individuals who can provide services through their own limited companies or via agencies. We also support many organisations in the region with recruiting temporary professionals at all levels, providing interim cover and short-term injections of talent and expertise. As a business we need to understand and prepare for these changes. We want to support other businesses to do the same.”

The changes are being made by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to prevent tax avoidance from what it sees as ‘disguised employment’. This is when individuals work ‘off-payroll’ for an organisation and supply their services through their own limited companies as an intermediary, and where they don’t meet HMRC’s definition of self-employment. In essence, workers who would normally be considered an employee if they were providing their services direct to an organisation will be required to pay broadly the same tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs). To achieve this, the ultimate responsibility for determining an individual’s IR35 status, and their subsequent tax payments, will move from the worker’s company to those paying the worker and the end client organisations, however, small businesses are expected to be exempt under the new rules.

In collaboration with Birketts and PEM, Pure delivered briefing sessions in Cambridge, Chelmsford, Ipswich and Norwich to help businesses understand whether the new regulations will affect them and how to prepare and manage the changes.

The sessions covered how businesses can determine whether individual workers fall inside or outside of IR35, the potential pitfalls of the different tax status assessment tools and case study examples of issues raised since the changes were first introduced within the public sector in 2017. As well as looking at the impact on the end client businesses, and where the ultimate liability will rest within different employment chains. The events also explored what the changes will mean for contractors, temporary workers, intermediaries and employers. It was clear that delegates had concerns about the proposed regulations, with polls run across all sessions showing that 59% of delegates believed the off-payroll working rules should be delayed and 51% expecting to incur extra costs as a result of the changes.

Annette Wyld, Head of Finance at Pure, added: “We have produced guides for our clients and workers to help them understand the changes and to communicate the IR35 reforms. Although these are still only draft regulations at the moment, we are fully prepared and have put our own strategies in place to help support both our clients and our workers. Having gone through this process, our key advice for other businesses is to avoid making ‘blanket decisions’. Review each assignment based on the reality of the relationship and ensure contractual terms are in place which reflect this, whether engaged directly or via agencies, and to communicate plans and timings with everyone involved.”

Visit Pure’s dedicated IR35 website page for more information about its approach and the guides it has produced for clients and workers. For more information about temporary professional recruitment solutions contact your local Pure office.

Norfolk Chamber members Finn Geotherm and Flagship are working together to improve heating for residents living in 21 bungalows in Quayside Court, Suffolk.

A new communal ground source heat pump system in Suffolk is set to cut the heating bills of housing association Flagship’s customers by hundreds of pounds a year. This ground source project follows on from a similar award-winning installation completed at Flagship’s Orchard Close estate of 30 flats in Watton, Norfolk, last year.

The new system being installed at Quayside Court in Lakenheath will improve quality of life and affordability for customers, as well as reduce CO2 emissions.

The district heating system, which draws energy from the earth using a central heat pump and distributes it from a standalone plant room to each home, will replace the current individual electric storage heaters and oil boilers, providing a more effective and efficient system for the 21 bungalows.

Each home will be individually metered and customers only charged for the energy they use.

The installation will qualify for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), a Government scheme which assists with the project’s capital cost by providing quarterly payments for 20 years, allowing Flagship to roll out the much-improved heating system into other homes in the future.

Director for Asset Management at Flagship, Lorna Blackmore, said: “Ground source heat pumps are a low maintenance, sustainable way of heating our homes.

“We are committed to continually improving our renewable energy sources to help tackle fuel poverty and reduce our carbon footprint, and this system does that.

“Capital investment by Flagship as well as the RHI provides a positive and sustainable return for us and our customers.”

It is anticipated customers will start to use the new system shortly after Christmas. Bryan and Maria Kelly have lived in their Quayside Court home for 11 years and said: “Getting the new heating system is fantastic. Once it’s up and running, we’re likely to save around £500 a year. Having this additional money in the bank will allow us to use it on other things such as a holiday, it gives us extra financial freedom.”

Attleborough-based renewable heating expert, Finn Geotherm, is working in partnership with Gasway Services Ltd to install the system. Finn Geotherm was responsible for the district heating system at Orchard Close, the first installed in East Anglia for a housing association. The Orchard Close project has subsequently won numerous awards for its innovative, energy and cost saving heating.

Finn Geotherm’s Commercial Director Guy Ransom said: “We are delighted that Flagship has chosen to install a second district heating system for its tenants. We have seen first-hand the difference a heat pump such as this has made to Flagship customers by eradicating fuel poverty and creating homes that customers can enjoy living in. It is a pleasure to be working with an organisation which not only puts its customers at the heart of its operations but also its responsibility to reducing carbon emissions and energy use.”

The system is also connected to the Finn Geotherm offices which allows it to be monitored wirelessly to ensure optimum performance and to highlight any potential maintenance.

Key benefits of the project include:

• Reduced energy bills – immediate and long term
• Zero CO2
• Encourages customers to heat their homes, positively impacting on their health – reduction in damp and improved air quality
• Low maintenance requirements – cost and frequency
• Less intrusion for customers as equipment is stored in an external plant room
• System lasts three times longer than a conventional boiler