Banks 'must lend more' in 2010

APA thoroughly supports a call made by the Federation of Small Business (FSB) in its New Year message for banks to return to their "normal lending criteria" and for more competition in the banking sector with additional lending from non-UK banks being made available to small firms.

"2010 must see the route to recovery," said FSB chairman John Wright. "Small businesses deserve a big vote of confidence and the sector in turn will return the compliment with jobs, guaranteeing a sustainable recovery. 2010 may be a general election year, but for small firms, it will be business as usual as they strive to complete the route from recession and back into recovery."

A Department for Business spokesman said: "We have extended the Enterprise Finance Guarantee for a further 12 months to encourage additional bank lending to viable smaller firms and announced that businesses will be able to continue to defer tax payments to help with cash flow as they prepare for growth. We are working with the FSB to offer up to 10,000 graduates a chance to boost their future employability through internships in small and micro businesses."

Dr. Gareth Osborne, APA Director General and a former member of the Government’s Small Business Council, is an outspoken champion for small business and believes that Government should heed FSB’s advice. “If just one in three small businesses employed one more person then the unemployment problem would be solved." he added.

APA

The Best of the Best

Congratulations go to the successful participants in the autumn round of the APA Diploma in Personal Assistance (DipPA). The challenging programme was delivered between October and December 2009 with final tests taking place in mid-December and results announced just before Christmas. The course attracted some of the countries best PAs from private and public sector backgrounds.

Participants enthused about the content; with everyone scoring the content and delivery as ‘excellent’, with over 75% feeling it would have an immediate impact on their effectiveness as a PA and the balance suggesting it would enhance their longer term career prospects. Everyone attending felt it had taken their knowledge of business management and direction to a new level.

Gareth Osborne, Director General of APA and one of the course tutors said, “The Diploma is not just another administrative course branded for PAs, this is a programme of dedicated knowledge, skills and tools for those genuinely in support of business leaders. The content is tailored to give better, stronger and more focused training for PAs and truly anchor them as ‘the power beside the throne’. We believe PAs are one of the most important assets in business today and they deserve the best and most relevant skills to reach their full potential.”

“The successful candidates can now us the prestigious designatory letters; DipPA, after their name.”

The next round of APA training programmes commence in January in London, Birmingham and Manchester. For further details go to: http://www.paprofessional.com/apa-training-and-qualifications-open-access.html

Or contact: training@paprofessional.com.

APA

Some movement at last in the labour market

The latest survey from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) shows positive signs for the UK’s labour market ahead of 2010. December’s Jobs Outlook reported that 22% of employers now say business is beginning to improve, compared to just 1% in September.

Commenting on the survey, REC’s Director of Research Roger Tweedy said:
"At last there is evidence that life is returning to the UK’s labour market. After several months of uncertainty it seems that firms are becoming more confident about their future hiring intentions. Although if previous recessions are anything to go by we would expect unemployment to continue to rise even after the economy returns to growth, this report shows positive signs that unemployment will not be as high as people predicted."

Jobs Outlook is based on a monthly sample survey of 600 employers undertaken by an independent market research company on behalf of the REC

Roger Tweedy concluded: "Whilst the labour market is still very fragile, the feedback from recruiters on the frontline suggests that it is becoming easier to place jobseekers into work. As the labour market becomes more fluid once more this in turn will create more vacancies".

APA agrees that greater fluidity in the labour market will help lubricate employment opportunities. It believes that the first three months of 2010 could be the perfect time to go ‘fishing’ if you are looking to change jobs. APA will release its own figures on PA employment trends in January 2010.

Gareth, APA.

A Chocoholic's Prayer at Christmas

Please grant me the serenity
to eat my chocolate gorgeously
and to savour its delight with glee
for I have no desire to change

Please grant me courage to acknowledge
that I am hopelessly attracted [addicted]
no matter how you count the calories
for I have no desire to change

Though deliver me from evil and save me from myself
just point me at the chocolate and let me scale the shelf
and wallow in its luxury
for I have no desire to change

Just a thought, as I pepare for the onslaught.

Aimme Lewis FAPA

Business costs set to rise in 2010

The cost of running a small business is set to increase in 2010 as a result of rising commodity prices, it has been reported. According to More Than's Business Inflation Guide, costs increased by 0.6 per cent during the third quarter of 2009 and this trend is likely to be continued into the new year.

The guide found that 12 of the 20 most important expenditure items for small companies rose in price during Q3 2009. While outgoings may be set to rise, More Than Business said the results were positive in the sense that they pointed towards an economic recovery. However they did note that it would be extremely important for company owners to manage cash flow carefully as suppliers begin to push prices up again.

The Confederation of British Industry has predicted this week that the UK economy is set to emerge from recession during the final quarter of the year. The business organisation said growth would be restored to the economy by the end of 2009, but a rapid economic recovery was highly unlikely.

APA

They're behind you!

If you are planning or participating in a Panto this year the following information may be of value to you. And it comes from the 'Wicked Auntie' herself - the Department of Business Innovation & Skills.

They suggest that Health and Safety rules were blamed when pantomimes stopped throwing out sweets, some years back, to the audience. The reality is In fact that organisers were worried about the cost of compensation if anyone got hurt. [They were obviously throwing bulls-eyes]

If you're unsure about an event you're organising, you might want to talk to your insurer to check that you've got the right cover and you've managed any risks effectively. It can help to make sure that trivial risks don't cause too much concern.

Realistically, if a panto throws out sweets the chances of someone being seriously hurt is incredibly low says BIS. "It's certainly not something HSE worries about - as far as we're concerned, this is a case of "Oh yes you can!"

APA

Add Sugar and Stir

Lord Sugar has reaffirmed his commitment to helping small businesses in the UK, following recent controversy over his comments about the health of the sector. The Enterprise Tsar was accused of likening many small company bosses to "moaners" who "live in Disneyland", in light of their complaints over a lack of bank lending.

Speaking to the Forum of Private Business (FPB), the Amstrad founder said he had been misquoted following a speech in Manchester last month. However, he reiterated his view that many of the complaints about a lack of business credit are not justified, claiming that very few of the cases he had been made aware of were "genuine horror stories".

Lord Sugar stated: "The majority were cases where it wouldn't have been right for the bank to lend in the first instance, owing to things like having a poor business case, a lack of security or simply unrealistic expectations.The government has always made it clear that it only expects banks to lend to viable businesses. Inappropriate lending in a large part precipitated the global financial crisis."

He noted that while the banks want to do business, they expect sound business cases to be put before them. FPB chief executive Phil Orford said he applauded Lord Sugar for taking the time to address his critics, although questioned whether the peer fully appreciated the financial problems being experienced by many small businesses.

APA

Forecasts for the UK economy

At this time of year many CEOs turn their attention to the ‘New Year State-of-the-Nation’ presentation they make annually to their staff, shareholders and external observers. I have done it many times myself and have often found myself at a loss to locate current economic data to use as the foundation for my opinion.

So, when your Boss asks you to track down the latest financial predictions, where do you go? Here are just a couple of suggestions to make his/her life easier.

HM Treasury http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/data_forecasts_index.htm

Bank of England http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/fsr/2009/index.htm

Gareth, APA

PA as a stress manager

Business owners should take control of their lives and focus on the positive aspects of it to avoid stress, it has been reported. According to the International Stress Management Association (ISMA), excessive amounts of pressure can lead to the development of severe stress.

Ann McCracken, chair of ISMA, was commenting after a report by the Young Foundation found that one in four people in the UK experience mental health problems at some point in their lives. The number of prescriptions for anti-depressant drugs increased from nine million in 1991 to 34 million in 2007, the group reported

Gareth Osborne, Director General of APA said, “A better solution is to employ or train your PA to help manage the daily mental pressure on his/her Boss. This is one of the techniques we teach on the APA Diploma in Personal Assistance (DipPA) programme and it can greatlt reduce stress and associated problems.”

“It is about taking responsibility for the workload and how they can interface with their Boss to limit stressful occurrences, de-stress them when pressure rises through breaks for exercise, useful and nourishing food and taking time out to cool down. Like all things, its about forward planning and changing behaviour patterns, how you think and finding ways to approach things differently."

For more information on stress management or the APA Diploma in Personal Assistance contact training@paprofessional.com

Gareth, APA

Business confidence rising as year ends

Business confidence in Britain has hit a two-year high, new research has indicated. The Lloyds TSB Business in Britain survey found that 21 per cent of firms are now expecting an upturn in sales over the next six months - up from just one per cent half a year ago.

The overall confidence index rose to 16 per cent - a significant increase on the record low of -32 per cent at this point in 2008.

Commenting on the statistics, George Derbyshire, chief executive of NFEA, the national enterprise network, said it was "great" to see there is much more optimism around. And he suggested that many business owners believed the recession could have been far worse for them than it actually has. He feels that businesses have been cushioned from the effects seen in previous recessions because interest rates have remained extraordinarily low and the weakness of the pound has helped people who are exporting.

He also noted that a "responsible view to employment" has benefited both companies and employees - with flexible working practices preventing firms from being forced to make redundancies. A point APA thoroughly endorses.

Latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics showed that the unemployment rate was 7.9 per cent for the three months to August 2009, up 0.3 per cent on the previous quarter and 2.1 over the year. So there is still some way to go but a little more hope for a happy new year.

Gareth, APA.

The last act of a dying Giant!

Britain was once rightly proud of its national flag carrier; British Airways, but today’s announcement that Cabin Crew will walk out for 12 days over Christmas must be its final death gasp. Even its ever chirpy CEO, Willie Walsh, must be reaching for the light switch as the last man leaves the building.

If the strike goes ahead BA will destroy the holiday plans of nearly 1 million passengers and will spark a scramble for tickets on rival airlines as they are forced to find alternative means of completing their journeys.

Cabin crew announced the strike dates at a highly charged meeting of Unite union members at Sandown racecourse this afternoon following a ballot of staff over changes to staff numbers and budgets.

If BA management and Unite representatives fail to reach a compromise agreement over the next week, the walkout will deal a crippling financial and reputational blow to the airline. BA is already set to lose £600m in the current year and this after posting a record loss of £401m in the 12 months to March 2009.

The Giant is already on its knees, watching others fly overhead. Will it be Unite or its members that deliver the final kick in the undercarriage for a once great airline?

Gareth, APA

Christmas rape danger!

Women heading out for Christmas drinks have been warned by police not to make themselves easy prey for rapists. Senior officers in England and Wales warned of the risks as the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) launched a campaign to raise awareness.

Poster, radio and TV advertisements will urge women to "let your hair down, not your guard", while warning men, "Rape: short word, long sentence."

Many forces record an increase in sex attacks over the festive period. It comes as thousands of people head to pubs, bars and clubs and it is thought that alcohol plays a part in two thirds of all rape cases. In the City there has been a rise in reported cases of rape over December and January in recent years. Last Thursday the head of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Paul Stephenson, said reported rape in London had risen by 25%.

The police campaign aims to raise awareness of a number of steps women can take to protect themselves and tells men of the need to seek consent for sex. Cheshire Chief Constable Dave Whatton, said: "Ultimately we want to prevent rape from occurring in the first place, by arming potential victims with key advice on how to keep themselves safe. But we are also aware of the sad reality that many victims of rape remain silent."

He urged victims to come forward and report attacks, pointing out that there were specialist agencies available to provide support. Tackling rape remains a difficult issue for senior officers who are struggling to drive up a conviction rate of 6.5%.

A government review, led by Baroness Stern, is currently examining how to improve the treatment of rape victims and raise the conviction rate. APA is in discussion with the Department concerned and feels that it should strongly support the call for action given the high number of young, professional, business women in membership; who are often required to be at work late into the evening.

APA

Pre-budget nerves

APA looked quizzically at an announcement today by Gordon Brown that the government will slash consultancy and marketing costs to help halve the budget deficit. And this only two days before Labour updates its tax, spending and borrowing plans.

The government faces pressure from markets and voters to give a credible plan to cut a deficit set to top 12 percent of gross domestic product this year. A windfall tax on bankers' bonuses and other possible measures on the wealthy could be on the cards in December's pre-budget report as Labour tries to set a clear dividing line between itself and the Tories. The Conservatives have said they will take an axe to public service costs to cut debt faster than Labour without harming frontline services such as health and education.

APA believes that plans outlined by both main party would do little to dent the record budget deficit and believe that big tax rises and a very sharp squeeze on spending will have to take effect whoever wins the next election.

The Prime Minister outlined an extra 3 billion pounds in savings over four years through cutting advisory budgets and embracing new technologies such as the Internet -- on top of 9 billion pounds of planned efficiencies announced earlier.

Gareth Osborne of APA said, “The government has a sad and sorry history when it comes to embracing technology; almost every contract for development has come in late, over budget and below expectation on its performance. Adding financial necessity to the equation will only add to the risk and limit the return.”

Gareth, APA

Compliance Costs!

Small business owners spend more time dealing with employment law issues than any other administrative task, according to the Forum of Private Business (FPB).

The FPB's cost of compliance survey found that employment law outranked health and safety and tax when it came to time-consuming administration, with small business owners spending an average of 37 hours per month dealing with employment-related legal concerns. According to the study, small businesses spend £259 million per year on work associated with dismissals and redundancy. A further £391 million is spent on absence control and management, £237 million is spent on maternity, £333 million on disciplinary issues and £1,175 million on holidays and any other remaining aspects of employment legislation.

"Like the FPB, we are lobbying government to create a regulatory environment better suited to stability and growth for small businesses and employment legislation is definitely one area needing significant attention," said APA Director General Gareth Osborne. “Over regulation has stifled employment rather than enabled it and businesses are far less likely to employ additional staff and solider-on with existing resources. We need to ease these burdens as the market improves or small business will remain recruitment phobic.”

According to a study by employment law firm Peninsula, almost half of the UK's small and medium-sized enterprises were afraid of disciplining staff for fear of being sued.

Gareth, APA