Wonderful Wefinda weekly news (Week ended 03 December 2010)

Chancellor’s Autumn Statement
The week started with the Office for Budget Responsibility upgrading its growth forecast for 2010 from 1.2% to 1.8% although forecasts for 2011 and 2012 have been lowered slightly to 2.1% and 2.6% respectively. This was followed by the Chancellor’s autumn statement, which for SMEs included the commitment to the reform of corporation tax, previously announced in the emergency budget.

Cost of the big freeze
Last year it was the postal strikes, this year the big freeze. Companies relying on pre-Christmas and pre-VAT-rise sales to carry them through are struggling to cope. A combination of flu, employees unable to get in to work through the snow and delays on major transport links are all combining to put pressure on coping with orders and delivery times. Best advice for consumers is to order extra early for Christmas. Advice for companies with backlogs is to come clean in advance and keep clients informed to minimise negative publicity.

On-line filing of self assessment tax returns
There are reports of a bug in the HMRC system which is giving error messages for anyone logging in for a second time to amend their tax returns. The system should allow for multiple entries up to the deadline at 31 January. All those intending to file on-line and who haven’t applied yet are recommended to start the process now before the post-Christmas rush.

Vince Cable calls for greater collaboration between banks and SMEs
Vince Cable, attending the first “Doing Business Together” seminar called on banks to break down communication barriers which can lead to lack of funding for SMEs. The event, which was designed to find ways of improving the provision of finance to SMEs, included discussions on ways in which better financial reporting could give lenders greater comfort when being asked for loans.

Lobbying against the EU proposals on Maternity leave
The Minister for Employment Relations, Edward Davey, will attend a meeting of EU ministers on 6th to lobby against the proposal to extend full paid maternity leave to 20 weeks. It has been estimated that these proposals would cost the UK at least £2billion per year and is a move that is opposed by businesses of all sizes.

So, what do we have to look forward to?
Parliament is fairly quiet for SMEs this week apart from the usual select committee meetings on competition in the banking sector, transport and assistance to industry. On Thursday we have the latest MPC decision on interest rates, expected by all economists to remain unchanged at 0.5%.

And finally
At Wefinda we’d be delighted to help you with your winter preparations, perhaps by helping you to find an IT expert to set your employees up to work from home, or to find an HR expert to advice on your liabilities to keep staff safe. With roads in gridlock and stranded motorists in danger emergency services have been stretched to the limit. Kent police were therefore not amused to receive one 999 call, reporting the theft of a snowman. Apparently the caller thought it to be an emergency as she’d used pound coins for eyes.