Forty New Jobs In Nettleham

Mr. Ridge (centre) with members of his team.
© Picture: 2012 John Jenkins, Lincolnshire Echo

As many as forty new jobs will be created following the opening of a new call centre in Nettleham.

Complaint Handling Services has opened an office on the Deepdale Enterprise Park recently, and initially has employed 20 people the Lincolnshire Echo reports. However, following the initial success of the company, they are looking to employ a further batch of telephone operators.

Mr. Rob Ridge, Director, said:

"We deal with payment protection insurance claims initially but we also have a company called Pension Handling Services helping customers with their pensions. 

"Everything has gone really smoothly since the initial 20 people started work here in June.
"Hopefully the business will grow and we are looking to expand to around 60 employees at this site. 

"We are part of a bigger company with offices in Leicester and Manchester but Lincolnshire was very attractive to us. 

"For a start, it is cheaper to set up here than in the bigger cities and the recruitment costs are lower here. 

"Having said that, we are struggling to recruit quickly enough at the moment, but I suppose that is a good thing."

The new call centre has provided residents with an opportunity to get into work, for which they are grateful.

Mr. Mohammed Sait, from Lincoln, moved to the city from London to live with his partner. He said:

"It was about six weeks from leaving London and moving up here that I was out of work. 

"Everyone who works here comes from a different background and age group and they make an excellent team. 

"When I was working in London there was no time to think but here everybody takes their time to make sure that they get things right."

Complaint Handling Services has also provided young people their first taste of full time work. Master James Robertson, from Welton, said:

 "I finished college and wanted to find a job. I heard about this and decided to give it a go. It wasn't really what I wanted to do but I have really enjoyed it so far and I will be looking to stay in this area of work for a while."

Mr. Simon Beardsley, Chief Executive of Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce, was delighted with the news of more jobs.

"It is good to see a company have the confidence to invest in the county especially while the general economic circumstances seem challenging." 

"It is good to see employment being created at such a significant level by a local firm."

Complaint Handling Services are currently employing please contact them on 01522 596400 for more information.

Weather Does Not Deter Lincolnshire Show Goers

© Prima PR and Marketing

Regardless of the weather, over 60,000 visitors attended both days of the 128th Lincolnshire Show.

The first day of the show saw a six percent increase in visitors on last year, credited to the warm weather on Wednesday, and spirits were not dampened by the rain on Thursday.

Organisers reported a five percent increase on trade stand bookings from 2011 and the number of visitors from across the UK entering livestock and equine competitions also increased.

It is estimated by show organisers that for every £1 spent at the show, a further £20 has been generated in the local economy.

Hotels and Bed & Breakfasts in the area experienced heightened demand for overnight stays from an extra 18,400 visitors. For many businesses in Lincolnshire, the show provides an opportunity to showcase local produce and services. Showground Director Jayne Southall said:

"We’ve had a fantastic show and it’s been wonderful to see everything come together.

"We had a big boost to visitor numbers with the wonderful sunshine on day one. 

"Although numbers were down on Thursday, the showers seemed to do little to dampen enthusiasm and we had a steady flow of visitors arriving throughout the morning. 

"The show has proved itself, once again, as a major visitor attraction which helps to bring Lincolnshire’s wider visitor and tourism story to a national audience."

© Malcolm Leaning

Edward Leigh MP, who represents the Gainsborough Constituency, within which the Lincolnshire Showground is located, visited the West Lindsey District Council tent and  met with local councillors and joined in with the keep fit dancers from the West Lindsey Leisure Centre, Gainsborough.

Local Coffee House Named In Top-5 In The World

A local coffee house, Coffee Aroma on Guildhall Street in Lincoln has been awarded the accolade of being one of the best coffee shops in the world by Cosy Coffee Shops - a website dedicated to independent coffee houses.

In the past five years the Cosy Coffee Shops team have visited over one hundred of the most highly regarded independent coffee shops in the world, looking for a combination of ‘nice places’ and ‘outstanding coffee.’ Cosy Coffee Shops’ opinion is well-valued in the speciality coffee industry, so Coffee Aroma are doubtlessly thrilled to be included in their list of ‘The Top 10 Coffee Shops in the World for 2011.’

The Top 10 includes independent coffee houses in Japan, New Zealand, Mexico and Vietnam amongst other countries, in a list of what Cosy Coffee Shops deems to be the top-performing independent coffee houses on the world stage. Of the Lincoln-based coffee house Cosy Coffee Shops' review said:

"It [Coffee Aroma] is a gorgeous, picturesque place, not to mention comfy and charming. I can’t think of a coffee shop with a nicer interior; just perfect for relaxing with a good mug of coffee. That would do me nicely, thanks very much, but I was delighted also to discover coffee of the highest order.

"As the owner (Richard Teasdale) prepared it [my coffee], he described his method… Richard – as you can tell – is a coffee geek, but in the nicest possible way. He has had some success at barista championships and has rubbed shoulders with the best in the world. He’s a friendly guy, driven to create the perfect coffee experience."

Tax cuts needed to keep Lincolnshire working says Giles McNeill

Action required to boost the economy and reduce unemployment

Ahead of the publication of the Government’s draft Budget - the so-called Pre-Budget Report on 24 November, Giles McNeill, Prospective Conservative Candidate for Lincolnshire County Council in the Nettleham & Saxilby Division, has called for tax cuts to help Lincolnshire’s economy and reduce unemployment. The latest official Government figures show the number of people claiming unemployment benefit in the Gainsborough constituency is now 1,200 a rise of 202 from this time last year.

Conservatives are calling on the Government to introduce tax cuts to create new jobs, under an innovative scheme which will help firms take on extra employees, boost the economy and reduce the damaging social costs associated with unemployment.

Private sector firms who hire someone who has been claiming unemployment benefits for more than three months and who has not previously worked for that company in the previous year, would receive a credit against employers’ National Insurance bills.

This would be funded by using money that would otherwise be spent on welfare payments to give tax cuts worth £2,500 per head over a year. It is estimated that the plan could create around 350,000 new jobs across the country over the next year. Simple safeguards would prevent abuse by ensuring that only genuinely new jobs would be eligible.

On top of this, Conservatives have already proposed:
• A two-year council tax freeze, paid for by cutting back on government advertising and consultancy fees.
• Taking family homes out of inheritance tax and nine out of ten first-time buyers out of stamp duty, funded by introducing a levy on non-domiciles.
• Allowing small businesses to delay their VAT payments by six months.
• Cutting payroll taxes for the smallest companies.

Giles said:

“I am very concerned about the state of the economy. Jobs, businesses and livelihoods across the Nettleham & Saxilby Division are at risk, and it is clear that we cannot rely on Gordon Brown to produce the positive policies that will help us cope with recession. Change is desperately needed.

“Cutting taxes for local firms who create new jobs is one of the ways that we can support our local economy, in a fiscally responsible way.”

Call to give Local Firms in Lincolnshire Access to More Government Contracts

Massive Whitehall procurement budget should help small and medium firms

Giles McNeill, Prospective County Council Candidate, today added his voice to calls for the Government to do more to help local firms in Lincolnshire hit by the economic downturn. Conservatives are demanding that Whitehall opens up the massive £125 billion government procurement budget to small and medium firms across the country.

The government is the biggest purchaser of goods and services in the economy, but Whitehall bureaucracy means that small businesses are locked out of this system. Making it easier for small businesses to win government contracts would provide companies in Lincolnshire - and across the country - with a crucial source of revenue during the downturn, helping to protect local jobs.

The Conservative action plan includes:
• Scrapping the rule requiring companies to provide three years of audited accounts when bidding for government contracts. This unnecessary rule locks start-up companies out of the procurement system – simply because new companies may not have three years of audited accounts.
• Immediately introducing a single questionnaire to be allowed to bid for government contracts worth less than £50,000. This would only have to be filled in once and logged for future contract bids. This will radically reduce the administrative burden involved in bidding for government contracts.
• Requiring all government contracts worth over £10,000 to be published online, so that small companies can for the first time find out exactly what contracts are available. At present, it is not mandatory for contracts to be published online. As a result, over 75 per cent of small and medium firms report that it is difficult to find out about procurement opportunities.
• Aiming for 25 per cent of government contracts to be awarded to small and medium enterprises. This is something that United States federal government does, and would help overcome the risk aversion that leads to them being overlooked for government contracts.

Giles said:

“This is another part of the Conservative action plan for small business, which also includes proposals to defer VAT bills, cut payroll taxes by 1p and reduce the small company corporation tax rate.

“We need to open up the government’s procurement system and get money to small businesses across the country. It’s not just small firms that will be helped – taxpayers will benefit from the innovation and greater efficiency that small businesses can bring to government contracts.

“Small firms in Lincolnshire are facing a very difficult time and jobs are at risk. If Labour Ministers were serious about making a difference, they would adopt this action plan.”