Sobering discoveries at Bosence Farm Community

I spent the afternoon last week with Cllr Doe Harry (Chairman of St Erth Parish Council) on a fact-finding visit to Bosence Farm Community near Leedstown.

For many years Bosence Farm Community Ltd has been the home of men and women recovering from drug and alcohol addictions. Residents of the community spend up to a year of their lives undergoing an intensive programme designed to give the life-skills and discipline needed to live life free from a dependency on drugs and alcohol.

Bosence Farm Community Ltd is soon to embark on their next ambitious venture – the development of Cornwall’s only Detoxification Centre. Funding and the necessary planning applications have been approved and the new centre will provide up to 15 spaces for people to volunteer for the four week detoxification programme. Patients will then return to where they came from or take part in rehabilitation programmes such as is provided at Bosence Farm Community.

Bosence Farm Community has a proven track record of providing vital support and help to people with very serious addiction problems. Cornwall needs a detoxification centre and Bosence Farm Community is ideally placed to deliver this project. Our visit showed us that residents are subject to a very strict and disciplined programme. This practice has clearly worked and by applying the same approach to this detox centre Bosence will be able to help many people rid themselves of substance abuse and enable them to rebuild their lives

Building work for the new Detoxification Centre is expected to start in April of this year and should be completed in the spring of 2010. The Government are placing greater emphasis on helping clients to access detoxification and rehabilitation services. Currently Cornish residents have very little opportunity to access such help.

We are only too aware of the worrying level of drug and alcohol addicts in West Cornwall. It is in everybody’s interest to see these people achieve and sustain a drug free lifestyle.

Cut the Costs - Claim Small Business Rate Relief

This week I launched the Conservative's on-line tool for small businesses. The national press this week appear to confirm our fears that 2009 could be retailers toughest year for 30 years.

Following a survey of councils in England and Wales the Conservative Party discovered that up to half of small businesses are not claiming the Small Business Rate Relief they are entitled to. As a direct result of this survey the Conservatives have created a simple, online tool to help. By visiting www.conservatives.com/smallshops business leaders can find out what they are entitled to and how to claim the rate relief.

"It' no secret that rising business rates are hurting small shops - and yet many shops don’t claim the rate relief they're entitled to because they don’t know about it or because it's too complicated. Rate relief could save shops up to £1,100 a year - so it's vital we help owners claim the full amount they're owed”.

"Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) came into effect on 1st April 2005. Properties with a rateable value of less than £5,000 will receive up to 50% rate relief on their liability. Above £5,000 relief is available, but by 1% for every £100, below a maximum rate of £10,000 rateable value. Almost 84% of employed people in Cornwall work in small businesses, which mean not only the survival of our local shops but also local jobs".

Penwith or Kerrier District council will calculate the exact reduction, but the relief is not automatic and must be applied for.

It's vital that our small businesses are aware of their entitlement so I am visiting and writing to small shops in West Cornwall urging local business people to take up this relief. Regulation, tax and competition from out of town shopping centres are crippling our local shops. 2,000 small shops close each year in the UK and I am determined to arrest this decline in West Cornwall. My Party has already come up with several positive proposals which include: reducing corporation tax from 22p to 20p, a Conservative Government will defer VAT for six months and we will cut payroll taxes for businesses paying less than five employees, which would save a business employing less than five, at least £100 a month. I also support the introduction of a simpler tax system.”


For information on the national Conservative Campaign to save small shops please see:
www.conservatives.com/smallshops

Support Our Small Shops

I am convinced that small shops are at the heart of our high streets and town centres. They offer diversity and choice and provide a really personal service to their community.

Yet in many communities these independent retailers are under threat. They face a rising burden of regulation and tax, a daily battle against crime and violence, and competition from the growth of out-of-town shopping centres. It is estimated that 2000 shops close every year.

Cutting taxes

We are committed to cutting small company corporation tax rates from 22p to 20p, reversing Labour’s £370 million tax hike. This will help reduce costs and ease cash flow.

Help with cash flow

Conservatives would allow small and medium sized businesses to defer their VAT bills for up to six months. For a typical business with a VAT bill of £350,000, this could mean that businesses would not need to find £90,000 now, which could be the difference between survival and failure. It would not be appropriate for all SME’s but could help some survive.

Keep jobs

Conservatives would cut payroll taxes for the smallest employers (less than 5 employees), to help them save money and so keep jobs. That would mean that a local firm, with say four employees and a wage bill of £150,000 would save £100 every month.

In the long term we need to end this period of boom and bust and build a better economy. We will introduce a simpler and more effective tax system, cut the headline rate of corporation tax for businesses, and tackle red tape.

The real challenge in this credit crunch is to get credit flowing again. That is why we have proposed a £50 billion National Loan Guarantee Scheme to get lending going and protect jobs.