Executive Hire News › Archives › September 2009 › Forum : How much more can we take?
Forum : How much more can we take?
Rodger Webb, MD of well respected independent hirer, Plantool Ltd, responds to our invitation to rant against whatever had got under his skin that day.
As you would have read in last month's EHN, we recently took delivery of four new long wheelbase Ford Transits to replace existing vehicles in our transport fleet. A cause for some minor celebration and relief that the old ones didn't blow up in the last week before we took delivery - famous last words, one actually did since I started this article.
However, the dreaded words 'all new towing vehicles have to be fitted with digital tachos' took the shine off the event. Like all Government (EU?) initiatives, it sounds all very reasonable and worthy. We must ensure drivers aren't driving for too long and pay attention to safety, working time regulations, towing regulations, blah blah! As ever, with anything to do with Government, there is cost and bureaucracy. We reckon that we will have to register six people with new digital cards at £38 each, buy three card readers at £200 each and software for our PC at £400. This amounts to a minimum £1,228 - maybe more - to put us where we were before, and who benefits?
Then we get letters from the Performing Rights Society demanding an annual fee from them if we play radios anywhere on our premises.
I understand that some hirers have dismissed this as just a scam, but it is not. As a musician of arguable quality, I'm all for artists getting their royalties, but they are already getting them every time their music is played on the radio. Why should they get more from us for playing the radio in our depots? Minimum cost six times £50 per year.
‘BID' SYSTEM ON THE HORIZON
Just for good measure, we now have the BID system on the horizon. Crosshire has mentioned this on several occasions, but I make no excuse for raising it again. The proposal is that you, as a business, pay an extra percentage of your rates to get the services you would have thought you should already get! The potential costs are considerable and not just for one year. No, once this scheme is introduced, I see no way of ever getting it reversed and those responsible for the administration of the monies have no real responsibility as to the success, or otherwise of the schemes.
So they spend your money on 'hair dresser'-type initiatives (that word is becoming almost as annoying as 'issues' and 'hard working families'), pretty leaflets, town logos, the odd CCTV camera and, if it doesn't work, so what, there will be more money coming next year. You can stop this insidious scheme. Make sure when it arises that you mobilise your local business community (shame on some Chambers of Commerce for being in favour of them) and vote against it. There is absolutely no benefit other than providing jobs for the already bloated public sector.
So there you have, in a couple of so called initiatives, an extra couple of grand to pay, some of it recurring for receiving absolutely zilch from our lords and masters - and that is just the tip of the iceberg. I am sure that you can think of plenty more. As businesses (in the main small businesses) we seem to just be victims and cash cows for various forms of government.
Start to fight back, write to your MP, tell your prospective politicians, whether local or national, that you are fed up with having your pockets picked and fed up with useless costly bureaucracy, pester your business associations. When will Government ever understand that, if they were to free us off from these petty regulations and costs, business would soar and so would their tax revenues.
Meantime please don't give us any more help, we can't afford it!
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