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NEWS
Thursday 12 June 2008
"Barking Mad Dogs Ban" Story Goes National
The national media have taken up the cause of farmhouse B&B owners who have been told by Environmental Health Officers in some counties that they cannot allow their dogs in their breakfast room/kitchens, even when strict hygiene in food preparation is observed and pets are kept scrupulously away from food preparation surfaces, utensils and storage areas.
The Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2, and the BBC2 business TV show Working Lunch, amongst others, covered the issue. Read the story online in:
The Daily Telegraph
The Times
The Daily Express
Daily Mail
The Association's view is that B&B owners are highly responsible and very conscious of good hygiene practice (we and our families eat our own food every day, after all), and if pets are kept well away from food preparation surfaces and storage areas and food is prepared safely and hygienically, there is no need to "ban" the well-behaved family dog or cat from its place by the fireside.
The expert advice we have received is that such "bans" result from a mis-interpretation of the regulations, which are not so proscriptive, and are intended to be proportionate, workable and based on real risk.
We have made some detailed official advice available to our subscribing members (join now).
Email us your own views at comment@BandBassociation.org.
 
This Week: FREE subscription to the "Pink Booklet Online" worth £29.95
when you subscribe as a new member
read more...
B&B Association Membership now includes the Special Offers CLUB
 Membership of the Association now includes FREE membership of The Special Offers CLUB, which rewards members with a wide range of offers, discounts and promotions from top brands. These cover both deals for your business, and consumer deals for you and your family. These include deals (typically 5% to 15% off) from Apple Store, HP, Laithwaites, Esso, Tom Tom, Axa PPP, BT, Europcar, RAC, Viking Direct, Royal Mail, House of Fraser, Npower and many others. Membership for a typical family B&B can yield potential savings of many hundreds of pounds annually.
The Special Offers CLUB* is a division of the e-marketing company Special Offers Ltd., which sponsors the Association's website and e-Newsletters, and which celebrates its 12th successful year of trading in 2008.
Read more...
Our Meeting with the Minister of Tourism
Margaret Hodge MP, Minister of Tourism
The Bed & Breakfast Association met the Minister of Tourism, Margaret Hodge MP, on September 11th.
The Minister assured us that she is committed to reducing the regulatory burden on small businesses in the tourism sector. We explained how regulatory burdens had increased in recent years, and made the point that we were concerned not just with the legislation but also with its enforcement - which, as with the fire regulations, is carried out by local authorities inconsistently and sometimes disproportionately.
The Minister undertook to look at any instances of disproportionate or inconsistent enforcement which B&B Association members have experienced - and we will be submitting a number of such instances to her department following our meeting.
We were pleased that the Minister had made such a strong statement against the regulatory burden, and we will do all in our power to help her department and Government reflect this statement in practice in the months and years ahead.
The above is a shortened version of the report sent to BBA members about our contacts with Government; subscribing BBA members receive full regular briefings from these meetings (including notice of and consultation on forthcoming new regulations which will impact the B&B sector). Members also have the opportunity to contribute to the BBA's submissions to Government and regulatory bodies.
There are many other reasons to join. Read more...
"Bed Tax" threat now successfully averted!
The Lyons Inquiry final report was released on 21 March 2007 just before Gordon Brown's Budget. The report itself was not very helpful - it recommended introducing a power for local authorities to levy a tourism tax where there was a strong case to do so.
However, there has been a quick and emphatic response from Local Government Minister Phil Woolas, at the Department for Communities and Local Government stating that:
"Sir Michael examines the case for a tourist tax. He concludes that there is not a strong evidence base for the introduction of such a tax. He puts the case for a consultation on this issue, we are not, therefore, inclined to focus on this area. The Government does not intend to introduce a tourism tax."
So this looks as if it has effectively ended the debate.
Excellent news for all of us as B&B owners - and perhaps the persistent lobbying of the Government by the BBA and others in the industry has helped!
Do you run a B&B in Scotland?
if so, are you happy with visitscotland.com? Please tell us more...
VisitScotland has subcontracted the handling of enquiries via the visitscotland.com website to a company called eTourism Ltd. Many B&B owners in Scotland are unhappy with the results of this policy.
We want to help tackle this situation in the interests of Scottish B&B owners and of tourism to Scotland - especially its rural areas where B&Bs represent the only accommodation.
We are very keen to hear from any B&B owner in Scotland who can help us compile a body of evidence about the effectiveness of visitscotland.com.
Contact us today to give us your views.
The Bed and Breakfast Association was formed to inform members of matters affecting their businesses, including imminent legislative changes, to represent members' interests in consultations with Government and others, and to provide information and support services to members. There are many reasons to join us.
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