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Top doctor backs Dry
January
A top doctor is urging people to support
Dry January, as he marks 3 years without alcohol! 57 year old, Rob Gillies,
who is an Executive Medical Director at Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust,
gave up booze back in January 2013. Rob Gillies said:- "My wife
challenged me to go 1 month without alcohol. I really loved my wines and
lagers, but my motivation for giving up was to get fitter. I lost 1 stone in
weight quite quickly. But the biggest change was in sleep patterns. Giving
up alcohol led to much better quality of sleep. I also had increased energy
and better concentration levels. I felt so much better over that initial
month so I just carried on."
Alcohol Concern's Dry January encourages people to take a fresh look at
their relationship with drink. Dry January challenges people to cut out
booze for 31 days.
The charity says people who abstain will
see health benefits as well as saving money. You can sign up to a Dry
January by clicking on
here.
Rob, who comes from South Liverpool, added:- "We live in a society
where alcohol is everywhere. It is engrained in culture. Because of that
there seems to be a social stigma on those of us who don't drink. It was 3
years ago this January that I gave up alcohol. I would recommend people give
it a try. One month is achievable. It really is no different to giving up
chocolate or coffee. People can make Dry January fun. They could get some of
their friends to take part, or even make the challenge a way to raise some
funds for charity."
The Trust's Alcohol Liaison Team will have a stall in Southport Hospital
this week promoting Dry January. People who are concerned about their
drinking should speak to their GP. They can offer help and support.
Partnership working is
the key to cross border success
THIS week we have been told that
Merseytravel's latest response to the National Assembly for Wales, cross
border rail services through partnership working is, in short:-
"delivering quality."
The Merseytravel committee welcomed the
assembly's Enterprise and Business Committee invite to respond to the
forthcoming inquiry into Welsh rail infrastructure priorities and approved
its response at a meeting on Thursday, 7 January 2016.
Cllr. Liam Robinson, chair of
Merseytravel:- "We were pleased to have been invited to respond to
this inquiry as both Merseytravel and the Liverpool City Region (Merseyside)
have long standing relationships with the Welsh Assembly and our response is
made in good faith and in the spirit of our partnership working. Improving
cross boundary rail links from the Liverpool City Region (Merseyside) and
Merseyside, into North Wales, is a long standing priority for Merseytravel
and the Liverpool City Region, and is set out within our Long Term Rail
Strategy and Strategic Economic Plan. Cross boundary rail infrastructure
issues can be complex and that's why we believe it is important to work
together with the Welsh Assembly in order to make things happen and deliver
the best deal for people living in both regions. Indeed, our membership of
the Mersey Dee Alliance for over 10 years is an example of how important we
rate partnership working and reinforces the recognition that North East
Wales, West Cheshire and parts of the Liverpool City Region (Merseyside)
form part of a common, recognisable economic and travel to work area. This
presents many opportunities to shape new and improved services that will
benefit people travelling across the borders. We have far reaching
objectives as we are also working closely with the Welsh Government to
improve service quality on the Borderlands line between Wrexham and Bidston,
and to develop new rail services form North Wales to Liverpool via the
reinstatement of the Halton rail curve near Frodsham. In addition our
response also highlights the importance of improved, electrified rail
services from the North Wales Coast line to the High Speed 2 Hub at Crewe,
and also directly into Liverpool. There is a considerable amount of focus on
driving forward improvement projects and through further strong partnership
and collaboration across border areas, we can place seamless, cross border
travel and continuity of quality of service high on the agenda and enhance
the customer experience for the future."
The response will now be submitted to the National Assembly for Wales. |
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Tens of thousands ring
in the new year by submitting Tax Returns
A record breaking 24,546 people
submitted their Tax Return online on New Year's Eve, HM Revenue and Customs
(HMRC) has revealed. These shocking figures which have just been released by
HMRC show a 2.8% rise on 1 year ago, while more than 11,467 people sent off
their Self Assessment Tax Return on New Year's Day 2016 itself. Does this
show that people now have to put more time into paperwork and have less time
for social life and holidays than before?
HMRC said that hundreds of people decided to spend the 1st hours of 2016
completing their Self Assessment, with more than 600 people submitting their
Tax Return between midnight and 10am, on New Year's Day. To some, this shows
just how bad the UK is becoming, and that issues like the worry about
submitting Tax Returns are just added pressure on people already hard pushed
to get time to do personal things. This could help to explain some of the
issues of social breakdown and increasing levels of depression and anxiety
levels seen by the NHS.
The data also shows that the number of people completing their Tax Return on
Christmas Day broke records, with 2,044 customers as well, an increase of
13% on 25 December 2014. Again this high level could indicate that higher
levels of financial and Government paperwork is interfering with essential
leisure and relaxation time, and adding yet another element of stress to
people's already overburdened lives, allowing less time for religious
expression, family life and social life, much to the detriment of society as
a whole. 1 agency expressed the opinion that we now face a veritable
monsoon of paperwork which many are not equipped to handle, thus mistakes
and omissions are inevitable. Once upon a time the general public submitted
their relevant data and this was entered by those best equipped to deal with
the material, leaving that the majority free to deal with what they were
more suited to. Now most people are assumed to understand the mind boggling
mass of data the powers that be feel it necessary to amass, with sometimes
dire consequences.
On Boxing Day, 5,402 customers ignored the temptation of the sales and
instead chose to find their inner peace by completing their Self Assessment
online. This to some could also indicate that paperwork could be damaging
the economic recovery of the UK!
Ruth Owen, Director General of Personal Tax, HMRC, said:- "As we all
enjoy the festive season it's easy to see how completing your Tax Return can
be forgotten, but the 31 January deadline will be here quicker than we
think. Our advice is, don't leave it until it's too late. Make sure you give
yourself plenty of time and remember our online service is available with
helpful advice and handy tips any time of the year, whether that's on
Christmas Day, or even New Year's Eve."
The deadline for sending 2014 to 2015 Tax Returns to HMRC, and paying any
Tax owed, is 31 January 2016. If you do not supply, you will be hit with the
£100 automatic penalty for late filing.
The £100 automatic penalty for late filing has been particularly criticised
because since 2012 it affects people even if a UK Citizen is not even liable
for any Tax. In 2015, it was reported that about a quarter of people who had
to fill in Self Assessment Returns had no liability or owed less than £50.
Yet, if they got their returns in too late they would, and did, get fined!
Back in May 2015, many charities blasted the automatic £100 fine for late
Tax Returns as:- "nothing short of oppressive". At that time,
HM Revenue and Customs was asked by many charities to overhaul the
controversial penalties said to have been imposed on nearly 1m people a
year. Sadly, HMRC still have not put in any form of support in place, even
if someone had missed the deadline because of serious illness or bereavement
and can prove it. So many charities have pointed to these figures as a
direct evidence of factors causing the fear of being powerless to prevent
being fined. "These results should not be shown in a good light. HMRC
is adding huge pressure on people who are often at breaking point. Many
people find these forms hard to fill in and cannot afford professional
advisers. If they make an error, even if they do not have any Tax to pay,
they can and will be fined! Last year about 200,000 people last year missed
the deadline because they failed to press the "submit" button when they
filed online. Other issues have also highlighted the problems with this
system. This pressure is destroying our society and people's lives!"
said groups like the Low Incomes Tax Reform
Group.
This is compounded by the fact that errors made by HMRC do not appear to be
dealt with any degree of urgency and people may be forced to wait a
considerable time before their problems as addressed, let alone
satisfactorily resolved. Accusations of buck passing have been made by many
public bodies of late.
So do you think HMRC should celebrate the fact people fill in Tax Returns
over the festive season or not? Do you think our Government should
take a step back and take a look at the system, or do you think it is
correct that people are fined, no matter what...? Please email us to:-
News24@SouthportReporter.Com.
If you need help with your Tax and can't afford help, go to Bridge The Gap,
who are a free Tax Advice service for people in the UK.
You can find out more about them via going to:-
Bridge-The-Gap.Org.UK.
The help page for HMRC can be located at by clicking on
here.
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