£150m cost of Diamond Jubilee (From Daily Echo)
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£150m cost of Diamond Jubilee
4:00pm Monday 28th May 2012 in Business
By Matt Smith, Politics and business reporter
£150m cost of Diamond Jubilee
THE Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations could cost the Hampshire economy a staggering £150m in lost business.
That’s the stark warning from leading accountants as Hampshire and the Isle of Wight prepares for hundreds of street parties and other ways to make the best of the extended bank holiday weekend.
The cost to the local economy will come in lost productivity as businesses close down for another day and people take three days leave to get a whole week off, according to south coast accountants James Cowper.
It’s the second consecutive year that the UK has had an extra day off.
Mike Farwell, a partner at James Cowper, which has offices in Southampton, said: “Based on the region’s economic output, the extra day may cost £150m in lost Business. Some commentators are even arguing that the impact could hinder efforts to pull the country out of recession.
“But it is also important to remember that there may be a significant boost for sectors such as tourism, restaurants, pubs and retailers.
“With an impressive array of events planned across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, the Diamond Jubilee promises to be highly memorable.
“Most importantly the ‘feel-good factor’ that the celebrations will bring and the benefits of returning to work fully refreshed after a break are something even the best accountant can’t measure.”
Yet his concerns have been echoed elsewhere.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has estimated that each bank holiday costs the UK economy £2.3 billion in lost productivity – and scrapping bank holidays could boost Britain’s economy by £19 billion each year.
While the CEBR agrees that sectors like retail, wholesale, hotels and restaurants can benefit, it points out these areas together account for about only 14 per cent of the economy.
Meanwhile the sectors losing out from bank holidays – offices, factories and construction sites – account for about 47 per cent of the economy.
Governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King, has also warned that the Jubilee bank holiday could affect the economy’s recovery from recession.
But Chris Turner, chief executive of Winchester Business Improvement District, questioned whether the boost to the leisure economy was factored into the Hampshire statistic.
“It is ignoring the boost for pubs and restaurants, the take-up of extra staff.
“A third of the Winchester BID members are footfall-oriented and there’s great enthusiasm for the Jubilee and the Olympics.”
Professor Turner warned: “We are talking ourselves into a downward spiral.
"This is an opportunity to talk ourselves up a little bit.
"There is zest in parts of the economy but I can understand if you are in manufacturing and you have staff not coming in because of the holidays it would be a bit of a bind.”
Comments(18)
mummsie
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4:42pm Mon 28 May 12
SotonLad
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5:31pm Mon 28 May 12
Maine Lobster
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6:04pm Mon 28 May 12
OSPREYSAINT
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6:19pm Mon 28 May 12
Matt Probert
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7:11pm Mon 28 May 12
Matt
Huffter
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7:44pm Mon 28 May 12
Matt Probert wrote:You don't have an automatic right to paid leave on bank and public holidays, though many people receive the day off work. Any right to time off or extra pay for working on a bank holiday depends on the terms of your contract of employment. See:
What an appaling waste of money. The self-employed don't get paid time off, they lose money. Small businesses have to give staff a paid day off, they can't afford to do so. Large global corporates on the otherhand don't even miss the loss of income. This Jubille "celebration" is a pathetic waste of tax payers money, jingoism, and flag waving. As the graffiti in Bittern says "wake up sheeple!" Matt
http://www.direct.go
v.uk/en/employment/e
mployees/timeoffandh
olidays/dg_073741
SOULJACKER
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7:58pm Mon 28 May 12
Typical Echo headline.....Money bl00dy money.
That's all it's about isn't it...feeding the corporate fat cats who use recession as an excuse to work us to the bone.
Think of the people for a change will ya.....we are worked to death in this cr@ppy corporate country...
Wind your neck in & shut your pie hole for goodness sake & come up with something original for a change :P
TEBOURBA
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10:37pm Mon 28 May 12
Public sector workers' day off will be paid for by the taxpayers and the private sector's by increased prices.
One way or another the ordinary men and women of this country will pay for it.
If Royalists want to flag wave and cheer to show their devotion to an antiquated, cosseted, privileged, hunting, shooting, fishing, horse riding, carriage driving, globe trotting, playboy regime who know nothing of how the people of this country work and live, then let them take the time off work out of their annual holiday entitlement or without pay!
The whole ridiculous extravaganza should have been cancelled, the day Cameron took office, saving billions and maybe many jobs of people who actually work for a living and do not spend their time swanning around the world at the taxpayers' expense.
A forlorn hope is that the Queen would pay for it herself out of the Royals', vast wealth, much of it accumulated over centuries by pillaging and robbing the poor.
St Retford
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11:27pm Mon 28 May 12
hythe knights
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12:15am Tue 29 May 12
Shoong
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10:25am Tue 29 May 12
Maine Lobster wrote:Dear oh dear, what does it have to do with greedy bankers? Blaming everything on 'bankers' is easy & requires little thought & at the same time shows a level of ignorance of the wider picture.
Pathetic excuses to try to offload some of the responsibility of the slump onto ordinary people rather than holding the greedy bankers fully accountable for their mess.
Long live the Queen!
I'm looking forward to the celebrations, if you don't like it stay indoors & sulk like a child if that what makes you happy.
SotonLad
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10:59am Tue 29 May 12
hythe knights wrote:We are a very diverse country now and have to consider other peoples cultures, faiths and beliefs.
Why cant we have another holiday like st georges day to celebrate England and to be English but the pc brigade wont allow it as they are trying to destroy us by stealth.
hythe knights
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11:29am Tue 29 May 12
SotonLad wrote:So we are now being treated like second class citizens in our own country whilst we bow down to the minorities at the expense of our own history and culture.
hythe knights wrote:We are a very diverse country now and have to consider other peoples cultures, faiths and beliefs.
Why cant we have another holiday like st georges day to celebrate England and to be English but the pc brigade wont allow it as they are trying to destroy us by stealth.
southy
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11:39am Tue 29 May 12
hythe knights wrote:Thats what happens as we move more and more to the Right Wing and closer to Fascism.
SotonLad wrote:So we are now being treated like second class citizens in our own country whilst we bow down to the minorities at the expense of our own history and culture.
hythe knights wrote:We are a very diverse country now and have to consider other peoples cultures, faiths and beliefs.
Why cant we have another holiday like st georges day to celebrate England and to be English but the pc brigade wont allow it as they are trying to destroy us by stealth.
SotonJohn
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12:02pm Tue 29 May 12
Shoong
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12:05pm Tue 29 May 12
southy wrote:So you've admitted defeat in your Socialist Revolution then.
hythe knights wrote:Thats what happens as we move more and more to the Right Wing and closer to Fascism.
SotonLad wrote:So we are now being treated like second class citizens in our own country whilst we bow down to the minorities at the expense of our own history and culture.
hythe knights wrote:We are a very diverse country now and have to consider other peoples cultures, faiths and beliefs.
Why cant we have another holiday like st georges day to celebrate England and to be English but the pc brigade wont allow it as they are trying to destroy us by stealth.
A shameful thing to say, your getting desperate by the looks of things.
Georgem
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5:20pm Tue 29 May 12
SotonJohn wrote:They did.
If accountants and bankers are complaining about the cost to the economy of a day off for the Jubilee. How come the same bankers and accountants didn't tell us how much extra the economy made when we all worked an extra day on February the 29th this year.
eurogordi says...
4:37pm Mon 28 May 12