South Holland District Council's Economic Development Unit are here to help you to find the answers and information that you need to start, run and grow your business.
A wide range of services are available to support and develop your business. These are provided by a large number of organisations and partners, including Lincolnshire Development, Business Link East Midlands, our Economic Development Department, the Chamber of Commerce, the Training and Enterprise Council and many more.
One of the major obstacles in the decision to set up a small business and become self-employed is a fear of the rules and the regulations associated with running a business, as well as a worry about the viability of the venture. These need not be something to be concerned about if they are tackled in an organised way and if advice and guidance is sought from people who are experienced and trained to help. South Holland District Council is committed to providing a wide range of services to local businesses and the community at large. The Economic Development Unit plays a key role in encouraging investment into the area. The department is also working to increase the quality and variety of work skill training offered to residents, helping them to make the most of new jobs as they are created, and at the same time making the local workforce more attractive to incoming businesses.
Business Continuity
The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 places a duty on local authorities manage their own business continuity and to promote business continuity to businesses in their area.
South Holland District Council will do this by providing information on this website including links to other sites that support Business Continuity Management (BCM).
The Council itself is going through the BCM process to ensure that essential services can either be maintained during an emergency situation, or in the case of a major incident that results in services being suspended, allows them to be introduced as quickly and effectively as possible. This effectively increases our resilience to emergency situations such as:
- Damage or denial of access to premises including contents
- Loss of critical services such as IT and telecommunications
- The loss of a public utility (e.g. electricity)
- Failure of key suppliers / partners
- Loss of specialist equipment
- Disruption to transport or the road network
- Industrial action or other unavailability of staff (e.g. illness).
The key principles of Business Continuity are:
- Reduction / avoidance of identified risks
- Planning for business / service recovery should disruption occur
- Development of recovery plans to ensure the continuity of services in the event of an emergency or disaster.
The Community Risk Register can be used to help inform BCM plans.
See our Emergency Planning pages for further information.
Business Continuity for Small and Medium Sized Businesses
On average, a typical company can expect to experience a MAJOR disruption to the availability of their office and business systems once every four years. The actual nature, duration and cause of the disruption varies but in 2004*:
- 41% of companies suffered from loss of IT functionality
- 25% lost telecommunications
- 18% experienced disruption caused by flood or storm damage
- 11% completely lost access to their site
(*source: The Chartered Management Institute 2005).
Remember, being well prepared for a major emergency will enable you and your organisation to deal more effectively with minor incidents.
Are you prepared? For more help and guidance on many aspects of business continuity visit the website http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/residents/community-and-living/community-safety/emergency-planning/business-continuity-planning/
Waste Links
Waste Links is a free waste exchange service for all organisations and businesses in Lincolnshire and the East Midlands.
The aim is to reduce the quantity of material disposed of in landfill sites by providing a web-based forum where the material can be published, re-distributed and re-used.
