Friday 8th March

Friday, 8 March 2024 06:00

By Steve Haigh

The Federation of Small Businesses in Somerset has welcomed the government's decision to raise the threshold for VAT registration. Taunton MP, Rebecca Pow, says plans to dual the A358 between Ilminster and Taunton are still active despite speculation the scheme has been dropped. Two hundred years of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute is being marked with a special service of thanksgiving in Sherborne Abbey...and more.

A Somerset business leader has welcomed the government's decision to raise the threshold for VAT registration for small businesses. In this week’s budget, the Chancellor announced that firms will only have to register for VAT once their turnover reaches ninety thousand pounds, which is up from the previous limit of eighty-five thousand from April. Ruth Lambert of the Federation of Small Businesses says the increase will benefit many of her members but would have liked more help for small businesses from the Chancellor.

NHS Somerset says a new self-referral service to check signs of womb cancer in women has seen the average wait for an appointment drop from sixty-three to just four days. More than one hundred and fifty patients have made a self-referral since the service was launched last September with Somerset the first county in England to roll it out.

Taunton MP, Rebecca Pow, says plans to dual the A358 between Ilminster and Taunton are still active. Her comments follow speculation the project has been shelved as part of government spending cuts. The Junior Environment Minister says she has no knowledge of this being the case and that next week is due to meet with the Department of Transport for an update on the scheme.

Nominations close at midnight tonight for this year’s Pride of Somerset Youth Awards. Now in its seventeenth year, the scheme rewards young people under 21 years of age for their acts of bravery, for caring for others or for being outstanding in sport, music, and the arts.

Two hundred years of the RNLI will be marked at a special service of thanksgiving in Sherborne Abbey on Sunday. Chairman of the RNLI Sherborne branch, Chris Copeland, says the service is to give everyone a chance to say a big thank you to the RNLI and remember those volunteers who lost their lives saving others.

More from News

Friday 31st January

A teenager has been arrested following a stabbing in Yeovil. Water bills in Somerset are set to go up on average by £123 from April. Yeovil MP, Adam Dance will officially open Yeovil’s new outdoor performance space later today...and more
Thursday 30th January

Lloyds bank is closing its branch in Chard. A Sherborne man has been jailed after defrauding a Yeovil woman of £40,000. A volunteer group in Chard is urging people to sign up to a flood victims register. A councillor in Shepton Mallet has become the first Reform UK member on Somerset Council... and more
Wednesday 29th January

New mums in Somerset could soon be offered a cervical screening test six weeks after giving birth. Police are asking for help in finding a Yeovil man wanted on recall to prison. The government has given half a million pounds towards planting more trees in Somerset, including 100 new trees in Yeovil...and more
Tuesday 28th January

Work continues to clean up from the floods in Chard, Ilminster, Somerton, South Petherton, and parts of Yeovil. A man who threatened to kill a support worker at the mental health unit in Yeovil has been sentenced to a community order. A competition that gives new musicians the chance to play at this year's Glastonbury festival has opened for entries...and more
Monday 27th January

A major incident has been declared by Somerset Council to ensure a multi-agency response to the flash flooding that's affected Chard, Crewkerne, Ilminster, South Petherton and parts of Yeovil. Police believe a 4x4 pick-up truck, found submerged in the River Yeo at Yeovilton at the weekend, may have been stolen. An appeal to raise £2 million to restore the Grand Organ at Wells Cathedral has raised over £1 million in less than 18 months...and more
News Friday 24th January

Plans have been submitted to build a David Lloyd Health and Fitness Club in Yeovil. Carers in Somerset say spending cuts to mental health support services will be hugely damaging. People with memories of Somerset women's cricket side are being asked to take part in a project to preserve its history. Two of our local restaurants have been listed in the top 100 restaurants in the UK...and more
Thursday 23rd January

Yeovil Town Council has defended its decision to increase its share of the Council Tax by an average of £80. A man who drove an e-scooter in Yeovil while disqualified from driving has been jailed for six weeks. According to new data, the Yeovil driving test centre is the 12th easiest in the UK to pass a driving test...and more
Wednesday 22nd January

Somerset Council is to pay for fifty-bed spaces in nursing homes so that patients can be discharged from hospital quicker. Yeovil MP, Adam Dance, is calling for improved disabled access at Pen Mill and Yeovil Junction railway stations. Crewkerne could soon get a new farm shop...and more.