Member News

Shop staff and volunteers were rewarded for their community spirit after being crowned joint-winners of a Jubilee competition. The contest was for the best dressed window in Sheringham and East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) shared the prize with The Sitting Room tearoom and Sadlers Court. It was jointly organised by Sheringham Town Council and Sheringham Carnival Committee as part of the town’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, which included a street party in High Street and Station Road and took place on Sunday afternoon. There were also prizes for the best dressed table and best dressed home. EACH sales assistant Paul Watson said: “It was great to get in the spirit and be a part of Sheringham’s celebrations. “We were very proud of our shop window and the staff and volunteers made it look truly stunning. “To be named as one of the joint-winners of the competition was fantastic and a fitting reward for their hard work.” The contest was judged by Sheringham Mayor Peter Ratcliffe, councillor Madeleine Ashcroft and Sheringham Carnival Committee member Sarah Peberday. EACH, which supports families and cares for children and young people with life-threatening conditions, has 19 shops in Norfolk, as well as others scattered across Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk. It has three hospices, including The Nook, in Framingham Earl.

Two images – one of the shop window and one of volunteer Andrew Stewart.

With one in two people sadly developing some form of cancer in their lifetime, thousands of people receive a diagnosis daily, which will turn their world upside down. When you’re faced with a cancer diagnosis, time becomes crucial. How can people spend more time doing the things they love, whilst still getting the life-saving treatment they need? We care about the lives of cancer patients and have made it our mission to make a difference to the way their cancer treatment is delivered. Our mobile cancer care units help patients to fit treatment into their lives, not the other way round. Our fleet of mobile cancer care units travel into the heart of communities, and by working closely with the NHS Trusts throughout the country, we work together to help as many people as possible. Once partnered with a NHS Trust, Hope for Tomorrow fundraise to pay for the build and maintenance of a unit, whilst the NHS Trusts provide the staff, drivers and medication. It costs approximately £77,000 to run one unit for a year, helping on average 4,000 patients. Last year we delivered over 26,000 cancer care treatments to cancer patients across England, who needed our support. Our units park in large accessible and convenient spaces like supermarket or community centre car parks, closer to patients’ homes or workplaces. This means patients don’t have to travel lengthy distances to receive their treatment and can save money and time – time to do the things they want to do, leading a life outside of cancer. Patients receive the same exceptional care onboard a unit, just as they would in hospital but most importantly, it’s a more relaxing and homely environment. Because of the less clinical and stress-free atmosphere onboard a unit, patients have told us they are able to tolerate their treatments better. Hope for Tomorrow don’t receive any government funding for our units and instead we rely on the generosity of our local communities to support us. It costs £212 per day to keep one of our mobile cancer care units on the road, helping on average 20 patients per day. www.hopefortomorrow.org.uk

Researching your competitor’s websites is an important part of the website planning process (why else would we do it?). In this article we provide you with a framework and checklist on how to analyse your competitor’s websites.

Why you need to do a website analysis of your competitors

If your website is to be successful you need to know your competitor’s websites inside out. It’s an important part of the planning process before you start any design and build work on your website.

Identify gaps

An effective competitor website analysis can identify the holes in your competitors online offering. You can take advantage of these to design a market leading website.

Differentiate your website

Also, you don’t want a website that looks similar and says the same things as your competitors’ websites. You’ll be surprised how often this does happen (or maybe not!) but as your website is arguably your most important marketing tool, you want it to stand out from the competition for all the right reasons – be it the most appealing design, easiest to use, or something else.

Identify your competitors

Your competition may already be well known to you, if so, this is straightforward. However, don’t be complacent, you may find competitors you’re not aware of – try a quick search and see.

What keywords are your competitors using?

Most importantly you need to know who you are competing against online for vital keywords. For example, if you’ve identified the keyword “oversized cutlery” as one potential customers often search for, then the top-ranking companies on Google for this keyword will be your online competitors.

This sounds obvious but when customers are searching for things related to your business, these are the websites they’ll be viewing. If one of your major competitors does not appear high up in Google for an important keyword, it may be that they’re using other strategies to drive people to their website such as advertising, email, direct mail, telemarketing, or something else.

Regardless, if they’re not ranking highly then you don’t need to treat them as a competitor online.

Let’s start analysing

Our proven process tracks six areas of each competitor’s website that are vital to its success. These are all things we cover when planning a website, and can equally be applied to reviewing the competition.

Competitor website checklist

There are 6 areas we analyse.

1. Positioning
2. Content
3. Appeal
4. User Experience
5. Calls to Action
6. Search Performance

A scoring system for each area is recommended, for example you could use something like this:

1. Oh dear, why did they bother?
2. They’ve put some thought into it, not a lot though.
3. Middle of the road, does the job, Mr Average, the Westlife of websites.
4. Ok, they’ve done a good job here.
5. Wow, how are we going to top this?

Your scoring system can be whatever works for you, it can be as simple or as elaborate as you like.

Step 1 – Positioning

In marketing terms “positioning” means identifying who your target audience is and how you want to be seen by them. For example, some companies want to be seen as a high priced, premium brand (think Gucci) and some are aiming for the budget conscious consumer (Primark).

When we examine positioning on a competitor’s website we’re looking to see if it’s clearly and professionally branded and designed. When a visitor lands on a webpage they want to see it’s a company they can trust. Poor design, photography and branding automatically positions them in the lower end of the market, even if they’re not aiming for these customers. First impressions count.

What messages are being communicated? Many companies in the same market will claim to be the “market leaders”, but like Highlander, there can only be one. By examining these messages, you can ensure your own message is unique and appealing.

So, ask yourself two questions about their website:

1. Where are they positioning themselves? Top / middle / low market?
2. How well they do it? Use your scoring system to rate them.

The example below shows the Aston Martin website. We all know it’s a luxury product, but they use lots of premium positioning tactics such as use of colour, minimal design, amazing images and powerful messages.

Aston Martin use the classic design tactics for luxury product positioning.

Step 2 – Content

Content is what visitors want from your website. For a business it’s usually content relating to your products and services. If your website is an information tool, then information is your “product”.

Imagine yourself as a potential customer and score the competitors website content based on two things:

1. How relevant the competition’s content is to the visitor.
2. How good is the content?

For example, if the website is selling legal services, potential clients want to see what the practice offers and why they should use them. They do not need to be greeted by the history of the company or latest news about a charity event. Website visitors usually scan pages, so the content needs to focus on features and benefits, not lengthy pages of details.

Does the copy make sense and is it easy to digest at a glance? Poorly written copy is a big turnoff and has a negative effect on buyer confidence.

The example below is a College website which has many different target audiences and a huge amount of content. This website has relevant, easy to find content, that is laid out in a simple but effective way.

Score your competitors websites on their content quality.

Step 3 – Appeal

Website appeal only means one thing.

• Would your target audience find this website engaging?

Appeal scoring covers images, messages, special offers, copy style and the general tone of voice used by your website.

Define who your target audience is and what they find appealing. Do not be influenced by your, or your colleagues, own personal design preferences.

For example, if your website is selling home improvement products such as curtains and furniture to a target audience of females aged 40+ with a medium to high income, poor photography will not appeal. You need to have professional product images to impress, and it doesn’t end there, think stylish fonts, welcoming video, quality colours and aspirational copywriting.

Credibility is also part of the appeal process. An effective use of testimonials, trade “badges”, awards (actual awards that people have heard of) and endorsements all add to the WOW factor.

The Apple iPad website is a great example of appeal. It has stunning images with lots of short but appealing messages. Notice how the page uses space to draw you in rather than filling it with content.

A great example of appealing design from Apple.

Step 4 – User Experience

This step can be summed up very simply by a single test:

• Is the website easy to use?

How easy is it to navigate around the website? Is the navigation system clear and concise? Is it obvious what you should click on (and what you can’t click on)? Humans are creatures of habit and do not respond well to unconventional website menus.

Is the most important content “above the fold”? While the fold is extremely vague in the context of websites, key messages and information should be near the top of the page.

Do customer journeys make sense? Define several standard tasks a visitor would want to do on this sort of website.

For example, if it’s an ecommerce website, how easy is it to find the product you want and buy it? How are the same journeys on a mobile device? You can measure various journeys such as simply finding contact details of the company to make an online enquiry.

 The website below is a good example of user experience with conventional navigation, easy to read copy and clear messages.

Analysing your competitors user experience will help you design your own website by identifying the best ways to help your customers find what they want.

Make sure your website is easy to use.

Step 5 – Calls To Action (CTA)

The objective of most websites is to generate sales, leads and enquiries. A “Call to Action” (CTA) is what we want people to do – rather than let visitors browse the website aimlessly we use CTAs to steer them in the right direction. So:

• Does the website have clear Calls to Action?

Effective calls to action are a combination of eye-catching design and clear copy. A good website should invite you to do at least one thing straight away, from calling a number to visiting a specific offer.

Websites like Sainsbury’s have great Calls to Action. Their home page below shows the home page with several clear CTA buttons, so the customer knows what to do and how to get there.

The Sainsbury’s website has clear and stand out CTA’s.

Step 6 – Search performance

In this last step we are analysing how your competitor’s website performs in search engines. This may not always be relevant but most commercial websites require a healthy ranking for priority key words. You are looking at natural (organic) listings, Google Ads and Google My Business listings for this step.

Below is an example search result for “Solicitors in Colchester” which shows all three types of listing.

Organic Search Listings

Google My Business Listings

If competitors are appearing in several places on the first search page, then score them highly. This is all about visibility on Google to the potential customer. Competitor’s performance in search engines is worth scoring to see what you are up against when thinking about your own Search marketing.

Competitor website analysis may seem time consuming but it is definitely worth doing. Keep it manageable by looking at 5-10 websites and concentrate on what is good and what is bad about these sites by using your scoring system.

Remember, by analysing your competition, you are discovering weaknesses to exploit and good practices you can take and improve upon.

You can find out more website tips and insights on our website.

Norwich High School for Girls are thrilled to be one of five Finalists in the Muddy Stiletto’s inaugural Best Schools Awards in the ‘Best Experiential Learning’ category for our Formula 24 (F24) programme. The Norwich High F24 team formed last year and have worked extremely hard to design and build their own electric race car in a dedicated space within the school grounds. They have since participated in the Greenpower racing series, which has taken them to top racing circuits throughout the UK and won the award for Best Newcomer at Lotus’ Hethel test track in 2021. The reason this project was started at the school was to help address the issue of underrepresentation of women within the motor racing industry, and to provide Norwich High students with the opportunity to learn how to apply the skills and knowledge they’ve learnt in the classroom into the real world. The F24 project was recently selected by the GDST as part of their Spotlight Series, which brings to life what it means to be a GDST Girl – happy and fearless, confident and prepared for the opportunities of the future. “We’ve been blown away by the quality of entries (over 400 of them!) across our 11 categories showcasing modern, well rounded, pastorally strong education and our expert panel have narrowed it down to five finalists per category.” Editor-in-Chief, Muddy Stilettos, Hero Brown.  Winners will be announced on Tuesday 14th June 2022. Find out more about the Best Schools Awards here.   The team Year 11 and 13 students Alicia Richards, Daisy Grantham, Eliza Williams-Mitchell, Maddy Harries, Megan Andrews, Rhianna Holloway, Zara Goodwin, Zara Hunter and Maddie Gibbs.

This week, James and Mark look back on their chat with Louise Newby, and how their conversation on mental health and wellbeing is still just as relevant now as it was back in November 2020, on their Impromptu Business Chat series. They also reflect on how this episode inspired them to put together their own Men’s Mental Health Special, in July 2021. We pull out and reflect on some highlights from the original episodes and discuss how they are relevant now when considering how to improve our leadership skills. In the clips they discuss the potential wider impact of remote working on our mental health. Whilst these insights were very much influenced by COVID, the benefit of hindsight now, and the fuller picture of the future of how we will work mean that Louise’s insights were very perceptive and relevant, moving forwards. She also discusses Parkinson’s Law, proactive Employee Assistance Programmes in businesses, and the power of positive affirmation. James and Mark also reflect on their Men’s Mental Health Special, and the positive influence of their mentor Dr Chris Mason (also a previous Impromptu Business Chat guest) on their wellbeing, and encourage men to seek help where possible, even if it’s not in a professional capacity. Louise is an experienced educator, and expert in the world of mental health, with a Master’s degree from Cambridge, and now works with Three Eggs, a mental health training provider. TRIGGER WARNING – this episode contains mention of suicide For show notes, how to get in touch with the podcast team and to listen to the podcast, click below. Listen here!  

We speak to Nigel Wood of Layrd Design partner Footprint Signs & Graphics to find out more about the role of signage in commercial interior design.

Whether you’re in an office, shop, gym or hotel, signs play an important role in the commercial interior. To find out more about how they can be used, we spoke to Nigel Wood of Footprint Signs & Graphics, a signwriting and graphic design company based in Cambridge.

Why is signage important in a commercial environment?

Signs play a key role because they act as an extension of the brand. They reflect the brand’s colour and message, helping to reinforce its image and perception. Space is also often at a premium in a commercial environment, which is where impactful signs come in.

There’s also room for a lot more creativity these days, which has made signage more important. We have more materials and finishes available, along with better technology for producing them. Clients therefore have a lot of options – they can be illuminated, they can have signs on the floor or graphics that cover entire walls.

What would you say are the top 3 functions of internal commercial signage?

Brand extension is the top function as it conveys your organisation’s message and reflects its colours and imagery. Wayfinding is the second function. Good wayfinding signage should give a clear direction for the customer to follow. Finally, interior signage gives a commercial enterprise room to be more creative and transform an area.

What is the role of colour in commercial signage?

Colour is massively important as it helps to create a specific atmosphere. It also shows whether a commercial space is staying on trend, allowing it to look ‘modern’ and relevant. For instance, many companies are opting for grey at the moment as it is a very trendy colour.

What role does signage play in seasonal events?

Temporary signage is very important here. Businesss may use them for promotions, to create a festive atmosphere or update the space. In Cambridge, we used signage to update the entire front display area of a shop so that it could be used for seasonal advertising.

How are floor signs used in commercial interiors?

Floor graphics can be very impactful and effective. They are also removable and short-term so they are ideal for commercial spaces. They really came into their own during the Covid-19 pandemic – they played a major role in highlighting social distancing, providing instructions on where to go and indicating one-way systems.

What is the most important thing to think about when it comes to designing signage for a business?

You need to think about what the sign is needed for and what overall impression you want it to make. For instance, we recently worked on a glass meeting room that the client wanted to update with a retro look, so we added a glass film to create a reeded glass effect.

You also need to think about font size and type. In particular, fonts that are too narrow will not display well.

How do signs affect a customer’s experience?

In a practical sense, signs help to guide customers around the area and offer important information so that they don’t have to hunt it down. You don’t necessarily have to be creative with this type of signage, just useful.

It is, however, possible to overwhelm with signage, which means customers may begin to block it out. I often don’t notice signage in large supermarkets because there is so much of it. I therefore think it would be a good idea to audit signs every year or so to check that they are still fulfilling their purpose, that they are in the right place and that they aren’t out of date. Fashions change quickly so you need to keep pace.

What should a good sign do?

It needs to be laid out well and have good font and colour. Don’t overcomplicate it! Continuity of signage is also important – do they complement your aesthetics, branding and other signs? And do practical signs offer continuity with each other? For example, do they all point in the same direction?

What is the most creative sign you’ve made?

The Riverlane project in Cambridge, which we worked on with Layrd Design. The client wanted to transform their office into a more inspiring space and interior signage played a key part in that.

Let Layrd Design Inspire You

Speak to the team at Layrd Design about your commercial interior design project on 01223 952992 today.

Captain Fawcett Ltd is simply delighted and immensely proud to announce winning a major award in the esteemed 2022 Pure Beauty Global Awards. Captain Fawcett’s Maharajah Eau De Parfum has been ‘Highly Commended’ in the Best New Niche Fragrance category, In the prestigious ‘Pure Beauty’ Global Awards Huzzah! Captain Fawcett’s founder, Richie Finney, said “It is a particular pleasure to be recognised in this hotly contested category for the second year in a row. The Pure Beauty Global Awards celebrate the most innovative achievements in our industry with hundreds of entries from prestigious world class brands in competition. “Each Captain Fawcett Signature Series Eau De Parfum is created in close collaboration, in this case with Viraj Singh of The Jodhpur Company, so this extremely special accolade is very much shared. “Fragrance evokes emotion and memory more powerfully than any other sense. As such,‘Maharajah’, an opulent Eau de Parfum, was created to express Britain’s long kinship with India. Maharajah takes you on a sensual journey through place and time, weaving authentic history with a mythic past, embraced by the warm heart of real life contemporary friendship and heartfelt cultural connection, narrated in scent. “It’s a truly remarkable honour for Captain Fawcett to be acknowledged amid such illustrious company. Well done to all highly esteemed fellow brands and perfumers.” www.captainfawcett.com/collections/maharajah-eau-de-parfum

Rail commuters in East Anglia can now buy flexi season tickets on ticket machines across the Greater Anglia network. The flexi season ticket is a bundle of 8 day passes for a specific journey between two stations to be used in 28 days. The tickets can be used at any time within the 28-day period. Customers can buy another flexi season ticket within the 28 days if they use up their eight passes. And now customers can buy them quickly and easily by using Greater Anglia’s self-serve ticket machines, making it quicker and easier to commute at a time convenient to them. Anyone who needs help using the ticket machine can press the ticket assistance help button on the machine to be connected to ticket office staff in Norwich who will guide the customer on the machine. Flexi seasons can be bought on any Greater Anglia ticket machine outside of the London oyster area. These tickets are also still available from the ticket office or to buy online from the Greater Anglia website. Flexi season tickets must be loaded on to a Smart card, which is more durable than a paper ticket and quicker and easier to use at the ticket gates. They are cheaper than buying anytime day return tickets on the day of travel and passengers can claim a refund on the dates not used, and they can cancel at any time. Martin Moran, Greater Anglia’s Commercial, Customer Services and Train Presentation Director, said: “The pandemic has seen many people’s travel patterns change. We know our customers are spending part of their working week in the office and at home, and the flexi season helps them save money on their commute. “Since its launch last summer, the flexi season ticket has been incredibly popular with our customers and we’re pleased they can now buy it from our ticket machines, which are quick and easy to use.”

Volunteers have won funding to install swift and bat boxes at Thetford station in a bid to protect them from habitat loss. Greater Anglia’s station adopter group – who have developed a wildlife garden along the platforms – received a grant and planning permission from Breckland Council to fund six specially-designed boxes, and worked with Network Rail to install them at the top of the Victorian station building. Swift and bat populations have severely declined in numbers over the last 25 years, due to habitat loss and swifts are now considered highly vulnerable. The group has installed six ‘day and night’ boxes which are designed to house swifts during the summer months and bats all year round. Each box has a nesting chamber for a pair of swifts and a recess in the rear panel where bats can roost. Alongside the boxes they have also installed a solar-powered swift call emitting device to improve the chances of the boxes being found and used. As swifts are loyal to their nesting sites, the group’s long-term goal is to establish a swift colony. Lead volunteer, Fiona Rhind, said, “We recently became a Wildlife Friendly accredited station for the work we have done on the platforms, and we want to continually do more to show just what can be achieved in terms of greater biodiversity in an urban environment. “At Thetford station we’ve planted native hedges, established a wildflower area and installed 15 bird boxes – which we were delighted to see become home to blackbird and robin chicks this year. “It’s wonderful that we can now provide a refuge for swifts and bats as well – as our native species need all the help they can get. We’re really grateful to Breckland Council, Greater Anglia and Network Rail for supporting us in our aims to do everything we can to support our local wildlife.” Thetford station recently received a ‘Wildlife Friendly’ accreditation from Greater Anglia and Norfolk Wildlife Trust to formally recognise the achievements of its team of volunteer ‘station adopters’ to create a wildlife haven at the station. James Hogg, Norfolk Wildlife Trust Corporate and Membership Development Officer, said: “The alarming decline in the abundance of wildlife and the plight of species under threat means that just protecting the nature we have left is not enough; we need to put nature into recovery, and to do so at scale and with urgency. We are working to create a nature recovery network across Norfolk – and with fellow wildlife trusts across the UK – to create more space for wildlife. “This project with Greater Anglia is a fantastic example of how people can transform nature-poor areas into new nature-rich places – and change the way we think about land, seizing opportunities to help nature outside traditional nature reserves.” Greater Anglia’s Customer and Community Engagement Manager, Alan Neville, said, “I’d like to thank the volunteers at Thetford for the incredible work they are doing to support biodiversity locally. The railway in increasingly recognised as an important corridor for wildlife and thanks to initiatives like this, stations are becoming a vital part of that corridor which helps wildlife to move around the landscape and become more resilient to the effects of climate change and habitat loss.” Rail stations across East Anglia are increasingly becoming havens for local wildlife thanks to the efforts of volunteers who last year transformed over 6,800 square metres of railway land into thriving wildlife gardens. In a recent survey, Greater Anglia station adopters reported a wide range of creatures visiting their stations including many different types of butterflies as well as bees, slow worms, bats, foxes, deer and many varieties of birds, recording more than 200 different species. Greater Anglia has pledged this land to WildEast, a nature recovery movement which aims to restore 20% of East Anglia back to nature by 2050 and has joined the rest of the rail industry in pledging to make stations across Britain more sustainable. Above: Thetford station adopters receiving their Wildlife Friendly Station Accreditation last month. Credit: Greater Anglia.

Dedicated volunteers have been hailed as the “heartbeat” of a leading children’s charity. East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) has paid tribute as part of this year’s national Volunteers’ Week. The annual celebration takes place between 1^st and 7th June and the 2022 theme is ‘a time to say thanks’. EACH, which supports families and cares for children and young people with life-threatening conditions across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, feels fortunate to have 1,710 “loyal and supportive” volunteers. More than 1,000 of those – 1,088 – lend a hand in one of the charity’s 44 shops, scattered across East Anglia. There are 345 fundraising and events volunteers (447, including members of EACH’s friends groups) while 102 help in one of its three hospices – The Nook, near Norwich, The Treehouse, in Ipswich, and at Milton, near Cambridge. Sixty-six people support the charity’s Help at Home scheme, which involves helping families with everyday jobs like shopping, collecting prescriptions, cooking, vacuuming, dusting, washing, ironing and gardening. A further seven provide support in EACH’s central services office, in Milton. Hannah Milbourne, volunteer services and development manager, said: “I’m sure many people already know how vital the support of volunteers has been to charities like ours over the last 12 months. “That’s why we’re so keen to take this opportunity to say a very big thank you for their support. “We value them so much, whether they help with fundraising, in one of our shops, helping a family at home or at one of our hospices. “We know many of our volunteers don’t like a fuss. “However, it’s important we take the time to let them know that whatever they do, they’re making such an enormous difference to the children and families we support in their community. It feels an ideal time to pause for a moment and say thank you. “They might not see it on a day-to-day basis but we really wouldn’t be able to do what we do without them. Without them, our charity would grind to a halt. “Not only that, during the pandemic, when many were unable to come in as usual, we really missed them. It’s great to have everyone back together again and to see their friendly faces. “Volunteers are the heartbeat of our organisation and play an integral role in allowing us to provide our vital care services, supporting families and caring for children across East Anglia.” The 38^th national Volunteers’ Week takes place during the #MonthOfCommunity, running throughout June. Hannah says that in addition to thanking existing volunteers, her team would love to hear from others keen to get involved. “This week is a time to celebrate everything that makes our communities great – and the wonderful volunteers at the heart of them,” she said. “That’s why, in addition to thanking our loyal and supportive volunteers, I’d also love to encourage others to step forward and join us. “We’re always looking for more people to join our friendly teams and, by agreeing to help, they will be joining together and becoming part of something that helps their local community – as well as taking the opportunity to put their skills to use, learn new ones and meet new people. “We offer a range of opportunities that are fun and flexible and can be done at a time to suit the individual, so I believe there really is something for everyone. “Whatever time someone can offer, even just an hour or two, will make a real difference.” Anyone interested in getting involved can contact EACH Volunteer Services for an informal chat via 01223 205183. To search the variety of opportunities available, visit each.org.uk or, for more information, email volunteerservices@each.org.uk

Carl Boardman explains the impact the recent inflation rise will have on the NHS Pensions Scheme for GP members. As we make a start on our medical clients’ tax returns for the 2021/22 tax year, a common question we’re being asked by GPs is “what will my annual allowance tax charge be this year, given the increase in inflation?”. My initial response has generally been something along the lines of “it will depend on your circumstances and level of earnings, but it’s likely to be quite significant”. However, with the recent announcement that inflation for April 2022 was at 9%, and suggestions that this could rise further throughout the year, the question really ought to be “what on earth is my annual allowance charge going to be for 2022/23 and is there anything I can do now to prepare for, or at least mitigate this?”. How do I know if this affects me? As a quick reminder, growth in the NHS Pension Scheme is geared to your pensionable earnings each year, plus an uplift on benefits accrued to date, which is linked to Consumer Price Index (CPI) rates. Your pension is allowed to grow by inflation each year, but the allowed growth is based on CPI inflation for the previous September, whereas the actual growth is based on the current year’s September CPI inflation rate, plus 1.5%. For the 2021/22 tax year the uplift is 4.6% (3.1% CPI for September 2021 plus the extra 1.5%) and the allowed growth is restricted to only 0.5% (CPI from September 2020), giving a net growth for annual allowance purposes of 4.1%. This is not entirely unusual, but as inflation rates have been coming down in recent years the growth has been much lower and generally under control, so the spike in growth this year is not unexpected. Fast forward to the 2022/23 tax year and based on current CPI rates, this growth increases to 7.4% (9% CPI plus 1.5% less 3.1% CPI) and could be higher still if inflation continues to rise. The 2021/22 tax year has already passed, so there’s very little that can be done now to influence the results, other than to start saving in case a charge arises or consider electing for scheme pays, however we’re still in time to do something about 2022/23. If you’re a hospital doctor, the calculations work differently for the 1995 scheme element of your pension, but this would still be relevant to you if you have built up benefits in the 2015 scheme or have had an increase in your pensionable pay. Can you give me an idea of the figures? As a very rough example, someone who has accrued £30,000 of benefits to date in the 1995 scheme and has a pensionable pay of £120,000 would have growth for annual allowance purposes of around £60,000 against an available allowance that year of £40,000. Assuming there was no unused relief available from previous years, this would give a taxable excess of £20,000, which taxed at 40% gives an addition tax charge of £8,000 for the year. Payments on account for 2022/23 would then increase by half of this, so a total increase in tax due in January 2023 of £12,000. For the 2022/23 year, the same example would generate growth of around £80,000 in total. This is £40,000 over the standard £40,000 allowance, pushing the additional tax charge up to over £16,000. Please note the actual calculations are far more complex than this, so the above figures are for illustrative purposes only. Those members with a long-standing service record and higher earnings will see much higher growth and may be exposed to the additional 45% rate of tax on the excess growth. If your taxable income is over £200,000, it’s likely that you will also see your annual allowance tapered down below the standard level of £40,000, which increases the annual allowance excess, and therefore additional tax charges even further. As a result, it’s certainly worth thinking about your own position now. It’s also worth noting that rising CPI rates increases the value of your pension for lifetime allowance purposes too, which could lead to additional tax charges arising when you draw benefits from the scheme. What can I do about it? There are several options available to you that can reduce the pension growth and tax charges arising, but these options have other implications and reduce your pension benefits on retirement, so there’s no simple solution. We’d be happy to help by reviewing your pension position and discussing the figures with you, so please get in touch if you would like to know more. We’d also recommend that you speak to an independent financial adviser before making any decisions which affect your pension. If you have any concerns regarding your pension tax charge or have any other questions, please get in touch with your usual Larking Gowen contact or look for contact details in the Our People section of the our website. Alternatively, call 0330 024 0888 or email enquiry@larking-gowen.co.uk.

The Thetford business awards were designed to bring many diverse businesses together to celebrate and further support one another within the community, now going into its 5th yeas we have our sponsors who joined us from the start and also our new sponsors who join us for a great journey into 2023. We also are now proud to announce our first gold sponsor HSBC bank east anglia region supporting the awards and many SME businesses within our area. Nominations are open and please do share to all your colleagues and freinds and family to nominate with two new great categories. https://www.thetfordandbrandontimes.co.uk/news/business/nominations-open-thetford-business-awards-2023-8940366