News

Independent economic research indicates that this year’s Open Championship brought a massive £77 million boost to Kent.

Two weeks after the European Commission published a proposed reform of EU fishing management, a research study has concluded that the practice of dumping fish over quota has cost the UK almost £1bn.

Howard's Way.... a weekly column from the Rt. Hon. Michael Howard QC. MP. 

23 April 2009

Dover District Council is launching extra initiatives to help residents and businesses during the current economic climate.

A new team, working with Citizens Advice Bureau and Pensions Service, is holding roadshows where help is needed, in the heart of our communities.

The new Health and Well-Being Team and partners will be at the following locations:

The Folkestone Express office in the town's Sandgate Road is to close after the Kent Messenger Group announced it was also planning to shed more than a quarter of its 560-strong workforce in a fresh round of cutbacks announced on Thursday (26 February).

The family-owned group axed 59 posts including 30 editorial posts in October 2008.

The company, which runs local newspapers, websites and radio stations across the county says the economic climate has deteriorated since then and more restructuring is needed.

It is now proposing a further series of cuts which place a total of 159 jobs at risk of redundancy.

As part of the proposal, the Group is planning to outsource its printing, mailroom and distribution operations, and close its offices in Folkestone and Cliftonville in Thanet.

The group say that all the company's newspapers, websites and radio stations will continue to be produced under the proposals.

Folkestone and Thanet will be served in future from the KM offices in Ashford and Whitstable.

Managers are now consulting with all the staff affected by the proposals. The consultation is due to conclude in April.


 

Folkestone and Hythe MP and former Conservative Leader Michael Howard has called for an immediate investigation over a leaked story which caused shares to plummet.

Mr Howard wrote to the Financial Services Authority after a report by the BBC’s business editor Robert Peston suggested a number of UK banks 'asked' the Chancellor for capital injections, causing UK bank shares to tumble on Tuesday (7 October).

The letter pointed out that the regulatory announcement system existed to prevent this sort of report and its consequences and requested that an inquiry into the source of the leaked information be launched immediately.