Cancelling the office Christmas party could be costly

COMPANIES considering cutting costs and cancelling their office party this Christmas should think twice as they may end up out of pocket, says Which? Legal Service, the telephone legal advice service from consumer organisation Which?.

As Christmas fast approaches, the office party is usually getting into full swing, with staff looking forward to enjoying a drink, a dance and some office networking. However, as the credit crunch sees many businesses cutting costs, scores of companies are cancelling parties they have already booked for their staff.

But simply cancelling might not be the easy option that it seems. Once a party has been booked, companies cannot cancel, even if they haven’t left a deposit, unless the venue’s terms and conditions give them the right to do so. A restaurant can claim their financial losses if a group fails to turn up for a booking which may include the cost of marketing, administration and loss of profit.

Monica Jaimini, Lawyer at Which? Legal Service, explains:- “Although restaurants may not hold you to it, at this time of year when everyone books up for Christmas, ducking out of a restaurant booking, especially if it’s for a large group, could cost you dearly.

Venue operators are well within their rights to go after you for their losses if they can’t fill the booking. However, they definitely can’t make double profit by charging you and then finding another party to replace your booking. This can be difficult to prove, but it might be worth a quick call on the night to see if they are still selling tables. Always check the venue’s terms and conditions before booking to avoid any problems”.

Running for Rwanda...

A Formby resident called Peter Morgan took part in Sunday’s Liverpool Santa Dash, and enjoyed it so much that he is now ranning it again!  Peter was among the leading runners, finishing in a time of about 20 mins, so decided to go round the course again, to enjoy the atmosphere.

Peter was running to raise funds for the Shyira Trust – the Formby-based charity which supports education, healthcare and poverty-relief projects in North-West Rwanda.

Peter is one of the founder trustees of the Shyira Trust, and is raising funds to sponsor the training of a local nurse to become a midwife. He said that:- “The first nurse we sponsored, Robinah, is nearing the end of her 3 year University course.

All money raised will go towards the course fees of the next midwife to be sponsored through University. The course starts in January, so time is getting tight”.

You can still sponsor Peter, by looking at his blog at www.running4rwanda.com or you can see more about the work of the Shyira Trust on their website at www.shyiratrust.org.uk.

Poor areas, poor diabetes control in children

CHILDREN and young people with diabetes living in the most deprived areas may not manage their diabetes as well as those from the most affluent areas warns leading health charity Diabetes UK. Poor diabetes control leads to a higher risk of developing diabetes-related complications such as blindness, kidney disease and amputation.

The findings are based on an audit of 1742 children and young people with diabetes treated in paediatric units. The study looked at blood glucose control in the children and young people and factors that might explain any differences. These factors included how old children were at diagnosis, how long they had diabetes for, the type of area they lived in and the size of the clinic they were treated in.

The study, published recently in the journal Diabetic Medicine, found that on average blood glucose levels in children with diabetes from the most deprived areas were 0.5% higher than those from the most affluent areas. Blood glucose levels were also higher in those who were diagnosed at an older age and those who had diabetes for longer. This is particularly worrying as reducing blood glucose levels by 1% reduces the risk of diabetes-related deaths by 21%, heart attacks by 14% and retinopathy and kidney disease by 37%.

Good blood glucose control is essential for people with diabetes as it prevents potentially fatal complications such as heart disease and stroke developing in later life. Short term complications include hypos when blood glucose levels fall too low, which could lead to becoming unconscious or in extreme cases, death, and Diabetic Ketoacidosis when blood glucose levels are too high.

Bridget Turner, Head of Healthcare and Policy at Diabetes UK, said:- "The results of this study are particularly worrying as children in the UK already have the worst diabetes control in Europe. It raises questions that need to be investigated further in respect of the stark differences in health outcomes between the deprived and the affluent in this country.

Diabetes UK wants all children and young people with diabetes to receive the same level of care regardless of their economic or cultural background and regardless of where they live. Local services need to invest in local paediatric diabetes services to ensure that children and families are given the support they need to self-manage and prevent the onset of devastating complications."

The study was carried out by Professor Patricia McKinney and researchers at the Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Leeds who manage the Yorkshire Register of Diabetes in Children and Young People.

Diabetes in children is rising in the UK and other developed countries. There are 20,000 young people with Type 1 diabetes under the age of 15 and about 1400 with Type 2 diabetes in the UK. Between 2002 and 2007 the number of children under five with Type 1 diabetes increased five-fold and the number of under-15s with Type 1 diabetes almost doubled. There are about 2,000 children with diabetes in the North West under the age of 15 years.