Basic business structures under UK law include: sole trader, partnership, private company limited by shares, private company limited by guarantee, community interest company, public limited company, private unlimited company, and franchise.

The 12 months used as a company's accounting period. This may or may not be a calendar year.

The market value of a public company's issued share capital, i.e. the number of shares multiplied by the current price of those shares on the stock market.

For private companies, 'company value', estimated by the book value of all assets or by using comparable companies, is a more appropriate term.

This information is not compulsory.

Income that the business receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. Also known as total revenue, total sales or the top line.

Gross profit is the total turnover minus cost of sales. Net profit is the turnover minus all expenses, including payroll and tax. Businesses are asked to state gross profit, net profit or both.

This field can be left blank.

Businesses are asked to list other directorships held by their directors and company secretary

Rationale for question

There are numerous benefits to locally sourcing goods and services. It is a significant way in which businesses can ensure that money remains within local communities. This is particularly important for invigorating economically depressed regions or supporting vulnerable rural communities. Sourcing locally also helps strengthen the company's relationships with the community, which may be its primary consumer base. Purchasing local goods and services also benefits the environment by minimising the fossil fuels and other resources required for transportation.

In developing a sourcing policy, a company should evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of locally sourcing particular products or services. For example, certain goods and services might not be available locally, or the quality may be inadequate. Sometimes the carbon footprint is actually lower for goods produced overseas when the environmental conditions are better suited to that product or commodity, e.g. vegetables.

Defining Terms

'Local suppliers' are suppliers with operations restricted to a particular geographic area in which the sourcing company also has operations. The definition excludes suppliers operating nationally or multinationally. However, there are no other parameters for 'local' applicable to all companies. For example, sourcing companies located in rural areas may use a wider radius to define 'local' than sourcing companies in urban areas.

Primary and Secondary answer requirements

ANSWERING YES

Companies must:

confirm that they actively seek to source goods and services from local suppliers, although they are not required to source every good and service locally;
describe their practices and policies briefly;
list some examples of the goods and services they source locally; and
explain why they do not source other goods and services locally (if any).

Companies may:

provide a hyperlink to their sourcing policy;
state their definition of 'local supplier';
include the proportion of spend that is local or the percentage of company turnover that remains within the local community; and
state whether any of their operations are located in economically depressed or vulnerable rural communities.

ANSWERING NO

Companies must:

explain why they do not or cannot answer YES to this question and list the business reasons, any mitigating circumstances or any other reasons that apply.

Companies may:

list any practices that are relevant, but not sufficient to answer YES, such as sourcing some goods and services locally, but not as a matter of policy, and
mention any future intentions regarding this issue.

DON'T KNOW is not a permissible answer to this question.

NOT APPLICABLE is not a permissible answer to this question.

NO ANSWER YET is only permissible under extraordinary circumstances and then for only a limited period.

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Please rate this response for clarity and plain-speaking:

Please rate the quality of Charlotte Tolhurst's policies or practices on this issue:

(1 = v poor, 2 = poor, 3 = ok, 4 = good, 5 = v good)

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SEE Questionnaire Summary

Business Introduction

Business Information

Goods and Services

Business Responses

Community

Charlotte Tolhurst

NO

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