Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce

CHAMBER NEWS

Members of the Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce & Industry have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the proposed merger between the Chamber and the Leicestershire Development Agency, who deliver Business Link services throughout Leicestershire on behalf of the Small Business Service and East Midlands Development Agency. The Chamber received the required number of positive votes for the merger to go ahead at its Extraordinary General Meeting on October 31st.

The merger took effect on November 1st with the new organisation called the Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce; an official royal launch will follow on November 4th when HRH The Duke of York will visit the New Walk premises of the Chamber.

John Day, President of the Chamber and Deputy Chairman of the merged organisation’s Board commented: “ We are delighted that our members have agreed with our proposal to merge with the Leicestershire Development Agency and Business Link Leicestershire. Chambers and Business Links already work very successfully together in many parts of the UK and we feel that this is a positive step in helping our members and the business community to gain access to a wide range of services including business advice, networking events and training opportunities.”

The East Midlands eBusiness Club, through a series of events and workshops, gives free access to information, guidance and practical solutions on all aspects of e-business. Any Leicestershire companies that have between 10 and 50 employees are eligible to join the eBusiness Club and, with IT support, they can start to make information technology work harder for their business.

The next eBusiness event in Leicester, The Wireless Age, is on November 18th and will look at how the latest technologies can actually be implemented alongside existing systems to deliver real, cost-effective business benefits.

For more details on the eBusiness Club or to make a booking for The Wireless Age event please contact Sharon Jeffrey, Leicestershire Chamber’s eBusiness Club Co-ordinator on Tel: 0116 204 6618 or email: jeffrey.s@chamberofcommerce.co.uk

Over the last few years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of so called ‘data protection agencies’ that have been costing businesses not only financially but also in terms of time and effort. Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce has notified the police of this ongoing problem and will urge the government to take more positive steps to stop these people from impersonating government bodies.

The Chamber is also reminding members to be on guard for letters and notices from these bogus ‘data protection agencies’. Closer examination of the addresses used in these letters has revealed a total lack of credibility, in one case, the address led back to a pub in Blackpool!

The notices as a rule use threatening language are on “official-looking” headed paper and request sums of between £85 and £120 to register business under The Data Protection Act. The statutory fee for notification (or registration) is actually £35 a year. If such letters are received, businesses are urged by the Information Commissioner not to pay the fee demanded and should report the letters to their local trading standards service.

Any businesses that are confused about whether or not they should register can visit the following website: www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk to clarify their position.

For more information or advice on this issue, contact Max Boden Leicestershire Chamber’s Policy Manager at: boden.m@chamberofcommerce.co.uk

LEGISLATIVE NEWS

New equality legislation, in force from December 2003, will outlaw discrimination, victimisation and harassment in vocational training and employment on the grounds of sexual orientation and religion or belief. Although there are many organisations that already cover such issues in their equality policies and procedures, there are many businesses with less practice in dealing with equality issues who will need to adapt and take a new approach to such matters. Startups.co.uk reports, from a new survey concerning this issue, that nearly a quarter of UK employees have been the victim of discrimination, bullying or harassment at work over the past year. The research commissioned found that a third of those polled felt that discrimination was rife in their organisation. Organisations wanting to improve the effectiveness of their equality policies and procedures and minimise the risk of a complaint to a tribunal can prepare for the legislation in three key ways:

By examining employment policies (including recruitment, training, promotion, redundancy, dismissal and pay processes and all other working conditions) to ensure that they do not discriminate against particular groups of staff.
By making sure they are aware of their responsibilities towards staff under the new legislation
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By telling staff about the new legislation.
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For further information: www.dti.gov.uk/er/equality

CHAMBER EVENTS

Date: 18th November
Time: 7.30am - 9.30am
Venue: Leicester Tigers Rugby Ground
Cost: £17.63 one price

The Wireless Age, you’ve already invested in equipment that’s connected with cables so why should you now join the wireless age? This module will show you how the latest technologies can actually be implemented alongside existing systems to deliver real, cost effective business benefits that enable you to provide better support for your customers, staff and business. You will also get the chance to see some of the latest mobile and wireless technologies demonstrated and see how they can be used to provide “always on” business communications.

Date: 21st November
Time: 19.00 – 22.00
Venue:Time Out Hotel, Enderby Road, Blaby, Leicester
Cost: £28.00 one price

Meet, mix and mingle with the hilarious characters on arrival. Witness the murder – it could happen anywhere in the room! Take in new scenes at your table. Why not make this your Christmas Do!

Date: 25th November
Time: 18.00 – 20.30
Venue:Holiday Inn Leicester West
Cost: £20.00 members, £30.00 standard

Sponsored by Blue Arrow

Join us for the final networking event of 2003. In addition to this evening’s excellent networking opportunities you can also enter out Christmas prize draw before enjoying a delicious buffet and a glass of wine in the comfortable surroundings of the Holiday Inn Leicester West.

Date: 26th November
Time: 07.30– 09.30
Venue:Leicester Tigers Rugby Ground
Cost: £23.50 members, £28.50 standard

John Nicholls, Chief Executive of the Leicester Regeneration Company presents an opportunity to get an update on the work of the regeneration masterplan, looking in particular at the proposed new Office Core close to the railway station and the Science & Technology Park near the National Space Centre at Abbey Meadows. Price includes a full English breakfast.

Date: 5th December
Time: 11.45– 16.15
Venue:Leicester City Football Club
Cost: £44.50 members, £49.50 standard, table of ten members £420.00, table of ten standard £460.00

Sponsored by Royal Bank of Scotland, Freethcartwright LLP and Charles Street Buildings (Leicester) Ltd.

The Annual Luncheon has a tradition of attracting excellent guest speakers and for 2003 the Chamber is delighted that it is the turn of Barry Cryer.
With over 400 already booked to attend, you are advised to contact us to reserve your place.

For more details or to book onto this event you can book online by logging on to our website www.chamberofcommerce.co.uk or contact Kam Atker on 0116 2046614 or email at atker.k@chamberofcommerce.co.uk

OTHER NEWS

The Leicester Regeneration Company would like to ask Chamber Members to get involved in widening the circulation of its newsletter. If any companies would be happy to receive a supply of the free newsletter to display in their reception areas then please contact Lindsay O’Connor on Tel: 0116 225 4026 or email: lindsay.oconnor@l-p-l.com

Leicestershire County Council is seeking your views on the possibility of introducing a six-term year in county schools from 2005/06 onwards. If you would like to have your say on this issue then a formal consultation document can be found on the County Council’s website until December 12th, just visit: www.leics.gov.uk/education

As the New Year draws nearer, the eagerly anticipated launch of Leicester Revealed, a programme specifically tailored to help the city and county build business success, takes a step closer. Spearheaded by Leicester Shire Promotions, the past few months have seen a surge of Leicester Revealed activity focussed on firmly establishing the city and its county as premier league business locations. A vigorous advertising campaign and national newspaper supplement will kick off the programme in mid November, followed by the first of its theme years – 2004 being Taste Leicester!

The programme has a number of key objectives:

Create confidence in the city and county and transform perceptions by building a sense of pride throughout the region.
Establish Leicester as a successful city, one that can promote examples of best practice to other cities.
Attract inward investment, create jobs and boost tourism.
Establish culture and creative industries as a major driver for the economic and social regeneration of the county.
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Leicester Revealed and its business community need to work together. It is vital for such an opportunity to be appreciated by all who can benefit from it – and if you’re reading this now, it probably means you can! As a result, you are invited to join the Chamber and over 60 other organisations that have already committed themselves to Leicester Revealed for the next three years. With more and more partners coming on board, Leicester Revealed can move ahead with full confidence. The first edition of a regular newsletter is now available and includes a pledge card enabling businesses to express their commitment to the programme. This will continue to be circulated to all interested parties listed on the Leicester Revealed database and is also available on the website www.leicesterrevealed.com. For further details, please contact Sam Naik by email: sam.naik@l-p-l.com or telephone: 0116 2254031.

According to new research from the Workplace Law Centre, UK businesses not allowing their staff to work flexibly could be losing out on savings worth £16,000 per employee each year. Research has estimated that a desk-bound employee at a standard workstation costs up to £18,000 to maintain, while on average just 42% of all office desks are in use at any one time. It is therefore in the best interest of businesses to utilise flexible working to help them make the most efficient use of space in premises, helping to avoid paying the costs of renting offices that are often just half-full and by equipping staff with devises such as printers and laptops to enable them to work away from home. Additional benefits to flexible working include: improved employee productivity, lower travelling costs, reduced absenteeism and better morale.

The Department of Trade & Industry has just printed the second edition of its Regional Competitiveness & State of the Regions publication containing a range of statistical indicators to illustrate the factors that affect the competitiveness of the UK's countries and regions. The statistics presented have been co-ordinated by the DTI in consultation with statisticians in the Office for National Statistics and other Government Departments. The indicators have been developed under 5 headings: Overall Competitiveness, the Labour Market, Deprivation, Business Development, and Land and Infrastructure.
The publication is available on the DTI website at: www.dti.gov.uk/sd/rci.

Malcolm Wicks has issued a challenge to employers to make clear to both current and prospective employees the pension packages available to employees so that they have the information they need to make a more informed choice. At the Saver Summit organised by the Association of British Insurers, the Pensions Minister urged industry to include details of employer pension contributions in wage slips and provide pensions information in recruitment material. Malcom Wicks believes that providing more information to employees on pension packages makes good business sense.
For more information: www.dwp.gov.uk

The DTI's annual 'Research and Development (R&D) Scoreboard' has shown that companies that invest heavily in R&D have outperformed the rest of the stock market in recent years. The overall share value of the ten most R&D-intense companies on the FTSE 100 have been higher than the FTSE 100 index every year since 1997. A portfolio of shares bought in those companies would now be worth 30% more than in 1997, in contrast to the 15% drop in value of the FTSE 100 index in the same period.

According to Lord Sainsbury, Science and Innovation Minister, the Scoreboard confirms again that R&D is the key to economic success. R&D is believed to help create the innovative products and services that UK businesses need to compete on the global stage.

R&D tax credits have recently been simplified and extended and companies of all sizes are eligible, they can make an enormous difference to business and should be taken advantage of. Businesses are encouraged to turn cutting edge research into economic success.
For more information: www.dti.gov.uk

A new survey, to which almost 1,000 businesses across the East Midlands responded, has revealed that conditions facing businesses operating in the East Midlands have eased during the third quarter as economic growth has begun to pick up but recovery in the manufacturing sector remains fragile. Martin Briggs, Chief Executive of East Midlands Development Agency said: “The survey shows that conditions in the East Midlands appear to be easing, particularly in the service sector where there has been a rebound from the slowdown of the second quarter. It also reports encouraging signs of recovery in the manufacturing sector. We expect conditions to continue to improve during the fourth quarter of the year.”

East Midlands Development Agency and the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce jointly carried out, for the first time, The Quarterly Economic Survey for the third quarter of 2003 .The survey report is available from the East Midlands Observatory website:http://www.eastmidlandsobservatory.org.uk/loosefiles/EMCCQ32003.pdf

Following on from October’s close call interest rate decision by the Bank of England (BOE), it is feared that a rise in interest rates is on the horizon. The minutes of its latest meeting revealed that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to keep rates on hold by five votes to four – the narrowest of margins - in October and members said that an increase would be needed to dampen inflationary pressures.
Economists at Deutsche Back have revised their expectations of a rate rise and now argue that the move could come as early as next month if UK surveys point to further economic improvements "We believe that it will not take much in the form of stronger data to persuade the remainder of the Committee to vote for higher rates in November," said Deutsche Bank's George Buckley.
Businesses should take note of this, as it is feared that people and businesses are taking on too much debt, which they may not be able to make repayments on if interest rates rise significantly in the coming year. For more information: www.thebritishchamberofcommerce.co.uk

The Young Enterprise Company Programme, which delivers enterprise education in schools and colleges, was launched to students at Leicester City Football Club recently. Around 650 students will take part in the programme this year and over 270 of them worked with specialist business volunteers learning about all aspects of business in a fun, practical way.
For further information contact Virginia Toon on 0116 240 7000.