TWIN PRONGED APPROACH TO CUTTING YOUR ENERGY BILLS
Businesses can join forces with Leicestershire Chamber to combat rising energy costs thanks to a twin pronged approach to secure best value in purchasing and ensure precious supplies are used efficiently and waste driven out.
The Chamber Utilities™ service, delivered in partnership with Utility Auditing Ltd, has saved local companies more than £2 million over the past few years, with Everard’s and Samworth Brothers among those who have been helped to drive cost out of their business.
By constantly monitoring the markets, UAL can minimise exposure to the risks of buying in a highly volatile commodity market – using its purchasing power to ensure customers buy energy at the most advantageous time and price.
It is estimated that companies are wasting around one fifth of all their energy and, under the Carbon Trust programme, UAL can provide free on-site energy efficiency surveys for eligible companies, as well as helping companies to implement recommendations. Companies doing so are typically saving 10 to 20% on their energy bills, with minimal investment.
Businesses can also make use of Enhanced Capital Allowances and gain access to 0% interest Carbon Trust loans of up to £100,000 to help implement energy efficiency measures.
In addition, Chamber Utilities™ offers a free water supply evaluation service, which can help businesses identify possible reliefs and allowances and recover money if overcharging has occurred.
For a free assessment of your energy, or advice on improving efficiency, contact the Chamber Utilities™ team at Leicestershire Chamber on 0116 247 1800.
LAST CHANCE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Whether you want to promote your company in general or start a sales push for a particular campaign or offer you can get your message out to 1600 Chamber members for less than the cost per company of a 1st class stamp.
Pay just £300 +vat for a single sheet A4 flyer insert in our Chamber News newsletter and we will mail 1600 of your flyers out for you- that works out at less than 19p per flyer- cheaper than a first class stamp plus you’re saving on envelope costs and staff time too!
The October edition of Chamber News is now full but we do currently have space available for flyers in the November edition. As we don’t produce a December edition of Chamber News this will be your last chance to promote your business in 2005. If you’d like to find out more or reserve space please call Suzanne on Tel: 0116 204 6609 or email: farmer.s@chamberofcommerce.co.uk
SAVE MONEY WITH THE CHAMBER
FAYRE Deal is a recent initiative launched by the Leicestershire Chamber to help companies in membership save money on food and drinks at participating local hotels and restaurants.The FAYRE Deal Card, which can be applied for by any Leicestershire Chamber member, gives discounts of at least 10% on combined food and drinks at participating hotels & restaurants.
An up-to-date list of hotels & restaurants promoting the FAYRE Deal Scheme can be obtained from Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce on 0116 247 1800 and details will shortly be available on the Member-to-Member Services page of our website.
If you are a member of the Leicestershire Chamber and want to save on your food and drinks bill or are a Leicestershire hotel or restaurant who would like to participate in this scheme then call us and we will send you an application form.
Integra Presentation with Preethi Nair
Date: 14th September
Time: 6pm-8.30pm
Venue: Quorn Country Hotel, Quorn, near Loughborough
Cost: £32.50 Chamber members/ £42.50 Standard
Preethi is an entrepreneurial author and management consultant who duped the literary world by leading a double, and sometimes triple, life as her own PR consultant and it all paid off when she signed her three book deal with publishers HarperCollins.
Employment Law Seminar in conjunction with Freeth Cartwright LLP
Date: 21st September
Time: 7.30am-9am
Venue: Leicester Tigers Ground, Leicester
Cost: £25 Chamber members / £35 Standard
This seminar will look at a number of employment law matters including compliance with the Data Protection Act and dodging disability discrimination.
President's Gala Dinner with guest speaker Michael Portillo
Sponsored by Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank, Paramount Hotels Group and The Raynsway Group.
Date: 23rd September
Time: 7pm-10.30pm
Venue: Hinckley Island Hotel, Hinckley
Cost: £49.50 Chamber Members/£59.50 Standard
Table of 10: £470 Chamber Members/£570 Standard
Join us at the Hinckley Island Hotel for a delicious four-course meal and hear this year’s guest speaker Michael Portillo. Probably best known for his attempt to gain leadership of the Conservative Party back in 1991, Michael has enjoyed a varied career since he first entered the political arena in 1983.
Chamber Golf Day sponsored by Haines Watts Chartered Accountants and Sturgess Volvo
Date: 27th September
Time: tee off from 8.30am
Venue: Forest Hills Golf Club, Botcheston
Cost: £48.50 Chamber Members/£58.50 Standard
This event will include a superb days golf on a 18-hole course in a beautiful setting. Players will be arranged into teams of four and, in addition to the chance to win a Volvo S40 car courtesy of Sturgess Motor Group, there will be several other prizes on offer including trophies, golf clothing and equipment.
To find out more about these events or to make a booking please contact Kam Atker on 0116 204 6614 or email: atker.k@chamberofcommerce.co.uk
BUSINESS CONTINUITY SEMINAR
All presentations given at the Business Continuity Seminar event organized by the Government Office East Midlands (GOEM) are now featured on the GOEM Website. These documents can be found in the news section of the following website - http://www.goem.gov.uk/
Alternatively this link will take you straight to this section -
http://www.goem.gov.uk/goem/news/businesscontinuity/
ARE YOU FIT FOR WORK?
BBC Big Challenge is offering businesses in Leicestershire the chance to find out. BBC Radio Leicester is hosting a health clinic for businesses on Friday October 14th.between 12 noon and 1.30pm. Nurses will be on hand to carry out clinical tests, a dietician can advise on healthy eating habits and there’s the chance to soothe away stress by winning a health spa break for two. Alternative treatments, including Indian head massage, are free for guests as well as a delicious healthy lunch. It makes good business sense to ensure your staff are fit for work. People in “good” health are up to 20% more productive than those in “poor” health. Illness costs employers more than 50 billion pounds a year. Log on to bbc.co.uk/bigchallenge for more details or call 08700 100150.
NEW EASY WAY TO ACCESS LEICESTERSHIRE'S CREATIVE TALENT ONLINE
A new service offering a simple way to tap into the county’s creative talent has just been launched, offering Leicester Chamber members a great opportunity - the chance to access the best of the creative talent in Leicestershire, for free! With the launch of the new TBC (To Be Creative) website, www.tobecreative.org.uk , Chamber members’ businesses who seek the services of local designers can now make their requirements known to exactly the right audience for free, saving time and trouble involved in contacting businesses individually. The TBC network, which comprises a huge variety of businesses, from graphic and web designers to artists and architects and interiors specialists, offers Chamber businesses the opportunity to post the details of any work they might want other companies to quote for on their website. TBC members will access the briefs online, and reply to the enquirer directly with proposals and costings.
“In the long term, the network hopes that this will prove to be a win-win situation for all involved, with many creative companies in turn taking up the services of the Chamber businesses themselves” stated Liz Foxwell-Canning, Business Adviser, “many of the companies signed up to TBC are well established, significant businesses and if we can help encourage relationships between TBC network members and Leicester Chamber members I can only see that that’s a good thing.”
Leicestershire’s creative businesses currently turnover £718 million per annum and are growing fast at around 8.1% each year, and they employ almost 10,000 people across the county.
If your business needs a new website, stationery, or maybe wants to commission a piece of art to brighten up the office, get in touch with caroline@cirt.org.uk with the details and we’ll post it onto the site free of charge.
BUSINESS OSCARS LAUNCH
If you want your organisation to succeed Transmitton Ltd as the next Leicestershire Business of the Year make sure you attend the launch of the Leicestershire Business Awards 2006. An audience of 250 local business people are expected at the Walkers Stadium on 26th September to learn about the most prestigious awards in Leicestershire.
To book a place at the launch event or receive further information about the Leicestershire Business Awards 2006 contact Wow Effect on 0845 130 2866, email info@bizawards.co.uk or visit www.bizawards.co.uk.
THE QUEEN'S AWARDS FOR ENTERPRISE
The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious corporate accolade that a UK business can win. They can help to:
- Open Doors to new suppliers, customers, investors and partners- a Queen’s Award tells them your company should be taken seriously.
- Boost sales, increase your turnover by up to 30% through raising your profile and encouraging more customers to choose your business.
- Prove your success, a Queen’s Award is an independent and prestigious endorsement of the quality of your company.
There are four awards, each recognising different achievements in business:
- International Trade- recognising companies that have demonstrated growth in overseas earnings.
- Innovation- recognising companies that have demonstrated growth in overseas earnings.
- Sustainable Development- recognising companies that have integrated environmental, social, economic and management aspects of sustainable development into their business.
- Enterprise Promotion- recognising people who have played an outstanding role in promoting the growth of enterprise and/or entrepreneurial skills and attitudes in others.
To find out more about the Queen’s Awards and how they can benefit you and your business you can attend one of the following free events:
Weetabix for Breakfast
Date: 13th September
Time: 7.30am-9am
Venue: Weetabix Ltd, Burton Latimer, Kettering
Galleries of Justice
Date: 13th September
Time: 6pm-8pm
Venue: Galleries for Justice, Nottingham
To register for one of these events or just to find out more about the awards contact Costa by email: costaphilippou.ukti@emd.org.uk or phone 0115 988 8516
BREAKING BUSINESS BARRIERS IN INDIA
With a population of over 1billion and rising levels of wealth India is now the fourth largest economy in the world and a potential powerhouse that UK companies cannot afford to ignore. In 2003 UK-India bilateral trade crossed the £5billion barrier and the UK is now India’s third largest trading partner. A free event has been designed to raise awareness of the business opportunities posed by this exciting and lucrative market and to help businesses identify ways in which they can develop trading opportunities with India.
The Breaking Business Barriers in India event will take place on 28th September between 9.30am and 1.30pm at Pride Park Stadium, Derby.
For more information visit www.emita.org.uk or ring 01332 548118.
FOOD DRINK SEMINAR
China is becoming the world’s largest food and drink market, and Hong Kong in particular, already has a highly developed retail and catering industry. Join this free seminar to discover the massive business potentials that Greater China offers. The seminar will take place at County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester at 1 pm on Sept 26, starting with buffet lunch.
To make a booking contact:
Min He, Leicester Shire-China Trade Bureau
Email: Min.he@blleics.co.uk
Tel: 0116 258 7312
UKTI MARKET VISIT TO CHINA (SHANGHAI)
A travel grant of £750 is available to a limited number of eligible companies to join the East Midlands Market Visit to China, visiting Shanghai with the option of Ningbo from November 12th -19th.
For further information contact:Min He, Leicester Shire-China Trade Bureau
Email: Min.he@blleics.co.uk
Tel: 0116 258 7312
LEICESTER GETS VISIT FROM BRITISH HIGH COMMISSIONER TO INDIA
Sir Michael Arthur, the British High Commissioner to India will be the guest speaker at an event at the National Space Centre in Leicester. The event, organised by the British American Council in the Midlands, will take place on Wednesday 28th September between 7.30am-10am
Tickets are priced at £30 per person, a table of ten can be purchased for £295 and reservations must be made before Thursday 15th September. For details or to make a booking call 0121 454 6171 or email: C.Fisher@birminghamchamber.org.uk
DRAFT GUIDANCE ON HOME SHOPPING RULES - VIEWS SOUGHT
This consultation has been issued jointly by the Office of Fair Trading and the Department of Trade and Industry and seeks comment on a draft of new guidance outlining the regulations (Distance Selling Regulations/DSRs) governing distance selling to home shoppers. This encompasses businesses trading on-line or through mail order, phone or fax.
Link: draft consultation guidance
The DSRs are a key plank of consumer protection legislation. They provide additional rights to consumers buying at a distance, to encourage confidence in this method of buying, in particular to make up for the disadvantage they would otherwise incur of not being able to inspect the goods or services in question.
These additional rights include:
· information as to the identity of the trader
· a clear description of the goods and services
· a clear indication of the price, including taxes
· delivery cost information and delivery arrangements
· written confirmation of important information
· an unconditional right to cancel
· details of complaints and cancellation procedures.
The draft guidance is more comprehensive than its predecessors and contains answers to many more of the questions businesses frequently ask. It is intended to be a handy reference tool for businesses of all sizes.
Breach of the DSRs may result in the OFT, local trading standards services or other enforcement agencies taking enforcement action through the courts.
Exceptions to the DSRs include business to business contracts, certain financial services, sales concluded at an auction, contracts for the sale of land and sales by vending machine.
Some parts of the regulations do not apply to contracts for goods intended for everyday consumption supplied by regular roundsmen, eg milkmen; contracts for transport or accommodation, catering or leisure services where these are provided on specific dates or within specified periods; timeshare; package holidays; or to contracts made in the course of Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) regulated business.
FREE PRACTICAL INFORMATION ON CREATING AN AGE DIVERSE WORKFORCE
The Age Partnership Group, an organisation committed to encouraging best practice to help prepare businesses for new age legislation, has joined up with the British Chambers of Commerce to release free practical information on creating an age diverse workforce.
The information (in the form of a Personnel Organiser) is targeted at managers, HR Directors and anyone who has responsibility for recruitment, training, promotion and retirement policies.
The Personnel Organiser has a range of practical information and help on how to review these policies to better support an age diverse workforce and includes examples of how this has benefited businesses across the UK. To order a free Personnel Organiser call 0845 715 2000 or email apg@isky.co.uk
LONG TERM PROCESS AND IMPACT EVALUATION OF LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN (LTP) POLICY
An interim report has been published by Department for Transport (DfT). The following is an extract and lists the key research findings:
1. Whilst many of the principles of the LTP policy remain valid from their inception in the 1998 Integrated Transport White Paper, the national, regional and local context in which they are being applied has changed considerably, particularly as a result of the Local Government Modernisation Agenda and wider reform of public services.
2. The Department for Transport has evolved the LTP policy from one based on largely aspirational strategies and bidding documents for local problems and opportunities towards a system which is more focused on achieving and demonstrating contribution to desired national outcomes, and strengthening the capacity of authorities to undertake robust programme and performance management of their transport capital expenditure.
3. The total committed block funding for the first round LTPs is £5.90 billion, excluding major scheme expenditure. This level of funding represents an increase in Integrated Transport and Maintenance funding of two or three times for many authorities, compared with previous allocations under the TPP period in the mid-1990s. After a slow start, authorities are achieving expenditure up to their capital allocation levels.
4. The LTP policy is supported by local practitioners, local and national stakeholders and the transport profession more widely. Authorities have made a genuine attempt to apply the principles set out in Government Guidance, although improvements are also undoubtedly being driven by the substantial increase in capital allocations.
5. Perceptions of the LTP policy by senior officers and members are more likely to be tempered by corporate priorities and a focus on service areas commanding a higher political profile locally and influence on Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) scoring, especially education, social services and housing. Their transport priorities may also be narrower (e.g. road safety, highway condition) than the broader agenda contained in the LTP.
6. There is evidence that the scale and quality of local transport delivery is improving, with authorities planning and implementing capital programmes which are larger, broader, more inclusive and command a higher profile amongst senior officers, members and the public. There is also evidence of closer engagement between authorities, the wider stakeholder community, Government Offices and the Department in driving and demonstrating improved delivery.
7. LTPs generally reflect the national transport objectives set out in the Integrated Transport White Paper as well as a large range of local agendas. There is increasingly recognition of the need for the emerging second round LTPs to reflect the Shared Priority for Transport covering congestion, accessibility, safety and air quality as well as wider quality of life issues.
8. The consistency and robustness of authorities’ monitoring of LTP outputs and outcomes is a major area of concern and is a constraint on the extent to which it is possible to arrive at a comprehensive picture of LTP delivery at national level with a high level of confidence and accuracy.
9. The data that is available, however, demonstrates that in the first three years of the LTP first round, there has been a considerable increase in local transport expenditure (£1.24 billion in 2003/04, compared with £1.02 billion in 2001/02) and scheme delivery (69,517 schemes in 2003/04, compared with 43,712 schemes in 2001/02). Performance in terms of delivering on the desired national and local outcomes is more variable and the available data suggests that it is unlikely that national and local targets in areas such as bus patronage, cycling and congestion will be met on the basis of current trajectories. This may improve in the last two years of the LTP first round as more programmes are completed. Delivery on safety and road condition objectives appears to be more positive and generates more confidence that targets will be met.
10. Whilst the LTP process has supported a dramatic increase in capital expenditure, revenue funding and budgets have lagged behind. This potentially limits the breadth of local transport initiatives which can be pursued in order to deliver LTP objectives, the extent to which the capital infrastructure being made can be properly maintained in future years and also constrains staff resources for future programme development and monitoring.
11. There remain wide variations in authorities’ improvement in local transport performance as a result of the additional funding and LTP policy. Authorities performing most effectively appear to be those where effective consultation and partnership working has been developed, where there is strong corporate and political support aligned with LTP objectives, and where effective programme and performance management systems and processes are in place focused on the delivery of the agreed and realistic targets.
12. Authorities appear to remain supportive of the LTP process into its second round 2006-2011 and view the LTP2 Guidance as including a number of improvements on the first round. There is consensus, however, that the preparation and delivery of LTP2 will be a resource intensive exercise and present a number of major corporate, technical and logistical challenges.
13. More work is required during the remainder of this research programme on observed outcomes and progress against targets over the remaining two years of the LTP first round, a better understanding of the causal relationship between these outcomes and the LTP policy and wider funding and external factors, and the issues emerging through the transition to the second round.
For further details, visit: Interim report on the long term process and impact evaluation of the Local Transport Plan Policy