Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce

Issue: October 2007

East Midlands Chamber Website Launched
Chamber Open Day Invite
Chamber News Goes Audio
New Legislation
Let The Train Take The Strain
Business At The Speed Of Sound
Recycling Advice For SMEs
Search For Top Family Business
New Waste Regs Prompt Action
Arrest Warrant
Getting the Edge
Russian Market Seminar
Musical Interlude
Charity Coffee Morning for LOROS
Forthcoming Chamber Events

The GML Update:

A consortium of Chambers of Commerce in the East Midlands have launched a joint website to enhance business across the region. For the first time, the new East Midlands Chamber of Commerce website, which can be found at www.emcc.org.uk, brings together information about networking opportunities, events, training courses and business services in the region.

The website also includes a fully searchable member database, making it easy for businesses to find new suppliers, potential customers or follow up on networking contacts. In addition, an exclusive ‘Member2Business’ facility provides a unique online marketplace for East Midlands Chamber members to boost their company profile, promote their businesses and find new customers; advertising opportunities are available for Chamber members only.

Sharon Jeffrey, Commercial Manager at Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce, commented: “The intention is not to replace the excellent individual Chamber websites of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire but to complement them by providing a one-stop shop, enabling members and businesses throughout the region to find the information they need quickly and conveniently”.

Do you think you know the benefits of your Chamber membership? Would you like to know more about how being a Chamber member can save your company money? Have you wondered how all of your staff could benefit from your company being a Chamber member?

The Leicestershire Chamber is holding an Open Day on Tuesday 23 October in which our members, and other companies interested in joining, can come along and meet the Chamber team as well as network with each other. Experts in the various chamber membership benefits, products and services will also be on hand to answer any questions you may have.

The Open Day will take place at the Ramada Hotel on Granby Street in Leicester between 10am and 2pm, everyone welcome, you're invited to register your planned attendance by emailing Sharon Jeffrey at jeffrey.s@chamberofcommerce.co.uk

This is your chance to make sure that you make the most of your membership. We look forward to seeing you there!

This month has seen the launch of Chamber News Audio, a new free member service. You can now download an audio version of the newsletter to your mp3 player, pc or mobile phone to listen to it wherever and whenever you want. Launching the service, Sharon Jeffrey, Commercial Manager of Leicestershire Chamber, commented: “We understand that no two members have the same needs and so we are always looking for new and innovative ways to communicate with members in ways that suit their lifestyle. Chamber News Audio gives members the chance to catch up on the newsletter during downtime such as the daily commute.”

This service is being sponsored by Chamber members SFS Legal who immediately recognised the potential benefit to members.

"SFS Legal aims to provide an innovative, value-added service to its clients and we are delighted to be associated with Leicestershire Chamber when it is taking steps to develop new, leading edge member services," said Shameer Sacranie, Director of SFS Legal.

To access Chamber News Audio, simply log in to your account on the Chamber website and navigate to the News tab, taking the Chamber News option and follow the instructions. From there you can subscribe to have content on your mp3 player, mobile smartphone or your pc.

Chamber News Audio is produced by Chamber members, Wile Ltd, specialists in interactive mobile audio documents.

Monday the 1st October was the second Common Commencement Date of 2007. Common Commencement Dates apply to key Government departments and ensure that new regulations come into force on the same day. Regulations that will be of significance to members include:

The National Minimum Wage will increase:

The Adult Rate (workers aged 22 and over) will increase to £5.52 ph
The Development Rate (those aged 18-21) will increase to £4.60ph
For more information consult the Low Pay Commission’s website:http://www.lowpay.gov.uk/

For businesses who do not offer their employees 28 days annual leave or more – this can include bank and public holidays – then as of October the 1st they have to review the entitlement they offer to staff. Employees will be eligible for four extra days holiday as of the 1st October 2007 and a further four as of the 1st October 2008.

Company law is subject to further change:

A new statement of directors' duties and responsibilities will apply. Removal of the requirement to hold an AGM unless a company decides to do so.

A full list of new regulations can be obtained from the following departmental links:

Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform http://www.berr.gov.uk/bbf/better-regulation/forthcoming-leg/page24668.html

Department for Communities and Local Government http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/corporate/pdf/regulations-2007

Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/regulat/pdf/forthcomingleg-2007.pdf

Health and Safety Executive http://www.hse.gov.uk/legislation/forthcoming.htm

Home Office http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/common-commencement-2007.pdf?view=Binary

Leicester Shire Promotions and Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce are to co-host a major event on 20 November 2007, aimed at raising the profile of business in Leicester and Leicestershire internationally.

Up to 20 key local businesses, Chamber of Commerce members and Maximum Impact partners will travel by Eurostar to the French capital to meet with the Parisian equivalent of the Chamber and assorted local businesses. It coincides with the reduced rail travel times to Europe and the opening of St Pancras International on 14 November.

For more information contact Robin Pointon on 0116 225 4035, or email: robin.pointon@l-p-l.com

Thursday 22nd November 2007 from 8.30am –10.30am@ The National Space Centre, Leicester

Podcasts are one of the most innovative and powerful ways of getting your message across – whatever your message is. The Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce is hosting a briefing which will show how podcasting can be used by businesses to engage with new audiences, promote themselves, their business and products and improve internal communications.

To register your attendance contact Kam Atker on Tel: 0116 204 6614 or email: atker.k@chamberofcommerce.co.uk

Claire McDonnell has been appointed as the East Midlands Recycle at Work Adviser to offer recycling advice to SMEs as part of WRAP's (Waste & Resources Action Programme) Recycle at Work Advisory Programme. Claire, who covers the whole region fromLincolnshireto Northamptonshire, will provide one-to-one support to SMEs to help and encourage them to recycle more.

For further information contact Claire McDonnell on 0115 988 6228 orClaire.Mcdonnell@wrap.org.uk.

Family businesses play a critical role in UK business and make up a significant proportion of Chamber members. Against that background it is no surprise that the British Chambers of Commerce is supporting Coutts & Co as the bank embarks on its annual search to identify contenders for The Coutts Prize For Family Business 2007/08.

The awards, now in their third year, represent the only regional programme in England and Wales celebrating the overall best performing small, medium and large family businesses. Other endorsers include Cranfield University, The Financial Mail on Sunday, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and Ipsos MORI.

Following the success of the last two years, families have another chance to show how proud they are of their family firms and nominations are now sought - close date 31 October 2007. If you believe there is something special about any family business you know or if more information is required then please contact Coutts for a nomination pack: email rick.poole@coutts.com, call 0207649 4046) or visit www.coutts.com/familybusiness/prize

Soon every business in the East Midlands will need to have a system in place for treating their non-hazardous waste before disposal to landfill, say sustainable business experts Envirowise.

The new regulations will affect the 6.6 million tonnes of waste that is managed in this region alone. While there are already regulations in place which compel firms to separate and treat hazardous waste, from 30th October businesses will also need to consider treatment options for all their non-hazardous waste destined for landfill – which could include anything from bricks, wood and soil to food waste, paper and plastic.

Catherine Wale, Envirowise Regional Manager for the East Midlands, says: "The main objective is to encourage companies to consider options for minimisation, segregation, recycling and re-use, before automatically sending something to landfill. Treatment can be as simple as separating different components at source, some of which could then be recycled."

Other treatment options include physical treatment, such as breaking down waste brick into aggregate, thermal treatment such as incineration or mechanical biological treatment (MBT) which involves processes such as composting or anaerobic digestion. Crucially, many of these approaches offer opportunities for extracting energy - and therefore commercial value - from the waste."

It will be the responsibility of landfill operators in England and Wales to ensure that non-hazardous waste has been treated before accepting it for disposal.

Catherine adds: "In the longer term we are hoping these new rules will encourage people not just to focus on the treatment stage, but to consider whether their waste needs to be generated at all. The more East Midlands businesses can do to reduce the use of raw materials at the outset – the more resource efficient and cost-efficient their operations will be."

For more information on how to save money through the efficient use of resources and advice on management of all waste types, businesses can call the Envirowise Advice Line on 0800 585 794 or visit www.envirowise.gov.uk/waste

Further guidance on the Treatment of Non-Hazardous Wastes for Landfill can be found on the Environment Agency website at:

http://publications.environment-agency.gov.uk/pdf/GEHO0207BLWJ-e-e.pdf?lang=_e

The Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce, along with Business Builder, part of the Chamber group, is to run a series of training courses geared towards helping local businesses gain the competitive edge.

The five dynamic, thought provoking workshops, which have been designed to give Leicestershire business people the practical tools and techniques to develop their business and improve their competitive edge, will run throughout November. The first workshop will be Performance Management on 13 November, followed by Essential Leadership on 20 November, The Art Of Being Brilliant on 26 November and Dynamic Change Management on 29 November. The date for the workshop entitled Essential Marketing Principals is yet to be confirmed.

Workshops can be booked individually or people can choose to attend all five, prices start at just £90 and subsidized packages are available. For more information please contact Business Builder on 0116 258 7354 or email:info@bizbuild.co.uk

Leading children's charity NCH is issuing arrest warrants to the Leicester business community urging them to take part in a fundraising 'Jail and Bail'.

NCH is looking for 10 willing 'suspect'’ to be arrested at their place of work on Thursday 1st November and taken to the apparently haunted cells at the historical 14th century Guildhall museum, Leicester, where they’ll be held until they can each raise enough bail from colleagues, friends and family on their mobile phones to secure their release. The charity hopes to raise £10,000 from the quirky event.

To find out more about the event contact Rebecca Ash on 07867 531032.

The accession of the East European countries to the EU has led to a great deal of bilateral trade between Eastern Europe and the UK. British companies have consequently been rewarded with a boost to both productivity and profitability. In particular Russia's economic growth hit a six-year high in the first quarter of 2007, propelled by strong growth in trade, construction, and manufacturing. Clearly Russia remains a long-term market of great potential forUK exporters and investors. However, the challenges of doing business with Russia should not be underestimated and for this reason, emita will be holding a seminar, Looking Further East: Russia, at the Quorn Country Hotel on Thursday 18 October 2007. For more details or to book a place visit www.emita.org.uk and select emita events.

Leicester Marriott Hotel will be holding a charity coffee morning at the Leicester Marriot Hotel in Grove Park, Enderby on Friday 2nd November from 10.00am to 13:00pm. This will be your chance to enjoy a range of fresh teas and coffee, whilst browsing at festive items including Christmas cards specially designed for Loros and enter their Christmas Raffle.

Talented young violinist Chloe Hanslip will join the Philharmonia Orchestra to perform Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto at De Montfort Hall on Sunday 11 November 2007, 7.30pm. The evening’s programme led by Maestro Leif Segerstam will also include Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 and Sibelius’s Karelia Suite.

Click here for more information and booking details.

The Philharmonia Orchestra is proud to be a member of Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce

Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce Events for Autumn 2007

Date: 26 October
Venue: Leicester City Football Club, Leicester
Time: 12:30 – 2pm
Cost: Chamber Members £25 / Standard £35

Born in Canberra, Australia and educated in Newnham College, Cambridge and then Nuffield College, Oxford where she was awarded two masters degrees; Patricia Hewitt joined the Labour Party in the 1970s. She was elected to the House of Commons as the first female MP for Leicester West in 1997 with a majority of over 12,000.

Sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland, Charles Street Buildings (Leicester) Ltd and Freeth Cartwright Solicitors
Date: 7 December
Venue: The Walkers Stadium, Leicester
Time: 12.15pm – 4pm
Cost: Chamber Members £49.50 (table of 10: £470)
Standard £54.50 (table of 10: £520)

The guest speaker this year will be Jim Bowen, already well known to TV viewers through top TV game show Bullseye which was avidly watched by over twelve million viewers, attaining 'cult' status among university students. Instantly recognised throughout the UK, Jim is in great demand in the corporate world where his varied stage and screen experience is invaluable.

Date: 13 December
Venue: Newark Showground, Newark
Time: 12 noon – 2pm
Cost: All Chamber Members £17.50 +VAT / Standard £27.50 +VAT
Exhibition Stand £30 +VAT

Price includes a 2 course Christmas dinner with coffee & crackers, plus wine reception. Please note that all bookings for this event must go through Lincolnshire Chamber onTel: 01522 523333.

Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Leicestershire Chambers have all teamed up to bring you a cross county Meet & Eat Networking Lunch – an event specifically designed to encourage inter-trading amongst members. If you are keen to promote your organisation in these counties then come along and tell your fellow diners about your products or services in this organised but relaxed environment.

All Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce networking events are sponsored by The Business Booster.

For more information on these Chamber events please call Kam Atker on Tel: 0116 204 6614 or alternatively you may visit the Chamber website at: www.chamberofcommmerce.co.uk and select What's On/events