connected April 218

INSPIRING BUSINESS SUCCESS

ISSUE 65/APRIL 2018

The official monthly magazine for Chamber members

PROTECT

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – is being translated into UK law through the Data Protection Bill

PLUS. . . all the news from the Chamber Network Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce 100 YEARS inspiring business success

Appointment of Members of the Investigating Committee and the Disciplinary Committee

The Farriers Registration Council is the National Regulator and National Competent Authority for farriery in Great Britain. Its authority and functions are set out in primary legislation under the Farriers (Registration) Act, 1975, 1977 & 2017.

Farriers (Registration) Act 2017 requires the investigating and disciplinary functions set out in the legislation to be operated independently of the Council. Therefore it is necessary to recruit members outwith the Council as members of both the Investigating Committee and the Disciplinary Committee.

The Investigating Committee and the Disciplinary Committee are responsible for conducting desk-top investigations and disciplinary hearings in response to complaints, disclosures and notifications that may amount to serious professional misconduct by Registered Farriers.

A pool of Committee members are required to sit on both statutory committees. The work is sensitive and may have profound outcomes for individuals; the knowledge, commitment and expertise of those who volunteer will be key in ensuring lawful, proportionate and reasonable outcomes. Applicants shall be expected to uphold ‘The Seven Principles of Public Life’.

Applications are invited for the following positions:  Chair – Investigating Committee  Chair – Disciplinary Committee  Registered Farriers – defined as people who are on the FRC Register of Farriers and who must have a minimum of 6 years post qualification verifiable experience.

(5 positions)  Lay Members – defined as people who are not, and have never been, on the Register of Farriers. (8 positions)  Registered Veterinary Surgeons – Each committee shall require one member to be a Registered Veterinary Surgeon with primary experience in equines.

Reasonable travel, subsistence and accommodation expenses may be claimed by those appointed while attending committee meetings or hearings.

Please note that individuals currently elected or appointed to serve on the Farriers Registration Council are not eligible to apply.

Applicants interested in applying should complete the “How to Apply” process as set out in the “Information Pack for Candidates” at www.farrier-reg.gov.uk by close of

business on 27 April 2018.

The FRC is committed to the principles of equality and diversity and welcomes applications from all candidates regardless of ethnicity, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability or gender identity.

If you have a disability or for any other good reason are seeking a reasonable adjustment to the recruitment process, please contact frc@farrier-reg.gov.uk

this issue

CONTENTS

30

25

33

8

29 5

Chief Executive’s highlights

6-7

Connections

8-9

Influence

10-11

Global reach

12-13

Knowledge

21 22-23

Cambs & South Cambs Chamber news

24-25

Out & about

27

Fenland Chamber news

29

Huntingdonshire Chamber news

30-31

Peterborough Chamber news

14

Protection

15

Ask the expert

33

16-17

New members

34-35

18-19

Charity

39

LEP

20

Matthew Gooding column

41

Insight from Alex Spencer

21

Ely Chamber news

45-47

Stamford Chamber news Mike Holland

Events

Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce 100 YEARS inspiring business success

connected April 2018 3

welcome from the

EDITOR

Exhibition and awards season is upon us!

Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce 100 YEARS inspiring business success

Chief Executive John Bridge OBE DL Editor Sadie Parr Published by

Print xlpress Design Richard Thomas Clare Turner

In this edition we bring you details of how to enter our Global Awards and the British Chambers of Commerce Awards 2018.

These awards are a great promotional opportunity for you to showcase your company achievements. Further details are available on the Connections and Global Reach pages.

Our Two Counties Business Exhibition has just taken place and we will feature photos and a write-up of this event next month.

Huntingdonshire Business Fair takes place on Wednesday 25 April offering a great networking opportunity. Seminar details and times for our popular speed networking sessions can be found on the event pages.

With GDPR coming into effect in a matter of weeks, we’ve invited Mike Holland from OlsenMetrix to provide an article this month on what to expect and how to ensure your comply with the new regulations. Turn to page 34 to read more.

Sadie Parr Editor, connected s.parr@cambscci.co.uk

Advertising Caroline Turnbull caroline.turnbull@cambridge-news.co.uk Membership team Bren Coleman 01223 209811 Paul Gibbons 07759 934111 Cambridge Enterprise House, Vision Park, Histon, Cambridge, CB24 9ZR. Tel 01223 237414 Peterborough 6 The Forum, Minerva Business Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, PE2 6FT. Tel 01733 370809

DIARY DATES April 2018

Email enquiries@cambscci.co.uk Visit cambridgeshirechamber.co.uk @CambsChamber Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce

Views expressed in connected are not necessarily these of Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce. Acceptance of advertisements does not imply official endorsement of the products or services concerned. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of editorial content, no responsibility can be taken for any errors and/ or omissions. The editor reserves the right to make amendments without notification.

4 April 2018 connected

4

Informal Networking Evening, Stamford

5

Safari Networking Breakfast, Peterborough

9

Informal Networking Evening, Ely

12 17 18 18 18

Amazing Benefits of Chamber Membership, Cambridge

Networking Masterclass Perfect Your Pitch, St Ives

Doing Business in the US, Cambridge

Amazing Benefits of Chamber Membership, Peterborough

Informal Networking Evening, Peterborough

19 24 24 25 26 Informal Networking Evening, Cambridge

Grow Your Business Through People, Ely

Global Business Network, Cambridge

Huntingdonshire Business Fair

Amazing Benefits of Chamber Membership, Cambridge

view from the

BRIDGE

One of my favourite events each year is our Global Awards Lunch showcasing members significant achievements and I’m delighted that our Global Awards 2018 are now open for entry. From last year you can see me enjoying myself with the delightful team from Alliance Française de Cambridge. Key however is that these awards recognise Chamber members that stand out from the crowd on the international stage and we look forward to receiving your submission. The deadline to submit your entry is Monday 30 April and you can enter as many categories as you wish. The winners will be presented with their awards at our Global Leaders Lunch in June and I look forward to seeing many of you there. Details of the four categories available can be found on page 11.

The Chamber Awards 2018 are also open for entry with nine different categories to choose from. These awards recognise and celebrate those who have strived to grow and develop their business operations in the UK and overseas.

It was a pleasure to be able to present Kinesis Ltd with their regional winner’s certificate last year for Export Business of the Year and I look forward to presenting more members with regional winners certificates this year and join them as they progress to the finals which will be announced later in the year. The closing date for entries is Friday 29 June and you can find details of the nine categories on page 7.

Attending a business exhibition as an exhibitor or a visitor can be of real benefit to an organisation, allowing you to communicate with existing customers and increase your network of contacts. Not only will you raise awareness of your brand, you have the opportunity to enhance your knowledge through free expert seminars. I encourage Chamber members to attend our Huntingdonshire Business Fair on Wednesday 25 April at Wood Green Animal Shelter which is Huntingdonshire’s most vibrant business event. Last year I officially opened this event alongside the then Mayor of Huntingdon, Cllr Daryl Brown and I look forward to seeing many of you there this year.

John Bridge OBE DL Chief Executive, Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce connected April 2018 5

We provide Chamber members with many opportunities to widen their network of business contacts – building connections, creating opportunities and maximising the benefits of being part of Cambridgeshire’s most vibrant business network.

PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS TO THE #CHAMBERNETWORK Connected is a key communication channel for Chamber members who use this monthly publication not only to promote their own news and special offers but also keep in touch with what’s going on within the local business community across the county.

Including an advert in connected will see your company branding, products and services reach over 1,200 companies across Cambridgeshire and South Lincolnshire.

Advertising rates

Quarter page - £125.00 (plus VAT)* Half page - £250.00 (plus VAT)* Full page - £500.00 (plus VAT)* *Non-Chamber members pay more

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE!

Additional 10 per cent discount when you book three editions or more at the same time.

To book an advert please contact Caroline Turnball at Cambridge News on 01223 434248 or caroline.turnbull@cambridge-news.co.uk.

PARTNER OFFERS

6 April 2018 connected

As a Chamber member you have access to many exclusive and discounted offers from our national partners and local Chamber members, helping to drive your business costs down. One of these offers is the Chamber Primary Health Plan from Westfield Health.

Key features: • Corporate paid plan • Premiums do not increase with age

• Pre-existing medical conditions covered (except personal accident) • Immediate cover on all benefits • Company health report for the employer • Optional modules, voluntary upgrades and partner cover available.

Find out more at www.westfieldhealth. com/chamber or contact Bren Coleman on 01223 209811.

widen your

CONNECTIONS

‘CHAMPION THE CHAMBER’ Current members are encouraged to take advantage of a great offer to refer a new company for membership of Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce.

We are looking to reward existing members who refer a new member for Chamber membership with money off their membership renewal or a personal reward.

The more referrals you make the more you can receive. Anyone who

makes three successful referrals within 100 days can receive £100.00 worth of vouchers or £225.00 off their next membership renewal.* For one successful referral within 100 days you can receive £20.00 worth of vouchers or £50.00 off your next membership renewal, two successful referrals within 100 days and you can receive £50.00 worth of vouchers or £125.00 off your next membership renewal,

This year’s Chamber Business Awards are open for entry!

Entries are being accepted for the following business categories: • • • • • • • • •

Small Business of the Year Export Business of the Year Best Use of Technology Employer of the Year Workplace Wellbeing Award Customer Commitment Award Digital Communications Campaign of the Year Education and Business Partnership High Growth Business of the Year.

These awards are only open to Chamber members.

The closing date for entries is Friday 29 June.

For more information, please visit www.chamberawards.co.uk

anyone who makes three successful referrals within 100 days can receive £100.00 worth of vouchers or £225.00 off their next membership renewal.

To take advantage of this offer, businesses should email Bren Coleman at b.coleman@cambscci.co.uk with details of the company they are referring for membership or give Bren a call on 01223 209810. * Terms and conditions apply

MEMBER OFFERS FROM ALLIA FUTURE BUSINESS CENTRE PETERBOROUGH 50% off your first meeting room booking If you’re choosing a venue for your next meeting, seminar or workshop, chose a building that makes an impact. With space for up to 220 people in our conference room to small intimate meeting pods, we’ve got you covered. *room booking only, refreshments/catering will be invoiced 1 month FREE when you sign up for a virtual office Benefits include mail handling and phone answering, free meeting room hire and access to events and networking opportunities. Prices start at £35 per month.

2 weeks FREE co-working Chamber members are welcome to make themselves at home in our co-working space and enjoy working in a community of likeminded people.

Get in touch: reception@fbcpeterborough.co.uk or 01733 666 600

connected April 2018 7

As a Chamber member you have the power to influence key decision makers and play a leading role in tackling the issues that are preventing your business from reaching its potential, while an experienced team of lobbyists represents your interests in Whitehall.

vatadvice.org shares best practice vatadvice.org appears alongside Prime Minister Theresa May in The Parliamentary Review - a series of documents published by Westminster Publications Ltd with the aim of sharing knowledge and raising standards.

Established by former minister The Rt Hon David Curry in 2010, The Parliamentary Review’s release is now a key fixture in the political calendar. vatadvice.org features alongside the Prime Minister and a small number of outstanding organisations in a document that looks back on the year in the accountancy sector and Westminster. The main aim of the Review is to showcase best practice as a learning tool to the public and private sector.

Across all policy areas, The Parliamentary Review is sent to over half a million leading policy makers, stakeholders in industry and other relevant individuals.

The articles in the Review act as both a blueprint for success and a template for reform.

The Prime Minister commented that ‘this year’s Parliamentary Review follows a significant year in British politics’ and this is reflected in the articles from leading journalists and best practice representatives alike.

The PM’s former cabinet colleague, Sir Eric Pickles, Chairman of the Review, said: “It has never been more important for government to hear the views of business and the public sector in a constructive forum. It is also a vital time to share best practice and progress.”

The Parliamentary Review’s Executive Director Daniel Yossman concurred, saying: “vatadvice.org and other hardworking organisations from across the country have come together to make the Review possible.

“Sharing knowledge and insight with both peers and government is essential work and I am delighted that this year’s Review will reach every corner of the British economy.

“It’s always a real joy to hear from policy makers who tell me that something they have read in the Review has had an effect on their thinking.

“It is my belief that innovation is contagious, if only it is given the platform to spread. It is the Review’s purpose to provide this platform and I am confident we are fulfilling it.”

An e-copy of The Parliamentary Review can be viewed at: http://www.theparliamentaryreview.co.uk/editions/ accountancy-and-financial-servies/accountancy-andfinancial-services

8 April 2018 connected

BCC:

Inflationary pressures beginning to ease Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), commented on the inflation statistics for January 2018, published by the Office for National Statistics.

“Inflation was unchanged in January, as a smaller rise in motor fuel prices helped to a keep a lid on overall UK price growth. The slowing growth in producer prices points to an easing of inflationary pressures further down the supply chain, which suggests that inflation is likely to drift downwards over the coming months.

“The path of inflation over the next year is likely to be determined by the extent to which more subdued UK economic growth is offset by inflationary pressure from rising global commodity prices. Against this backdrop, it remains probable that while inflation will continue to drift downwards, it’s likely to remain above the Bank of England’s two per cent inflation target for some time to come.

“Nonetheless, with inflation now on a downward trajectory, this should give the Bank of England enough wriggle room to keep interest rates on hold for longer than implied by the hawkish tone of their latest inflation report, particularly if economic conditions weaken as we expect.

“We would urge the MPC to proceed with caution on raising rates, to avoid dampening business activity and wider economic growth. More must also be done to kickstart business investment, including addressing the upfront cost of doing business in the UK.”

the power to

INFLUENCE

BOOK YOUR STAND AT THE 2018 MISSION POSSIBLE CAREERS SHOW Exhibitor bookings are now open for the East of England’s largest skills and careers event.

A record-breaking 6,000 visitors from 38 schools across the region attended in 2017, finding inspiration for their future careers in a fun and engaging atmosphere. The Mission Possible Careers Show 2018 will be held on Thursday 21 June, from 9.00am to 3.30pm, once again at the East of England Arena.

Targeted at 14-24 year olds, the event is organised by Opportunity Peterborough’s Skills Service team and aims to: • Showcase the wide range of businesses, sectors and opportunities on offer, both locally and beyond • Improve the aspirations of young people • Inform and inspire young people about different career paths • Enable businesses to fill skills gaps with talented young people from their local area.

Sector-specific exhibitor ‘zones’ help to guide the experience for visitors, with interactive exhibits and activities that provide a valuable insight into what it is like to work in different sectors. Sponsors are already confirmed for the ‘Creative’ and ‘STEM’ zones, but there are still many sponsorship opportunities available to enhance your organisation’s exposure to teachers and young people, ranging from sector zones to a careers zone or teacher zone.

As a result of the continued success and year on year growth of the event, shell scheme stands are being offered for the first time in order to improve the flow for visitors and provide a more professional setup for exhibitors. There is a small charge for exhibitors to cover the cost of the shell scheme, with prices starting at £300.00 (plus VAT) for a 3m x 3m stand.

Mandy Baker, from Manor Fresh Limited, exhibited last year and said afterwards: “The Careers Show provided

a unique platform to promote our work to schools across the region.”

Hannah Del Ponte, from The College of Osteopaths, also commented: “We left the event knowing we had spoken to many young people and potentially opened their eyes to a career they hadn’t considered before.”

Another key change for this year is the introduction of two hour pre-booked visitor slots for school groups to ensure a steady flow of students throughout the day and prevent any over-crowding. Schools from across the East of England have been invited and over 2,500 students have already confirmed their place.

For more information about the Mission Possible Careers Show, including full details of sponsorship and exhibitor packages and video highlights from last year, visit www.careersshow.co.uk.

Alternatively you can contact The Skills Service team on 01733 863696 or by email info@theskillsservice.co.uk.

connected April 2018 9

We’re your gateway to international trade, providing a unique combination of expert knowledge, essential documentation and the business connections needed to capitalise on new market opportunities overseas and succeed in a global marketplace.

Accredited Training in International Trade

BCC: UK’S TRADE POSITION WEAKENED BY RISE IN IMPORTS

The Chamber runs a rolling programme of training courses that culminate in the nationally-recognised Foundation Award in International Trade.

The courses provide the knowledge to assist with your international trade activities and you will receive detailed notes to take away to build up a toolkit of reference information.

Commenting on the trade statistics for December 2017, released by the ONS, Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: “The sharp deterioration in the UK’s net trade position in December was disappointing and means that trade is likely to have been a drag on UK growth in the final quarter of the year.

This deterioration reflects a significant increase in imports in the quarter, more than offsetting the rise in exports.

“Although there was a surprise pick-up in construction output, the sector remains a concern and together with the widening in the UK’s trade deficit and weakening industrial output indicates that economic conditions are becoming more

Rules of Origin: Preference and Non-preference Tuesday 10 April, 9.15am-5.00pm Let us explain the complex subject of origin which is essential to understand as the country in which a product is made can affect the import duty that is applicable. During this course we will examine the non-preferential rules for determining the country of origin of goods in accordance with the provisions of primary rules and residual rules. We’ll identify the preferential origin rules for your own specific products, in order to determine if they meet preference according to the relevant EU Free Trade Agreement.

Export Procedures and Documentation Tuesday 24 April, 9.15am-5.00pm This one-day course provides an indepth exploration into the procedures and documentation you will need to be aware of if your business is to make a success of exporting. The new Customs Law, the Union Customs Code, and how this affects EU trade and exports out of the EU will be looked at.

Cost per course: £250.00 (plus VAT) Chamber members, £300.00 (plus VAT) non-Chamber members.

Venue: Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce, 6 The Forum, Minerva Business Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, PE2 6FT Full course outlines can be found at www.cambridgeshirechamber.co.uk To book, please call Jenni Misseldine on 01223 209810 or email j.misseldine@cambscci.co.uk

10 April 2018 connected

Help us shape the agenda for our Global Business Network events Each month we invite a guest speaker to our Global Business Network event. We would like to know what our exporters and potential exporters want to hear about.

If you have a suggested topic or would like to share your international expertise please contact Helen Bosett at h.bosett@cambscci.co.uk

sluggish. While many exporters are benefiting from stronger growth in key trading markets, imports continue to grow at a solid pace with businesses continuing to report little in the way of import substitution despite their high cost. If this trend continues as we expect, the contribution of net trade to UK GDP growth over the near term is likely to be limited at best.

“As we move through the Brexit process more needs to be done to provide clarity on what the future trading relationship with the EU will look like. Action is also needed to address the longstanding issues, from the UK’s skills gap to our creaking digital and physical infrastructure, that continue to undermine the UK’s trade performance.”

Future event dates: Tuesday 24 April Tuesday 22 May Tuesday 26 June Tuesday 24 July

ber Tuesday 25 Septem r Tuesday 30 Octobe ber Tuesday 27 Novem at These events take place ridge mb Ca in e The Moller Centr from 5.00-7.00pm.

extend your

GLOBAL REACH

CAMBRIDGESHIRE CHAMBER

GLOBAL AWARDS GLOBAL AWARDS 2018 A series of awards that recognise Chamber members that have achieved success in overseas markets will be open for entry on Monday 9 April. The four Global Awards will be presented to members at a Global Leaders Lunch taking place in June.

Global offers In addition to the many services we offer to help exporters maintain their competitive edge in the international marketplace, members also have access to exclusive offers provided by third parties.

Chamber Foreign Exchange Moneycorp can save your business money by creating a foreign exchange strategy tailored to your business needs.

Highly competitive exchange rates, low or no fees, free online currency accounts plus access to Moneycorp online, a webbased for making payments and trading foreign exchange.

Find out more at www.moneycorp.com/chamberfx.

Chamber Credit Insurance Chamber Credit Insurance helps protect your business from bad debts and late payments, and supports you when invoices are not paid. You’ll also minimise the risk when exploring new markets and gain access to market expertise from Euler Hermes, the world’s largest credit insurer.

Find out more at www.chambercreditinsurance.co.uk.

The categories are: Award for International Service Provider Recognising organisations that provide a service to assist and support companies trading internationally. Entrants for this award must show how their input has contributed to their customer achieving international success.

Award for Achievement in New Markets If you’ve taken innovative steps to achieve success in new markets over the last 12 months, this award could be for you. We want to hear about how you identified and assessed the potential new market, the steps that you’ve taken to overcome challenges and ensure success and evidence of the effect it has had on your overall business.

Award for Overall Growth in Exports This award commends companies that have generated significant and sustained increases in their export activity over the last 12 months. Entrants must be able to demonstrate how they achieved growth, any barriers that were overcome and detail plans to sustain growth over the next 12 months.

New Exporter of the Year Open to companies that have started trading overseas in the last two years, our New Exporter award rewards the ability to identify the potential to break into new markets and the successful exploitation of the opportunities identified. Entrants must be able to clearly demonstrate a plan for future growth.

The awards will only be open to Chamber members – visit the Chamber website on 9 April to download your application form and submit your entry.

Sponsorship opportunity: we are looking for companies to sponsor the individual awards.

For further information please contact Helen Bosett at h.bosett @cambscci.co.uk or telephone 01223 209815.

connected April 2018 11

Chamber membership provides access to key information, expert advice and legal protection, enabling you to stay informed, legally compliant and free to focus on what you do best – building your business.

Chamber

HR This service offers access to advice on all HR related matters including discipline and grievance, apprentices, national living wage, absenteeism, disputes, recruitment, annual leave and legislation. An HR health check is also part of this service.

All of these services are underpinned by: • One advice line which gives you unlimited access to experienced, specialist advisors covering HR, employment law, legal, health & safety, tax and VAT. Call 01455 852037 • One website that offers a comprehensive library of over 750 documents that are free to download and can be customised to suit the needs of your business. Visit http:// chamber.cambs.qdoshr.com/qed/ These cover everything from employee recruitment to exit, legal documents and health & safety documents.

• Comprehensive legal expenses insurance which covers you for employment disputes, tax investigations, property disputes, data protection and more.

The Chamber is working in partnership with Qdos Consulting to provide these essential services to our members.

For further information on the benefits of Chamber membership, please contact Bren Coleman on 01223 209811 or email b.coleman @cambscci.co.uk

12 April 2018 connected

April 2018 sees pension contributions increases The Pensions Regulator offers their advice This April will see the start of increased pensions contributions for employers and their staff. The total minimum contribution will rise from two per cent to five per cent and then to eight per cent in April 2019.

Increasing minimum contributions should be a straight forward task for you to do but there are a number of checks you will need to make and we encourage you to start in good time. The Pensions Regulator has information alerting employers to what they need to do and pension providers are also providing employers and staff with information.

Tell staff about the changes While there is not a legal duty to tell staff about the Increase, we encourage employers to have information they need about their staff’s workplace pension and how it is changing. Our recent advertising campaign encourages staff to get to know their pension and appreciate its benefits and staff are likely to want to know about the changes.

It’s the law Nearly one million employers have now enrolled more than nine million people and staff now expect a workplace pension. Automatic enrolment is creating a new savings culture and the increase in contributions is an important part of the policy to boost retirement outcomes.

We know most employers want to do the right thing for their staff and we are here to help. However we will take action if an employer is not meeting their responisbilities. Failing to make and maintain the correct pensions contribuitons could result in a fine or court action.

It is not enough to just comply with automatic enrolment laws by putting staff into a scheme.

Employers must also meet their duties to contribute into their employees’ pensions every month and they must ensure they are paying in at least the minimum.

Pension providers have a duty

to tell us if an employer is not maintaining the correct contrbutions and staff can also use our anonymous whistleblowing service if they are concerned the correct payments are not being made.

Three things for employers to check 1) Will your payroll deduct the increases?

While many payroll providers may automate their software so contributions are increased automatically, employers should check if their payroll software will do this. Their payroll should be ready to deduct the increased contributions when they rise on 6 April 2018 and then again in April 2019, otherwise the right contributions might not be paid across to the scheme at the right time.

2) Is your pension scheme making the changes needed to support the increases?

Employers should also check their pension scheme is making necessary changes to support the increases and ensure they are continuing to use a qualifying scheme and the right amount of pension contributions are deducted. If an employer’s chosen pension scheme doesn’t support the increases, then they will need to talk to them about their options.

3) What are you currently contributing? You may not need to take action Employers and their staff can also choose to pay in more than the minimum contributions if they want to and employers who are already paying above the increased total minimum amounts need not take any further action.

Useful links Guidance for employers including a letter template to tell staff about the changes: www.tpr.gov.uk/increase For information relating to specific scheme rules, contact the pension scheme provider.

grow your

National Trust Register As a result of EU new anti-money laundering legislation introduced by the Government, a new compulsory National Trust Register has been introduced.

This places a legal obligation on trustees to register most trusts that have UK tax reporting obligations.

There can be civil and criminal penalties for failing to meet this requirement, but at the time of writing HM Revenue & Customs have not yet announced what the penalties will be, or when they will apply from. Although the online registration system has only recently been made ‘live’, all affected trusts are strictly required to register by 31 January 2018, a deadline that obviously won’t be met due to the lack of notice given and the delay in providing the online system. HMRC have however confirmed that penalties will not be applied provided that the

KNOWLEDGE

Register was completed by 5 March 2018.

More information about this new obligation can be found at www.gov.uk/trusts-taxes/ trustees-tax-responsibilities The registration process is quite onerous as you will need to provide full details of the settlor, trustees and beneficiaries under the trust, including in some cases details of assets settled into the trust. If you have appointed an agent such as your accountant to act for the trust, they can complete the process for you at a modest cost, dependent on the number of individuals involved and the ease of obtaining the myriad of personal details required.

Toni Hunter, George Hay

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory & Sales

Blue Donkey offer their advice By looking at the motivating and hygiene factors Herzberg identifies in his Two-Factor theory, we can see how salespeople can motivate a customer to buy a product from their business instead of from a competitor and how qualifiers can be used to seal the deal.

Hygiene factors in sales In his motivation theory, Herzberg discusses the need for hygiene factors to be present in order for motivation not to dip. These hygiene factors are basically essential provisions that all employees should expect to benefit from when in the workplace. These include things like adequate pay, safe working conditions and fair treatment from supervisors.

When you translate this theory to sales you can see that hygiene factors are essentially qualifiers – the features that

buyers expect to be present in a product or service. Although the presence of these qualifiers won’t necessarily help to push decision makers into buying from your business, if they’re not present, it could well put customers off. Understanding these qualifiers can influence and motivate your potential buyers, and working this theory clearly into your sales strategy, could help your business to improve the results of its telemarketing campaigns.

Motivators in sales Motivators complete Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory. It’s these extras that can help to motivate workers to push themselves that little bit harder, becoming more productive and more dedicated in the process. Motivating factors include recognition of achievements, fulfilling and meaningful

tasks and increased autonomy and independence in the workplace.

In sales, these motivating factors can be directly compared with Order Winners.

These little extras that help to make a product or service more compelling for the decision maker can easily swing a deal and can help the sales person to push the decision maker into a purchase.

If sales people know how to use these Order Winners correctly, and how to combine them with qualifiers, they should be able to make their calls more persuasive and encourage a higher number of decision makers to opt for their product or service.

Ensuring that sales people are familiar with Herzberg’s theory can help your team to hone its sales technique and become even more persuasive in the process.

connected April 2018 13

enhance your

PROTECTION

To access these services please visit the protection page on the Chamber website or call our membership team on 01223 237414.

CYBER ESSENTIALS

The Cyber Essentials Scheme is a badge which organisations can use to demonstrate to customers, partners, insurers and investors that they have taken set measures to help secure their information and operations.

Cyber Essentials (stage 1) The organisation defines the scope, which is made up of the systems that are exposed to the Internet. The organisation states its compliance with the requirements by responding to the Cyber Essentials questionnaire, which covers the requirements for basic technical protection from cyber-attacks.

To complete the process, an authorised signatory of the organisation signs the questionnaire attesting its accuracy. This is then sent to Redpalm Technology Services for review.

Cyber Essentials Plus (stage 2) Having completed Cyber Essentials stage 1, which is a prerequisite to Cyber Essentials Plus, an organisation may choose to undergo a more thorough assessment from Redpalm.

This time the assessment is based on an internal and external security assessment of servers and end-user devices. Once again this directly tests that individual controls have been implemented correctly and recreates various attack scenarios to determine whether a system compromise using basic capabilities can be achieved.

This service is provided by Redpalm Technology Services.

Visit the Protection section on the Chamber website to download the Cyber Essentials brochure.

14 April 2018 connected

HOW TO MAKE YOUR DATA SAFER IN 2018 Jonathan Swan, Operations and IT Director at Roythornes Solicitors, questions what can be done to ensure your customers’ data is protected.

Getting cyber security right should be a priority for all modern businesses, especially after a 2017 study by Oxford Economics found that cyber security breaches in the UK cost businesses investors £42bn.

There has been a fear about customer data protection within the legal sector for quite some time now, after several high-profile cases of ransomware attacks at major firms consecutively hit the headlines. It is estimated that the average FTSE 100 company is now £120m worse off after an incident it is therefore more imperative than ever to ensure that your customers’ data is protected from the offset.

It is also important to remember that whilst advancement in technological defences continues, so too does the ability of cyber criminals to take advantage of new or exposed vulnerabilities – the risk is ever changing.

At Roythornes we have been working hard on a ‘prevention is better than

the cure’ approach to cyber security and continue to implement measures intended to reduce the risks of security breaches including the use of cyber security experts to test systems, people and processes for weaknesses.

As a law firm, ensuring that our clients can trust us is critical to our business. Recently we achieved ISO27001 certification, the international standard for information security. This provides a management framework to help maintain and continuously improve the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our information systems.

We believe that having this certification will help further instil client confidence in us as a firm and provide a higher degree of assurance in the governance of our systems and client data.

2018 will also see GDPR come into effect from May meaning now is the time to ensure your systems are secured and compliant in their entirety. It’s important to have contingency plans in place and train staff to spot the tell-tale signs of a potential breach and ways to avoid them.

ask the

EXPERT

Chris Smith, Technical Director at Stamford Telephone Company, offers advice on mobile communications.

Do you provide staff with a business mobile phone?

Many organisations will still answer yes to this question and supply a business mobile phone to key staff. Feeling that this is the best way of allowing them to stay connected, away from the office, on a device that is paid for by the company.

However, these portable computers aren’t cheap with handsets, such as the latest iPhone 8, costing upwards of £699 to purchase and you still have to find a monthly call and data plan from one of the national operators in order to use it on the go. Many of these plans start at over £40.00 a month and whilst you do have the option to pay for the phone hardware within a contract there are a whole host of terms and conditions you will have to accept as well as being tied in for 18 months or more.

Contracts will therefore cost businesses in

Steve Crook, Managing Director of Ellgia, has been in the waste industry for over 30 year and understands the agility required to keep up with the recycling and waste environment.

Today we get to ask him how the current commodities in the recycling and waste markets are operating and how this

excess of £720.00 per member of staff; this operational cost can start to escalate when you multiply it by 10, 20, 30 or more staff.

Growth of VoIP IP based business telephone systems have evolved and improved considerably over the last few years; especially with improvements to business broadband solutions that have provided the necessary bandwidth to run converged voice and data services. Hosted voice leverages the convenience of adopting cloud technology and allows businesses to break free from the restrictions of buying ISDN lines; limiting the number of calls that can be received and sent at any one time.

Improvements in Mobile Broadband Alongside the development in VoIP there has been the growth of mobile telephony and mobile broadband. The increasing growth of Smart Phone usage has seen ‘apps’ become the most popular way users access technology on these pocket computers. The larger IP telephony solutions have an app that links the mobile phone with the business telephone system providing the user a convenient way to make business calls whilst on the move.

Adapting your business mobile policy!

Now, most staff will also have a personal mobile phone; one they have chosen

themselves, for whatever their reasons were at the time. As a business owner you don’t need to know what the reasoning was; but you can make your, and your staff, lives easier by allowing them to carry around one mobile phone and still cover the cost of their business phone calls in one simple way.

Make use of the technology at your disposal, make use of a business telephone app.

Moving to a Hosted System Moving to a hosted business telephone system, for example, you will already be benefiting from predictable monthly bills based around per user subscriptions that include minutes bundles. For less than a tenth of the price of a business mobile phone contract (assumes you use a compatible IP phone system) your business can add the mobile app subscription for remote, or home, workers and mobile staff such as the sales team.

If the cost savings weren’t enough of a reason to consider this change, there are a whole host of other benefits for your business. Simplify compliance with MiFID II and GDPR through control of call recording and corporate directory data and ensure that each of your staff always present a professional interface to customers and suppliers alike.

might change our recycling processes for businesses. Ellgia work with companies to divert waste away from landfill and to give them the best value for their recyclables and waste.

How can you see the industry changing and what is affecting this?

We have always adapted to the ever changing waste industry, from collection and management of waste, to finding sustainable outlets for recyclable material.

Historically, Europe and the UK were the major markets available for movement of materials, until the UK started to become more dependent on the Chinese market.

This contributed to under-investment in reprocessing capacity in the UK and a breakdown in some relationships with European repressors. Now China has tightened up on the quality and amount of recyclables they will accept, it has become difficult for some UK collectors to re-establish connections in Europe due to its absent business and the breakdown of infrastructure to process materials.

Ellgia has managed to maintain strong relationships with both the Chinese and European markets due to the segregation of high quality material streams, and therefore are well placed to maximise

the benefit of recycling or diversion from landfill. We have always traded on for a long-term sustainable future, passing on the short term gain. I believe that we have sustainable markets to be able to give a long term offering by guaranteeing high quality products.

Our customers have peace of mind that they can invest in segregation processes where they can benefit from the value of recycling and continued avoidance of expensive disposal routes.

What does it mean to have a ‘high quality product’?

Ensuring we have the highest quality materials will guarantee we are able to move and recycle these commodities, rather than traditional disposal routes. This is achieved by eliminating contamination and focusing on segregation at source of recycling products. Currently, we go to great lengths to process and segregate materials into single recyclate streams. These processes can become labour intensive and expensive, therefore, Ellgia work hard to with customers to look upstream in their processes for the best practice of enhancing quality product and source segregation, ensuring the highest level of environmental performance. connected April 2018 15

Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce 100 YEARS inspiring business success

Would you like to become a Chamber member?

Get in touch today to find out the many benefits.

Tel: 01223 237414 Email: enquiries@cambscci.co.uk

NEW MEMBERS this month BEES UK LTD BIBBY FINANCIAL SERVICES BRANT ASSOCIATES @BRANTASSOCIATES BUSY BEE RECRUITMENT LTD @BUSY-RECRUIT CAMBRIDGE CONSULTANTS LTD @CAMBCONSULTANTS CAMBRIDGE COUNTY POLO CLUB LTD CAMBRIDGE CYBER ADVISERS CAMBRIDGE WEB SOLUTIONS @CAMWEB EARLS & PEARLS GIRTON GOLF CLUB @GIRTONGOLFCLUB GWD PERFORMANCE LTD INSIGHT CORDLESS LIGHTING LTD @CORDLESSLAMPS MOTOR REPUBLIC PAYMENTSENSE @PAYMENTSENSE RUSSIAN TRANSLATION WORLD S G HAMILTON CONSULTING LTD SPIRE CAMBRIDGE LEA HOSPITAL @SPIRE_CAMBRIDGE WEB WORKS WELL 16 April 2018 connected

Chris Harris Wealth Management Ltd Chris Harris Wealth Management provides guidance to professionals, business owners, individuals and families to achieve their financial goals and aspirations, holistic financial evaluation for realistic financial solutions, extensive knowledge and expertise of over 25 years within the financial industry.

They value and respect the trust developed in their client’s relationships. www.chrisharriswm.co.uk

Girton Golf Club Girton Golf Club is a thriving and dynamic private members club offering 18 holes of tight parkland golf, a friendly and cheerful clubhouse and a hi-tech swing studio. They welcome visitors, societies and corporate days and are open to new five and seven day members with active lady, senior, junior and social sections.

Great offers on lunches, coffees and cake to one and all. www.girtongolf.co.uk

Driving Recruiters Flying High It’s up up and away for HR GO Driving (Peterborough and Chatteris) with business growth, a new branch and charity skydiving.

The firm supplies qualified drivers for temporary, contract and permanent positions.

Last year, it grew business, opened the Chatteris office - and brave managers Jane Mallan, Roxanne Woolner and Robyn Aichinger raised £5,000 for local good causes by jumping from a great height. www.hrgo.co.uk

news from

NEW MEMBERS

Web Works Well Web Works Well provide a full range of cost-effective digital services, including websites, graphic design, digital and video marketing, social media, SEO and PPC. www.WebWorksWell.com focus on

effective websites and can improve existing websites as well as designing from scratch, saving their customers £1000’s.

You can see if your current website needs work by visiting www.Web WorksWell.com/free-web-test

MADE AGENCY made is your creative marketing partner. With studios in the heart of Cambridge and Norwich, they have been creating digital and printed design solutions since 2007. Their unique culture has not only attracted a team of highly skilled experts, but brilliant and innovative clients alike. www.madeagency.co.uk

Metro Rod Cambridge Based in Ely, Metro Rod Cambridge provides drain care and repair services to both commercial and domestic customers. They provides CCTV surveys, 24/7/365 a year emergency drain unblocking, septic tank emptying, tankering services, drain and pipe lining and rehabilitation, gutter clearances, and high pressure water jetting. www.metrorod.co.uk/cambridge

connected April 2018 17

DONATION TO CHARITY During our centenary year we were delighted that Chamber members helped us to support our charity members. During the year we promoted our charities at all our key events and raised money through generous donations of gifts as prizes at each of them. We

are delighted to give each charity member a cheque for £100.00 as their share from the proceeds.

Going forward we will continue to promote charity news and events within ‘connected’ and on our website alongside our new Charity of the Year.

On the lookout for a charity challenge?

Sign up to a 10K for Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie hospitals hoohaah running events is teaming up with ACT this year to host several multi-terrain running events in trail tracks, fields and woodlands across Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk. All experienced or budding runners are invited to take part to help support patient care at Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie hospitals.

Sunday 29 April 2018 Childerley Estate 10k, Cambridgeshire - £19.00 Sunday 20 May 2018 Barr Ellison Wimpole 10k, Cambridgeshire - £19.00 Sunday 10 June - Hatfield Forest 10k, Essex - £19.00 Don’t forget to contact ACT to get your free race pack to support your fundraising for Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie hospitals.

18 April 2018 connected

Hannah Hodgson, one of the organisers of the hoohaah running events, said: “We are delighted to partner with Addenbroke’s Charitable Trust (ACT) this year.

This is a charity that funds high-tech equipment, specialist staff, extra comforts and vital research to find potential cures and help save lives.

They make a difference and we are going to help them.”

Can you help? We rely on a team of volunteers to put on these events and of course to encourage our runners and cheer them on! If you can volunteer at any of the 10k series running events hoohaah are offering a free entry to a different race in the 10k series.

For enquiries about taking part or volunteering in any of these events, please contact Emily Willdigg, Events Fundraiser at Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT) on 01223 349885, email emily.willdigg@ act4addenbrookes.org.uk or visit www.act4addenbrookes.org.uk.

Alan Hudson Day Treatment Centre rated as ‘Outstanding’

by CQC as it launches fundraising appeal The Alan Hudson Day Treatment Centre, which last year supported over 1,000 patients and their families living with a life-limiting illness or condition in Wisbech and the Fen, has been marked as outstanding in all five areas of its CQC inspection!

The Centre, an Arthur Rank Hospice service based at North Cambs Hospital, delivers care and support free of charge at the day centre, five days a week and also provides Hospice at Home, specialist clinical advice and support for family and carers.

Matron Michelle Knight, who leads the team of dedicated staff and volunteers at the Centre, said: “This is a fabulous accolade for the team; our programmes are tailored to meet the needs of each individual and we are delighted that we have received such wonderful comments. We must also recognise the part that Arthur Rank Hospice has played in this achievement: we are one of the many services run by the Hospice which serves the county of Cambridgeshire through its day centre here in Wisbech, the Hospice in South Cambridge and in people’s homes via the Arthur Rank Community Team. As part of the Arthur Rank Hospice team we have exceptionally high standards of care, expert experience behind us, and strong clinical scrutiny in all that we do.”

Some of the staff team at the Alan Hudson Day Treatment Centre in Wisbech

chamber supports

CHARITY

Romsey Mill is delighted to have been chosen as the Chamber Charity of the Year WHO WE ARE

Romsey Mill is a Cambridgeshire charity that creates opportunities with local young people, children and families.

As our name suggests, the charity was originally set up in Romsey, Cambridge, in 1980, but now works in several different areas of the county, including Peterborough.

Each year, we work with hundreds of people, including families needing support and guidance, and young people and children struggling at school or with changes in their lives.

Neil Perry, Romsey Mill’s Chief Executive, said: “The work of Romsey Mill is longterm, and relational. We walk alongside people to support them in their situation; we offer practical, specialist advice and help and work with them to create opportunities to learn new skills, grow in confidence and have hope for their future.”

He added: “We are spurred into action by the belief that every young person, every child and every family has wonderful ability and possibility and we work with them to help them thrive. No young child or young person’s current situation should dictate their future - and we are committed to helping them to be all that they can be.”

Romsey Mill has 40 full and part-time staff and over 100 regular volunteers who work across several different programme areas:

We look forward to partnering with you over the next 12 months and sharing stories about the transformation we see in young lives and within our community.

EARLY YEARS

Effective parenting and good early years provision have a significant bearing on a child’s development.

Through our pre-school provision we encourage children’s development and education in their early years and provide information, advice and support to parents of under 5s, addressing the isolation many experience; promote healthy living and effective parenting.

ASPIRE

YOUNG PARENTS

Having a baby can bring joy, laughter and new perspectives… accompanied by sleepless nights, lack of confidence and feelings of isolation.

Romsey Mill is the lead response in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire for teenage mums and young dads up to 25 years. We provide expert personal, educational and parenting support, equipping young parents and their children for a positive future.

Children and young people with autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) are brave, brilliant, creative, funny and amazing. But the challenges they face mean that they need extra support and understanding to reach their potential. Our autismspecific youth clubs provide a safe, supportive, sensory-friendly environment for them to be themselves, grow in confidence about who they are and begin to flourish as young adults who have a unique and essential contribution to make to the world.

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

Every young person has potential, but without a stable home and the right influences it is easy to go off track and lose direction. We engage with some of the most disadvantaged, isolated and at risk young people; through our youth clubs and positive activities, such as music and sport.

We help them to grow into their potential by developing skills, self-esteem and confidence and raise their aspirations, enabling them to be ready for further training or work, and to make a positive contribution to their community.

“Romsey Mill supported me through a difficult time in my life—and helped me find a level path to follow. They also opened me up to a new world of education and employment opportunities by helping me find an interest that I can work towards.”

Romsey Mill: Tel: 01223 213162 or email info@romseymill.org www.romseymill.org / Twitter / Facebook / Instagram: romseymill

Registered Charity (No.: 1069905) / Company Limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales (No. 03556721)

connected April 2018 19

business talk with

MATTHEW GOODING

Cambridge-Oxford ‘expressway’ I recently had the pleasure of spending half an hour in the company of CBI director general Carolyn Fairbairn, where we covered topics including productivity, the skills shortage, Brexit (obviously) and the so-called Cambridge-Oxford ‘expressway’.

This scheme, which has apparently been championed by the CBI for some time, would see new road and rail links between the two cities, with new homes being built along the route. It has been recommended to Government by the National Infrastructure Commission, though with an accompanying price tag of £7bn it’s certainly not a slam-dunk.

Fairbairn is in no doubt that development of the so-called ‘brain belt’ would be good for our companies, especially with potentially choppy waters on the horizon for firms when we exit the European Union.

“It’s absolutely vital for businesses,” she said. “With the skills and labour shortages in the region it’s important to make it as easy as possible to move things and people around.

It would increase the catchment area, particularly for small businesses, dramatically.

“The importance of the Cambridge-Oxford link was identified by the CBI some time ago. Today we celebrated with our members that the A14 is getting upgraded, and now we must make this a priority.”

I’ve always found the idea of linking Cambridge and Oxford more closely an interesting one, because in my limited experience the synergy between the two cities is minimal. Obviously when it comes to academia there is a lot of close collaboration, but beyond having half-decent universities in common we’re very different places, and most businesses I speak to tend to look to the corridor between Cambridge and London for growth opportunities.

But perhaps that’s the point, and improved transport links would lead to more chances for companies to work together. And certainly anything that enables more homes to be built – providing suitable green or brown-field sites can be found – would be welcome given the lack of affordable housing in this area.

It is hoped the expressway could be up and running by 2023, and though this may be a bit optimistic, there certainly seems to be the will on all sides to make the project happen.

Matthew Gooding is Business Correspondent of Cambridge Business magazine, produced by Cambridge News & Media, which this year scooped the Santander SME/Enterprise Title of the Year for an unprecedented third consecutive year.

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Hassle free payroll and HR data management GET IN TOUCH 20 April 2018 connected

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news from

ELY CHAMBER

King’s Ely teacher Ordnance Survey GetOutside Champion A teacher at King’s Ely Junior will be encouraging people to get more active alongside the likes of Ben Fogle and Sean Conway.

Alan Parkinson, who is Head of Geography at King’s Ely Junior, is one of only a few people from across the UK to be selected as an Ordnance Survey GetOutside Champion for 2018/19.

More than 750 people applied for the role and the chosen group have been drawn from different walks of life to represent a diverse group of age, gender and ability. They include TV presenter Ben Fogle, several Everest summiteers, walkers, Paralympic athletes, writers and endurance athletes such as Sean Conway.

Two start-ups combine forces to develop autonomy for lightweight vehicles Cambridge Electric Transport (CET) and Robik AI have formed a partnership to develop and test autonomous operation capabilities for lightweight vehicles.

CET is developing the lightweight electric CitiPod as an urban transport solution to eliminate carbon emissions in cities and reduce traffic congestion. Robik specialises in developing autonomous driving software for lightweight delivery vehicles.

Announcing the partnership, Peter Dawe, CET Co-founder and Chairman, welcomed the opportunity to work with Robik. “There is a natural fit between us in terms of our common focus on lightweight vehicles, as well as our vision to get large vehicles out of our cities with their dangerous carbon and particulate emissions. The billions being poured into the development of electric cars, with or without autonomy, will not solve our urban transport problems. By focussing on low-cost, lightweight electric vehicles we will meet this challenge.”

CET is planning to deploy an initial test fleet of 150 CitiPods in Cambridgeshire, Milton Keynes and Oxfordshire, some of which will be fitted with Robik’s technology to perform limited autonomous services, starting with crawling at a low speed to parking areas once a passenger reaches their destination.

Alan said: “The GetOutside initiative is core to Ordnance Survey’s aims to help more people to get outside more often: inspiring adventures, enabling experiences and helping make memories. It’s also about making use of Ordnance Survey’s wonderful maps, whether in paper form or using the new digital maps and smartphone apps.

“The GetOutside initiative is partly a response to growing levels of obesity, including amongst children. Sedentary lifestyles affect people’s mental and physical health. Finding the time to get outside is not always easy and I will be working with a number of organisations and within the school, to encourage more time to be spent outside.”

Metro Rod (Cambridge) support Ely Hero Awards

Last year was Ely’s inaugural community event – Ely Hero Awards and local Drain Care and Repair Company, Metro Rod (Cambridge), based in the city is very proud to bring back the event this year together with their media partner The Ely Standard, part of The Archant Group of Newspapers and very kindly supported by The Elyi Magazine.

The search is on for individuals to nominate their rather special ‘Hero’ who lives or works in Ely and the surrounding villages within a 10-mile radius. Judges will shortlist three nominations and these finalists will be invited to the exclusive Award Ceremony at The Maltings on 25 June where the winner of each category will be announced and crowned.

So many of Ely’s local businesses pledged support and without them this

event would not be possible.

Metro Rod (Cambridge) said: “Last year we were overwhelmed by the success of this event and the very generous support of local business was incredible. The event shone a light on our fabulous local heroes and we are very excited to discover many more this year. Ely is such a vibrant city, the individuals in it make it very special, we feel these individuals should be rewarded, encouraged and celebrated.

Metro Rod (Cambridge) is very honoured and proud to be organising Ely Hero Awards. We wholeheartedly encourage everyone to nominate their ‘Hero’ in one of the categories, it makes people feel so special to be thought of and nominated.”

Nominations can be made via the website www.elyheroawards.org.uk.

Do you have some exciting news to shout about that could be featured on this page? Get in touch. tel: 01223 237414

email: s.parr@cambscci.co.uk

connected April 2018 21

All that glitters is gold!

Conscious Communications has been awarded Gold by Investors in People (IIP) – the UK’s leading accreditor for business improvement through people management in the UK – a level that organisations of its size are rarely awarded.

The agency sought re-assessment against the IIP standards in January 2018 after having achieved Bronze accreditation for the previous three years.

To achieve IIP accreditation, organisations are assessed against particular indicators and, dependent on how highly an organisation scores against each indicator, IIP awards the appropriate IIP level. The levels represent the organisation’s level

of ‘maturity’, from a fundamental ‘developed’ level to a ‘high performing’ level.

Alison Taylor, Managing Director at Conscious Communications, said: “It is a real credit to a business of our size to be awarded the IIP Gold accreditation.

Our team operates on the basis that ‘it’s not just what we do that is important; it’s how we do it’. The success of Conscious Communications is down to the team’s hard work and dedication - from our pledge to go above and beyond for our clients, to the voluntary work that we undertake and our respect for each other, our clients, the environment and local communities.”

Luke is the public’s winner in cycleways logo competition

Talented art student Luke Nash will see his work used across the county after winning a competition to design a logo for the £10 million Greenways cycle project.

Luke, 18, who is studying visual communication at Cambridge Regional College, was a clear winner after the public voted for his green leaf design to feature on cycleway signs throughout the network – one of the most ambitious cycling initiatives in Cambridgeshire.

More than 50 Cambridge Regional College students took part in the logo competition after being offered the opportunity by the Greater Cambridge Partnership.

CRC lecturer Abner Fraser said: “The process has been very exciting and tough for the students because they have had 22 April 2018 connected

to deal with a lot of variants within the design. The standard of the competition was fantastic – about 150 logos were entered and they were all of a very high standard.”

Luke’s logo will be displayed on all Cambridge Greenways branding and signs across the Greater Cambridge area as a way-finding tool for cyclists, walkers and horseriders using the network. Luke won a fitness tracker courtesy of competition sponsors Travel4Cambridgeshire, with five runners-up winning vouchers.

The Greenways aim to increase levels of cycling and walking, reduce congestion and help to improve the health of the Greater Cambridge population. The first 12 routes are currently being worked on, with potentially more to come in the second phase.

Further accolade for Cambridge rail station redevelopment Cambridge rail station’s £4 million redevelopment has been shortlisted for another award - for ‘Stations and Integrated Transport Excellence’ at the Rail Business Awards.

The latest nomination comes after train operator, Greater Anglia, carried out a £4 million transformation in partnership with Network Rail, Brookgate, Cambridge City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council, as part of the CB1 development project.

Mike Barry, Greater Anglia’s Area Customer Service Manager for Cambridge, said: “It’s great to see the transformation of Cambridge station, with its major benefits for passengers, so widely recognised.

“The redevelopment is definitely helping to make our customers’ lives a little easier in terms of accessibility, the ease of buying tickets, information provision, better waiting facilities and improved integrated transport arrangements, such as the impressive Cycle Point.”

The latest award nomination comes after Cambridge was crowned ‘Station of the Year’ at the National Transport Awards and ‘Large Station of the Year’ at the National Rail Awards.

news from

Sue Cartwright joins KISS KISS has continued to expand its senior management experience with the appointment of Sue Cartwright as Account Director.

Sue joins the team with 16 years of extensive experience to manage various new business wins.

Sue said: “I’m delighted to have joined KISS and to have the opportunity to work with brands that are changing the world. The science, technology and education sectors

CAMBRIDGE & SOUTH CAMBS CHAMBER

are all undergoing big shifts at the moment, making a strategic approach to communications more important than ever. This is something I’m committed to executing in the best possible way for our clients.”

Sarah Reakes, Managing Director at KISS, commented: “Sue’s wealth of knowledge makes her a perfect fit as Account Director - her experience in strategy is going to be vital as we look to continue growing and improving our offering for clients moving forward. She’s settled into the team instantly, and we’re hugely excited by what she brings to the table.”

The Cambridge Building Society chooses Prudential Financial Planning for protection advice The agreement with the Society – which has 13 branches and 130,000 members - will give its mortgage customers access to financial planning and advice services from Prudential.

Prudential Financial Planning will advise on protection requirements, and additionally provide investment, pension and retirement planning on customer request. The service will be primarily telephone-based while faceto-face meetings will be arranged when required.

Andy Lucas, Chief Operating Officer at the Cambridge Building Society, said: “We see Prudential Financial Planning as an excellent partner for us. They place customers at the heart of how they operate and like ourselves are dedicated to finding the right solution for the customers’ needs.

“They are a trusted nationwide brand recognisable to everyone and we are confident that they will work

hard with our members to get the most out of their financial planning needs and be able to face the future with confidence and increased security.”

Chris Haines, Chief Executive of Prudential Financial Planning, said: “I’m delighted that the Cambridge Building Society has chosen Prudential Financial Planning to advise its members; it highlights how the industry recognises the high-quality service we can provide. This is a significant and exciting development for us.

“Buying a home and taking out a mortgage is one of the biggest financial decisions people make and it is important they consider their protection needs, particularly if they have dependants. Prudential Financial Planning will be able to help members of the Cambridge Building Society pick the cover that best meets their needs and also advise on retirement planning if needed.”

The ONE Group Ltd launch new website Designed with a newer, fresher look the website now provides users with enhanced navigation, seamless user journeys and an effortless application eRegistration process. Enabling quick and easy access to a wide range of jobs, blogs and an ever-growing events calendar.

Whether you are just starting out

Murray Edwards strengthens events team Murray Edwards College has appointed Molly-Rose Galloway as Events Assistant, with responsibility for all the internal bookings for students, Fellows and staff, as well as helping with the day-to-day running of the busy department.

Molly took up her new role at the beginning of 2018, moving from the college’s catering department where she worked as a Trainee Supervisor.

Molly says: “I enjoyed my previous role but was keen to move into the Events Team as I have always loved organising things! I particularly enjoy arranging dinners, covering all aspects of the event from the room layout to choosing the menu and drinks. It’s very satisfying to be involved from the initial idea to the event itself.”

Chris Pope, General Manager of Conferences, Catering and Residences added: “We are delighted to welcome Molly to the team. Her previous experience within our Catering Department is very valuable and will play a key role in building on our successful track record which includes a very high rate of repeat business.”

in your career or are a seasoned professional, theonegroup.co.uk aims to become a career hub, providing value beyond the everyday recruiter.

Tristan Drane, Managing Director at The ONE Group, commented: “Whilst a new website can be seen as another digital tool disconnecting you from reality, we have attempted to put our people back to the forefront of the job search, providing not only the latest jobs, but we hope great value and insight into the regions’ employment and learning opportunities.” connected April 2018 23

Send us your photos each month and we’ll include the best of the bunch! Email images direct to s.parr@cambscci.co.uk

Bridge the Skills Gap The latest Peterborough Construction Networking Lunch took place at Greater Peterborough University Technical College where the college explained the work they are doing to bridge the skills gap in the build, environment and engineering sectors.

RECORD NUMBERS FOR INFORMAL NETWORKING Our Huntingdon informal networking evening moved venues in February to St Ives (Hunts) Golf Club and was attended by just shy of 30 businesses.

HAINES WATTS SUPPORTS THE TRUSSELL TRUST

What a night! Another incredibly successful informal networking event, this time in the heart of Cambridge at Metro Bank with 40 business people attending. Huge thanks to our hosts for their amazing hospitality.

Over 30 businesses turned out for our informal at Poets House in Ely for networking and a presentation

by Naomi Sherwood from Metro Rod Cambridge about Ely Hero Awards.

24 April 2018 connected

In the run up to the festive season, staff from 45 Haines Watts offices collected edible and non-food items for local foodbanks to help people living in food poverty.

Haines Watts Peterborough City office were delighted to be able to support the local Peterborough Foodbank, by donating with the support of staff, clients and friends. They collected a fantastic 178.9kg!

it’s happening

OUT & ABOUT

Hospice thanks Cambridgeshire’s Freemasons for ‘steadfast support’ Arthur Rank Hospice is thanking Cambridgeshire’s Freemasons and everyone who voted for the Hospice to receive funds during the Masonic Charitable Foundation Awards (MCF Awards). The county’s Masonic Lodges have contributed an astounding £219,745 towards the Hospice’s state-ofthe-art home since fundraising for the project began; with a further £17,080 – which includes £15,000 donated thanks to the public’s vote for the MCF Awards – gifted towards the Hospice’s general running costs in 2017.

GREATER ANGLIA’S RECRUITMENT TEAM CELEBRATE DOUBLE AWARDS VICTORY The team responsible for recruiting new people to work at Greater Anglia is celebrating after scooping two national awards, beating blue chip opposition.

The recruitment team, based in Stratford, picked up the Gold award for Onboarding Programme of the Year at The Learning Awards 2018 and were awarded Best Candidate Experience at the RAD Awards.

MICK GEORGE COLLECT COLLABORATIVE WORKING AWARD Recently, 114 passionate and focused leaders from the supply chain partnership involved in delivering the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon road improvement scheme, came together to celebrate the IDT’s ‘Leadership Forum and Annual Supply Chain Values Awards 2017’.

connected April 2018 25

news from

FENLAND CHAMBER

CWA signs SDG Accord CWA principal David Pomfret has just signed the SDG Accord on behalf of CWA. The SDC Accord is the university and college sector’s collective response to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Sustainable Development Goals are a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations. The Goals cover a broad range of social, economic and environmental development issues, including poverty, hunger, health, education, climate change, gender equality, water, sanitation, energy, environment and social justice. There are 169 targets to achieve by 2030 and they were developed to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which ended in 2015.

The purpose of the SDG Accord is to

inspire, celebrate and advance the critical role that education has in delivering the SDGs and the value it brings to governments, business and wider society.

The SDG Accord is a commitment learning institutions are making to one another to do more to deliver the goals, to

annually report on each signatory’s progress, and to do so in ways which share the learning with each other both nationally and internationally. An objective is that sector SDG reporting metrics will be presented at the annual UN High Level Political Forum.

The Duke of York continues to support business and entrepreneurship The Duke of York, founder of Pitch@Palace and a keen supporter of entrepreneurship, made a return visit to Nwes’ flagship King’s Lynn Innovation Centre (KLIC).

KLIC offers long-awaited state-of-the-art commercial workspace, business support, access to finance, and business events to start-up and growing businesses in West Norfolk. The visit to KLIC is another example of how His Royal Highness continues to engage with those providing programmes and schemes to facilitate the growth of smaller entrepreneurial ventures and companies, including accelerators and incubators. The Duke of York was impressed to learn of the growth of Nwes itself since his visit in March 2017. The organisation has fully integrated into the London market and more recently expanded to cover East Midlands.

Pitch@Palace works with entrepreneurs to support the amplification and acceleration of their activities and engages with a broad range of organisations who share his passion to support business growth.

Founded by His Royal Highness in 2014, Pitch@Palace recognises the profound role that entrepreneurship is playing, and will continue to play in the future of the United Kingdom and global economy. The programme gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to meet the people who can help make their business dreams become a reality.

Nwes client Sarah Mintey of Developing Experts, an Alumni of Pitch@Palace, has benefitted from great networking opportunities and has raised substantial financial investment into her company as a result.

During his visit The Duke of York dropped in to the First Steps to Start-up workshop, delivered by Nwes Business Advisor Richard Voisey.

Richard said: “It was great that His Royal Highness saw the benefits of entrepreneurs being able to come together to share experiences in the early stages of their start-up businesses.”

His Royal Highness took time to speak to the workshop attendees and KLIC tenants to learn about their business and how Nwes was providing them with the support to grow. The Duke particularly noted the importance of Nwes’ events to provide a business community, such as that within the KLIC environment.

Do you have some exciting news to shout about that could be featured on this page? Get in touch.

Tel: 01223 237414 email: s.parr@cambscci.co.uk connected April 2018 27

news from

HUNTINGDONSHIRE CHAMBER

Webtec recognises young talented engineer with Arkwright Scholarship Webtec have announced sixth-former George Cheeld as this year’s recipient of the Roy Cuthbert Scholarship.

This award, part of the wider UK Arkwright Engineering Scholarship Scheme, was named after Webtec’s founder, a passionate engineer and entrepreneur who passed away in 2013.

The Arkwright Engineering Scholarships act as a beacon to the most talented STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) students in the UK schools and help to ensure that high-potential young people stay engaged in the engineering careers pipeline, in the critical 16-18 age range.

The Scholarships are supported by more than 200 different sponsoring organisations including commercial and industrial companies, Universities, Government and trade organisations.

The successful scholars receive their awards at the annual ceremony which takes place at the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Webtec recognises the importance of encouraging young talent in engineering and in addition to the Arkwright Scholarships the company also actively supports other programmes including the Secondary Engineer® Fluid Power Challenge and the Engineering Education Scheme (EES).

“It is so important to nurture the engineering talent that our

Housing Associations in Cambridgeshire set to build

40,000 homes

Luminus is moving ahead with our aspiration to build 1,000 high quality affordable homes in the region. Working in partnership with 14 other housing associations and the National Housing Federation we are part of a new group called Homes for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough (HCP).

We will work together with the Mayor of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority to ramp up the provision of new homes. Our offer, with the other Housing Associations, to the Combined Authority is to work collaboratively to build 40,000 additional affordable homes in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough over the next 20 years. This will be an investment of some £4 billion!

young people have and schemes such as the Arkwright scholarships help to recognise this home grown talent which is so crucial to the future of our industry,” commented Webtec’s Managing Director, Martin Cuthbert. “We are looking forward to welcoming George to Webtec and to encourage the passion that he has for a future in engineering.”

From l to r : Mark Ward, Webtec, presenting the Roy Cuthbert Scholarship award to George Cheeld

Mick George awarded PAS 402 accreditation Following the required two-day audit to validate reported landfill diversion data, conducted by an independent UKAS accredited inspection body, Mick George Ltd were awarded PAS 402:2013 certification in February 2018.

PAS 402:2013 provides a specification for performance reporting that can be adopted by waste management organisations. The certification provides a strong indication of the environmental credentials of a business, demonstrating proficiency in material recovery for prospective and existing clients, as well as more general best practice in quality, policies and relevant health and safety matters.

Neil Johnson, Technical Waste Director

at Mick George Ltd, commented: “100 million tonnes of Construction waste is accumulated each year, with significant amounts – up to 30 per cent, ending up in landfill. For Mick George Ltd to be able to demonstrate significant diversion rates through the scheme, highlights not only the company’s efforts and investment in improving service levels for our clients, but on a wider scale, contributing towards improving the state of the environment.

“The growing number of high-profile organisations utilising Mick George Ltd for their waste management requirements is a testament to the quality of service we provide but the company will undoubtedly benefit further having achieved PAS 402 certification.”

Do you have some exciting news to shout about that could be featured on this page? Get in touch. tel: 01223 237414 email: s.parr@cambscci.co.uk connected April 2018 29

Do you have some exciting news to shout about that could be featured on this page?

Get in touch. Tel: 01223 237414 email: s.parr@cambscci.co.uk

GROW YOUR NETWORK Grow Kitchen + Bar and Business Lounge now have an alcohol licence so if you’re looking for a venue for your next networking event, visit Grow which is located on the top floor of Allia Future Business Centre Peterborough. We are now stocking social enterprise beers and Fairtrade wines and spirits which are a perfect accompaniment to the delicious locally sourced

catering packages on offer!

The Grow Business Lounge is a professional space for Peterborough’s business community.

Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce members are welcome to use the facilities. You can park for free, use the gigabit Wi-Fi and be inspired by the space. Its a perfect place to meet clients for lunch, catch up over fresh Fairtrade coffee, or just plug in and work. Drop in you’ll be very welcome!

Venue ties the knot with Monsoon Group

The East of England Arena and Events Centre (EEAEC) has announced that Asian event management specialist Monsoon, is to market, manage and deliver all Asian events at the venue.

Monsoon Managing Director, Pav Shergill said: “East of England Arena and Events Centre is well placed demographically, and has the facilities required to deliver a large event like an Asian wedding with 500 guests. The venue spaces themselves are versatile and neutral. With a predominantly regional customer 30 April 2018 connected

base, the Arena’s ease of road access and plentiful free parking is an important advantage too.”

Dean Rees, EEAEC’s Business Development Manager, added: “We became aware of Monsoon’s success with Asian events through our agreement with Amadeus, and it’s clear from Monsoon’s detailed analysis that there is a great potential in hosting Asian events at our venue. Monsoon has offered us the opportunity to flow new events around our core event calendar, and develop our Asian market offering overall.”

New CEO plans bright future for Buckles Solicitors Law firm Buckles Solicitors LLP is set to appoint its first ever CEO, as the firm goes from strength to strength.

Duncan Jackson, currently head of Buckles’ London office, officially steps up to the role in April 2018 and is relishing the task ahead.

Duncan said: “I’m really looking forward to the challenge. We have exciting plans in place to build on the recent achievements of the firm and there are many significant projects in the pipeline.

“Buckles has established a strong market position in Peterborough and we are looking to expand further through the development of our existing offices in Nottingham and London, and our new Cambridge office.

We will also be looking at other geographic areas to facilitate future growth.”

His success in establishing operations at Stamford was soon followed by a return to Buckles Peterborough office as head of the Private Client department in 2006. Serving in the position for 10 years, Duncan was instrumental in helping the department increase in size by 360 per cent and establish itself as one of the biggest departments of its kind in the region.

news from

PETERBOROUGH CHAMBER

IPM Global Mobility appoints new Head of Nordic Region

Partner of the Year 2018

IPM Global Mobility (Scandinavia) ApS is delighted to announce the appointment of Lone Skriver as Head of Nordic Region for Scandinavia.

In welcoming Lone, Alan Bentley, Executive Chairman, said: “I am delighted that Lone has joined IPM as Head of Nordics Region. Lone is a highly experienced and influential Manager having previously worked with Grundfos, Vestas and Siemens and has significant international experience. Lone’s appointment further strengthens IPM’s representation and commitment to the Region. Everyone at IPM welcomes Lone who will make a strong contribution to our ambitious growth plans as well as adding strength to the Senior Management team.”

Cyber security specialist Pentesec has been awarded European Partner of the Year 2018 by Check Point Software Technology through implementation of Check Point technology, maintained levels of world class expertise and first-class customer service in keeping with their Check Point 4-Star Elite status.

Pentesec’s Managing Director Ian Turnbull and Technical Director Stephen Bourike accepted the award at a ceremony which took place at Barcelona’s International Convention Centre.

The award required Pentesec to demonstrate that growth has been achieved through partnership with Check Point’s technology and through a focus on knowledge,

collaboration and education.

Ian Turnbull, Managing Director at Pentesec, said: “It’s been wonderful to receive such recognition at an event of this calibre. Our partnership with Check Point is an essential element of our business and has contributed greatly to our growth over the past three years, so we feel extremely proud to receive this award in recognition of our ongoing efforts and our commitment to cyber-security excellence. Pentesec has doubled its customer numbers in the last year alone and we want to continue this trend. We will always endeavour to be at the cutting-edge of emerging technology, finding new solutions to protect our customers from the everincreasing threat of cyber-attack.”

Larkfleet Homes helps Spalding remember veterans’ sacrifice

Alwalton Hall celebrates first anniversary with a new hair and beauty offering

The Larkfleet Homes Community Fund has donated £1,001 to help design and build a memorial to commemorate those who served their country and were killed in the Second World War. There is currently no WWII memorial in Spalding. Veterans have had to resort to using the First World War Lutyens Memorial for military parades.

Commenting on the donation Larkfleet Homes CEO Karl Hick said: “Veterans deserve all our thoughts as we owe them a lot. We are very pleased to be helping such a noble cause.

“The sacrifices made by so many need to be remembered and this memorial will play a vital role in ensuring that this continues.”

The Larkfleet Homes Community Fund supports charitable projects that enhance or develop a local community.

The fund is part of a commitment to supporting the existing communities within which Larkfleet Homes and Allison Homes, both part of The Larkfleet Group of Companies, are developing new homes.

Spalding War Memorial needs to raise £60,000 to fund the design and building of the memorial. It has raised £10,000 from local people.

Alwalton Hall – the area’s newest beauty and wellness sanctuary – celebrates its first anniversary at the end of March and is already expanding its range of services.

The Hall – a stunning Georgian country house in Alwalton – provides a range of beauty and wellness treatments, and specialist skincare including the latest CACI non-surgical anti-ageing treatment.

“Our first year has flown by and the positive feedback from clients has been fantastic,” said Maggie Jones, the Hall’s co-owner and managing director.

Alwalton Hall offers individual treatments of half and full day pamper packages including lunch

or afternoon tea served in the dining room overlooking the five acres of stunning landscaped grounds.

“Our first anniversary will also mark the opening of our new hair salon.

“We’ve transformed what used to be the Hall’s stables to create a hair salon with the same luxury feel as the rest of the beauty and wellness sanctuary.

“The new offering allows us to provide an all-in-one experience with hair and beauty treatments – perfect if you’re planning a special occasion or simply want to feel pampered,” added Maggie.

The hair salon will also be open to customers for their regular hair appointments.

connected April 2018 31

The perfect place for your life sciences business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A truly networked location, Norwich Research Park is home to 80 businesses and brings together 4 world-renowned institutes alongside the University of East Anglia and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with clinical trials facilities.

The Park offers world-class research facilities, a thriving life sciences community, cost-effective rent and it’s just an hour from Cambridge.

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Shared laboratory with access to shared equipment lab from £695 per month

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Home to life sciences

01603 673673 www.norwichresearchpark.com

news from

Roythornes assist in international food distributor move to larger premises Business growth and increased sales have led international food distributor Vitaal, part of the Nationwide Produce Group, to move part of its UK operations to larger premises in Worcestershire, in a deal overseen by Roythornes Solicitors.

The firm has invested £2 million in the purchase of Axis House - a former Wellpak warehouse on the Vale Park estate in Evesham - as well as in a small fleet of lorries and vans. This will soon become Vitaal’s central cold-storage, pallet-collations and distribution hub for the UK. Iain Hibbert, associate at Roythornes Solicitors, acted on the purchase of the premises for Nationwide Produce.

Tim O’Malley, group managing director at Nationwide Produce, said: “We’ve done many commercial property deals in UK and

abroad over the 44 years we’ve been in business, and I can honestly say this was the most difficult and tedious.

“Thanks to Iain’s tenacity and perseverance we finally managed to bring the deal to fruition - I’m glad we had Iain and Roythornes in our corner.”

Speaking of the deal, Iain said: “We were pleased to oversee this deal for Nationwide Produce Group, a firm with outstanding heritage which has seen great success in its field of operation.

Our specialisms in the property and food and drink sectors meant we were well placed to advise on the deal through to completion.

“We wish the team every success in their new premises and look forward to seeing the continued growth of the company over the coming months and years.”

Iain Hibbert

Do you have some exciting news to shout about that could be featured on this page? Get in touch. Tel: 01223 237414 email: s.parr@cambscci.co.uk

STAMFORD CHAMBER

CELEBRATING FOUR YEARS OF STRAWMAN

After a whirlwind four years that have included sharks in Manchester, drones over Loughborough and Italian gelato in America, Strawman is turning four this month.

The creative agency from Stamford has been through an incredible journey in that time - from regional handbag retailers, to national wool bedding, international beer brands to global crop nutrition specialists, Strawman has kept busy.

The production crew has filmed in glamorous locations such as Holland, Yorkshire, Manchester, Old Kentish Town, and just up the road.

The design team has created work for national and regional magazines, Manchester billboards, digital publications, packaging design, glassware, and social media content.

Strawman’s web developers dabbled in campaign sites and ecommerce platforms, for beer, bedding, art, and expert witness services.

But most importantly, a new office was found opposite one of the best cake shops in the country - very handy for a certain birthday coming up.

connected April 2018 33

The end of the world as we know it? he General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – which is being translated into UK law through the Data Protection Bill – is going to have a major impact on businesses in this country (and the rest of Europe).

The new rules come into effect on 25 May this year and will be enforced in the UK by the Information Commissioner’s Office which has powers to levy fines of up to £17 million.

Because GDPR is aimed at organisations’ use of ‘personal data’, there is a danger that companies will think it does not apply to them if they are not selling to consumers. That would be an error.

Anything which identifies an individual, or can be associated with an individual, is personal data. For example, a business email address linked to an individual is ‘personal data’ – the email address ‘joe.smith@xyz-company.co.uk’ identifies Joe Smith as an employee of xyz-company.

Importantly, GDPR does not just cover emails and marketing.

It covers all ‘personal data’ that businesses (and other organisations) handle. That includes things such as personnel records, CVs and job applications, customer records, emails and more. And it covers data not just on computers and IT systems but information held on paper, in filing cabinets, in card indexes – or anywhere else. Including on your mobile phone!

34 April 2018 connected

It is, however, easy to overstate the impact of GDPR. This is not the end of the world as we know it. The new legislation is mostly going to restate what is already either law or best practice.

A number of myths have grown up around GDPR – many of them peddled by organisations with a vested interest in selling products or services to solve problems that you may not actually have.

One of the most common myths is that GDPR requires you to have permission to contact people before you do so. This is simply not true.

What is true is that if you have a list of people – for whatever purpose and whether it is held on computer or in a little black book – you will be covered by GDPR. You need to have assessments in place to justify your possession of that list and your use of it. You must also have systems and procedures in place to keep it secure.

However, you don’t necessarily need to have permission (legally known as ‘informed consent’) to contact the people on that list.

For most companies there are three legal bases on which data can be collected, stored and used under GDPR in addition to informed consent. These are: 1. Contractual – if you need the data to fulfil a contract (eg, a name and delivery address) 2. To fulfil legal obligations – for example, recording details of accidents on site or demonstrating compliance with regulations 3. To pursue ‘legitimate interests’.

report from

MIKE HOLLAND

So, if your business relies upon email marketing, you would be well advised to ‘get ahead of the game’. You should ensure now that you can demonstrate valid permissions to use email addresses which you hold before the e-Privacy Regulation makes them useless to you.

Taken together, GDPR and e-Privacy will certainly provide some challenges to business. However, with good planning the challenges are not insurmountable.

It would, though, be prudent to get some good advice on an individual basis to ensure that your systems and processes comply with the new laws.

There are two other bases for permissible processing ‘vital interests’ (of the individual concerned) and ‘public task’ – but these are generally only relevant to organisations in the public sector.

For marketing purposes, ‘legitimate interest’ will permit collection and use of data if certain conditions are met.

Legitimate interest will also usually permit collection and use of data for HR purposes.

You need to conduct a ‘legitimate interest assessment’ for each set of data which you plan to use in this way. The Chamber can let you have a template of an assessment which you can use. Please contact Sadie Parr at s.parr@ cambscci.co.uk to obtain the template.

The assessment needs to balance the rights of the individual to privacy versus your need to breach that privacy by contacting them or holding data on them. The law says you have a ‘legitimate interest’ in doing that if it is ‘necessary for achieving your commercial or business objectives’.

With your HR records, your legitimate interest may be strong enough to override any objection an individual employee may have about you holding and handling the data. If you have a good reason for doing what you are doing, that may well be sufficient, regardless of consent.

For marketing purposes, your legitimate interest may be strong enough to justify making some initial contact without prior consent. However, if the individual concerned (whether that is a consumer or a representative of a company) objects to your use of the data, the objection will usually require you to either delete the data or just stop using it.

In fact GDPR gives people a wide range of rights to control your storage and use of their data. They are entitled to see all the data you hold on them (and you cannot charge them for providing it), they are entitled (in some circumstances) to be ‘forgotten’, and they are entitled to object to automatic processing of their data (so “the computer says no” will no longer be a permissible answer to an enquiry).

More worrying than GDPR for many businesses is another piece of legislation that is likely to be coming soon – the e-Privacy Regulation.

This was originally intended to be implemented alongside GDPR but, for a variety of reasons, it has been delayed.

However, it has not gone away.

It is likely that the e-Privacy Regulation will, indeed, require you to have permission before you can email people. And you will not be able to email them to ask for that permission!

Mike Holland is an account director at OlsenMetrix Marketing and has delivered seminars on GDPR for the Chamber – as well as for organisations such as the Chartered Institute of Marketing and the British Printing Industries Federation. connected April 2018 35

connect with

LEP

Unlocking talent in Fenland & East Cambridgeshire to level-up opportunity and improve social mobility

A strategy to address the re-balance of ‘opportunity’ for young people across Fenland and East Cambridgeshire launched in February 2018 thanks to support from Government. The Department for Education has committed further funding via The Careers & Enterprise Company to help raise prospects and remove barriers to education within these disadvantaged communities.

The Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Signpost 2 Skills team has joined forces with The Careers & Enterprise Company to deliver a program geared around tackling social mobility in Fenland and East Cambridgeshire.

Kim Cooke, a dedicated Enterprise Coordinator (Opportunity Area) for Fenland and East Cambridgeshire, a position funded by The Careers & Enterprise Company, will be taking a lead role in ensuring a share of the £2 million investment fund from The Careers & Enterprise Company, will be used to deliver a range of innovative careers activities in partnership with local and national careers organisations.

Kim will be working closely with local schools, colleges and businesses, and our brokerage partner ‘The Skills Service’ to build stronger, more prosperous working relationships that prioritise the next-generation of talent, to help establish better accessibility for all young people in these Opportunity Areas.

To ensure that all young people receive the very best in career development opportunities we are keen to continue working with The Skills Service, as well as link with businesses local to the GCGP area, to build employer-led strategies that help to focus careers information, develop a more responsive and accessible curriculum, as well as address the future skills-gap.

Kim said: “It is an exciting time for careers and raising aspirations for the young people within the Opportunity Area. We have an excellent opportunity to implement innovative activities to improve life chances by working collaboratively with all partners.”

Key to this activity will be linking schools and businesses to increase the number of encounters young people have with employers, as well as matching Enterprise Advisers (senior level business volunteers) to schools to support the development of their careers education programmes and approach to employer engagement.

Supporting the training of Careers Education Information Advice Guidance (CEIAG) staff to a level 6 Diploma in

Careers Guidance and Development is key to ensuring young people from Year 7 to 13 receive impartial advice to help them develop personalised careers plans. We will also support schools to establish stable careers programmes linked to accredited frameworks and quality awards.

If you are involved with a local business in the GCGP LEP area, and feel you would be able to join the Enterprise Network or would like to know more about the investment fund, please contact Kim Cooke on 01480 277180 or via email at kim.cooke@gcgp.co.uk.

connected April 2018 39

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insight from

ALEX SPENCER

How good copywriting can make your website profitable

Lately, our copywriters have been helping out a lot of clients whose websites are not attracting enough customers.

Technically, their websites are fine. Most of the time, the site is on an attractive template, has a good sitemap, a social media feed, good quality pictures and the potential for regular blogs to be written.

So, what has gone wrong? Well, often it is nothing that a bit of copywriting and copyediting can’t sort out. When your website isn’t delivering, the three main problems usually are: It’s all about you – when it should be all about your customers You have probably written a great description of your services, a lot of information about you

and your aims and ethics, some blogs with detailed insight into your market and white papers using the latest in-the-know jargon for your areas of expertise. These are all really important things for your customers to know – but, have you written them from a customer’s perspective?

When you edit these pages, think about your customers’ worries, their needs and the ways you can solve their problems. Then make the links to these answers easy to find on your website. Create a great ‘user experience’ by making your content follow a natural progression through questions as they would arise. If you don’t answer their questions, customers will quickly leave the site.

The ‘About us’ page doesn’t match your personality It’s a page many businesses neglect, but your ‘About Us’ page needs plenty of personality to show customers why they should work with you instead if a competitor. It needs to highlight your USPs, your passion, and what it is like working with you. Decide on a tone of voice that suits your brand and stick to it throughout your website. Are you warm and friendly? Calm and

professional? Authoritative and experienced?

You decide what best reflects your company.

The SEO is poor When customers look for services and products like yours, what do they search for on Google? Those are the words and phrases you should be using in your website content if you want your site to be found by search engines. Filter the search terms through keyword research and then use them on your home page, in the descriptions of your services and in your blogs. Try not to fill your website with jargon or acronyms that people wouldn’t naturally use in a search.

Other things to check out are your backlinks (where your website is linked to from other people’s sites) and your citations (where your website or business name is listed in directories). Make sure your business name and address is exactly the same everywhere it is mentioned. Ensure pictures on your website are named correctly – they show up in searches too – and your meta descriptions are filled in.

Get your content to work harder for you and your website will soon start to increase the amount of enquiries you receive.

Managing your payroll needn’t be a headache Moore Stephens can handle your payroll processes from start to finish saving you time and money.

We can also help with auto-enrolment, employment tax advice, remuneration planning and employee share incentives.

Call 01733 397300 or email east.midlands@moorestephens.com to find out more.

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PRECISE. PROVEN. PERFORMANCE.

Moore Stephens East Midlands is an independent member firm of Moore Stephens International Limited. Registered to carry on audit work and regulated for a range of investment business activities by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales. DPS39038 December 2017

connected April 2018 41

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Financial & Investment Advisers

Are You Ready for the End of the Tax Year?

The end of the financial year (5th April) and the deadline for using some of your tax-free allowances are fast approaching, and now is the perfect time to start thinking about your end-ofyear tax planning.

Starting early gives you plenty of time to review your situation with your financial adviser in order to make the most of your tax-free allowances. Our best tip for tax planning, though, is don’t wait until the last minute! This is a busy time of year, and if you wait until the last minute you may find that there isn’t enough time to enact the changes you need.

Maximise your ISA In the tax year 2017/18 you can invest up to £20,000 tax-free, split between any combination of Cash, Stocks & Shares, or other ISAs . This allowance remains at £20,000 for the 2018/19 tax year.

Invest for the children Junior ISAs can accept up to £4,128 per child, each year, with no detriment to the parents’ own tax position. This can be an effective way of limiting your own tax liability at the same time as setting up or building a nest egg for your childrens’ future.

Boost your pension

remains at £40,000 this tax year, which can be augmented by carrying forward unused relief from the previous three years. That means the coming 5th April marks your last chance to carry forward unused pension funding allowance from 2014/15, so make sure you don’t miss out!

Pension contributions can also reverse the Child Benefit Tax Charge, or recover a lost personal allowance if your annual income exceeds £100,000 (which could effectively save you 60% in Income Tax).

Finally, plan for next year Don’t wait until the end of the tax year to plan – making the most of allowances can be built into a plan from the start of the tax year – especially as some of the allowance amounts are increasing in the next tax year.

A qualified financial adviser will be able to help you understand the best way for you to make use of your tax allowances while boosting your savings.

This article is for information only, and does not constitute financial advice.

Craig Hilton Associate Director www.gibbsdenley.co.uk

The pension contribution annual allowance Gibbs Denley Financial Services Ltd is an appointed representative of GD Partnership, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

chamber

Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce

EVENTS

100 YEARS inspiring business success

AMAZING BENEFITS OF

CHAMBER

MEMBERSHIP DATE: Thursday 12 April and Thursday 26 April TIME: 9.30-11.30am LOCATION: Milton Hall, Ely Road, Milton, Cambridge, CB24 6WZ DATE: Wednesday 18 April TIME: 9.30-11.30am LOCATION: Peterborough Chamber, 6 The Forum, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, PE2 6FT PRICE: Free to attend, please register in advance CONTACT: Bren Coleman on 01223 209811 or email b.coleman@cambscci.co.uk Come and learn the real, tangible benefits of membership

in terms of financial savings and increasing revenue and profitability.

Whether you’re looking to generate interest in your services and increase sales, develop your professional skillset, explore new opportunities to do business overseas, or take advantage of the cost-savings and protection available, our extensive membership package offers it all.

You will also discover our latest promotional opportunities and get connected with our benefit service providers. We will also explain how we can help you engage with others in the Chamber network and across the wider business community.

DOING BUSINESS IN THE US DATE: Wednesday 18 April TIME: 8.30am-12.30pm LOCATION: Murray Edwards College, Cambridge, CB3 0DF PRICE: £15.00 (plus VAT) Chamber members, £22.00 (plus VAT) non-Chamber members CONTACT: Helen Bosett on 01733 370809 or email h.bosett@cambscci.co.uk Organised by the International Sector Avitus Group will present 12 trends to consider when bringing your business to the United States and will be joined by a panel of expert speakers to include topics of Intellectual Property, Finance, Visa and Immigration.

NETWORKING MASTERCLASS – PERFECT YOUR PITCH DATE: Tuesday 17 April TIME: 9.45am-12.00pm LOCATION: St Ives (Hunts) Golf Club, St Ives, PE27 4NB PRICE: £17.00 (plus VAT) Chamber members, £24.00 (plus VAT) non-Chamber members CONTACT: Jenni Misseldine on 01223 209810 or email j.misseldine@cambscci.co.uk Are you confident in your reply when asked ‘what do you do?’ Our networking masterclass will offer some top tips for helping you do a better job of describing what you do when meeting new people and networking.

Chamber members can book events online at www.cambridgeshirechamber.co.uk connected April 2018 45

Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce 100 YEARS inspiring business success

Your essential business calendar for the next months.

INFORMAL NETWORKING EVENINGS

APRIL 2018

4

The Crown Hotel, Stamford 5.00-7.00pm

9

Poets House & Restaurant, Ely 5.00-7.00pm

19

Metro Bank, Cambridge 5.00-7.00pm

18

Peterborough Greyhound Stadium 5.00-7.00pm

Global Business Network DATE: Tuesday 27 March and Tuesday 25 April TIME: 5.00-7.00pm LOCATION: The Moller Centre, Storey’s Way, Cambridge, CB3 0DE PRICE: Free to attend CONTACT: Helen Bosett on 01223 209815 or email h.bosett@cambscci.co.uk Organised by the International Sector Whether you are already involved in international trade or considering expanding into new markets, Global Business Network offers a unique informal environment to share experience and expertise.

• Monthly guest speakers providing specialist knowledge and advice • Learn more about markets and successful strategies by talking to other exporters • Form relevant connections across the globe • Hear the latest initiatives and meet those that can help to support your international trade activities • Obtain export documentation advice from the Chambers’ in-house international trade team.

At our March event we will be launching our 2018 Global Awards.

46 April 2018 connected

chamber

EVENTS

Huntingdonshire DATE: Wednesday 25 April TIME: 10.00am-4.00pm LOCATION: Wood Green Animal Shelter, Godmanchester

GROW YOUR BUSINESS THROUGH PEOPLE DATE: Tuesday 24 April TIME: 9.30am-1.00pm LOCATION: Lady Chapel, Ely Cathedral PRICE: Free to attend but places must be registered in advance CONTACT: Helen Bosett on 01733 370809 or email h.bosett@cambscci.co.uk Organised by the Learning and Skills Sector A morning workshop designed to encourage business to think about business growth, workforce development and the right skills your business will need to attract and employ people for the longer term. With a focus on People, from apprenticeships up the chain through to mentors.

We’ll also hear the successful stories of local businesses and take part in a fun, interactive and thought-provoking workshop to help support your organisation’s growth ambitions.

Celebration of Business takes place afterwards in the Cathedral. Network with 150 exhibitors plus keynote addresses and Q&A session. www.elycathedralbusinessgroup.org

10.00am - Official opening 10.30am - Speed networking 11.40am - Cyber security 12.30pm - Speed Networking 1.40pm - “Living With Goliath – Competing Successfully in a World full of Giants” How can small businesses possibly compete in markets that continue to be dominated by giant organisations? Brian Jones, of Alwalton Hall, will share insights on how large businesses really function and how SMEs can compete against them in a rapidly changing world.”

2.30pm - Speed Networking Organised in association with the Federation of Small Business.

PETERBOROUGH

SAFARI NETWORKING

BREAKFAST DATE: Thursday 5 April TIME: 7.45-10.00am LOCATION: Orton Hall Hotel, Peterborough, PE2 7DN PRICE: £17.00 (plus VAT) Chamber members, £24.00 (plus VAT) non-Chamber members CONTACT: Jenni Misseldine on 01223 209810 or email j.misseldine@cambscci.co.uk Take advantage of our safari’s group format and get connected with other Chamber members table by table, plus the opportunity for a little extra networking over a full English breakfast before you head back to work.

Please visit the Chamber website for full details of Chamber events. www.cambridgeshirechamber.co.uk connected April 2018 47