Government Business Volume 17.7

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BUILT ENVIRONMENT

The benefits of energy efficient refurbishments in public buildings

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

MONEY MATTERS

LANDSCAPING & GROUNDSCARE

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT – Review of The Facilities Show, the UK’s leading FM event

Service Management Expo 2010 Investing in a first class field service Recognise the potential of your field workforce at SME and transform cost savings and superior service into profit.

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Service management software & systems

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Tracking, GPS & fleet management

Mobile communications & hardware

Logistics & distribution

Co-locating with Call Centre & Customer Management Expo, Europe’s no.1 exhibition & conference for customer contact & integrated customer management solutions - entry is free for all SME visitors.

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WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER Well, that was one of George Osborne’s messages as he prepared to deliver his first budget – and a though one at that. With borrowing having to be brought down, tax rises – such as increased VAT, a levy on bank profits, and an increase in capital gains tax for higher-rate taxpayers – and spending cuts – like scrapping tax credits for wealthier families and public sector pay freezes – are deemed necessary.

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www.governmen

The government will work with local authorities to freeze council tax in 2011-12. No mean feat as public expectations for quality services are at an all time high – and continuing to rise. Will local councils now be under further pressure to deliver more with less, and how will this work out?

There are, however, areas where councils can add money to their emptying money chests. One of these are understanding fraud – such as housing tenancy, benefit, recruitment, and bogus insurance claims – and combat this with a comprehensive solution (read more on page 13). Also, energy bills can be slashed substantially through the implementation of efficiency measures (read more in the Built Environment section from page 17).

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| Volume 17.7

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Sofie Lidefjard, Editor editorial@psigroupltd.co.uk

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CONTENTS GOVERNMENT BUSINESS 17.7

7 NEWS 10 MONEY MATTERS Payroll Alliance explains the value of payroll training and looks at the current options available Current fraud challenges for the public sector include housing tenancy fraud, benefit fraud, recruitment fraud, bogus insurance claims, and blue disabled parking badge fraud

17 BUILT ENVIRONMENT Energy and climate goals are likely to get more demanding rather than less over coming years, says the Energy Services and Technology Association Solar PV and solar thermal systems will make a major contribution to our future energy supplies, according to Narec The Carbon Trust writes on the subject of re-furbishing large public sector buildings and what is involved regarding the Carbon Management Programmme npower offers some words of advice to public sector departments on overcoming the challenge of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme Climate Change Solutions discusses three key government initiatives: CRC energy efficiency scheme, Feed in Tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive

How does the Code for Sustainable Homes work, and how will recent and proposed changes affect it?

29 HEALTH & SAFETY The Health and Safety Executive discusses what health and safety really means in the public sector

31 SECURITY Established as the world’s largest annual security event, thousands of visitors descended on Birmingham last month for IFSEC

33 FACILITIES MANAGEMENT The Facilities Show 2010 attracted a record number of visitors and was a huge success

37 CONFERENCES & EVENTS Scotland is not only a great place to do business, it’s also one of the top places to combine business with pleasure and fun A focus on East Anglia as we take a look at what the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire have to offer the event organiser Manchester provides the perfect setting for any event, from a small meeting to a conference or convention for up to 19,000 delegates

The Westminster Collection is organising a ‘One-Stop-Shop’ Venues Showcase giving you the opportunity to see first hand what the members offer

58 INCENTIVES & REWARDS Incentive voucher schemes can be appropriated to fit any budget and the range of vouchers on the market provides more than enough solutions to cater for all tastes

61 LANDSCAPING & GROUNDSCARE We preview IOG Saltex – the UK’s only event dedicated to the groundscare, sports amenities, landscaping and estate management sectors

70 PLAYGROUNDS The Register of Play Inspectors International highlights the importance of selecting a fully qualified inspector for required annual play area/equipment checks

72 RECYCLING & WASTE MANAGEMENT RWM is the UK’s longest running, best attended and biggest annual event for the recycling and waste management industry

Square Meal’s Venues & Events exhibition returns to London in September

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Monodraught can provide the right direction to a cleaner future

Tel: 01494 897700

www.monodraught.com

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NEWSINBRIEF Assembly calls for cap on GLA senior pay

Discount rail travel for business delegates usiness events organisers now have an even better incentive to stage conferences and meetings in Derby, the Peak District & Derbyshire thanks to a new discount travel deal struck by Conference Derbyshire and East Midlands Trains.

Delegates can now bank on discounted first class and standard class rail travel on East Midlands Trains services to any business-related event in the area. Bookings open three months before the date of the event, right up until the day before the event itself.

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The offer is subject to availability, so delegates are advised to book early.

Conference Derbyshire will liaise with conference organisers and East Midlands Trains to offer delegates the opportunity to book their travel around the dates of the event.

“This new agreement can only strengthen our claim to being a convenient, cost-effective location for all kinds of conferences, meetings and events,” said David James, chief executive of the tourist board.

£38m Carlisle flood defence scheme completed a year ahead of schedule he Environment Agency has opened its £38 million Carlisle flood alleviation scheme, reducing flood risk to almost 3,500 homes and businesses.

Last November, emergency works by the Environment Agency on unfinished sections of the new defence protected 800 properties when the River Eden burst its banks during the Cumbria floods. The organisation estimates that this prevented some £48 million worth of damage alone.

The new scheme was already in development prior to severe flooding of the city in 2005, which claimed the lives of three people and affected 1,800 properties.

It includes 10km of raised defences, 30 flood gates, two new automated pumping stations, two raised footbridges and 1,500 metres of improved cycleway.

Speaking at the opening of the new defence, Environment Agency Chairman Lord Chris Smith said: “It is essential that we continue to defend communities, businesses and the economy from the

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London’s Mayor should limit the salary of his senior managers to no more than 20 times that of the lowest paid employee, the London Assembly has said.

In a motion agreed at a recent meeting, the Assembly urged the Mayor to sign up to the government’s recent pledge to limit senior public sector pay settlements.

The cap would apply to the Greater London Authority, The Metropolitan Police Authority, The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, Transport for London and the London Development Agency and would include a long term goal of no one in the GLA Group being paid more than ten times the lowest salary.

Darren Johnson AM, who proposed the motion, said: “Research shows that pay inequality has a detrimental effect on the whole of society, the rich, the middle classes and the poor. Countries with a smaller gap between the well and low paid have less crime, fewer health problems and greater social cohesion. We welcome David Cameron’s pledge to limit the pay gap in the public sector and urge Mayor Boris Johnson to follow his leader and implement a similar policy across the GLA Group.”

There are currently more than 90 posts in the GLA group earning more than ten times the London Living Wage, the Mayor’s minimum wage for the capital.

Rise in affordable homes in East Midlands The number of affordable homes delivered in the East Midlands has continued to rise over the last year despite the economic downturn and challenging operating conditions.

According to official statistics, the number of new homes being delivered by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) through the National Affordable Housing Programme (NAHP) rose by almost 63 per cent in 2009/10 compared with the previous year.

This increase forms part of statistics which detail the number of housing starts and completions on sites across the East Midlands, delivered through programmes including NAHP, Kickstart, Local Authority New Build and the Property and Regeneration programme.

Whitehall shake-up in drive for efficiency

risk of flooding and coastal erosion. The Environment Agency has completed over 116 flood defence schemes in the past two years, providing increased protection to over 77,500 extra properties.”

Carlisle’s Flood Alleviation Scheme is the result of close partnership work between the Environment Agency, Carlisle City Council, Cumbria County Council, local businesses and the local community.

Responsibility for The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and the public sector procurement agency, Buying Solutions, will move to the Cabinet Office where they will form part of the Efficiency and Reform Group (ERG), the Prime Minister has announced.

Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office, said the move will bring together in one place all the cross-government operational functions, including procurement, project management, IT and Civil Service workforce and reform functions.

The Efficiency and Reform Group will have a strong mandate at the centre of government to ensure departments work together to quickly tackle waste and improve accountability across all these areas.

The Group’s work is overseen by an Efficiency Board, co-chaired by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

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The company was first in the industry to obtain ISO14001, an environmental management system designed to rigorously drive improvement in an organisation’s environment impact, and first to be fully accredited for BS8901 and listed in the top twenty green companies by the Sunday Times. Yet, this all works in perfect synergy with our offer.

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Scotland launches zero-waste plan he Scottish government has published its first Zero Waste Plan to tackle the near 20 million tonnes of waste produced by Scotland every year.

The plan sets out key actions and new targets to inspire households and organisations to change the way they view and deal with waste.

The plan recognises that everything designed, produced and used is a resource which has a value. It proposes radical new measures, such as introducing landfill bans and separate collections of specific waste types, and encouraging local authorities and the resource management sector to work together to create

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consistent waste management services.

The plan also includes two new targets that will apply to all waste: 70 per cent of waste is to be recycled, and a maximum of five per cent is to be sent to landfill, both by 2025.

Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said: “Viewing waste as a resource opens many doors; rather than carelessly discarding materials to landfill, we can create new products and generate renewable energy, heat and fertiliser while creating over 2,000 jobs. The Zero Waste Plan will help deliver progressive landfill bans, with the end goal of no waste with reuse or recycling potential being landfilled by 2020.”

NEWSINBRIEF Guildford is first in Surrey to shine spotlight on spending Residents can now go online to find out how much Guildford Borough Council has spent on services such as street cleaning, leisure and housing during the last financial year. Any spending over £500 will be available to view as part of a move to make information more easily available to residents.

Cllr Andrew Hodges, Lead Councillor for Finance and Resources, says: “We offer a wide range of services and residents may not be aware exactly what is involved in providing these, so we’ve signed up to present our spending figures in a clear and open way. The coalition government recently said it would like all councils to supply this information online, and we are pleased to be the first council in Surrey, and the second in the country to do so.”

New hotline for safeguarding vulnerable adults

Study shows support for new homes he British public are far more supportive of new housing developments in their area than commonly thought, according to a new study.

The Public Attitudes to Housing survey, published by the National Housing and Planning Advisory Unit (NHPAU), finds that more than three quarters of people would support more homes being built in their area, provided that local services such as GP surgeries and schools do not suffer.

Good quality housing design is also important

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to people with 73 per cent saying they would support the building of more homes if well designed and in keeping with their local area.

The survey also shows that while the vast majority of people aspire to own their own homes, their efforts are still being hampered by the economic downturn.

While 82 per cent see home ownership as preferable to renting, three quarters of 25-34 year olds who do not own a home and expect to rent for the next three years, want to buy but cannot afford to do so.

A new hotline launched for people in Richmond to report instances of suspected adult abuse.

The line is the Richmond Council’s first to be dedicated solely to abuse of vulnerable adults, and comes on the back of a rise in the number of referrals being made to the Council in the last year.

Deputy Leader of Richmond Council, Cllr Geoffrey Samuel, said: “Abuse should never be tolerated. If you are vulnerable and subject to it in any form, or suspect a friend or family member might be, there is help available and I would urge you to contact us immediately.

“We know many cases go unreported and people suffer in silence because they are afraid to speak out or are not sure who to talk to. This is the purpose of the hotline; it puts people in direct contact with our Safeguarding Adults Team. All calls are confidential and suspected abuse will be fully investigated.”

Wind energy supply to increase by 13 per cent The available supply of renewable energy generated by wind is expected to increase by 13 per cent by the end of 2010, according to new figures.

The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) predicted that the total installed capacity of wind energy in the European Union will reach almost 85GW by the end of the year.

Last year was a record year for wind power installation.

It saw 10.163 GW of new wind power capacity installed, constituting 39 per cent of all new power capacity installed in the EU that year. Total installed wind power capacity by the end of 2009 was 74.767 GW. “We predict another strong year for wind turbine installations in Europe, repeating the high level achieved in 2009,” said Christian Kjaer, CEO of EWEA. “What is encouraging is that, unlike in 2009, the 2010 results consist of orders placed after the start of the financial crisis. This shows continued and strong investor confidence in the technology.”

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MONEY MATTERS

THE VALUE OF TRAINING Linda Pullan, head of Payroll Alliance, explains the value of payroll training and looks at the current options available WITH EACH YEAR THAT PASSES, payroll processes and procedures become increasingly complex. For the current year, there are increases to tax rates, restrictions in pension relief and personal allowances. As promised in the Conservative manifesto, the new government announced further changes during the emergency budget on 22 June.

What is certain is that there will be changes that will affect payroll over the next couple of years as a result in changing policies such as adjustments to National Insurance and further changes to personal allowances.

A forthcoming change which is already in place, is the introduction of Additional Paternity Pay and leave that is due to come into force for babies due on or after 3 April 2011. This will provide expectant parents with up to 26 weeks additional paternity leave which depending on circumstances may be with pay.

This is on top of the current entitlement of two weeks’ statutory paternity pay and leave.

BEING IN THE KNOW So why do you need training when you can pick up all this information from passive sources such as HMRC guidance, HMRC and other government websites? In payroll we need more than just the raw statement of what is being introduced. We are required to apply to the payroll, explain it to employees and advise management of the ramifications for policy and costs to ensure that our employers’ liabilities are kept to a minimum.

It has become apparent that most of the changes that have been introduced in the last few years cannot be handled by software alone. It is therefore essential that the payroll department has the technical knowledge to use the facilities that the software has to offer to their full affect.

Public sector payrolls are fortunate that they are mostly date driven but even so something as simple as an “Alabaster” recalculation relating to statutory maternity pay in conjunction with a pay increase requires

Linda Pullan

Payroll Foundation & BTEC Qualification Dates

Birmingham: 15–19 November Bristol: 18–22 October Leeds: 13–17 September

London: 16–20 August London: 4–8 October

Course Programme Day 1

Foundation A (Tax, NI, Starters & Leavers – additions, deductions, the tax year, standard rates of NI, tax rates & tax bands, calculating tax with tables) Day 2 Foundation B (K tax codes, reduced rate, NI & age exemptions, processing & checking the P45, dealing with starters and leavers) Day 3 Foundation C (Statutory Maternity, Paternity, Adoption & Sick Pay) Day 4 Foundation D (Legalities & Practicalities – including court orders and CSA DEOs) Day 5 (am) Examination (Edexcel BTEC qualification – Level 4)

Fee

Non-member’s fee: £1749.00 + VAT Bookings Hotline: 020 8401 1828/9 E-mail: payroll.alliance@lexisnexis.co.uk www.payrollalliance.com

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In payroll we need more than just the raw statement of what is being introduced. We are required to apply to the payroll, explain it to employees and advise management of the ramifications for policy and costs to ensure that our employer’s liabilities are kept to a minimum input from a payroll clerk who understands the principles behind the European Court Judgement and its implications. European Court Judgements are particularly relevant to public sector payrolls as their ruling applies with immediate effect to public sector employees whereas the private industry waits until the national legislation is changed.

No matter how sophisticated the payroll software is that you are using, it is unable to do the toughest job, which is explaining some of the complex calculations when an employee raises a query. Even when the calculations are perfectly correct, a number of queries will always arise. A prime example of this is the problems that employers have experienced recently regarding the annual tax codes issued by HMRC for the new tax year. Due to a number of reasons relating to new processes and software adopted by HMRC, some employers received multiple tax codes for employees for the same pay period, which resulted in some employees paying more tax than they expected.

THE VALUE OF PAYROLL TRAINING Although as we have already established there is a wealth of knowledge which can be derived from the internet, it does not guarantee that all the changes relevant to an employer’s payroll have been picked up.

Consequently, high quality payroll training is essential because it will: • Confirm that you are doing things correctly • Inform you that you are doing things wrong • Identify any areas you have missed • Show you a more effective and easier way of doing things Successful training provides employees with more confidence, makes them more efficient and cost effective by minimising an employer’s liabilities and providing employees with confidence and expertise as well as job satisfaction. Furthermore, training not only enables payroll staff to be more effective, but where errors are identified and corrected it can also save an employer money as it helps them avoid penalties.

Employers have a number of training options available to them – conferences, online training, classroom-based training, accredited one-day exams, distance learning courses to gain a nationally recognised qualification, and in-house training.

Many employers focus on training staff in how to use payroll software because they believe staff don’t need to know how to calculate the payroll manually. However, without that knowledge, staff are unable to check that the computer is correct or deal with employees’ queries.

Online training has become popular as employees can do this from their computer but many customers still prefer face to face training which enables them to interact with other delegates and ask the tutor questions. Classroom based training also requires them to set aside time to attend the course whereas online training can be available 24/7 and this flexibility can sometimes be a hindrance rather than a help as it can compete with constant interruptions.

In-house training provides the most cost effective training solution if you have a number of people to train, because it can be delivered on site, tailored to your specific requirements for a daily rate on a convenient date.

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Your risk management partner in the Public Sector Lloyds TSB’s Financial Markets team provide a source of expertise on risk management strategies for your organisation.

Our Financial Markets experts will: • Take the time to understand your organisation and provide an integrated view across asset classes • Suggest a strategy that can help mitigate risks including those relating to Foreign Exchange, Interest Rates, Inflation and Commodities • Deliver a variety of solutions from simple through to complex transactions tailored to your needs.

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MONEY MATTERS

WHAT CAME FIRST, THE FRAUDSTER OR THE FRAUD? With fraud on council tax alone now estimated in excess of £200million per annum, the public sector needs to understand and tackle this threat IN THE AFTERMATH of the recent elections we are seeing a shake up throughout all local and central government departments and public sector bodies. Cuts in costs, inefficiencies, unnecessary programmes and lower priority budgets are a reality. On top of these increasing pressures is the need to grow trust and support amongst key stakeholders, most important of which the public, in an uncertain time.

One area where massive advances have been made in recent years, are the methods by which citizens and businesses transact with the public sector. Although still preferred by some, the traditional ‘paying over the counter’ methods for the payment of council tax, parking fines and housing rents have given way to other more high tech solutions, driven largely by the growth of the internet. In the last 10 years the number of citizens electing to pay their council tax online has grown from around 800 people to over 2 million. In order to provide convenience, flexibility and wide accessibility to citizens, public sector organisations are now expected to provide a wide range of payment channels from the internet, to mobile phone and interactive TV while also accepting a varied selection of payment types from standard credit and debit cards, to online cash alternatives and additionally eWallet solutions such as PayPal. FRAUD THREATS So, if a public sector organisation achieves a multi-channel, multi acceptance payments strategy is this a tick in the box for them in terms of keeping their stakeholders happy?

Unfortunately not. Fraud is one very real threat to any business, and there is no reason why the

public sector should see itself as exempt from this, with fraud on council tax alone now estimated in excess of £200million per annum. With new technologies come new issues, as payments migrate to new channels driven by developments in communication and technology, the payments related fraud faced by organisations also evolves.

Current fraud challenges for the public sector, highlighted within a report by the National Fraud Initiative (NFI), include housing tenancy fraud, benefit fraud, recruitment fraud, bogus insurance claims, blue disabled parking badge fraud and so the list goes on. Although, undoubtedly important to understand the types

Their activity is rarely confined to a vertical sector, it could move from gaming to telecoms, from retail to travel and just as easily to the public sector, the fraudster doesn’t change, just the details that they provide. The activity of these serious and persistent fraudsters, is very often linked to other criminal activity and poses a very costly threat to any organisation.

Your solution must provide the ability to monitor and act on previous fraudulent activity – felt by your organisation or others.

Opportunists: Fraud in this case is not undertaken by habitual criminals, but instead savvy individuals who understand systems

Fraud is one very real threat to any business, and there is no reason why the public sector should see itself as exempt from this, with fraud on council tax alone now estimated in excess of £200million per annum of fraud that are taking place, we see the more fruitful challenge as taking one step back from this and looking at the characteristics of the fraudster, and how they exist and operate, in order to achieve real prevention and results.

In our experience organisations should be on alert for Fraudsters who fit neatly in to one of three categories: Persistent fraudsters are the people who operate in very effective, professional fraud rings, who understand and prey on the points of the vulnerability within any organisation.

and who might find themselves with an opportunity as a result of a data breach, for example. As well as the general public, this category of fraudster is also pertinent to staff members of an organisation who are in a position of responsibility and have access to data – another costly threat, with additional high risk in terms of reputational damage. A solution here needs to take in to account systems monitoring and mismatches in common data fields – for example card details that are not usually registered to the

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MONEY MATTERS

given name, address or IP address in use.

A rapidly growing category of offenders is ‘friendly fraudsters’ whereby seemingly genuine citizens and customers make false claims, for example someone falsely claiming they haven’t received their blue badge in the post or in the retail world only part of their order has been delivered. Again, for a solution here you need to be considering any identifiable ‘previous form’.

FRAUD STRATEGY For the organisation, awareness of other macro environmental drivers must also to be taken in to consideration within a fraud strategy: So called ‘Silver Bullet’ solutions: Aware of a growth in eCommerce fraud, industry legislators and card schemes work to provide measures to safeguard genuine cardholders and organisations alike, a case in point was the introduction of 3-D Secure. Designed to authenticate a cardholder in the online world, in the same way as Chip & PIN in the cardholder present world, 3-D Secure is not a complete fix, fraudsters quickly become savvy to these systems and just adapt their methods accordingly.

Therefore, this should be used as one tool amongst many for any diligent organisation looking to minimise their exposure to fraud.

Migration of fraud: Linked to the point above,

organisations need to be aware that as the payments landscape changes, fraudsters and their techniques change accordingly – they certainly do not disappear. Awareness of internet based fraud and preventative industry measures has caused a surge in fraud amongst call centres and the telephone payment channel.

Additionally the introduction of alternative payment types such as PayPal has seen fraudsters looking at ways to target these. Any solution put in place by an organisation must address this dynamic payments landscape.

FINDING A SOLUTION So what is the solution? From our experience, fraud screening transactions for over 30,000 merchants in more than 180 countries we suggest the following: Appreciate the value of rich data capture and data sharing. Information is your biggest aid in the battle against fraudsters – you need a system that allows you to capture a depth of information to screen against rules that fit with your business logic. By doing so, you build a picture and understand the behaviour of the fraudsters that pose the threats to your business.

Learn lessons from all organisations – fraudsters know no sector specific boundaries.

2010

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Fraud is a crime, perpetrated by criminals who do not usually have sector specific aspirations.

To build the richest database of information, sharing knowledge, experiences and learning lessons from a wide spectrum of organisations is critical. A free ‘bad data’ sharing database such as SuperSearch can be invaluable.

Don’t underestimate reputational damage.

If fraudulent activity occurs to the detriment of a genuine cardholder in connection with your organisation, in the cardholder’s mind the blame will fall with your organisation for not preventing the situation. In the public sector, the scrutiny is as high as in any other sector and the only way to limit this risk is to openly and actively work to prevent fraud.

Understand the tools that are available to aid you, how best to use them and when it becomes more efficient outsource. Transaction screening and linking, data sharing, IP look ups, device ID tools, validation services, velocity rules and matrix based rules are just some of the techniques you need to integrate in to your fraud prevention strategy to see results – the complexity of the fraudster must be combated with a comprehensive solution.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.datacash.com

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MONEY MATTERS

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF PAYMENTS Reap the benefits of better reporting and protection from payment fraud

PAYMENT ACCEPTANCE is sometimes a neglected subject, but good payment acceptance can reap many benefits for any organisation. If payment services are managed effectively, there can be: Significant cost savings; More robust payment data security (such as the secure storage of card data); Better management of other service providers, and improvements in payment service resilience. All of this can be achieved with huge improvements in financial management reporting, providing a more accurate and detailed view of income.

Many public sector organisations now accept a wider choice of payments through a wider range of payment channels such as call centres, the web, by automated telephone services and payment points at various sites (such as schools, libraries, leisure centres, car parking and neighbourhood offices). Consequently, there can be a disparate range of equipment providers and payment processors which leads to supplier management inefficiencies, with variations in payment service availability and financial reporting. It’s no wonder when in these circumstances, that pulling together a holistic income report is difficult.

PAYMENT FRAUD Additionally – with the continued decline in cash and cheque payments – a growing problem for the public sector is the consequent rise of payment fraud that accompanies the growing volume of electronic payments. This is a problem that will only get worse. As public sector borrowing is reduced and budgets become even more squeezed in the years ahead, then careful payment acceptance and reducing payment losses for services provided will become ever more important. The time is right for the public sector organisation to consider managed payment service provision.

Payment services provision has been

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outsourced by many private sector organisations in the last few years. The benefits are compelling: Payment supplier relationships can be managed through one point of contact; Payment choice and availability can improve; Data security can be enhanced; Payment fraud can be detected in time; Cash-flow improves and losses are reduced; Treasury processes and reporting are advanced with easy-to-access payment information that provides more accurate daily reporting of where payments are coming from.

With benefits like these, the local authority or any other public service organisation gains value for money with better auditing, cost savings and a better payment experience for its customers.

When considering managed payment services provision, an organisation should aim to see improvements in card settlement file submission, better reconciliation of payments, and easier access to much more detailed financial reporting. There will be improvements in the processing of payment transactions along with card data being stored in a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI:DSS) compliant environment.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT PROVIDER When considering the provider of the service, an organisation should be looking for a breadth and depth of understanding with experience of a wide range of payment types. Your provider should have accredited relationships with equipment providers and card acquirers. Ideally, your provider should have the resources, the people and the technical infrastructure that you can trust to manage and improve your payments acceptance. They should be able to interface with your existing systems and those who provide services for your call centres, sites, car parking, on-line, etc. They should have the resilience to handle your peak times and

be able to handle new payment innovations quickly when these come on stream.

FIS Merchant Payments is a managed payment services provider with a vast wealth of payment processing and payment management experience. We employ some 300 people and provide a range of payment acceptance, processing and management services. We currently process over 500,000 payment transactions every single day worth over £12 billion per annum for our 14,000 clients. We are payment specialists – and this means many things. We specialise in processing a wide range of payment types that include: Debit cards, credit cards, prepaid cards, Direct Debit, BACS / CHAPS, and even organisation specific/ exclusive payment cards. We operate as a single point of contact for an organisation’s payment acceptance by managing the day-today service provision – with its many suppliers of equipment and payment processing services.

We are PCI:DSS accredited so card data is held securely at our dual data centres in the UK. We can provide you with access to a wide range of tailored financial reporting, with controlled hierarchical access to data.

In addition, we provide highly specialised and automated fraud detection services that can help prevent a payment loss at the time of the transaction. With over 25 years experience in this field, we have an enviable reputation that currently saves our clients some £125 million per annum. We provide various payment fraud management services that are accessed by the smallest through to the largest of merchants and these can include card, cheque and Direct Debit fraud reduction programmes.

We are part of one of the largest payment processing and banking technology organisations in the world but take pride in being a payment specialist. We don’t do all the talking, we like to listen to what our clients want.

FOR MORE INFORMATION To find out more about managed payment services provision and/or payment fraud reduction please contact: Mike Bradley, sales support manager, FIS Merchant Payments.

Tel: 0121 410 4357 E-mail: mike.bradley@fisglobal.com Web: www.fismerchantpayments.com

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BUILT ENVIRONMENT

ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS Appetite or apathy?

16 PER CENT of the UK’s heat energy is used by the commercial/public sector with a clear commitment to conserve it and reduce carbon.

Paradoxically, whilst government takes the lead in promoting and regulating for carbon reduction, its agenda towards energy efficiency improvements in its own estate is questionable.

Both private and public sector clients present unique challenges to providers of innovative energy efficiency technologies. Before highlighting those unique to the public sector (particularly GB and NI governments) there are common roadblocks to be discussed.

CHANGE MANAGEMENT At the heart of these issues is that, although energy efficiency has been a well-used term for many years, it is relatively new to the agenda of Estates Management.

Implementing it suggests change in objectives, practices and most importantly attitudes.

In fact energy efficiency and its improvement are automatically linked to the concept of Change Management. As such the successful introduction of energy efficiency technologies to either sector is subject to review of people, established practices, and longstanding suppliers with mature, if not obsolete, technologies.

Add to this the fact that technology innovation automatically implies risk it is predictable that any progress made in energy efficiency will be slow. Clearly these factors place an obligation on technology providers to ensure products are well researched, reliable and every effort is taken to remove risk from the client.

LARGE BUILDINGS No task within estates management is more emotive than that of heating large offices to desired levels of comfort with no wasted energy.

In practice large occupied buildings, anywhere in the world, fail to achieve, by a considerable margin, a perfect balance of comfort and heat energy demanded in the process.

In fact, even modern buildings with state of the art heating systems and controls (BMS), are currently wasting between 10 and 15 per cent of heat energy. However to address this, management of technology change is needed.

That process must draw on the effort, conviction and leadership of estates management.

However even this is not enough. Heating plant, its age and very importantly its maintenance, need to be continuously reviewed.

These are key potentially costly factors directly related to energy efficiency. However one of the biggest challenges of all is management of the introduction of new heating energy efficiency technologies. New technology, often applying innovation to save cost and carbon,

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Copyright Albert Bridge

In one of the coldest winters in Belfast for many years heating gas savings of between 12 per cent and 16 per cent were recently demonstrated in two government of Northern Ireland buildings implies risk-taking and unwanted change.

The CEO or finance and energy manager’s enthusiasm to seek opportunities to reduce carbon and cost by technology improvements means something else to the plant or heating services manager. He/she, after all, is the one that building occupants complain to if heating plant or controls break down.

So what’s in this energy efficiency stuff for him or her? In addition suppliers of his/her existing technologies and services have been doing a good job for years so why change them? Existing suppliers of course are more than happy to support that argument.

RISK AGAINST REWARD So the technology innovator is seeking signs of willingness and skills to change or review practices and technologies within estates management. Finding a champion within it is very difficult. This does not mean seeking a sympathetic risk taker. It means engaging with a senior manager with the skills, attitude, motivation and authority to manage the change, risk and reward from introducing new energy efficiency technologies. This may be where the institutional differences between the public sector and the private sector and their respective attitude towards risk and reward come into play. However in both sectors lateral thinking is needed to make step-changes in efficiency.

In 2001 a technology was developed by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) under a

one million euro EU funded project into efficiency improvements in commercial and industrial heating control. This technology marketed by Fuelstretcher Ltd is saving an average of 15 per cent in heating energy across a wide spectrum of UK and German public sector buildings such as leisure centres, civic buildings, offices and schools. It has been installed in over 150 schools in Northern Ireland mainly through Regional Education and Library Boards.

12-16 PER CENT EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS In one of the coldest winters in Belfast for many years heating gas savings of between 12 per cent and 16 per cent were recently demonstrated in two government of Northern Ireland buildings. Fuelstretcher Ltd control technology was interfaced with Trend Systems to reduce energy cost and carbon emissions in heating the Department of the Environment’s Waterman House. A parallel successful trial was carried out in the Design Centre, managed by the Department of Finance and Personnel.

Reports on both buildings are available.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact: Peter Jennings, managing director Fuelstretcher Ltd E-mail: pjj@fuelstretcher.co.uk Tel: 01752 764423 Web: www.fuelstretcher.co.uk

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BUILT ENVIRONMENT

REACHING OUR 2020 GOALS With energy and climate goals likely to get more demanding over coming years, reducing consumption and improving efficiency will remain a vital factor over the next decade – and beyond, argues Alan Aldridge, executive director of the Energy Services and Technology Association THE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL context in which we all live and work has changed dramatically over the last two years. The extent to which all the developed countries have incurred debt, and the urgency of reducing that burden has been accepted by governments around the world.

Following our general election, restrictions of spending are now being decided.

At the same time, we have a number of statutory targets for reducing emissions and a number of programmes in place, including the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, which began in April. The new government appears to be equally committed to our climate change policy as its predecessor.

STEEPER TARGETS Those targets may, however, sooner become much steeper. A recent study from the European Commission suggests that the EU’s emissions reductions target for 2020 could be raised from 20 per cent to 30 per cent ‘at reasonable cost’. Now, the 30 per cent figure was already enshrined in the EU’s climate policy – but only if the rest of the world agreed a comprehensive emissions reduction programme as well. And we all know that the Copenhagen Summit last December failed to deliver that.

So, what has changed? Well, the argument the Commission is making to Member States is that the recession, paradoxically, has made those larger reductions easier to achieve. With GDP having fallen, we are closer to the 20 per cent reductions than had we maintained ‘business as usual’ over the last two years.

The extra cost of achieving 30 per cent cuts is therefore not as high as it might have been.

Where a higher target to be adopted by the EU, the UK targets would automatically rise as well. The existing reductions were always going to be a challenge for this country, raising them will be even more ambitious.

Yet over this period energy prices are expected to rise substantially. So energy users face a triple whammy: greater demands to curb emissions; higher prices for energy; and reduced spending budgets as well. It looks a bit like trying to square the circle.

LEGAL CHANGES There are also regulatory and legal changes which need to be taken into account. The two that will impact most directly on the public sector will be changes to the Building Regulations and the introduction of the CRC

BUILDING TYPE (NON-DOMESTIC)

CO2 REDUCTION (%)

Shallow plan (heated only)

22

Shallow plan (air-conditioned)

40

Deep plan (air-conditioned)

26

Warehouse

34

Hotel

16

School

27

Retail

21

Supermarket

26

Energy Efficiency Scheme. The new edition of Part L of the Building Regulations (which deals with energy in buildings) comes into effect on 1 October 2010. This affects all new buildings and any major projects on existing structures. While the new look Part L will have greater flexibility in meeting carbon emissions targets, the targets themselves will be significantly tougher.

The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme will introduce the concept of carbon trading as a way of limiting overall emissions. It is already

being used by heavy industry within the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme. The Scheme started in April, as I mentioned. This first year is a ‘reporting year’. It does not involve any financial outlay by participants, which are all those organisations with half-hourly electricity metering and an annual consumption of more than 6,000MWh – around a £500,000 bill. Improvements in energy savings will be consolidated into a league table showing how well each organisation has done during the

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BUILT ENVIRONMENT

ABOUT ESTA The Energy Services and Technology Association (ESTA) represents over 100 major providers of energy management equipment and services across the UK. The Association organises a annual, series of free conferences in April and May. For more details visit: www.esta.org.uk

Among the largest energy loads is the lighting.

Replacing conventional lighting with low-energy options will undoubtedly reduce the energy costs year in question. Those taking part have to buy carbon allowances in advance. These will then be recycled back, the exact amount depending upon the position in the league table. So an organisation higher up the table is likely to get back more money than it laid out, while the poorer performers will suffer a net loss of funds.

It should be noted that although this year is designated a ‘reporting year’ for which you do not buy allowances, it is nonetheless very important. You must register with the scheme administrator, the Environment Agency, by the end of September or face a fine of £5,000.

Also, this year is the baseline year against which future performance is judged, so you must produce the ‘accounts’ at the end of the year.

REDUCING CONSUMPTION Given all these seemingly un-coordinated pressures, how are organisations supposed to respond? Well, there are some common factors.

First, given rising prices, the only way to reduce costs is to reduce consumption. Even switching to low or zero carbon (LZC) sources of energy will not avoid price rises although they may help to reduce exposure in the CRC EES. Yet as always, knowledge is power – you have to know what you are using and where before

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you can make effective savings. The previous government recognised this and so both the Building Regulations and the Energy Efficiency Scheme provide incentives for people to invest in effective metering systems – specifically automatic Monitoring & Targeting (aM&T).

Installing these entitles the building designer to an allowance against the emissions targets set out in the Building Regulations. aM&T is also specifically named as a way of improving an organisation’s position in the CRC EES league table – it is evidence of ‘early action’ to improve performance. An improved position means more money from carbon allowances being returned to the participating organisation.

The latest aM&T systems are also able to automatically produce Display Energy Certificates (DECs), which all large public sector organisations need to put on public display.

With revisions to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) now approved in Brussels, it will not be long before a much larger range of buildings in both public and private sectors have to produce these certificates.

Effective Monitoring & Targeting systems enable building operators to identify where energy is being used – and where it is being wasted. Sometimes this may be done to ‘drift’

or breakdown where equipment settings have moved away from the optimum levels. The sooner such a situation can be identified the sooner it can be tackled. But these systems can also be used to target underlying issues.

One area that can yield good savings is that of lighting and lighting controls. Many modern buildings are so well-insulated that there is very little heating required. However, equipment may generate sufficient heat to require cooling or air conditioning. Among the largest energy loads is the lighting.

Replacing conventional lighting with lowenergy options will undoubtedly reduce the energy costs – and also the impact on the ambient temperature (a tungsten-filament lamp transforms just 10 per cent of its energy consumption into light; the rest goes into heat. That is why these are being phased out).

However, choosing a more efficient light source is only half of the equation. Lighting that is operating when no-one is there is still wasteful.

And different areas need different lighting strategies too – storage areas need lower and more intermittent lighting than desk areas.

INVESTING IN TECHNOLOGY With all ‘up front’ investments in technology, there is the question of justifying the investments, especially in an ever tighter spending environment. There are, however, many studies that have shown the costeffectiveness of the Monitoring & Targeting systems. And once current costs are known for items such as lighting, then it is relatively simple to determine the payback period for investments in this – or virtually any other – technology.

Looking at the incentives to invest in energy efficiency equipment though, there is more than just a financial imperative strong though this may be. There will be Government targets for cutting emissions – this is certain following the passage of the Climate Change Act. And the public sector is legally required to take a leading role.

Notes: Figure 1. Performance drift: Monitoring and Targeting systems can identify performance drift due to poor management and can highlight potential savings in consumption and emissions.

Table 1. Performance improvements for different types of building required by the new Part L of the Building Regulations which comes into force in October

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BUILT ENVIRONMENT

SOLAR RENEWABLES READY TO SHINE FOR THE UK Narec – dedicated to accelerating the deployment and grid integration of renewable energy and low carbon generation technologies – looks at how solar thermal systems can help secure affordable future energy supplies OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS domestic energy consumption in the UK has grown by 17.5 per cent while total UK energy demand grew by 7.3 per cent over the same period.

Faced with carbon reduction targets and the need to secure affordable future energy supplies, the deployment of renewables is expected to play a growing contribution to the UK energy mix – the government has committed to sourcing 15 per cent of the energy it consumes from renewable sources by 2020.

The Labour government introduced in April 2010 a system of feed-in tariffs (FiTs) to incentivise small scale, low carbon electricity generation. The feed-in tariff (FiT) scheme is a key driver in encouraging deployment of additional low carbon electricity generation, particularly by organisations, businesses, communities and individuals who are not traditionally engaged in the electricity market. This clean energy cash-back will allow many individuals and companies to invest in small scale low carbon electricity, and receive a payment for the electricity generated plus a nominal payment for any electricity exported. The tariff to be paid for electricity generated depends on the technology, the size of the installation and in some cases it also depends on whether it is installed in a new building or as a retrofit.

In comparison, the UK solar thermal and solar PV markets are still in their infancy when it comes to capacity installed and supply chain capabilities. Narec, the National Renewable Energy Centre plays a fundamental role in advancing the deployment and integration of renewable energy technologies, working with the technology community, industry, commerce and the public sector on projects ranging from large infrastructure plant to integrated on-site distributed energy systems.

SOLAR TECHNOLOGIES Solar PV and solar thermal systems will make a major contribution to our future energy supplies, from schemes incorporated into the built environment and from new solar farms.

The technologies are very different and have differing applications – solar PV systems convert light from sunlight into electricity that can be used to power a home’s demand for products such as domestic appliances, while solar thermal systems convert light from the sun into heat, which is usually used for water heating.

Currently in the UK, solar thermal devices are more widespread than PV systems with 90,000 solar thermal systems and 2,300 solar PV installations in operation.

Across Europe, solar PV and solar thermal technologies already form a significant part of the renewable energy mix. Germany, for example, which has a similar climate to the UK is the world’s fastest growing PV market and has 55 per cent of the world’s installed base of PV panels. Germany is a shining example of a country that has already achieved success in renewable energy production since introducing renewable energy legislation and financial incentives back in 2000.

DEVELOPING PV Our broad role to optimise the economic opportunities from renewables includes technology development and certification, inward investment and technology demonstration and training for installers.

Narec’s PV Technology Centre (PVTC) is the only independent, commercial crystalline silicon solar cell research and development organisation in the UK. PVTC is involved in a number of National and European R&D projects, manufactures crystalline silicon cells for concentrator applications and niche modules for companies in Europe and USA, and consults on the design and delivery of solar arrays and integrated distributed energy schemes for the built environment. PVTC recently reached a significant delivery milestone for the Highways Agency emergency roadside telephone project, over 10,000 modules have been shipped to the project partner for installation to power an off grid power supply for these emergency devices.

Narec recently installed a solar charging canopy in their car park at Blyth, Northumberland, which will charge electric vehicles and is to be grid connected and ready for operation from June 2010 onwards.

Electricity generated by the solar charging canopy when not in use will be used by Narec to offset their electricity consumption.

The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) scheme, which is also central to the UK’s strategy for improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon dioxide emissions, has been designed to raise awareness in large organisations and encourage changes in behaviour and infrastructure. When implemented in the correct environment solar thermal and solar PV technologies can help to reduce carbon emissions, generate additional revenue, reduce fuel bills and form part of local authorities’ regeneration and sustainable communities’ delivery plan.

Given the success of solar utilisation in Europe, in increasing the uptake of renewable energy devices the introduction of the feed-in tariff (FiT) scheme will play an important contribution to helping the UK and local authorities generate additional revenue, reduce carbon and increase electricity generated from renewables.

Local authorities face significant challenges to reduce their carbon footprint while encouraging the further deployment of renewables in their catchment for both environmental regeneration and economic reasons. We are already engaged in a number of strategic partnerships with local authorities in the North East of England to inform their energy master planning requirements and help deliver regeneration in accordance with the climate change and political agenda. The correct technologies must be deployed in the right manor to ensure sustainability and maximise the economic and regenerative benefits to be had from the low carbon revolution.

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BUILT ENVIRONMENT

SAVE ENERGY, SAVE MONEY Richard Rugg, head of Public Sector, Carbon Trust looks at the benefits of energy efficient refurbishments in public buildings Richard Rugg

WITH AMBITIOUS LEGAL COMMITMENTS and tightening regulations, businesses and the public sector are under pressure to reduce the carbon footprint of their estates.

Building in the 21st century is about much more than just delivering a comfortable environment, regardless of environmental and financial cost. The impact of buildings on the environment and the energy they use is now paramount, both from a development and legislative perspective, and this trend is set to continue.

Buildings are directly responsible for nearly half of the UK’s energy consumption. So installing low-carbon technologies that provide the level of comfort that people are used to is vital in the race against climate change.

COST SAVINGS Building was one of the first industries to make the connection between the low carbon economy, and cost reduction. Particularly during the economic downturn, energy efficiency has been a key way for businesses to make both immediate and long term cost savings.

Reducing energy wastage through a building’s fabric is a great way to save money. For example – the typical office loses 60 per cent of its heat through its building fabric. Organisations often find that the best time to upgrade building fabric is during major refurbishment, but most of these measures could be considered at any time.

With just a few simple steps, government buildings across the UK can save considerable

amounts of money annually, without necessarily needing to invest in new technologies to start reducing buildings’ energy costs and carbon emissions. For example: Roofs and lofts: Over 20 per cent of heat in a building is lost through the roof. Improving insulation levels in this area can often be very cost effective, particularly with pitched roofs.

Insulating pitched roofs at ceiling level offers relatively short paybacks and can be carried out at any time. Install insulation carefully to ensure there are no thermal bridging problems and that the roof is ventilated to prevent condensation.

Ensure water services and ducting are insulated to avoid condensation and freezing.

Windows: Used effectively, windows can reduce requirements for lighting and mechanical cooling. However, they can account for over a quarter of a building’s heat loss. Glazing lets in solar heat, and whilst this can be beneficial in reducing heating requirements in colder weather, it can make buildings uncomfortably warm in the summer, particularly for occupants seated next to windows. When refurbishment is being planned, considering double or triple glazing, high performance and low emissivity glass and external shading can make significant savings on your energy bill in the long term.

Doors: Easy access to almost any building is essential, but open doors can allow uncontrolled quantities of air into a building, reducing comfort conditions and wasting energy. Avoid energy waste by fitting draught lobbies to main entrances, installing a revolving door or consider interlocked control for heating systems.

Floors: Floors are often overlooked as an area for energy saving, but nearly 10 per cent of heat lost from a building will occur via the ground floor. In addition, un-insulated floors in multi-storey buildings can allow transfer of heat upwards causing higher floors to overheat whilst the lower ones struggle to reach a comfortable temperature.

Walls: Around nine per cent of heat lost in a building is through the fabric of the walls. Improving insulation here is particularly cost-effective in cavity walls.

Control strategy: The more complex a building’s needs are, the more you need a clear control strategy to provide its heating and cooling. Building control systems (combined with a building management policy) are usually the best way to reduce an office’s energy wastage. To be effective, controls need to be user-friendly for both managers and occupants.

Shading: Horizontal blinds or external shading are very good at reducing heat and glare through windows. As a low-cost fix, a novel idea might be to plant deciduous trees and shrubs near your windows. They’ll provide shade in summer, whilst letting through heat and sunlight in winter.

CARBON TRUST GUIDANCE It is vital that when existing public buildings are refurbished, they are equipped with the latest energy saving devices, such as new energy efficient lighting, air conditioning replacements and lighting and heating controls.

Many public sector organisations are already realising the cost savings available by introducing energy saving measures throughout the refurbishment process, and if the public sector is to play a key role in the recovery from the downturn and the fight against climate change, then improving energy efficiency is a vital part of the journey.

Since 2001, through all of its activity, the Carbon Trust has advised and guided over 3,000 public sector organisations on carbon reduction. These implemented projects are expected to deliver over £650 million of savings over the lifetime of the projects.

Over 400 local authorities, NHS trusts and higher education institutions have worked directly with the Carbon Trust in similar programmes over recent years. As a result of implementing carbon management plans these organisations will cut their energy bills by over £300 million and their carbon dioxide emissions by over three million tonnes.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.carbontrust.co.uk

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CRC Assist - helping you comply, ensuring you perform npower’s CRC Assist offers a comprehensive service to help manage each stage of the CRC. A team of experts is on hand to help you with: • Managing participation in the scheme • Compliance advice • Portfolio management • Enduring reduction programmes • League table strategies

For more details speak to your Account Manager or call now on

0845 070 9494

npower.com/CRC

Provision of the CRC Assist service by npower is subject to contract. See npower.com/assist for more details.

Telephone calls: We may monitor and /or record calls for security, quality or training purposes. The costs of calls to 0845 and 0800 numbers will vary so please check with your provider for exact charges. npower is a registered trademark and the trading name of Npower Limited (registration number: 3653277), Npower Direct Limited (registration number: 3782443), Npower Northern Limited (registration number: 3432100), Npower Commercial Gas Limited (registration number: 3768856) and associated companies. Registered office: Windmill Hill Business Park, Whitehill Way, Swindon, SN5 6PB.

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BUILT ENVIRONMENT

CONQUERING THE CRC CHALLENGE With September’s registration deadline for the scheme looming, Dave Lewis, head of business energy services at npower, offers some words of advice to public sector departments on overcoming the challenge of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme THE CARBON REDUCTION COMMITMENT ENERGY EFFICIENCY SCHEME (CRC) has rarely been out of the media spotlight recently. Many articles have focused on the detail of the scheme and its implications, but for everyone involved, including those in the public sector facing inclusion, the time for discussion is over. It’s now crucial that plans and processes are put in place to manage inclusion in the scheme to avoid the potential financial and reputational pitfalls.

Many government organisations still have questions and even those who are fully up to speed on registration may still be unclear about some of the scheme’s early actions. In fact, recent research, the npower Business Energy Index, revealed that nearly half of those questioned from the private and public sector said they did not fully understand what was involved in buying allowances for CO2 emissions and 44 per cent were also unclear about forecasting their CO2 emissions.

past the deadline, up to a maximum of 80 days. Non-compliance will also be published.

This does not even take into account the impact on reputation of a low position in the CRC’s league table, which will rank participants in part on how successful they’ve been in reducing their CO2 emissions.

CALL IN THE EXPERTS With many still unclear about their obligations, and lacking a strategy and in-house expertise, we believe it is likely that organisations will call on specialists such as npower for advice. At npower we’re increasingly working with a number of our customers in this way under our new ‘CRC Assist’ service, which supports organisations in managing their CRC obligations.

Using services like ‘CRC Assist’ should prove to be time and cost effective, by helping to clarify the role in-house specialists like energy managers will play, whilst also helping to

Many government organisations still have questions and even those who are fully up to speed on registration may still be unclear about some of the scheme’s early actions Both processes are key elements of the CRC and it’s no wonder they’re unsure as 44 per cent also believe the level of guidance about the CRC has not been adequate.

The findings paint a dim picture of the potential priority placed on carbon reduction in organisations and their understanding of the CRC. TAKING CONTROL Although it may be of some comfort that other organisations are feeling the same confusion, ultimately, this does not help the cause. Organisations should take control of their participation in the CRC to ensure they do not face the potential financial and reputational implications.

Missing the September 30th deadline and failing to manage the purchase of emissions allowances adequately will result in financial penalties. For example, late registrants will face an immediate fine of £5,000, plus an additional £500 per working day for every working day

avoid the need to recruit and train extra staff, and to establish a suite of processes and procedures for compliance with CRC. This arrangement could also prove to be more productive in the long term as the CRC strategy would be based not only on compliance, but on long term goals to deliver energy savings and CO2 reductions focused on performing well under the scheme, from a financial and reputational perspective, that are linked to an organisation’s broader business objectives.

The importance of this ongoing strategy cannot be underestimated – while all eyes might be on registration at the moment, we cannot escape the fact that the real focus of the CRC is delivering emissions reduction through energy efficiency.

CHANGE REQUIRED For many establishments this will require a step change in how they manage current and future energy consumption and the

implementation of new tools. For example, organisations will need to have detailed plans in place to record and report on their emissions, and then reduce them. The ability to forecast allowance requirements, understand risk exposure and control cash flow related to allowance purchases will also be crucial.

Smart meters should feature as a priority in these plans. These will capture data on energy use, which can then be analysed to make informed decisions on energy efficiency.

Armed with this data, participants can take a longer term view on where energy efficiency measures could be implemented; the capital investment required to deliver these actions; and the expected outcome in terms of energy, and therefore CO2 and allowance savings.

Scheme participants that can do this are more likely to perform well under the CRC, to enjoy also significant cost savings from reduced energy consumption and potentially unlock financial rewards through purchasing fewer emissions allowances.

Government organisations wanting to share in the rewards the CRC offers should start work now and for those lacking in-house resource or expertise, perhaps working with a specialist partner could be the best solution for long-term success.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.npower.com

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6-7 July, Copthorne Tara Hotel, London, UK Best Practice in Energy and Carbon Savings

www.greenpowerconferences.com/crc Keynote Speaker:

Tim Yeo, MP Tim Yeo has been Member of Parliament for South Suffolk since 1983 and Chairman of the Environmental Audit Select Committee since 2005.

Main Event Takeaways: • The very latest updates on key CRC topics including registration, reporting and revenue recycling • Informative case studies on CRC compliance from public and private sector participants • Innovative carbon and energy savings strategies to boost your league table performance • Ideas on reducing the administrative burdens of CRC data management and reporting • Practical advice on estimating CRC costs and managing carbon trading

To enquire about this event, please contact laura.brownie@greenpowerconferences.com quoting ref gb1

Government Business | Volume 17.7

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BUILT ENVIRONMENT

CARBON REDUCTION INITIATIVES – AN OPPORTUNIST’S VIEW Richard Berry from Climate Change Solutions discusses the opportunities in responding to three key government initiatives: CRC energy efficiency scheme, Feed in Tariffs and the Renewable Heat Incentive

Richard Berry

WHILST THE CHANGE IN GOVERNMENT has been a little rocky, one area where parties are in agreement is in the need for a low carbon agenda. The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne MP, indicated a strong commitment to the Climate Change agenda, a green economy and increased energy security, stating that DECC would go “further and faster” to achieve this. Also, on his first visit to the DECC HQ, the Prime Minister David Cameron, pledged “to make this the greenest government ever”, and announced that government departments would reduce carbon emissions by 10 per cent in 12 months.

Recently introduced initiatives and another soon to arrive, could help realise some of that aim and generate much needed momentum. However, what is still needed from business and industry is the pioneering leadership to respond to these opportunities.

CRC ENERGY EFFICIENCY SCHEME Few large organisations will have escaped the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC EES).

Around 5,000 participants will have until Sept 2010 to register. They will then go on to purchase allowances every year for their planned CO2 emissions for the year ahead and enter the world of carbon ‘cap and trade’. The greater the emissions they expect to produce, the more allowances they will need to purchase. A league table will then be published to highlight the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ performers in reducing emissions. The benefit for being at the top or bottom of the

league table will increase progressively from +/-10 per cent of your financial contribution in year 1 up to +/-50 per cent in year 5.

In addition to emissions reductions, in the first three years of the scheme, other Early Action Metrics (EAMs) will be used to assess performance. These include the need to demonstrate effective monitoring by installing automatic meters and then to prove good practice in carbon measurement, management and reduction through accreditation to a recognised certification scheme (e.g. the Carbon Trust Standard).

Opportunities for energy reduction should start with a strategic energy plan to reduce waste and to use energy more efficiently (also applicable to non-energy resources).

This begins with behavioural change and education, and then leads to operational and physical improvements. After an initial focus on energy reduction, other opportunities could be considered to utilise renewable and efficient technologies such as: biomass boilers; ground and air source heating and cooling; and combined heat and power (CHP).

Whilst the CRC EES provides fiscal and marketing incentives to cut absolute and relative CO2 emissions, if taken seriously and with management leadership, the real incentive will be in a sustainable reduction in energy bills.

This CRC EES for energy reduction sits in contrast with another recent government initiative, Feed in Tariff, which puts the focus on domestic and smaller organisations and on generating renewable electricity locally.

FEED IN TARIFF Launched in Apr 2010, the aim of the Feed in Tariff (FiT) is to increase the level of energy produced by small-scale renewables (up to 5MW) and aside from reducing CO2 emissions the benefits come in three ways: • The government will pay for any electricity produced irrespective of whether it is used within the organisation or not • In addition, any electricity exported onto the national grid will be further rewarded • And energy bills will be lower.

It is estimated that depending on the type of renewable energy technology you use, the return on investment could be between 5-8 per cent annually. This proposal opens the door to using renewables such as: Wind turbines, in the suitable locations, Solar photovoltaics (PV), Hydro, Anaerobic digestion; and domestic scale micro CHP.

Whilst initial investment costs for renewables may not be cheap, the FiT offers real opportunities for households and organisations to make great headway in becoming more environmentally sustainable, reduce ongoing energy costs and supporting jobs in this emerging sector.

RENEWABLE HEAT INCENTIVE Essentially the Renewable Heat Incentive, (RHI) due April 2011, will be similar to the FiT in that it will offer financial reward for generating heat energy through renewable sources, again using a tariff system. This incentive will be administered by Ofgem with the heat generated being either for own use or as part of a heat network. The RHI will be aimed at all sizes of organisations and could involve the use of technologies such as solar hot water, biomass boilers or ground source heat pumps.

The level of tariffs is aimed at providing a rate of return of the order of 12 per cent on the additional capital costs of using renewables.

Although, for solar thermal this is expected to be nearer 6 per cent as it is a more mature technology with less installation issues.

It is also expected that the RHI will help create a number of financing models that will support businesses investment in these opportunities.

As the need for energy reduction and renewable energies becomes more crucial, it is hoped that it is the public sector that will be central pioneers in developing future projects.

This will generate the long term demand that make both the returns on investment economic and help build the capacity for a sustainable renewable energy industry.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.climate-change-solutions.co.uk

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Written by Sustainable Homes

BUILT ENVIRONMENT

REVIEWING THE CODE FOR SUSTAINABLE HOMES How does the code work, and how will recent and proposed changes affect it?

THE CODE FOR SUSTAINABLE HOMES has been in active use for the past two years and looks set to continue into the future. Experience gained by the regulators and housebuilders coupled with the UK’s necessity to reduce carbon emissions, means that the time has come to updated the code. This article will touch on how the code works, recent changes, proposed changes and observations from those training to become qualified Code Assessors on Sustainable Homes’ training courses.

Very briefly, the code rewards sustainable features of a home such as energy efficiency, materials used and ecological value. Each feature included in the design results in points being awarded, which when added determine which “Code Level” the home has achieved. Accumulating 36 points means that level 1 is achieved and 90 points means that code level 6 is achieved. Formally qualified code assessors collate evidence to prove that features have been correctly put in place.

There are some sustainability features

that have to be included. These are low dwelling carbon emissions, water efficiency, surface water management, domestic waste storage and site waste management plans.

RECENT CHANGES The most notable of the recent changes is the methodology to calculate the water efficiency of new dwellings. This is an interesting issue because this is the first part of the code that has become part of the building regulations (it’s now included in Part G). It must be remembered that one of the reasons for introducing the code was to signal future changes and this has indeed happened.

Recent flood events have highlighted the importance of surface water management in the UK. This issue is addressed in the code and has been recently reinforced. The requirement to carry out accurate hydrological calculations still remains but some specific exemptions have been identified. This is not an easy way out for builders because these exemptions themselves

must be justified with detailed evidence.

On the subject of evidence, the last major recent change has been the type of evidence required. Up until recently, the code has detailed specific evidence requirements. There is now more flexibility in the types of evidence required but the evidence required still has to be rigorous of an auditable quality as reflected in the term “detailed documentary evidence”.

The recent changes have been relatively minor compared to those that have been proposed. The main proposed changes have focused on the energy category. There will no longer be reward for reaching the code level 3 carbon emission requirement as this will be mandatory in order to comply with the new building regulations. Instead more points will be available for concentrating on the fabric of the building to reduce space heating demand in the first place. This will mean that high levels of insulation, air-tightness and thermal bridging will still be rewarded. An interesting addition is the inclusion of space

Andrew Eagles, MD, Sustainable Homes

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BUILT ENVIRONMENT

cooling demand to ensure that overheating does not become a problem in the future.

Also in the energy section are specialist exceptions to home office and cycle storage requirements as well as a new issue to reward provision of smart meters which allow householders to continual observe, and hopefully reduce, their energy usage. It is proposed to remove the requirement for energy efficient light fittings as they will also be a requirement of the new building regulations.

Other proposed revisions include dropping the mandatory requirement for site waste management plans and standardising the criteria for security. Access requirements for household waste storage, compost facilities and private space will be amended to avoid duplication across the issues and to align with lifetime homes.

These changes will exercise the people who will be building homes but will also clarify many of the issues that have emerged in the last two years. Code building has been mainly

within the social housing sector. However in the last six months we have seen more and more private developers qualifying as code assessors. They are predominantly driven to do so by local planning permission requirements.

We are also seeing a small but growing number training up simply to be ahead of anticipated changes in building regulations.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT As well as turning up in local authority requirements, the code has also prompted technical development of products.

We have seen an increasing number of products advertising code compliance compared with two years ago.

The other thing that has been prompted by the code is the whole debate on sustainability.

People are now realising that new build contributes a relatively small proportion of UK environmental impacts. The ultimate prize is to tackle the impact of existing buildings.

Developments on this front are eagerly awaited.

Nevertheless, until sustainability initiatives for existing build emerge, the code will continue to stimulate debate and technological development and provide more sustainable housing for the UK.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Sustainable Homes trains code assessors under licence from BRE, in addition to training on other sustainable housing standards. It also runs a sustainability benchmarking scheme for housing providers, called SHIFT, please see www.sustainablehomes.co.uk

Know Your Flood Risk – free flood guide

Meeting the challenges of our built environment

HREE YEARS after the 2007 floods, flood risk remains a key issue for local authorities and residents.

Sir Michael Pitt’s report into the response to the 2007 flooding contained wide ranging recommendations regarding how issues arising from flood risk should be addressed in the future.

Prominent among these recommendations was the suggestion that local authorities should take a lead role in managing flood risk in their area.

As highlighted in the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, local authorities have a responsibility to communities and should ensure accurate and practical information is shared with residents, even in communities that aren’t considered to be at significant risk.

Although the new coalition government has pledged to take forward the recommendations and the Environment Agency and local Councils have taken steps to mitigate flood risk, improve flood warning systems and bolster flood defences, more still needs to be done.

In support of the

RE HELPS government, industry and business to meet the challenges of our built environment.

We help clients create better, safer and more sustainable products, buildings, communities and businesses. Our range of training courses includes: Introduction to Renewables – what are the advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy technologies? Make a valued judgement on the suitability of a selected system for a given situation and understand the basic principles of operation.

Energy Management – how to understand where and how an organisation uses energy and what opportunities there are for cost effective reductions in energy use.

Sustainable Refurbishment for Homes – Britain has the oldest housing stock in the developed world with 8.5million properties over 60 years old. This course will assist in establishing the best, cost-effective and sustainable opportunities for your refurbishment projects.

B

T

recommendations Landmark Information Group, the UK’s leading provider of flood data, has teamed up with the National Flood Forum to produce a free Flood Guide for Councils to distribute to their residents. As part of Landmark’s ongoing Know Your Flood Risk campaign to raise awareness of flood risk and the impact of flooding, the guide offers practical guidance and advice, including what to do in the event of a flood and useful contacts.

FOR MORE INFORMATION To request copies, e-mail flood@homecheckpro.co.uk.

Sign-up to Know Your Flood Risk campaign at www.knowyourfloodrisk.co.uk

Part L – revision in 2010 makes compliance even more of a challenge. Are you prepared for the significant changes ahead?

Principles of Sustainability – Sustainability is not just about saving the planet and being ‘green’, this course will cut through the ‘greenwash’ enabling you to embrace sustainability and the opportunities it can herald.

Exclusively for Government Business readers we are offering a £50 discount on ‘Designing to the Code for Sustainable Homes’. Just enter the code: LAcourse8 during online booking.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For further details on these and other BRE Training courses visit: www.bre.co.uk/training, e-mail train@bre.co.uk, or call 01923 664829.

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Government Business | Volume 17.7

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GETTING TO THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM Promoting psychological wellbeing and performance at work SO MANY ARTICLES SUGGEST IT IS the manager’s fault that stress is a problem in the workplace and how it would be eliminated if managers knew how to manage and create effective relationships with their staff. Many stress professionals state that it’s the manager in the work place that creates stress, but how many of these ‘professionals’ know what it is actually like to work in an environment where a positive work culture is not happening? Where the manager is being hit from all directions and often being performance managed themselves, and a grievances culture seems the only way forward, no wonder the managers

their teams in problem solving and not problem creating, if this doesn’t happen stress will become even more prevalent and drag down whole organisations.

The wellbeing of staff need not be compromised even if organisations have to make significant changes to their workplace environment and teams.

The underlying change that would support any manager to manage effectively is to develop effective Emotional Intelligence (EI) skills.

Steven Stein PhD, author of Cutting edge research on management practice, states: “The organisation needs to demonstrate

Promoting psychological wellbeing and performance at work relies on the creation of effective cultural foundations that encourage behaviours that lead to trust, commitment and engagement between individuals, and their manager don’t want to engage in training to help them manage stress in the workplace more effectively if they keep reading that they are so bad at managing and cause all the stress.

The high incidence of sickness, absence and staff turnover continues to cause concern and the impact is all around us with the decline in standards, quality and effectiveness of public services. The economy is struggling, unemployment rising and budgets cuts are in progress. Stress levels are rising and tensions are increasing – but is it all the manager’s fault?

POSITIVE WORK CULTURE How can a healthy and positive work culture that is essential for wellbeing and performance at work be achieved for both the manager and their staff?

Promoting psychological wellbeing and performance at work relies on the creation of effective cultural foundations that encourage behaviours that lead to trust, commitment and engagement between individuals, and their manager.

In November 2009 the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published guidelines for all organisations: ‘Promoting mental wellbeing through productive and healthy working conditions: guidance for employers’.

The new coalition government has just arrived announcing £6 billion cuts this year, with years of cuts ahead. We now need to equipment managers with skills to engage

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strong and Visionary leadership through intelligent management, and invest in employees so they know they are being treated with respect and can be proud of their purpose and role in contributing to superior performance for a company who cares.’’

EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT ORGANISATION There are seven keys to an emotionally intelligent organisation: • Hire capable people who love the job they do and show how they contribute to the bigger picture • Fairness • Don’t overwork/underwork people • Build strong team with shared purpose and viable goals.

• Make sure managers can manage • Treat people with respect and leverage their unique talents • Be proactively responsible by doing the right things to win the hearts and minds of your people.

EI is an awareness based intelligence, and to be highly developed in EI it requires the manager to: • stop and think • control their impulses • use their innate intuition • be authentic with themselves and others • manage their fears in leading others effectively.

It is no soft option since it deals with hidden

areas of fear and gets to the root cause of any unproductive behaviour. However, it is very rewarding when relationships improve with their team thus creating a positive work culture.

The following personal characteristics of managers need to be developed and applied in interactions with staff: • The demonstration of genuine attentiveness to others • Trustworthiness • Emotional Intelligence • A sense of humour • The demonstration of passion for the work of the organisation and the work of staff • The demonstration of meeting individual needs as they arise, nurturing staff to realise their potential • The demonstration of skills to resolve conflicts.

Paying attention to these key areas of development will positively impact the bottom line in any organisation.

To sustain success in difficult times, there needs to be a sense of purpose within the organisation, setting understandable goals which will help to set boundaries separating what is productive and useful behaviour from what is not.

People are the key to success in today’s workplace, managers need to be allowed to lead their teams, however, they need to be supported in developing skills to enable successful change processes to happen in an extremely demanding economic climate.

The building and sustaining of a positive work culture needs to be seen as a priority to enable managers to support changes that organisation will face over the coming years.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.premierlifeskills.co.uk

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Written by the Health and Safety Executive

HEALTH & SAFETY

LIFE SAVING WORK Challenging perceptions – what does health and safety really mean?

WHAT DO YOU THINK of when you hear the words health and safety? Is it the protection of workers and the public, or the ‘elf and safety gone mad’ stories that are so prevalent in the media?

‘Elf n safety’ has become a popular and easy to hide behind excuse for every form of risk aversion. The banning of pancake races, hanging baskets, and seasonal decorations and lights on grounds of ‘elf n safety,’ which in reality may be down to concerns over being sued or even plain laziness, are doing enormous damage to the really important – literally life saving work – which lies at the heart of the real health and safety agenda.

But what does health and safety really mean? Does it simply mean fulfilling your legal responsibilities as an employer or as a regulator?

REAL RISKS Health and safety means much more than that. It can help local and central government target real risks, which can not only benefit businesses but also wider communities,

families, friends and communities is enormous.

We cannot put a cost on the emotional toll but we can see the impact on the economy.

Around 29 million working days were lost in 2008/9 due to the consequences of accidents at work and work-related health. Looking at the finances, it is estimated that the annual cost to society of work-related accidents and ill-health is a staggering £20 billion (approximately 2 per cent of GDP). In today’s economic climate can we really afford this? Can you afford this?

Great Britain has one of the best health and safety records in the world. However, although the rates of death, injury and workrelated ill health have declined for most of the past 35 years, today’s headline figures indicate that the combined incidence of injury and ill health in Great Britain is much the same now as it was five years ago.

Whilst HSE and LAs as regulators have a major role to play to bring about improvements in health and safety performance, there is a need for everyone to work together to reduce the incidence of injuries and ill

The banning of pancake races, hanging baskets, and seasonal decorations and lights on grounds of ‘elf n safety,’ which in reality may be down to concerns over being sued or even plain laziness, are doing enormous damage to the really important – literally life saving work – which lies at the heart of the real health and safety agenda helping make them healthier and safer.

Reducing sickness absence from injury and ill health caused, or made worse, by work means better delivery of public services.

When people are exposed to unacceptable work-related risks, their physical and mental health is likely to suffer. This places additional demands on the local economy, services such as healthcare, the police, social care and other support services.

In 2008/9 in Great Britain 180 workers were killed at work and 134,914 other injuries to workers reported. In the same period, 94 members of the public were fatally injured due to work related incidents and 20,709 members of the public injured and taken directly to hospital.

Each year thousands of people die from workrelated disease and in 2008/9, 1.2 million people were suffering from an illness they believe to be caused or made worse by their current or past work. The emotional and financial toll to

health in the workplace. For that to become a reality, everyone has to understand the role they have and become better at managing their individual responsibilities.

STRATEGY & LEADERSHIP In June 2009 HSE launched its new strategy ’The Health and Safety of Great Britain – be part of the solution’. The strategy was developed in consultation with local authorities, employers, employees and their representatives. It recognises and addresses the many stakeholders who have a role in maintaining and improving health and safety standards. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act established a simple and enduring principle that those who create risk are best placed to manage it.

First and foremost is leadership. Health and safety must start from the top of every organisation, whatever its size. HSE and LAs provide support to businesses in helping them understand and manage their legal duties.

Ultimately we are working to help sustain an innovative, technological and progressive economy, with prosperous and safe workplaces.

Our mission is to prevent death, injury and ill health of those at work and those affected by work activities. We work together using a risk-based approach to targeting our interventions to deliver national, regional and local priorities. We also have a responsibility to dispel the myths by encouraging a sensible approach to public safety issues.

SAFER COMMUNITIES An initiative launched in 2005 by Salford City Council, Bury Metropolitan Borough Council and Greater Manchester Police focused on raising awareness of workplace violence and improving standards of security and safety, particularly in retail.

After the success of this initiative it was rolled out across Greater Manchester and many LAs across the country have their own projects to reduce work-related violence. For example, more recently, Westminster City Council worked with the Metropolitan Police Service and major coffee store chains to reduce crime in coffee stores and provide a safer environment for staff at work and for customers.

The overall outcome is reducing levels of crime and a reduction in anti-social behaviour meaning that people feel safer in their neighbourhood HEALTHIER COMMUNITIES There are an estimated 8,000 work-related cancer deaths per year of which about half are due to past exposure of asbestos. Asbestos exposure is a significant health risk among tradesmen, it is vital to make them aware of the dangers. Hull Environmental Health worked with Hull College Construction School and developed a programme of asbestos awareness seminars for joinery, bricklaying, plumbing and electrical students In 2010/11 many LAs are planning to promote the need for management arrangements to ensure that under 18s do not use sun beds and that coin operated salons are supervised by trained staff. By raising awareness and health and safety management we can reduce the incidence of work-related diseases, leading to lower mortality rates and hospital admissions.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For a clear statement of core principles and a sensible approach to health and safety in Great Britain: http:// www.hse.gov.uk/strategy HSE’s own myth of the month sets the record straight on many health and safety fallacies or misconceptions. To see HSE’s myths of the month: http:// www.hse.gov.uk/myth/index.htm

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A New Era in Security and Safety Management Demonstrating security and safety technology · Surveillance & CCTV · Access Control, Time & Attendance · Biometric & Video Analytics · Intruder Detection & Alarms · Fire Detection & Evacuation · Integrated Safety Solutions · Audio, Intercom & Messaging · Transmission & Comms Systems · Building Management Systems

Security – who’s job is it anyway?

Your security requirements traditionally fall into 4 areas Physical Security, CCTV, Access Control, and Intruder Alarms most of which have either migrated from analogue to digital technology, or are in the process of doing so. Digital systems are increasingly being run over networks using IP (internet protocol). The benefits are self-evident with further integration of audio, intercom and messaging, fire and evacuation, asset management and tracking and transmission and comms technologies.

But the world is changing, and IT and Network professionals are becoming more involved, with growing responsibility for both Physical and Logical security within an organisation, particularly with intelligent building management and facilities solutions also beginning to converge.

This shift will change the way we protect and manage all of our organisations, properties and people in future and will introduce both opportunities and challenges for those responsible for security and safety.

It's time to embrace and investigate this migration, and to identify how best they can be exploited.

In a recent survey of IT, ICT and Network managers, 80% of respondents agreed that physical security was increasingly becoming part of their remit and that engaging with security and safety professionals was key.

Convergence Key to Efficiency

I

20 SECT E N

International IP Solutions Exhibition & Conference

Earls Court 2, LONDON 20th - 21st October 2010

www.iipseconline.com co-located with

We are all acutely aware of the continued convergence between the physical security, life safety and IT worlds. We also understand that for Networked Security and Safety Applications to become more effective it is essential that we learn to engage with both the security specialists and the IT industry as a whole and the IP players in particular.

Preparing for the Future Helping to increase the awareness and acceptance of new IP based applications across many market areas, the IIPSEC exhibition and conference now located at the IP EXPO will ensure that you gain from the synergies between the various technologies on display and will provide a firm basis upon which Stake-Holders, Security and Safety Professionals and IT and Network Technologists can discover the opportunities that lie within mutually accessible solutions.

Where to learn more IIPSEC at the IP EXPO will demonstrate real life solutions and allow security specialists to engage with IT and network professionals for the first time. The combination of the product showcase, technical and practical seminars and workshops and presentations tailored specifically to your needs will result in an informative and enlightening participation.

IIPSEC has always concentrated on the application of technology within the Security, Life Safety and BMS environments, whereas the IP EXPO is dedicated to the underlying technology itself, covering Cloud computing, Virtualisation, Infrastructure and Wireless and Storage solutions. This is a unique combination of events where Security, Safety, IT and Network Professionals can mingle and understand the commercial and practical possibilities available when working together to increase security and safety.

Register FREE – www.iipseconline.com Image courtesy of NICE systems

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SECURITY

A LEADING GLOBAL ANNUAL SECURITY EVENT For the 38th successive year, IFSEC delivered a first-class event for the international security industry when it took place from 10-13 May at the NEC Birmingham ESTABLISHED AS THE WORLD’S LARGEST annual security event, thousands of visitors descended on Birmingham to see more than 750 industry-renowned companies showcase their latest developments and take advantage of more than 30 hours of free educational content.

James Blue, director of Fire & Security at UBM Live, organisers of IFSEC, said: “As the economy continues its recovery, the security industry was in buoyant mood over the four days of IFSEC 2010. With business being generated across all three halls of the event, thousands of security professionals benefitted from more than 750 exhibitors and a vast amount of free seminars at the NEC Birmingham. The results were fantastic with positive feedback from both our visitors and exhibitors.”

NEW PRODUCTS & SERVICES Visitors to IFSEC 2010 were able to explore the latest security products and services available both in the UK and

to source US security products and services in one concentrated location. Commercial staff from the U.S. Embassy in London were on hand to answer any queries.

In addition to the US, visitors could source products and services from Belgium (new for 2010), China, France, Italy, Korea and Taiwan.

Furthermore, the Secartys association, a voluntary organisation which represents more than 1,200 industries in electronics, information technology, telecommunications and solar energy across Spain, also introduced new Spanish exhibitors in the different product areas within the exhibition.

The annual ‘Meet the Buyers’ event, which provides UK exhibitors will unrivalled access to international buyers of security products and services, was also a great success. Through strategic partnerships with UK Trade & Investment/UKTI Defense & Security Organisation and British Security Industry Association (BSIA), IFSEC invested in bringing 125 buyers from all over the

With business being generated across all three halls of the event, thousands of security professionals benefitted from more than 750 exhibitors and a vast amount of free seminars at the NEC Birmingham worldwide. The extensive exhibition was organised into the following categories: • Integrated Security/IP & Network Solutions • Access Control • CCTV • Intruder Alarms • Counter Terror & Physical Security • Security Solutions • Fire Solutions.

Axis, Dallmeier, Genie CCTV, HIK Vision, IndigoVision, JVC, Norbain, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony and Tyco were amongst those exhibiting. IFSEC has long been the platform for these companies to launch their new products and 2010 proved no different – Axis, for example, took the opportunity to demonstrate their series of high-performance, outdoor-ready pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) domes, including two HDTV models, at the event. Within the exhibition there was also seven dedicated international pavilions in which visitors could seek the latest products and services from all over the globe.

Supported by the US Commercial Service, IFSEC 2010 featured its first US Pavilion. Based in hall 4, this pavilion housed a plethora of innovative manufacturers, allowing visitors

globe to the event as part of the Inward Missions programme. A record-breaking 722 meetings took place which demonstrates the importance placed on this initiative to the international buyers’ UK trade network.

SEMINARS & PRESENTATIONS Free-of-charge seminars ran in the New Products & Technology Showcase Seminar Theatres so visitors were able to hear about the latest developments in this evolving industry.

Also within the exhibition, the new Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB) Red Book Pavilion housed seminars and presentations based on all aspects of LPCB third party approvals, training schemes and research relating to physical security. The free-of-charge educational programme was led by industry experts from the LPCB and dedicated staff were on hand to answer any questions.

IFSEC CONFERENCE Returning for 2010, the IFSEC Conference delivered an unparalleled educational programme packed with carefully researched high-level content aimed at senior security

professionals. The content took a fresh and unique look at the key issues facing the security industry, including countering terror, protecting critical national infrastructure, preparing for London Olympics 2012, corporate security issues, security guarding and recent technological developments.

Each day of the Conference was dedicated to a different area of security: • Day one: Countering Terror and Protecting the Nation • Day two: Corporate Security in the Recovering Economy • Day three: Next Generation Technologies The high-level seminars were delivered by some of the most senior players in the industry, including Prof Adam OgilvieSmith, industry secondee, Office for Security & Counter-Terrorism, Home Office; Chris Phillips GCGI, MSyl., DCI head of The National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) and Don Randall MBE, head of Security, Bank of England.

Finally, the IFSEC Security Industry Awards, organised in association with the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), acknowledged the people, products and technological advancements that have played a big part in the security industry over the past year.

Presented by former Cabinet Minister Michael Portillo, the 2010 winners were: • Access Control Product of the Year: Smarti Guardeon – Tab Systems • CCTV Camera Equipment Product of the Year: WV-CP500 – Panasonic System Networks Europe • CCTV System Product of the Year: BriefCam VS Online – BriefCam • Communication Product of the Year: QlinQ – SafelinQ UK Ltd • Guarding Service Product of the Year: Marks and Spencer Plc – Securitas Security Services • Integrated Security Product of the Year: Closed IP TV – Dedicated Micros • Intruder Alarm Product of the Year: Moviwall – Hymatom • Physical Security Product of the Year: Terra Mount Blocker – Frontier Pitts • Policing Partnership Product of the Year: Westfield Shoppingtowns Ltd/VSG/ Police Service of Northern Ireland – Westfield CastleCourt and Belfast CitySafe Retail CrimeWatch Partnership • Security Project or Installation Product of the Year: South African Airports – DVTel

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.ifsec.co.uk

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020 7404 4440 info@bifm-training.co.uk www.bifm-training.com

We aim to provide an enviable level of service appropriate to your requirements. Our team can offer as much or as little support as you need in the following disciplines:-

• Facilities Management • Project Management • Server Room Build • Office Fit Out • Shop Fit Out If you need help we can provide you an alternative perspective & innovative solutions to moving your project forward.

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We are the leading source of FM Training, Learning and Development in the UK. We offer 3 key services to FM professionals: BIFM Training Programme Full range of courses for FM professional development and recognised industry qualifications BIFM Learning & Development Services In-house training and consultancy for FM organisations BIFM Executive Programme High level networking events for directors and senior managers in FM

Want to know more? www.bifm-training.com

What makes a good FM even better? we do.

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FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

EDUCATION AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE FACILITIES SHOW Event attracted a record number of visitors and closes a success THE FACILITIES SHOW, the UK’s leading FM event was a hive of activity when it took place 11-13 May at the NEC Birmingham.

In its 11th year, The Facilities Show offered more educational content, industry renowned exhibitors and innovative features than ever before. Winner of the 2009 AEO Award for Best Trade Exhibition, The Facilities Show 2010 built on the success of 2009 when more than 19,000 professionals descended on the NEC Birmingham.

Produced in association with the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM), the 2010 event built upon the previous years’ successes and was attended by industry professionals looking to explore the latest offerings from leading FM manufacturers, distributors and suppliers at the extensive exhibition. A wide range of industry renowned companies launched and demonstrated their latest products at services including Anabas, B&Q, Buderus, Bosch, CLM, MG Lites, Nickleby, Screwfix and Shred-it.

Education has long played a vital role at The Facilities Show and the 2010 event offered the most comprehensive, freeof-charge programme to date. Visitors had the opportunity to attend more than 30 hours of complimentary seminars to learn about the latest issues facing the industry and receive best practice advice from facilities management leaders.

TWO SEMINAR THEATRES There were two dedicated seminar theatres on the exhibition floor; The Facilities Show Seminar Theatre, sponsored by Moneypenny, addressed topics including managing maintenance, best practice techniques in secure management destruction, benefits of a web based permit to work systems and career pathways and qualifications in facilities management to name but a few. The Sustainable FM Academy, sponsored by FMX, featured seminars delivered by key industry figures covering a range of topics to help reduce carbon footprint and help organisations work towards a more sustainable future.

Adrian Newton, portfolio director of Safety and Building Management at UBM Live, organisers of The Facilities Show, said: “The reason the Association of Event Organisers (AEO) recognised The Facilities Show as the best trade exhibition in 2009 is because of our commitment to driving this exciting industry forward. We offered our most comprehensive programme to date for 2010 and we were in no doubt that

The reason the Association of Event Organisers (AEO) recognised The Facilities Show as the best trade exhibition in 2009 is because of our commitment to driving this exciting industry forward. We offered our most comprehensive programme to date for 2010 and we were in no doubt that visitors would get all the information they need to drive their businesses forward visitors would get all the information they need to drive their businesses forward.”

Education once again took centre stage at The Facilities Show with two dedicated seminar theatres on the exhibition floor. The Facilities Show Seminar Theatre, sponsored

by Moneypenny, housed an extensive programme that focussed on the latest industry developments. In addition to a keynote presentation by Ian Fielder, chair of BIFM, there was a raft of topical presentations, including: • ‘The cowboys are facing their alamo’: The British Parking Association/UK Parking Control Ltd, Richard Hilton, BDM and Rupert Williams, MD • Managing maintenance: The opportunities and pitfalls with outsourcing building maintenance and compliance services: CLM, Paul Caddick, MD • Double your money: FM and Construction Act 2009: Nickleby, Nick Smale, director

• Saving money and lives; the benefits of a web based permit to work systems: Banyards, Simon Oliff, MD. The Sustainable FM Academy, sponsored by FMX, allowed visitors to hear from industry leaders who shared best practices in order to make workplaces greener and more sustainable.

Seminar topics included: • Voltage Optimisation – Can you afford not to?: powerPerfector, Angus Robertson, CEO • Low Energy Air Filters (CIBSE CPD Acredited Seminar): Camfil Farr, Peter Dyment, energy consultant • Energy efficient buildings – Web based real time energy monitoring, The first step to energy efficient buildings: Building Sustainability Ltd, George Bartley, managing director • Green roofing and refurbishment – The sustainable solutions: Bauder, Paul Munley, regional manager.

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quarter page for government business.qxp:Layout 1 18/05/2010 12:46 Pa

Total Office Solution from an Ecologically Responsible Supplier

www.eof.co.uk

Sercon ‘Supports’ Your Service Needs As a leading provider of integrated facility services, Sercon Support Services Ltd provides a complete range of cleaning, security and recruitment services. Combining innovative thinking with industry expertise, we work in partnership with our clients to offer tailored solutions to meet individual needs and provide ‘Service Excellence for All’.

Our comprehensive range of services includes: n Cleaning and Associated Support Services n Manned Guarding and Security Mobile Patrol Services n Screening and Vetting to B57858 n Remote Monitoring & CCTV n Help Desk Facility Services n Recruitment services

T: 01294 217 600 F: 01294 217 633 E: enquiries@serconltd.co.uk W: www.serconltd.co.uk Sercon Support Services Ltd, Kent House, 21 Whittle Place, South Newmoor Industrial Estate, Irvine, Ayrshire KA11 4HR

At ‘Musicarch’ we specialise in bespoke hi-fi products and systems for music lovers.

Our product portfolio consists of hand-selected bespoke hi-fi architecture, many of which you won’t find in most high-street retail shops.

Every hi-fi piece is handmade in small numbers, to exacting standards. Using only the finest materials and components available, they are brought together to create uncompromising musical architecture.

We promise that when you sit down in our relaxed listening room to audition a product or system, you’ll feel closer to your music than ever before.

With expert unbiased advice and true pride of ownership - a lifetime of listening pleasure awaits you.

t. 01273 607 983 www.musicarch.co.uk Davone

MA GBM Jun10 v1.indd 1

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FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

ENERGY MANAGEMENT At a time when facilities managers are taking greater responsibility for the energy management of their buildings, The Facilities Show 2010 launched the Energy Management Zone, sponsored by powerPerfector. Following research, it was apparent that 30 per cent of visitors had responsibility for energy management or supply. Therefore to address this growing requirement, the new zone housed some of the leading providers of energy products and services to give visitors the opportunity to address all their energy management needs in one dedicated pavilion.

Camfil Farr, Energy Intelligence Group and IM Serve are just some of the names that exhibited within the first ever Energy Management Zone.

Today, organisations are seeking more efficient, productive and sustainable FM solutions so The Facilities Show highlighted such products to its visitors with a dedicated trail. New for 2010, the Prop IT Trail highlighted market leading companies offering cutting edge products in computer aided facilities management (CAFM), document management, resource booking software, security and fire services, mobile communication and systems integration. FSI, Serco – FM Easy and Qube Global Software are just a few of the companies that participated in the Prop IT Trail.

The Green FM Trail returned once again for 2010 to highlight exhibitors offering advice, product and services in response to the ever growing green challenge. This year’s trail featured: • Alupro • Anabas • Balcas Brites

• Bauder • Biodrier • Camfil Farr • Cleardrains • CLM Ltd • Cory Environmental Recycling Services • Energy Intelligence Group • Environmental Waste Management • Hoval Ltd • IMServ • Integrated FM Ltd • LSI Independent Utility Brokers • Magnatech Energy Ltd • Mechline Developments • Mil-tek GB Ltd • Ministry of Ecosystems • Overton Recycling • Plexus Altitude • PowerPerfector • Pulse Commercial Utilities • Signature Aromas Ltd • Vokes Air • Wincanton Visitors to The Facilities Show also had the opportunity to relax and unwind at The Facilities Show Bar, sponsored by PPL. EXHIBITOR HIGHLIGHTS To mark their first appearance at the Facilities Management Show, CP Plus launched their bespoke ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) service into the FM market.

In addition to their current FM service offering – a flexible one-stop solution to help clients increase efficiency, cut costs and reduce the number of suppliers – CP Plus can now provide their FM clients with the ability to improve security, customer familiarisation

and congestion processes, using proven ANPR technology. ANPR can also offer facilities managers greater staffing flexibility and data capture capabilities, as well as providing effective solutions to restrict unauthorised use of public and private parking areas.

Developed in-house and designed with features including permit management, enforcement processes, patrol logging and vehicle tracking systems, CP Plus’ ANPR services ensure that clients and their customers benefit from a superior parking experience. State-of-the-art technologies such as mobile phone and Internet-based payment systems are also available.

Grahame Rose, development director at CP Plus, commented: “We use technology where there is a proven need and where it adds real value to the service we offer our clients – not because it’s the latest thing. We never underestimate the simple approach.

Where the situation demands it, we employ uncomplicated, traditional systems – in fact we utilise whatever is needed to ensure that our client receives the very highest FM service.”

Swallow Evacuation and Mobility Products Limited launched the first Mobile Goods/ Cargo handling product that can also evacuate a wheelchair user in their own wheelchair.

Working in conjunction with the Arcadia Group, the Goods Mate can carry goods up to 100kg, up and down stairs, at the touch of a single button with no operative balancing requirement. The unit can also take a wheelchair user in their own non motorised wheelchair, thus enabling the Arcadia Group the ability to have one product that fulfils different purposes.

Firstly, staff can take goods in tote boxes, up and down stairs, in a safe manner without any lifting or manual handling on the stairs.

Secondly, should the need arise that a wheelchair user needs to be evacuated from above or below ground, the unit can allow safe egress from the building without the need to transfer the occupant out of their own chair, this also eliminates the need for manual handling of the occupant as well.

Thirdly, with the nature of lifts, they will break down on a regular basis, therefore this product allows the company not to be reliant on a lift engineer again. Finally, this product helps with compliance of the Fire Reform Order, Disability Discrimination Act & Health and Executive Manual Handling Guidelines.

FOR MORE INFORMATION The Facilities Show returns to the NEC Birmingham from 17-19 May 2011. Visit www.thefacilitiesshow.com for further information and follow us on twitter @ facilities_show for the latest updates.

Companies interested in exhibiting at The Facilities Show 2011 should contact Fergus Bird, 020 7921 8660 or e-mail fergus.bird@ubm.com

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Only in Scotland will your conference be truly inspiring.

Scotland provides a stimulating environment to give new perspective to your own ideas and spur you on to greater heights.

Some of the world’s oldest universities and modern research institutes nurture fresh talent to follow in the famous footsteps of alumni, who have changed the world as we know it.

Given Scotland’s reputation as a leading light in the fields of science, medicine, finance, energy and technology, it’s no surprise we have conference facilities to match.

And it’s never been easier to get here. So to find out more about hosting an event in Scotland, log onto conventionscotland.com Or perhaps that should be unconventional Scotland.

Only in Scotland

Hi-tech conference centres in stimulating surroundings.

You can’t help but be inventive.

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A HEADY MIX OF BUSINESS AND PLEASURE Scotland has much to offer event organisers – stunning locations, state of the art facilities, value for money and easy access. On top of all that, it’s also one of the top places to combine business with pleasure and fun WHETHER IT’S THE CHALLENGE of the great outdoors, the lure of culinary excellence, innovative team building activities for all ages or luxurious incentives and rewards, Scotland boasts a portfolio that’s bursting with ideas.

Only in Scotland can you walk out of Glasgow’s Scottish Exhibition + Conference Centre and within minutes board a seaplane for the ultimate breakout session flying over the Scottish Highlands, the Trossachs or Argyll National Park. Only in Scotland can you host a large event at the Macdonald Highland Resort in Aviemore then whisk your delegates off by funicular railway for a gala dinner in the Ptarmigan Restaurant at the top of CairnGorm Mountain. And only in Scotland can you finish a morning’s business at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre and start the afternoon session with inspiring team building activities in the picturesque grounds of the jewel in East Lothian’s stately homes crown – Gosford House.

SCOTTISH DIVERSITY Scotland’s diversity provides a menu of activity options that will make any event special and memorable. There are plenty of opportunities for event organisers to let their imaginations run wild and plan activities that their delegates will not only enjoy, but learn from as well.

Among the highlights of what’s on offer are ‘meetings without walls’; a truly different alternative to balancing the books with the

ultimate balancing challenge on off-road Segways; the opportunity to quite literally walk on water by trying out Wow Balls on a Scottish loch; bespoke and private whisky tastings at a stunning Edinburgh venue or intimate dining at an exclusive Chef’s Table.

Every major city boasts state of the art conference centres complimented by first class hotels to suit every budget, academic locations with accommodation options outside term times, plus churches, banking halls or even public bath houses restored and given new life as event venues. Add to that, a string of heritage locations, stately homes and castles, museums and galleries, dynamic cities, breathtaking coastline, rural locations, and Scotland has the perfect choice of facilities for events large and small.

Over 300 meeting planners bring their events to Scotland every year, an average of one a day, so this bustling location has the experience and infrastructure to tick every box on the critical plan. With Edinburgh and Glasgow rated in the top three in a list of European cities offering best value for money for association conferences, there should be every opportunity to take advantage of some of the very different and very special add-ons.

Catriona Anderson, marketing manager, associations, with VisitScotland’s Business Tourism Unit (BTU) says: “Often delegates choose to extend their stay and even bring their families for a short break. So, even if the

budget won’t quite stretch to incorporating extras into the conference or event programme, we have a team of experts on hand to suggest packages for delegates considering this option.”

GOLFING EXTRAS As the true home of golf, Scotland boasts an unparalled selection of golf courses.

Many of the top championship courses – Turnberry, Gleneagles, St Andrews, Royal Troon – have adjacent conference hotels with capacities for several hundred delegates.

New courses are coming on stream all the time, including the much-vaunted Trump International Golf Development in Aberdeen and the new Castle Stuart Golf Course in the Highlands, which has future plans to create a luxury 75 bedroom hotel and spa.

Significant investment in existing facilities is ongoing with Fairmont St Andrews just completing a multi-million pound redevelopment that has seen its 209 rooms completely refreshed, a new spa introduced and the public areas redeveloped to integrate the conference and leisure facilities. The hotel, which hosted the 2009 G20 Summit, has a dedicated conference suite which can cater for up to 700 theatre-style in its Atrium.

The five red star resort, Turnberry, was also refurbished last year prior to hosting the 2009 Open, and offers 198 luxuriously appointed bedrooms, many with unspoilt sea views.

Just recently introduced in the new 1906

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beautifully proportioned ensuite bedrooms

Events at The Westerwood Hotel & Golf Resort All conference suites are equipped with full blackout facilities, air conditioning and natural daylight. Extensive grounds for team building activities.

Our jewel in the crown - the Carrick Suite can accommodate a maximum of 400 delegates.

Dedicated Events Manager and complimentary WiFi for all delegates. The Westerwood Hotel & Golf Resort also boasts an 18 hole golf course and full leisure facilities plus a choice of dining areas.

200 complimentary car parking spaces 7 well equipped conference suites 4 stars for outstanding service

Ideally located midway between Glasgow International Airport and Edinburgh Airport. 20 minutes from Glasgow city centre.

For more information or to arrange a showround please contact westerwoodevents@QHotels.co.uk or call Colin Clark, Director of Sales on 07795 253 175

One of a kind

The Westerwood Hotel & Golf Resort Nr Glasgow www.QHotels.co.uk

Hotel Group of the Year 2008 - 2009

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Location, Location, Location With two hotels in Kinross you’ll be spoilt for choice.

You will find a range of conference rooms, ideal for Conferences, Meetings, Training Courses, Product Launches, Dinners, Team Building and Weddings.

We also have two 18-hole golf courses ideal for your next golf outing.

· Meeting rooms for between 2 & 250 theatre style

· One mile from Jct 6 M90 motorway only 30 minutes north of Edinburgh Airport

· Two 18 hole golf courses, Curling

Rink, Team Building with Teammania

· Gravity Leisure Club and beauty treatments

For more information call Anne on 01577 863467 or email events@montgomeryhotelgroup.com

The Green Hotel 2 The Muirs, Kinross KY13 8AS www.green-hotel.com

The Windlestrae Hotel The Muirs, Kinross KY13 8AS www.windlestraehotel.com

Barony Castle Offer MEET WITH US AT BARONY CASTLE, Nr EDINBURGH Why not book your next meeting or conference at Barony Castle and take advantage of this amazing offer 24hr Rate of £120.00 inc VAT pp, Valid for 2010 & inclusive of: (terms & conditions apply) • Main meeting room hire & one syndicate room • Unlimited tea, coffee, fruit & biscuits • LCD projector, screen, 2 x flip charts, TV & DVD • Water station, pads, pens & mints • Free car parking & Wi Fi • 3 course hot & cold buffet lunch • 3 course table d'hote dinner • En suite accommodation • Full Scottish breakfast • Use of leisure facilities

to book please contact Lynne Haining & quote GBM on 01721 730 395 or email

lhaining@deverevenues.co.uk

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CONFERENCES & EVENTS

restaurant is the ultimate behind-the-scenes dining experience at the Chef’s Table in the kitchen – a real corporate treat for special occasions or an incentive for hardworking staff.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS Undoubtedly Scotland is renowned for its vast natural landscapes and the plethora of outdoor activities that offer endless team building opportunities from swinging through the trees to white water rafting, orienteering and off-road safaris.

An exciting new addition to the list is Treezone at Rothiemurchus Estate in Aviemore, an aerial assault course that give delegates the chance to let out their wild inner man or woman. This exciting adventure playground, suspended from wires high up in the trees, has Tarzan swings and a monster zip-wire ride. Those brave enough to take part face 35 nail biting challenges on their journey through the forest canopy. And, in the central belt, adrenaline-pumping high wire forest adventures are available at Go Ape courses in Aberfoyle and West Lothian.

At Alladale Wilderness Reserve in the north east, ideal for a corporate getaway and recently named as one of the 101 best destinations in the world by Tatler Travel Guide, guests can take part in a range of activities including 4x4 safaris, deer stalking and guided hikes. The aim of the reserve is to restore a remote area of the Highlands to its natural glory, so revenue from corporate events is a vital lifeline for the project.

And for anyone wondering what it would be like to walk on water, outdoor adventure company Boots N Paddles has the answer.

They offer Wow Balls, giant inflatable spheres that delegates are sealed into then launched into a loch where the challenge is to move backwards and forwards, side to side, and most probably upside down!

New for 2010 is a partnership between leading activity centres Craggan Outdoors in the Cairngorms, and experience specialists Wild Thinking and the Great Big Event Company. Together, the three companies offer an unbeatable two-day teambuilding package set against the stunning backdrop of the Cairngorms. Team building activities and challenges are combined with inspiring group workshops, all designed to build teams and identify leaders in an out of office environment.

Workshops, run as meetings without walls, incorporate the natural environment and take place around a campfire, in a tepee or in the remote outdoors. Guaranteed to be a dramatic experience, the package will leave groups revitalised, refreshed and ready to achieve results when they get back to the day job.

For the truly adventurous Wilderness Scotland offers the chance to explore the most remote and rugged areas of Scotland with bespoke walking and adventure packages for small groups. Activities can include a challenging team treasure hunt,

Wow Balls on Loch Ness

Enjoy culinary excellence

4X4 safari

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The home of

Ramada Livingston

St Johnstone Football Club

Situated on the M8 off Junction 3, just 35 minutes from Glasgow and 20 minutes from Edinburgh, the hotel is the ideal location for conference and corporate events alike. At Ramada Livingston, the Summit Conference Centre comprises 9 conference rooms suitable for hosting discreet boardroom meetings or conferences for up to 130 delegates. 120 Ensuite bedrooms with flat screen LCD TV. The Ramada Livingston also has a Sebastian Coe Health Club and complimentary car parking. Free WiFi in meeting rooms and public areas.

is an ideal venue to host a variety of social or private events:

Birthday Parties / Engagement & Anniversary Celebrations / Retirement Functions Work Celebrations / Re-unions / Christenings / Graduation Lunches and Dinners / Weddings Dinner Dances / Themed Evenings / Private Dining / Christmas Party Nights

Government rate for accommodation is from just £78 per person inclusive of Bed, Breakfast & VAT @ 17.5%. Day delegate rates are from £28 per person and 24 hr rates are from just £125 per person.

. . just about any social occasion you can think of!

Organisers - Ask about Your addvantage package privileges. Free 8 or 24 hour delegate place for organiser or lead delegate, £30 off additional food & beverage spend, bedroom upgrade and spouse stays FREE are just some of the benefits of you can enjoy.

Full terms & conditions available on request.

All of McDiarmid Park’s superb facilities are available for private hire, so you can choose the room that best suits your needs. Whether it’s for an exclusive dinner for 12 in the prestigious surroundings of our Club Boardroom or a party with disco for up to 80 people in our Centenary or Muirton Suites with seven function rooms to choose from there is something to suit everyone.

To Book…

Here at McDiarmid Park we handle all catering in-house, from simple finger buffets to gourmet cuisine.

Telephone - Dedicated Government Line on: 0844 815 9092 Web – www.ramadjarvis.co.uk/govmeet2010-05-27 Email - conferencedesk@ramadajarvis.co.uk

We are pleased to say that flexibility and the tailoring of menus to suit your special occasion are key features of the service that we provide. We are pleased to offer a range of options, and are always happy to discuss any specific requirements you may have, thereby ensuring you can have

With 7 locations in Scotland – you’ll be spoilt for choice!

the food you would like at a price that is suitable.

Ramada Ayr (SC) & Golf Simulator Ramada Edinburgh Ramada Glasgow City Ramada Glasgow Airport Ramada Inverness (SC) Ramada Livingston (SC) Ramada Perth

We are renowned for the quality of our facilities, food and friendly service and have built up an impressive portfolio of regular customers who find the central location of Perth, the convenient setting of the stadium, and ease of parking and facilities on offer an unbeatable combination.

Don’t forget that if you are a St Johnstone FC Season Ticket holder, you will receive a discount of 10% on the cost of food at your private function!

WEEKLY

Contact the Saints Sales Team on Perth 459099

SC – Sebastian Coe Health Club

BB £66 £75 £79 £69 £78 £78 £75

24Hr £119 £129 £129 £109 £125 £125 £125

DD £25 £29 £30 £25 £28 £28 £28

The highly successful Super Saints Lotto is on the look out for new agents. Agents for the weekly draw which provides LOCAL winners with great cash prizes can be operated in workplaces, around groups or family or friends and the commission paid gives agents a great opportunity to earn some extra money.

Contact the Super Saints Lotto Office on Perth 455000 for more details.

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15 venues 1000 theatre style 500 reception 2000+ bedrooms 400 flats 6 kitchens From prestigious and iconic University of Edinburgh venues to our state-of-the-art John McIntyre Conference Centre; Edinburgh First offers an incomparable range of venues, accommodation and catering options. We deliver great service at good value and recognise that flexibility is key to delivering successful events.

Contact our team on

0131 651 2189, edinburghfirst.co.uk

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CONFERENCES & EVENTS

Marble Hall at Gosford House

sailing the west coast or even sea kayaking.

And, not least, Scotland’s first Segway experience has launched at the newly refurbished Crieff Hydro in Perthshire. These two-wheeled, self-balancing, electric vehicles are a common site in European cities, but rarely seen in countryside environments. The off-road challenge at Crieff Hydro is a fantastic and unique driving experience that is already proving popular with corporate groups FOOD, DRINK & POPULAR CULTURE Scotland’s other great claim to fame is the quality of its food and drink, and the highest quality of catering is a feature of every event, with many venues boasting a commitment to sourcing local produce and including it on their menus. The country’s credentials are underlined by its famous chefs such as Nick Nairn, Lady Claire Macdonald, Andrew Fairlie and Tom

Kitchin whose influence permeates every corner of the country. Visitors can learn about cookery and food presentation by taking part in one of the many cookery schools throughout Scotland, such as the Nick Nairn Cook School in Stirling or the New Town Edinburgh Cookery School which provides corporate entertainment with a twist by inviting guests to take part in the preparation – but without the washing up!

In Edinburgh, the Scotch Whisky Experience beside Edinburgh Castle, offers private tutored whisky tastings for connoisseurs or novices new to Scotland’s national drink. Starting with a a sensory perception quiz, a fun ice breaker and team activity, the events are designed to inspire and educate guests through nosing whiskies from each of the four whisky producing regions. A highlight of every visit to the Scotch Whisky Experience is the chance to see the world’s largest collection of scotch

whiskies, the Diageo Claive Vidiz Collection, almost 3,500 bottles set within a stunning glass vault lit with a Swarovski chandelier.

For team-building with a popular culture slant, Glasgow Science Centre’s ‘Wallace and Gromit Present … a world of cracking ideas’ really is a cracking idea for a team challenge.

The ‘West Wallaby Street Treasure Hunt’ sessions, which can accommodate 20 -120 delegates, feature a range of challenges with a final prizegiving led by Wallace & Gromit themselves. The exhibition and associated events will feature at the Centre throughout 2010.

The test of a country’s credentials as an event location lies, however, in the companies and organisations it attracts and Scotland is up there with the best. The country’s real appeal will be underlined later this year when Scotland will host the world’s largest gathering of adventure tourism specialists at the seventh Adventure Travel World Summit. Expected to attract in the region of 500 delegates from nearly 50 countries, this global annual conference of the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) will take place at the Macdonald Aviemore Highland Resort in the Cairngorms National Park. That will mean 500 more people will take the opportunity to mix business with pleasure by experiencing what Scotland has to offer – and who will take that message back to their own countries to prove that while Scotland is serious about business, it is great fun as well.

With Scotland attracting organisations of the standing of ATTA, VisitScotland’s BTU is confident many more domestic and international associations will follow suit and put Scotland top of their agenda for their next event.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0131 472 2355 Web: www.conventionscotland.com

De Vere Venues Barony Castle – a Scottish gem EHIND THE IMPRESSIVE stone facade of Barony Castle lies a modern hotel and conference centre set in 25 idyllic acres of gardens and mature woodland.

The castle offers magnificent views over the surrounding countryside and is the perfect base to hold that important event. The castle is located just 35 minutes (17 miles) south of Edinburgh on the edge of the Scottish Borders.

De Vere can provide just what you need.

Inspirational locations, impeccable service and the professional expertise that thinks of everything – leaving you to relax and enjoy the most productive time you’ve ever had.

Whether it’s an intimate one-to-one meeting, a training course, conference, or a premier launch ceremony, we will create a conducive environment for thought. With every detail, however small, taken care of, we think you’ll

offering natural daylight and a maximum capacity of 200. It also has an indoor pool, mini-gym, spa bath and sauna, five-a-side football pitch, rope course, a restaurant and bar, free flowing cappuccinos, lattes and green tea stations, free internet access throughout, LCD, plasma and audio-visual equipment, lots of space and fresh air to enjoy team building and 100 parking spaces.

B

FOR MORE INFORMATION

appreciate the De Vere Barony Castle difference.

The property has 78 en-suite bedrooms, TV with Sky channels, DDI telephones, tea and coffee tray, seven meeting rooms and seven syndicate rooms with main rooms

Contact: Lynne Haining, sales manager Address: De Vere Venues Barony Castle, Eddleston, By Peebles, Scottish Borders, EH45 8QW Tel: 01721 730 395 Mobile: 07826 912 563 E-mail: lhaining@deverevenues.co.uk Web: www.devere.co.uk

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Need a Venue?

Exhibitions Conferences Trade Fairs With our spacious and flexible rooms and large Olympic sized indoor arena, our 52 acre Cambridgeshire venue can cater for your large corporate or small business needs.

• Easy access from A14, A1 and M11 • Nearest main line station, Huntingdon • Ample FREE parking for up to 800 vehicles

Competitive packages available, call us today for an informal chat about your requirements Tel: 0844 248 8181 Email: enterpriseinfo@woodgreen.org.uk Web: www.woodgreen.org.uk 1 yO 0% d Wood Green Animal Shelters, London Road, Godmanchester, Cambs PE29 2NH uR is Pl EA FiR CO Wood Green Enterprises Ltd (company registration number: 3161812) is the trading sE uN arm of Wood Green Animal Shelters (registered charity number: 298348). qu sT OT bO T O Eg O All the profits from your event will go towards the care of the bM ki N 71 Ng animals across all three of our Shelters.

0A

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CONFERENCES & EVENTS

A PERFECT MIX IN EAST ANGLIA East Anglia is the perfect mix of soft and gentle countryside, ancient cities, charming towns, with a very quirky individuality SUFFOLK WILL BRING YOUR SENSES to life, offering you an authentic experience in an inspiring setting. Norfolk is an unexpected and refreshingly different destination for your next conference or meeting. Cambridge has venues for all types of events. Let’s go to East Anglia to see what it can offer the event organiser.

DESTINATION CAMBRIDGE Destination Cambridge, the dedicated conference desk situated within Visit Cambridge, the official tourism service for Cambridge, should be your first point of contact when looking for that perfect venue to host your next event. From historic colleges to traditional or modern hotels, museums, purpose built training centres, unique venues and versatile theatres, we can offer facilities for up to 1,400 delegates. For the

larger conferences or social events, such as weddings and private parties, we can also set up a dedicated, personalised accommodation website to enable individual delegates or guests to book and pay, online, making life so much easier for them and the host.

The Colleges in Cambridge, primarily educational establishments, are mostly available for residential conferences during vacation time, whilst some are able to offer facilities all year round. The excellent selection of hotels, some with leisure clubs, is constantly being refurbished and upgraded to meet the increasing demand for corporate and private functions. Many venues specialise in themed banquets or we can arrange a gala dinner in a college hall for a special Cambridge-evening.

There is a wide range of unusual venues, such as stately homes, a vineyard, or an air museum

on the outskirts of the city or short drive away.

Cambridge is easy to get to via the superb road network that runs through East Anglia, namely the M11, A14 and A11, which makes Cambridgeshire one of the most accessible destinations in the East of England. Not only can Destination Cambridge offer a complete venue finding service, an added advantage, as we are situated within the Cambridge Tourist Office, means that we have invaluable information at our fingertips on all the events and what’s on in the area.

We can also organise social programmes for delegates or accompanying partners. There are a host of activities for relaxation or team building, be it a walking tour, a punting trip, wine tasting, a chocolate demonstration or even a personal shopper – whatever takes your fancy to make your event memorable.

Forum Plaza, Norwich

Punting in Cambridge

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The perfecT evenT venue w i t h a r at h e r fa m o u s r a ceco u r se

NOW

With D Pack ay Delega ages t from e

£35

PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL

Outstanding facilities. A dedicated team. One inspirational venue.

‘The heart of the city and a sacred space for all’ Make a fascinating trip to this top 10 UK Landmark* for an unforgettable experience at this magnificent undiscovered gem.

for more information or to book your unique event experience call alison underwood 01638 675 307 or visit www.newmarketracecourses.co.uk and quote (Government Business)

134054 - peterborough conf advert:Layout 1

15/6/10

n One of the finest Norman Cathedrals in Europe. n An “Enjoy England” Quality Assured Visitor Attraction.

BE INSPIRED AT HOLIDAY INN PETERBOROUGH WEST

n The burial place of two former Queens. n A beautiful, Gothic West Front adorned with 33 statues. n The oldest hand-painted Nave ceiling in the UK. n Guided tours including history, legends and myths. n An interactive exhibition and excellent souvenir kiosk.

With very competitive rates starting from just £25 per person DDR and £99 per person 24 hour, you can’t ask for more.

n First class hospitality and conferencing facilities.

n Group and school visits welcome by appointment. n Regular and special services.

Mon-Fri - 9.00am to 5.30pm Sat - 9.00am to 5.00pm Sun - 12pm to 3.15pm Please note: Services may take place.

Closed Boxing Day. Check website for daily details.

* as voted in a 2007 Fujifilm users poll

n An unbeatable education programme for all ages. n A diverse range of music, arts and family friendly events.

If you are looking for a first class venue for your next meeting or event then you will find everything you need with us. Situated just 2.5 miles from the City Centre and the East Coast mainline train station and five minutes drive from the A1M, we are in the perfect location for both the business and leisure traveller.

FIND OUT MORE... www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk Call 01733 343342 or email info@peterborough-cathedral.org.uk

Conference facilities don’t come much better than this: • 17 air-conditioned rooms that can cater for 2 to 450 delegates • 133 contemporary bedrooms • An AllinOne meetings package with enhanced booking bonuses • All our meeting rooms come with a range of services and facilities including LCD projectors and wi-fi throughout • Complimentary Conference Café • Complimentary car parking for 250 cars • Leisure facilities including a swimming pool and gymnasium To find out more call us on 01733 289900 quoting ‘Government’ or email events.hipeterborough@qmh-hotels.com Holiday Inn Peterborough West Thorpe Wood, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire PE3 6SG www.holidayinn.com/p’borough-west

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Bedford Lodge

The Destination Cambridge conference desk, working in partnership with all the venues in Cambridge and the surrounding area, prides itself on offering value for money and will endeavour to accommodate all budgets. All the venues offer a quality service and flexibility is key, with the motto of “The answer is yes, what’s the question“ being a priority.

To ensure your delegates get the most out of their time in Cambridge, we can supply maps, guide books and souvenirs, definitely making Destination Cambridge (www.destinationcambridge.org) the one stop shop for all your conference requirements. Don’t forget that the business traveller can also book accommodation online by clicking on the official tourism website www.visitcambridge.org.

CONFERENCE CAMBRIDGE Conference Cambridge, the official free venue finding service for the University of Cambridge, offers a wide range of unique venues that are ideal for one-day meetings or training days. Some of our venues include: The Pitt Building, an imposing venue, commissioned in honour of William Pitt the Younger, was completed in 1833. For over 100 years it housed the printing and publishing offices of Cambridge University Press and the Oriel Room is still used today by the Syndicate. Since 2004, following an elegant renovation, the venue has been offering its facilities for conferences and meetings.

A superb new meeting room – The Perceval Room – has recently been added to the portfolio. Refurbished to the highest modern standards, it is proving a very popular addition to the existing meeting facilities at The Pitt Building. Accommodating up to 70 people, the room is of generous proportions and offers built-in widescreen projection equipment with Blu-Ray capabilities, Videoconferencing, Wi-Fi internet access, magnetic walls for displays, black-out facilities and a dedicated multi-drinks station with lounge facilities.

Newnham College’s graceful series of buildings were designed in a Queen Anne style of mellow brick with white woodwork, between 1875 and 1910 and are grouped round spacious gardens with tree-studded lawns opening onto playing fields and tennis courts.

The Lucia Windsor Room is a versatile, flatfloored space, which can be sub-divided into two rooms by means of solid oak folding panels. Equipped with the very latest in AV, the room can accommodate groups of 100 theatre style or 150 for receptions. Dividing the room into two creates a more intimate setting, which is perfect for smaller groups, training sessions or private dining. With a tempered air system, Wi-Fi, controllable variable lighting and disabled access, the room is suitable for a range of events. Outside the room there is an elegant foyer area that can be used for registration and refreshments.

The oldest of the graduate colleges, and

The Curve Auditorium, Norwich

The Hostry

The Gillespie Centre

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6 reasons to choose Homerton 1. Location – just 5 minutes from Cambridge mainline station and close to the historic city centre 2. Parking – over 200 free spaces 3. Choice – over 30 meeting rooms 4. Space – 25 acres of lawns 5. Size – over 500 en-suite bedrooms 6. 10% discount for Government bookings until January 2011

01223 747218

conferences@homerton.cam.ac.uk www.homertonconference.com Homerton College, Cambridge

Conference & Dining Located in the heart of the historic city of Cambridge, nestled on the banks of the river Cam, King’s College is fast becoming the chosen venue for many prestigious events and seminars. With over 30 years experience of hosting a variety of public sector conferences and events, King’s is perfectly positioned to offer ‘value for money’ whilst surpassing your expectations.

Conferencing and dining at King’s has a holistic approach to all your needs.

Our conference team is always at hand to advise, organise and ensure your meeting and dining requirements are exceeded. Plenary meetings for up to 157 delegates can be held in the purpose-built Keynes lecture theatre, and dining services in the world renown magnificent King’s Hall. With a variety of rooms we can also provide a number of smaller syndicate and refreshment rooms.

With 150 bedrooms residential conferences are treated as part of the community here at King’s and your delegates will be given a unique insight into academic life in one of the most famous colleges in the world. King’s Hall can also provide the perfect setting for large presentation dinners & awards ceremonies for up to 312 guests, and canapé, drinks receptions for up to 500.

Tel: 01223 331410, email: conferences@kings.cam.ac.uk www.kings.cam.ac.uk/conference-dining

For conferences, dinners, exhibitions, parties, awards, and events exec Peterborough is ‘the most versatile regional venue’.

The sky’s the limit www.exec.org.uk 01733 234451 The East of England Showground, Peterborough PE2 6XE

exec peterborough advert.indd 1

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situated close to the train station, Hughes Hall offers a range of meeting and training rooms including the Garden Lecture Room, which is set in the middle of the attractive gardens and can be used for lectures for up to 40 people or meetings for 25. There’s also the Pavillion Room, which can accommodate 80 people for a lecture or 40 for a meeting.

The Hughes Hall Conference suite contains three meeting rooms of varying size that open onto a foyer with informal seating, its own entrance and cloakrooms, which means you have your own self-contained space.

Last year, Clare College opened a new 150-seat conference facility – the Gillespie Centre – offering light and flexible meeting rooms, fully equipped with wireless connectivity and modern AV facilities, as well as 34 new executive bedrooms. The Gillespie Centre is built to the highest standards of sustainability, using solar thermal panels and a Ground Source Heat Pump for efficient heating and cooling.

This contemporary facility is set within Clare College, the second oldest of the Cambridge Colleges, founded in 1326 and situated just a short walk away from the centre of the City, in a peaceful location with extensive riverside frontage.

For further details or to book a showround, please contact Conference Cambridge on 01223 740768 www.conferencecambridge.com.

NORWICH & NORFOLK Norwich, on the shortlist to be the UK’s first Capital of Culture, offers exceptional modern meeting and conference venues, set in one of England’s most impressive medieval citys, which also happens to be a top 10 retail destination. The city is on the doorstep of the wetland paradise of the Norfolk Broads and is just a short drive or train journey from the North Norfolk Coast or the hustle and bustle of Great Yarmouth.

The Hostry – opened November 2009 – is Norwich’s newest venue. Set in the peaceful Cathedral close and just a short walk from the railway station, The Hostry is a contemporary space built adjacent to the 11th century Norwich Cathedral.

On the first floor, the venue seats 150 in the main conference room, a flat-floored space with complete flexibility. The ground level has a 90sq m of exhibition space, which is also ideal for breaks and networking. The Cathedral’s Refectory, serving freshly prepared food, from business breakfasts to private three course dinners is nearby. Special guided tours of the Cathedral are on offer, introducing delegates to the history of this 900-year-old building.

The Forum, Norwich’s landmark Millennium building designed by Sir Michael Hopkins, is one of the UK’s most striking examples of 20th century architecture. The Forum also offers some of the most inspiring spaces in the UK which are available to hire for a range of business and community occasions, including

Claire College

Punting in Cambridge

There is a fantastic variety of venues across the county ranging from luxurious country house hotels, with golf and spa facilities, to contemporary business accommodation and boutique hotels

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Visit the website to view the categorised product finder

National Roadshows opt for Trinity Park as its venue of choice in the East of England

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RINITY PARK, IPSWICH has become the national roadshow venue of choice in the East region by public sector organisations. Centrally located in East Anglia and easily accessible from the A12/ A14, Ipswich Town Centre and by rail, this impressive site offers flexible indoor facilities, picturesque outdoor space and limitless parking in a peaceful and quiet setting.

With the capability to subdivide its spaces, Trinity Park offers amazing flexibility for events of all sizes catering for 50 to 1,000 people plus top notch customer service, quality in-house catering and state of the art technical facilities.

HMRC and the Department for Children Schools and Families (now the Department of Education) are just two organisations who have recently staged national road show events at Trinity Park.

HMRC run a national programme of Business Advice Open Days across the UK. Over 30 exhibition stands comprising government departments and non-profit making organisations provided free help and advice to small and medium businesses from the region at Trinity Park. A seminar programme staged in four seminar rooms was delivered by HMRC and other government departments and visitors were able to seek one-to-one advice at a drop in centre.

Lindsey Mooney, organiser of the event to other venues. It’s easy to park and access from HMRC in Luton said that the event was to the venue is easy – no ramps or stairs. very successful and feedback from visitors was “We had really good feedback on the positive. Attendance exceeded expectations catering. It wasn’t overpriced and it was tasty. and the seminar programme was full. “We The fact that the catering is in-house made a booked Trinity Park because it met all our difference. The service we received from Trinity requirements,” she explained. “We needed a Park staff was very professional pre-event and good sized exhibition space and an area for on the day. We had a dedicated contact during seminars. It worked really well, the venue is easy the event who quickly resolved any issues. If to find, the facilities are all close together and Ipswich is chosen as a destination again within the space was so flexible. We could choose the the programme, we will definitely be back.” shape and layout that we wanted. The seminar FOR MORE INFORMATION rooms are well insulated so there was no noise interference from next door rooms. The free For further information or to book an Wi-Fi was a huge bonus. Our logistics team event at Trinity Park, call 01473 707119 AD 125 x 86 19/3/10 15:53 Page 1 remarked how easy it was to set up compared or visit www.trinityparkevents.co.uk

The perfecT evenT venue w i t h a r at h e r fa m o u s r a ceco u r se

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With D Pack ay Delega ages t from e

£35

Sarova Hotels offer a great selection of special offers at our individual hotels.

From The Rembrandt in the centre of London to The Bull in Gerrards Cross to The Abbey in Worcestershire, there is something to suit all occasions for all your conference and event needs.

Outstanding facilities. A dedicated team. One inspirational venue.

For the quote of the day please contact the following quoting the reference GBM10.

for more information or to book your unique event experience call alison underwood 01638 675 307 or visit www.newmarketracecourses.co.uk and quote (Government Business)

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The Rembrandt Knightsbridge 020 76611672 The Bull Gerrards Cross 01753 278809 The Abbey Great Malvern 01684 892332

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The Curve – a state-of-the-art auditorium with full high definition technology, video conferencing and tiered seating for 120 people.

Conference organisers can use Fusion, a giant digital screen gallery, the largest in Europe – perfect for a special reception – to captivate delegates with film, image and sound. Allied to this is The Forum’s 400 sq m main atrium, which can be used for dinners, exhibitions, large receptions and other special events. In addition, tours of BBC East’s studios (located at The Forum) are available.

There is a fantastic variety of venues across the county ranging from luxurious country house hotels, with golf and spa facilities, to contemporary business accommodation and boutique hotels. With more attractions than most counties, Norfolk can offer a relaxing and different social and partner programme to complement any event.

Budgets for events in London, Manchester or Edinburgh stretch much further in Norfolk. Day delegate rates for 2010 in top venues average £30-£40 and 24-hour rates are on a comparable level.

Norwich has its own international airport with daily flights to the major European hub in Schipol, while Stansted is just a 90-minute drive away. There are two direct trains an hour to London Liverpool Street from Norwich. Journeys to London King’s Cross from King’s Lynn in the west of the county take under two hours.

For organisers interested in discovering more about the county, the Norwich and Norfolk Conference Bureau provides a free venue finding service and impartial advice to help in planning an event. Bureau manager Virginia Edwards is available on virginia.edwards@conference.norfolk.gov. uk. You can also find a list of services and venues on www.conferencenorfolk.co.uk.

SUFFOLK Suffolk is an inspirational place. Offering wide open skies, quiet coastal retreats and tranquil rural countryside, visitors discover a county that gives them the room to breathe and the space to think.

Then there is Suffolk’s rich history and heritage, cultural connections, passionate producers of fresh local food and excellent accommodation. It all adds up to a highly attractive proposition that is easily accessible from the capital and further afield. Just under an hour away from the M25 and close to Stansted and Norwich airports, the county also has good road connections to London and the Midlands via the A12 and A14. By rail, the county benefits from an excellent service by National Express from London Liverpool Street and Stratford to Ipswich, with good connections on to Suffolk’s other main towns. It’s also a great travel choice for sitting back and soaking up the gentle landscape that gave inspiration to the likes of such celebrated Suffolk artists as Constable, Gainsborough and Britten.

Ufford Park

Ufford Park’s 18-hole, Par 71 golf course spreads across 120 acres of unspoilt Suffolk countryside, while luxurious spa facilities provide a highly relaxing experience, from head to toe It’s no wonder then, that the county is high on the list of destinations for corporate businesses looking to host events that combine premier accommodation and services within a location that has a very special charm.

Located just outside the county’s capital town of Ipswich, Trinity Park Conference and Events Centre has taken advantage of the growth in conference business. An awardwinning building, specifically designed to offer state-of-the-art events facilities in a flexible space, the Centre can be arranged as a single space, seating 1,000 theatre-style or 400 for dinner. Moveable walls can also divide the room into six separate areas to host smaller business events, such as team briefings and breakfast meetings or lunches.

At Ufford Park Hotel, Golf and Spa, located just outside of the attractive market town of Woodbridge, visitors are able to mix business with a little pleasure. The hotel has nine modern air-conditioned meeting/function rooms, with many enjoying panoramic views over the fabulous golf course, and the largest accommodating up to 200 guests seated theatre-style. A little R&R, of course, is also key to Ufford’s appeal. The venue’s 18-hole, Par 71 golf course spreads across 120 acres of unspoilt Suffolk countryside,

while luxurious spa facilities provide a highly relaxing experience, from head to toe.

In the west of Suffolk, Bedford Lodge Hotel blends contemporary chic with traditional charm. The venue hosts a range of conference, corporate events, away days, team events and business seminars, and is ideally positioned close to the A11, A14 and M11, alongside the international home of horseracing in Newmarket. With six dedicated advanced conference and events rooms, facilities include wireless internet access, air conditioning systems and individual ISDN lines.

The historic town of Bury St Edmunds is home to The Angel Hotel, where Georgian elegance is enhanced by contemporary design elements.

The luxury 4-star Suffolk hotel remains at the hub of this neat little market town and its three stylish meeting rooms offer the leading edge facilities demanded by modern businesses.

Suffolk has it all – an accessible escape to places that combine real character with cutting edge hospitality, coastal areas and peaceful countryside, luxury and charm, and venues where the emphasis is on quality service and ensuring business is a real pleasure. More information can be found about these and the county’s other business venues at www.visitsuffolk.com.

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THE ULTIMATE CONFERENCE DESTINATION With an exciting blend of culture, history and commerce, not to mention a varied, innovative and impressive range of venues, Manchester provides the perfect setting for any event, from a small meeting to a conference or convention for up to 19,000 delegates IN FEBRUARY, THE CITY WAS NAMED Best UK Destination at the 2010 Confex Awards and, in March, joined the Meetings Industry Association as part of a plan to see all venues featured in the city’s 2011 conference guide be Accredited in Meetings (AIM) approved.

With a proven track record of staging world-class events, from sporting to cultural, Manchester is now firmly established on the worldwide conference and events stage as a leading business destination. Recent conference wins for the city include the British Lymphology Society conference, which will take place in October of this year, the 2011 meeting of UNESCO’s International Advisory Committee, and the 2013 Local Government Association conference and exhibition.

Central to Manchester’s success in the conference industry is the city’s Conference Ambassador Programme. Re-launched in September 2007, the programme is made up of representatives from the many diverse fields of excellence within the city, from the academic and business community to the public sector. These representatives form a key group in promoting and supporting Manchester as a world-class conference destination – to those associations, societies and professional bodies with which they are affiliated.

THE DESTINATION Manchester can quite rightly claim to be the original, modern city. Birthplace of everything from the industrial revolution and the computer to the football league and Top Of The Pops, Manchester is truly a city of firsts.

As the gateway to England’s Northwest, Manchester could not be better placed, with Cheshire, Lancashire, Merseyside and Cumbria on its doorstep.

As a host city, Manchester offers an endless choice of entertainment and leisure options.

Home to the largest theatre land outside of London and with the busiest indoor arena in the world, from theatres and galleries, to designer shops and one-off boutiques, Manchester’s extensive choice has helped to establish the city as one of Europe’s most exciting conference destinations.

THE VENUES From modern, purpose-built meeting rooms to the elegant splendour of refurbished Victorian buildings, Manchester offers event planners a wide range of meeting room options.

For large scale conferences and events, the centrally located MEN Arena is capable of holding 19,000 delegates. Europe’s largest

indoor concert venue, the arena is one of Manchester’s largest conference spaces and yet, if required, can be converted into a more intimate space for 3,000.

Just across the city centre, in Petersfield, is the Manchester Central Convention Complex – arguably the city’s flagship conference venue – and winner of the 2010 Business Tourism Award at the Manchester Tourism Awards. The complex is currently in the third and final phase of a £28 million redevelopment programme that will see three conference rooms with capacities from 400-2,000 seated theatre style and a restaurant added to the facility’s already impressive offering. Existing facilities include a column free space of 10,350 sq m where 4,000 can be hosted in a tiered theatre.

New to the city’s conference scene this summer is The Point – an exciting £12 million development at Lancashire County Cricket Club’s Old Trafford cricket ground. It is set to be one of the largest purpose-built facilities in the country, accommodating a conference or formal dinner for 1,000 people. Coupled with the cricket club’s existing conference facilities and 68-bedroomed Lodge, it has the potential to stage major exhibitions and other events. Designed to a high technical specification, and incorporating many environmentally friendly innovations, The Point promises to be a leader in its field.

HOTEL PRODUCTS From the traditional elegance of The Palace and The Midland to the ultra-modern meeting rooms of the Hilton Manchester Deansgate, close to the bustling bars and nightlife of Deansgate Locks, Manchester offers a huge choice of conference venues and meeting room facilities within hotels.

Celebrating its first birthday last month, the Park Inn Hotel Manchester Victoria by Radisson is proving a popular choice. Perfect for large or small events, the hotel features four modern and flexible meeting rooms with natural daylight. In addition, one large conference room of 202sq m can be divided into three sections and is ideal for conferences, dinner dances and weddings that can seat 220 max theatre style and 180 max banquet style.

The city’s current Large Hotel of the Year, the five-star Radisson Edwardian on Peter Street has 18 fully equipped meeting rooms and one major conference room, catering for up to 550 people.

Each room is purposely designed to offer maximum flexibility and state of the art facilities.

Everything from fashion shows and exhibitions to dinner dances can be catered for, and with

Radisson Edwardian

City at dusk

Concorde Conference Centre

The Point at Lancashire County Cricket Club

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The art of conferencing

Perfect for any event • Unique tiered theatres for up to 300 people • Recently refurbished on site bedrooms • Purpose built meeting rooms

• Tranquil conservatory bar • A La Carte restaurant • Banqueting suites

Tel: 0161 955 8000 Email: conference@manchesterconferencecentre.co.uk www.manchesterconferencecentre.co.uk Sackville Street, Manchester, M1 3BB

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the latest technology we are able to provide restaurant-standard food for 550 people.

The city’s hotel portfolio is forever expanding. There are currently three Holiday Inn Express hotels under construction and the former Princess on Portland hotel is in the middle of a major refurbishment that will see it rebrand as The Princess Hotel.

OUT OF TOWN Need space to think? The city-region surrounding Manchester offers a great range of venues set in beautiful countryside – prefect for team building and away days.

If you’re looking for a fly in, fly out meeting, check out one of the many hotels at Manchester Airport. They offer a vast range of meeting rooms and conference spaces – all a short hop from the terminals, so you will be from runway to meeting room in minutes.

For an aviation experience with a difference, try the Concorde Conference Centre at Manchester Airport’s Runway Visitor Park.

Located just off the motorway network, adjacent to the busiest airport outside London and with free parking on site, the centre offers you convenience, flexibility, service and the benefit of something quite unique.

The main 1,600 square metre Concorde Hall is a hangar-style ‘Blank Canvas’ space with the flagship Concorde aircraft as the stunning centre piece. This enables it to suit a

range of events, from conferences to fashion shows and gala dinners to exhibitions.

Manchester Airport is the global gateway to Northern England. Over 100 airlines offer direct flights to over 210 destinations worldwide, connecting over 22 million passengers to more places than any other airport in the UK. Most major cities in the UK have direct train services into Manchester. There are four key train stations in Manchester city centre – Deansgate, Piccadilly, Oxford Road and Victoria.

Of these, Piccadilly attracts the most visitors and is the main arrival point into the city centre.

Manchester is well connected to the rest of the UK via excellent motorway links. The city’s ring road connects Manchester to motorways north, south, east and west.

Once in Manchester, the Metrolink tram service provides fast and frequent journeys across the city-region. These services complement the free Metroshuttle buses that circle the city centre.

SUPPORT SERVICES AVAILABLE Visit Manchester has developed strong working relationships with over 360 partners across the Manchester city-region and provide conference organisers with a single point of contact during the organisation and delivery of their event.

There are two association specialists that act as liaison between the city’s conference community and the national and international association sector. The services they coordinate include:

MANCHESTER FACTS & FIGURES • Over 250 outstanding venues, including a world class convention centre complex • An award-winning airport serving 20 UK and more than 210 world-wide destinations • Over 19,000 hotel bedrooms with over 5,000 in the city centre, many with their own conference facilities and meeting rooms • Welcomes more than one million international visitors a year

• Unbiased venue finding • Conference venue and accommodation booking • Advice and booking of conference support services • Assistance with funding applications • Bid preparations and site visits • Providing images and maps and visitor information services • Conference marketing support To deliver this they are supported by two new client services assistants and a research & administration assistant.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.manchesterconferences.com

Conferences and events at Old Trafford – an incredible setting with incredible facilities

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HERE’S NOWHERE quite like Old Trafford. Nowhere that boasts the same worldwide fame, the same 100 year history and the same incredible atmosphere.

That’s why people travel from far and wide just to catch a glimpse of it. And that’s why staging your conference or event here guarantees a truly memorable experience and a full house.

Because it’s not just football fans who feel excited about visiting Old Trafford. A venue like ours has the prestige to appeal to everyone and being associated with a world-class brand such as Manchester United gets people talking. It ensures maximum attendance and leaves people impressed – with the venue, with the event and with you.

There’s an incredible setting, incredible facilities and incredible history so when you’re at a venue like Old Trafford, it makes sense to make the most of it.

With 24 stunning suites and enough outside space to cater for almost any occasion, Old Trafford offers great flexibility. And because Old Trafford is a unique venue, we offer a very

unique range of services. To make your event truly memorable we can arrange a selection of professional guest speakers, including a talented line-up of ex-players. Or if you’d like your team to perform and work together better, we can put together special team building packages tailored to Old Trafford and get you working the United way.

So whatever your event and whoever your guests, we’ll help you design the perfect package and pick the perfect room.

What’s more Old Trafford is conveniently located just two miles from the M60 and major motorway network, placing it within easy reach of wherever you’re travelling from in the country, and only five minutes drive Manchester City Centre and Piccadilly Train Station. Manchester International Airport is then only 20 minutes away by car. 5,000 complimentary on-site car parking spaces then await you on arrival, or if you’d prefer to use public transport, frequent buses and Metrolinks pull up well within walking distance, making easy for all to reach the stadium wherever they are travelling from.

Conferences and events are one of the many things that we do best. Planning, organisation, thinking ahead, that’s always been the Old Trafford way. The secret of our success.

FOR MORE INFORMATION To book or to speak to a member of our Conference & Events Team, please call 0161 868 8000 (option 3 then 1) or e-mail conference@manutd.co.uk.

More information can be found on our website: www.manutd.com/conference

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www.governmentbusiness.co.uk the website15:57 to view the categorised product finder 51063 C+T advert BMA House:Layout 1 Visit 9/6/10 Page 1

A stunning venue for conferences and events MA HOUSE is a stunning Grade II listed building; home to the British Medical Association and centrally located in Tavistock Square, London.

This beautiful red brick building was designed in 1911 by the famed architect Sir Edwin Lutyens.

BMA House underwent a major refurbishment in 2008 to lovingly restore its rooms in keeping with their original design and Grade II listed heritage. A combination of 25 versatile meeting rooms and event spaces are available to hire for conferences and meetings, AGMs, product launches and corporate dinners.

The house boasts a tranquil garden and courtyard ideal for outdoor entertaining.

Food and drink will be an all important part of your event and as such we have a dedicated on-site caterer to provide exquisite cuisine ranging from

B

BMA House - Conferences and Events in a stunning Grade II listed building • Home of the British Medical Association • Available to hire for Conferences, Banqueting, Exhibitions and Special Events • Located in Tavistock Square with close proximity to the new Eurostar terminal and Euston Station Visit us at Square Meal Exhibition, stand E34

020 7874 7020 bmahouse.org.uk

Whether you prefer a formal set-up or comfy sofas the London Art House is the perfect venue.

Looking for an unusual venue for your conferences, meetings, receptions and banquets?

In each suite fine artists have used special paint effects to create environments which both stimulate your delegates and provide a relaxing atmosphere where office pressures dissipate and focus can be placed solely on your day.

Beneath this stunning fascia we are a modern and professional conference venue.

We pride ourselves on customer service; before the event we offer step by step event management ensuring attention is paid to every detail; during the day our exceptional operations staff are always on hand to deal with any last minute arrangements allowing your event to run seamlessly.

T: 020 3227 3200 | F: 020 3227 3255 | info@londonarthouse.com London Art House | 2-18 Britannia Row Islington | London | N1 8PA www.londonarthouse.com

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buffet lunches to barbecues and fine dining. Our events team will work with you to plan your menu, advise on audio visual equipment and propose entertainment to ensure your event is a great success.

FOR MORE INFORMATION To find out more about holding your events at BMA House, visit us at Square Meal’s Venues and Events Exhibition this September on stand E34, or contact us now on 020 7874 7020, e-mail events@bma.org.uk or visit www.bmahouse.org.uk

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SQUARE MEAL’S VENUES & EVENTS EXHIBITION IS BACK Now in its sixth year, Square Meal’s award-winning Venues & Events exhibition returns to Old Billingsgate in the heart of the City IT’S THE TIME OF YEAR when the events industry plants the 22-23 September in its collective Filofax. After six years, the Square Meal Venues & Events show is a firm fixture in the industry calendar and Old Billingsgate will once again be bursting at the seams with exciting event ideas, trends and venues.

As ever, it will be easy for time-pressed event organisers with London Bridge and Bank within minutes’ walk and a fleet of Addison Lee luxury cabs on hand to collect groups of four or more from offices anywhere in central London. On arrival, the compact format of the exhibition is designed to make sure visitors find the sections they’re looking for quickly. With six years’ experience, there’s not much Square Meal’s Venues & Events haven’t thought of.

The complimentary food from Office Diner is always a hit, 2010 will be launching bellini breakfasts and an afternoon tea as well as revamping the healthy lunchboxes, with a crowd-friendly format to cut down on waiting time.

SEMINAR PROGRAMME The programme of bite-sized seminars is also designed with busy visitors firmly in mind – the Venues & Events editorial team distilling the years’ hottest new venues, hospitality dates and trends into 20-minute talks. For 2010, the programme will also include seminars on how organisers can make the most of social media and virtual technology.

This year the brand new Alfresco Zone on the lovely riverside terrace will be launched.

Back inside, don’t miss the subterranean Vaults, where a host of new and exciting exhibitors will be showcased. In the London section, caterers

Harbour Jones will be launching new venue 41 Portland Place. And the showing of UK destinations and venues will be stronger than ever, with additional gallery space for 2010. It’ll be the show for the shiny new five-star Cedar Court Grand, the much-anticipated Brooklands Hotel Surrey and The Point, which opens at Lancashire County Cricket Club this summer.

CANAPÉ CUP The cream of the capital’s caterers are already limbering up for the third Square Meal Canapé Cup, to be held on 22 September. The canapés themselves remain a closely guarded secret until the event itself, but reigning champion The Cinnamon Kitchen is the one to beat in 2010, having snatched the top spot last year with its deliciously moreish triple-layered grilled duck with Hyderabadi sesame tamarind sauce. If you fancy yourself as a food critic, dust down your taste buds and register early for the show to be in with one of 300

chances to wield the all-important clipboard.

“Venues & Events always offers something different. The layout of the show is fantastic.

It’s also nice to be able to meet someone for breakfast before having a look around,” said Natalie Roles, PA Sungard Technology.

“It’s been a top exhibition; I’m having such a great time. It’s definitely the best one I’ve been to. All the exhibitors are helpful and have a real sense of excitement about them.

I’ll definitely be coming back,” commented Nikol Samatova, headhunter, JCA Group.

“Although we only had a couple of hours, it was really useful. I particularly enjoyed the talk on new restaurants and booked tables on the back of it,” said Christina Jackson, EA, Deloitte & Touche LLP.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Register now for your free ticket at www.venuesandevents.co.uk

An unusual venue with exceptional service HE LONDON ART HOUSE offers you a stunning setting for a seamless event.

We have 18 unique spaces, set within three wings, accommodating a range of events – from a meeting for eight to a reception for 300. In each suite fine artists have used special paint effects, such as trompe l’oeil, gold leafing, marbling and stonework to reflect the style and atmosphere of artists, art periods or places.

The environments they have created both stimulate your delegates and provide a relaxing atmosphere where office pressures dissipate and focus can be placed solely on your day.

Beneath this stunning fascia we are

attention is paid to every detail. During the day our exceptional staff are always on hand to deal with any last minute arrangements allowing your event to run seamlessly.

Whether you prefer a formal set-up or comfy sofas, the London Art House is the perfect venue for your event.

T

FOR MORE INFORMATION

a modern professional conference and banqueting venue. We pride ourselves on customer service. Before your event we offer step-by-step event management ensuring

Address: London Art House, 2-18 Britannia Row, Islington, London N1 8PA. Tel: 020 3227 3200 Fax: 020 3227 3255 E-mail: info@londonarthouse.com Web: www.londonarthouse.com

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www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Visit the website to view the categorised product finder

Brighton Centre – where Brighton and the world meet OMBINING a seaside location with a vibrant city atmosphere, Brighton is one of England’s most accessible and compact cities for national and international events. With worldclass arts and culture, a famous palace and pier, shopping in the Lanes and North Laine and sparkling nightlife, this unique city is not to be missed.

The Brighton Conference Centre is situated on the beachfront looking out across the sea, our central location positions us within easy walking distance of the city’s major hotels, restaurants and attractions.

As one of the largest purposebuilt conference and exhibition centres in the south of England, Brighton Centre continues to be the popular choice for conference, exhibition and meeting organisers.

Complimented for our light, airy

C

and spacious interiors, with panoramic sea views and easy access, the Brighton Centre offers clients a compact but flexible venue with the capacity to accommodate conferences of 300-4,450 delegates.

Our team of professional sales staff and experienced event managers are ready to convert your enquiry into a successful event.

Let our vibrant city, flexible venue and experienced staff welcome your delegates.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Brighton Centre, Kings Road Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 2GR Tel: +44 (0)1273 292671 Fax: +44 (0)1273 779980 E-mail: debbie.matthews@ brighton-hove.gov.uk Web: www.brightoncentre. co.uk/conference

The ideal host for your event

Brighton Centre is one of the largest purpose-built conference centres in the South of England. Situated on Brighton’s famous promenade between the cities top rated hotels and moments from hundreds of restaurants, shops and the bustling cultural quarter which make our vibrant destination such a perfect place to relax as well as do business. Brighton Centre is a flexible venue with a professional approach and the ideal host for your event. n 2,000m2 primary exhibition space n 4,450 plenary meeting capacity n 18 syndicate rooms n Experienced operational team with the ability to run high security and prestigious international events.

Brighton Centre, Kings Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 2GR. 01273 292671 01273 779980 debbie.matthews@brighton-hove.gov.uk www.brightoncentre.co.uk/conference

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Government Business | Volume 17.7

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CONFERENCES & EVENTS

ONLY ONE STOP FOR YOUR CONFERENCE NEEDS René Dee, CEO, The Westminster Collection, lists 10 good reasons why you should visit The Westminster Collection’s Autumn 2010 ‘One-StopShop’ Venues Showcase at Banqueting House Tuesday 14 September ARE YOU LOOKING for a venue in Central London, and Westminster in particular, to book a meeting, conference or AGM? Or, do you need a banqueting and function facility?

Perhaps somewhere special for an awards dinner or a wedding reception. Is it a flexible space to stage a fashion show or a product launch that you need? The members of The Westminster Collection provide a one stop shop, including some of the very best choices of hotel accommodation in London so do browse our site to see what they can offer.

On 14 September, The Westminster Collection is organising a ‘One-StopShop’ Venues Showcase at Banqueting House, giving you the opportunity to see first hand what the members offer.

REASONS TO GO If you have to source and choose venues in the course of your job, our ‘One-StopShop’ Autumn Venues Showcase is for you. Over 40 of the very best venues in Westminster will be there waiting to talk to you. There simply isn’t another annual event like it that offers this focus.

It’s our 8th Showcase and each one has been a great success for the buyer, who is not faced with a disparate variety of products to navigate before getting to the venues themselves. Our Showcase is a pure and simple venues showcase, so it delivers what it says on the tin! It’s being held in the fabulous Banqueting House, Whitehall.

It’s not a networking event, a social or a fam trip. There are no fancy gimmicks or distractions.

It’s a serious B2B event taking place between 2pm and 5pm. We are looking for potential and actual buyers, event planners, and those who want the opportunity of meeting and talking to over 40 superb venues from the Strand to Bayswater, from Pimlico to the West End, and from the Embankment to Cavendish Square.

TWC venues range from Private Member’s Clubs to purpose built convention centres; historical palaces to bijou hotels; from superbly furnished and equipped traditional venues to luxury boats on the Thames; versatile exhibition halls to intimate meeting rooms; sumptuous banqueting facilities to unique venues of character. We have them all.

Finding a venue on a website is one thing, and you can certainly do so. However, if you really want to find out if your venue is right for your event you need to have a face-to-face conversation with the venue manager, when you can ask all the pertinent, awkward and difficult questions, and get

LIST OF EXHIBITORS, IE. VENUE MEMBERS OF TWC • 76 Portland Place • Banqueting House • Bateaux London • British Academy • Broadway House • Cavendish Conference Centre • Central Hall Westminster • Chandos House • Church House Conference Centre • Churchill War Rooms • City Inn Westminster • Goring Hotel • Grange Rochester Hotel • HQS Wellington • IET London: Savoy Place • No. 4 Hamilton Place

• No.11 Cavendish Square • Number 45 Millbank at Chelsea College of Art & Design • One Birdcage Walk • One Queen Anne’s Gate • One Great George Street • One Whitehall Place • One Wimpole Street – Home of the Royal Society of Medicine • QEIICC – Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre • Royal Horticultural Halls & Conference Centre • Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) • Royal Institution of

more than an electronic answer back. When you have the opportunity to meet with over 40 of the very best selection you will find, all in one room and all to yourself for face-to-face conversation, that’s nothing less than satisfaction guaranteed.

Investing 2-3 hours of your time at our Showcase will pay you dividends.

A great number of our buyers come back each year because we keep adding new and exciting venues each year, so it makes sense to revisit and review.

14 September is perfect timing, just in time to start planning for those autumn and winter events, Christmas Parties, etc.

Collect a copy of our own Guide to Planning Business Events in the City of Westminster.

We have produced this in conjunction Westminster City Council and Visit London

Chartered Surveyors (RICS) • RSA House • St Martin-in-the-Fields • St. James Court Hotel • St. Stephen’s Club • Sixty One Whitehall • The Cinnamon Club • The Naval & Military Club • The Royal Courts of Justice • The Royal Institution of Great Britain • The Royal Society • Victory Services Club • The Caledonian Club • The Chesterfield • Mayfair Hotel • The Northumberland

who have given us their support in promoting the attributes and benefits of business tourism in Westminster and London from the very outset of our formation, over six years ago.

Remember that between our member venues, they can cater for any event at any budget whether these be large conferences, small meetings, AGM’s, training sessions, fashion shows, accommodation, anniversaries, product launches, exhibitions, fairs, banquets and functions, weddings, garden or rooftop terraced functions, river boat hire, examinations or receptions.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For more information, and to register, please visit: www.thewestminstercollection.co.uk

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Government Business | Volume 17.7

www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

INCENTIVES & REWARDS

SOLUTIONS THAT TICK ALL THE BOXES Public sector change should start from within, says Andrew Johnson, director general of The UK Gift Card & Voucher Association ONE OF THE FIRST MAJOR TASKS of the new coalition government was to alert the country of the level of debt that Britain currently faces with its £156 billion annual deficit. David Cameron announced that making inroads on this national debt would begin with significant cuts and efficiency savings across the public sector. Benefits, tax credits and the generous pensions paid to public sector workers were highlighted as three areas of immediate concern.

COST EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS With this, public sector organisations will have to justify every aspect of their budgets, with a particular focus on the costs of staff. In doing so, it will be important to examine how the employment proposition can be re-structured in order to strike a balance between one that will attract and retain top performers, keeping them engaged and motivated with appropriate incentives, and one that, at the same time, supports the drive for efficiency savings.

The private sector has favoured using vouchers and gift cards as part of their staff incentive schemes for many years, acknowledging the achievement of targets by staff with a versatile reward that allows its recipient to select their own gift. Such schemes can be appropriated to fit any budget and the range of vouchers on the market, from the high street to experiences to gardening, cinema, spa days and more, provides more than enough solutions to cater for all tastes. These benefits should offer an attractive solution to public sector HR departments seeking to tidy up their reward budgets over the coming year.

Raegan Matthews, business incentives manager at House of Fraser, explains: “With further spending and staff cuts on the horizon in the public sector now, more than ever, employers are looking at alternative ways of rewarding staff. During tough economic times we all need to take a broader view of staff reward employee benefits, but don’t think of them in terms of an additional cost.

An effective scheme will contribute much more than is at first apparent – helping to reduce absenteeism, improve productivity and deliver real, quantifiable benefits.”

GET THE BEST OUT OF YOUR TEAM To operate to best effect, all organisations, both public and private, must get the best out of their people through motivation

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initiatives. While excessive salaries and perks in the public sector will be a thing of the past under this government’s proposals, there is a clear need to adopt motivation strategies that are effective yet cost-efficient.

Employee motivation expert John Sylvester, who is executive director at P&MM Motivation, a member of The UKGCVA, says: “One of the most common questions associated with the cost of an employee motivation programme is how to measure the ROI. In the case of the public sector this might be directly linked to the savings generated by changes in behaviour that have been initiated by the offer of an incentive reward: a reduction in absenteeism, for example. How many fewer sick days were recorded when an incentive was on offer to encourage staff attendance?”

IDENTIFYING OBJECTIVES For the public sector, the problems of staff satisfaction are well documented and could form the basis for setting new objectives to improve efficiency. For example, CIPD research notes that staff turnover levels in the public sector average at 12.6 per cent and this churn can be regarded as one measure of a dissatisfied workforce. With the cost of replacing staff extremely high, accounting for recruitment, new training and loss of productivity, keeping hold of staff for the long term could be an extremely useful cost-saver.

Another area that reflects disengagement among employees is the number of sick days that staff take on average each year. A recent Absence and Workplace Health Survey by the CBI and Pfizer revealed that public sector absence rates remain significantly higher than in the private sector, with workers taking an average of eight sick days per year, which is 43 per cent higher than in the private sector. It is suggested that 15 per cent of all sick days taken are fake, equating to costs upward of £2 billion per year: clearly another cost that an effective motivation strategy could help to curtail.

Once the objectives have been set, there are a few further considerations that should be made when creating a motivation programme.

Wayne Harrington, product manager, rewards and loyalty, at Edenred, provides a few pointers: “Make sure all directors, managers, line managers are included and fully support the programme and also include temporary staff. Set achievable goals and make frequent rewards. Engage the workforce with

government goals and objectives to make them feel a key part of the wider public sector agenda. Finally, communicate the message throughout the life of the programme and analyse feedback after the programme finishes as an additional measure of its success.”

Performance management professionals are often tasked with advising public sector departments on different types of targets, incentives and awards that can be used to acknowledge a whole range of positive behaviours. These could range from high attendance levels, better staff retention, hitting long-term targets or coming up with innovative ways to improve the internal efficiency of a department.

According to Jock Jordan, group sales director at The Gift Voucher Shop: “An effective reward scheme must be devised with the intention to increase the discretionary effort of the target audience, drive performance improvement, and encourage the recipient to repeat the behaviour that earned them the reward.”

CHOOSING THE RIGHT REWARD Encouraging changes in employee behaviour that will be repeated and maintained requires that staff are offered an appealing incentive to make their efforts worthwhile and a scheme that will sustain interest over a long period.

Salaries alone no longer fulfil this agenda.

Gilles Coccoli, managing director at PrePay Solutions, says: “Vouchers and gift cards can be an extremely effective – yet simple – tool to help retain staff, combat excessive sick days and staff turnover.” Raegan Matthews adds: “Gift cards and vouchers have a proven track record when it comes to effective motivation and reward.”

Paul McRae, business development manager, The Voucher Shop, says: “A key benefit of using vouchers is that the reward values don’t need to be high to be effective. Far more motivating is the frequency with which the awards are given and public presentation in front of peers. For these reasons Voucher Cheques, which are readily available and can be given in varying amounts to suit any budget, continue to increase in popularity, not least because they offer the recipient choice in what they spend them on, which is a highly motivating factor in itself.”

Francis Goss, head of commercial operations for reward services at Grass Roots, expands: “Simple reward schemes that focus on attendance, loyalty and teamwork can have a huge impact on overall staff satisfaction, which in turn leads to increased motivation and engagement.

“Vouchers are effective because invariably they are spent on a memorable reward or treat rather than on everyday expenditure such as bills. The reward is then associated with the behaviour or achievement, which encourages and inspires employees to repeat the behaviour and share with others why they have been rewarded.”

Government Business | Volume 17.7

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INCENTIVES & REWARDS

Jock Jordan notes that receiving a reward that is ‘memorable’, is essential in adding what he describes as ‘trophy value’: “Everyone remembers gifts, experiences or whatever they choose to spend their gift card on and this is called the ‘trophy value’ or ‘trophy effect’.”

Trophy value makes vouchers and gift cards stand apart from other types of reward and it can be linked directly to employee satisfaction – if the employee desires the reward in the first place, they should be satisfied in attaining it. “Take the time to plan and manage an employee motivation programme. Speak to employees to find out what they feel should be included in a good incentive programme”, continues Wayne Harrington.

This approach should ensure that the vouchers or gift cards that are selected are appropriate for the target audience. For instance, if your staff are young and energetic, the rewards on offer should reflect this. Or if your team contains a lot of people with young families, there is a wealth of family-orientated options on the market too, such as vouchers offering days out to attractions or activity centres.

PREPAID CARDS FOR THE FUTURE? Prepaid cards offer another alternative in this market that facilitate gifting/payment of incentive rewards to staff. Gilles Coccoli

of Prepay Solutions argues that the public sector will soon be utilising prepaid card mechanics far more in its rewards solutions as a progressive move: “The wider introduction of prepaid cards will convey the image of a government that is on the ball and prepared for the future, using innovative solutions that promote efficiency savings. With little outlay cost per card and the ability to load and re-load funds onto them electronically, the costs – both financial and resource-wise – can be minimal when using prepaid cards.”

Mark Thomas, deputy managing director at allpay, adds: “Payment cards are a 21st century means of making direct payments and are helping local authorities become more efficient. Additional advantages include the ready ability of the client to monitor account activity, identify account management issues and to manage payment issues. The prepaid card is a great solution for incentives.”

different denominations of vouchers available.

They boast ‘trophy value’ and produce high levels of satisfaction for the recipient.

They can be used in schemes promoting a variety of behavioural changes that will be required to meet internal objectives for improving public sector efficiency.

Change must begin from within, so the first step that public sector organisations may wish to take in introducing efficiency savings should be to examine the options available in the voucher and gift card incentive reward market.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.ukgcva.co.uk

TICKING ALL THE RIGHT BOXES As we can see here, there are a number of benefits to using gift cards and vouchers as employee incentives. They are versatile, with a wide range of options on the market.

They are not only cost-effective, but also can be appropriated to fit any budget with

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Contractors non-mechanical plant hire & sales

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A simple, hardwearing, non-slip temporary walk mat system for both internal and external use. The mats are easy to manhandle, cheap to transport, there are no fixings required and there are no holes or trip hazards present. They are suitable for all kinds of footwear and could even be used for animal walkways, paddocks and farm yards.

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LANDSCAPING & GROUNDSCARE

MAKE THE MOST OF THE GREAT OUTDOORS A number of special feature areas will heighten the visitor experience at this year’s IOG SALTEX open space management exhibition at Windsor Racecourse on 7-9 September A HOST OF COMPANIES are already booked into the newly-created Sports Zone, offering visitors a comprehensive range of products, and advice and solutions to every conceivable sports equipment need.

Located near the show’s South entrance, the IOG SALTEX Sports Zone will feature, for example, line markers as well as equipment and accessories for all major sports, including rain and frost covers.

Here’s a snapshot of what will be on view.

EXHIBITIORS Bowcom will display a comprehensive range of line marking materials and accessories including the GMX applicator, the environmentallyfriendly Bowcom Bag Box option and a new range of synthetic marking paints.

Fleet Line Markers will be demonstrating its range of line marking machines and paints – from traditional transfer wheel machines through to the world’s only laser guided marking system, the BeamRider.

With the BeamRider fitted to Fleet’s e-ROK, laser straight lines, at 12km/h, are easily achieved. The full range of accessories for the e-ROK will also be on display.

Environmentally friendly, water-based paints for natural grass, synthetic grass (all types) and tarmac surfaces are available in white plus a full range of colours.

Stadia Sports will show a selection of its wide range of capital equipment for all major sports, including football, tennis, cricket, rugby, hockey and athletics, in addition to grounds maintenance products and equipment for badminton, basketball, volleyball, and so on.

The company also provides an early planning-to-project completion sports hall installation service. And anyone looking for rain or frost covers need look no further than the Stuart Canvas stand, where there will be a range of covers for sports grounds as well as a mobile cover for cricket pitches.

Then there’s the ever-popular Sports Turf Skills Village, which will provide groundscare professionals with a series of daily demonstrations of basic sports turf maintenance skills. Located near to the show’s North entrance, the schedule will embrace: • Performance Quality Standard/ Assessment of surface • Setting out/marking out • Pre-start/Post operative checks to machinery • Setting height of cut • Mowing • Aeration

IT’S A SELL-OUT FOR FIRST-TIME IOG SALTEX EXHIBITOR Following a recommendation by a customer that it should exhibit at the IOG SALTEX open space management show, Isle of Wight-based Flow Control exhibited at the Windsor event for the first time last year – and it completely sold out of its stock of no-spill fuel cans.

“IOG SALTEX was definitely the best show ever for us,” says Dawn Bone, operations director. “And we have re-booked for this year as the exhibition is now our favourite trade show.”

Supplied with an integrated spout and dust safety cap, the anti-spill pushbutton control can empties five litres in 15 seconds (350 ml per second) with no spillage and a reduction of emissions of up to 90 per cent.

The UK manufactured Flo Control Fuel Can has a five-litre capacity and can be supplied with three different coloured identity discs (green, red and black) that can be used, for example, for unleaded, two stroke or diesel fuel.

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LANDSCAPING & GROUNDSCARE

ABOUT THE SHOW IOG SALTEX 2010 will be held on September 7-9 at Windsor Racecourse, Berks, and will embrace fine turf and sports surfaces, turf maintenance equipment, children’s outdoor play and safety surfacing, landscaping, contractors, commercial vehicles, outdoor leisure and facilities management, as well as software and security equipment. The show is attended by open space management professionals and contractors – from groundsmen and greenkeepers through to play officers, architects, designers and surveyors as well as local authority and outdoor leisure facility managers. Visit www.iogsaltex.co.uk.

• Scarifying • Fertiliser application (including calibration of equipment) • Topdressing (including calibration of equipment) • Synthetic pitch maintenance.

The demonstrations – featuring equipment and products supplied by exhibitors – will be supported by ECB Pitch Advisors and IOG training instructors who will be available to answer any questions visitors may have.

DEMONSTRATIONS In addition, an exciting, informative and comprehensive series of demonstrations, workshops and seminars are being planned

to meet all the wide-ranging needs of arboriculturalists who visit this year’s show.

Working closely with arboricultural specialist the BTS Group in the World of Arb area of the show, there will be a daily programme of tree climbing/access and rescue demonstrations, walk-in ‘ask the BTS expert’ workshops, as well as a display of products needed for safe and effective tree surgery – focusing especially on equipment for working at height efficiently, effectively and safely. In addition, the schedule of free seminars taking place in the Grandstand will also include sessions dedicated to the arboriculture industry.

The BTS programme of live demonstrations will include best-practice routines for:

• Access – climbed versus platform – highlighting health and safety issues as well as the efficacy of the alternative routines/methods; and • Aerial rescue techniques – focusing on accident and emergency routines when close to electricity/power lines.

Kevin Moore, training manager of the BTS Training division, says the enthralling programme will involve BTS staff from the Group’s Ipswich, Luton and Leeds depots. Elsewhere in the show, arborists will also be able to view and discuss a wide range of appropriate equipment, from harnesses through to sky-high access platforms, from other exhibitors.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.iogsaltex.co.uk

Japanese Knotweed Control strengthens reputation at SALTEX APANESE KNOTWEED Control returns to this year’s IOG SALTEX with a warning that the treatment of Japanese knotweed should only be entrusted to reputable, fully qualified professionals.

The company, which will once again be highlighting its innovative stem injection treatment technique, is increasingly concerned that many of the growing number of new entrants into the treatment market are untrained, uninsured, under-qualified and simply not up to the job.

In contrast, Japanese Knotweed Control continues to ensure its full compliance with all the latest legislation and recently secured UKAS ISO 9001:2008 certification awarded by the British Standards Institution. It has also become the first company in the country specialising

ecologically sound and cost-effective treatment method, its success nonetheless still relies on experienced and fully qualified practitioners.

Speaking ahead of his company’s fourth successive SALTEX, joint managing director, David Layland said: “As a business we are committed to maintaining the very latest quality management systems and industry standards and this will be a central theme at this year’s SALTEX.”

J

exclusively in the treatment of non-native invasive weeds to secure National Highways Sector Scheme 18 (NHSS 18) approval.

The company’s innovative stem injection treatment involves the delivery of a measured dose of herbicide into the centre of the plant which means it targets only the plants injected. Now widely accepted as the most

FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact: David Layland Japanese Knotweed Control Tel: 0845 643 1168 E-mail: davidlayland@ japaneseknotweedcontrol.co.uk Web: www.japaneseknotweedcontrol.com

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09/06/2010 13:03

MODEL TMC2 The Ultimate General Purpose Turf Cutter • Built for contract and hire • Exceptional traction in all conditions • Low vibration levels • Easy to use for operator • 30,35,40,45cm blade cutting widths • Separate blade and ground drive engagement • 24 month factory warranty

MODEL TMC4 The Leading Edge of Turf Cutting • Two axle four wheel ground drive • Precision cutting and consistent depth even on rolling terrain • Syncro-belt drive for quiet low vibration operating • Multiple blade cutting widths plus mole, trench & de-compaction to 13cm depth • Guillotine automatic chop off attachment • Wedge blade trench insertion for materials, cable or sub-soil irrigation

Tel Billy Warke: 028 2766 7409 Email: bwarke@groundsmanindustries.com

www.groundsmanindustries.com

Visit the website to view the categorised product finder

www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

High quality FSC chestnut fencing products from Torry Hill

Steel buildings from West Country Steel Buildings Ltd

ORRY HILL FARM is a traditionally managed family owned estate, which produces high quality FSC certified chestnut fencing products. We manufacture chestnut fencing, 95 per cent of which is from our own 1,000 acre woodland. We can uniquely offer 100 per cent Pure FSC chestnut fencing as we are certified both for Chain of Custody and for the management of our woodland.

We produce: Chestnut pale fencing; contractors temporary fencing; cleft post and rail; torry panels; border panels; torry post and rail; knee rail; chestnut stakes; posts and hurdles.

Photographs of many of our products can be viewed on our website: www.torryhill.co.uk.

Our product news can be read in numerous journals including Fencing & Landscaping News, The Landscaper, Perimeter Systems, as well as on numerous websites including Timber Web,

COUNTRY STEEL W EST BUILDINGS is an authorised

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House Builder & Developer, Civic and Public Building.

Torry Hill Chestnut Fencing has supplied some exciting projects over the last six months including Porcupine fencing to Italy, chestnut pales to a Deer Park in Holland, 2.4 kilometres of pale fencing for a sand bank protection scheme in Holland, eight miles of chestnut fencing for the Olympic Site in Stratford as well as post and rail fencing for the latest Walt Disney Film being filmed at the Pinewood Studios.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.torryhill.co.uk

distributor of Capital Steel Buildings, the leading producer of cold rolled steel buildings in the UK and Ireland. Working together we give fantastic service and clever design.

This allows West Country Steel Buildings to provide you, the customer with the very best, cost effective buildings designed specifically to suit your needs.

Our success is based upon several factors. Firstly we have built up over the last 40 years a fantastic reputation around the UK for our professional and friendly service. Secondly, we have experienced staff for both design and construction with a proven record of accomplishment.

And finally, we are local which means that we are able to provide the assistance and support our customers require.

From advice on location,

design and planning permission through to informing you of delivery dates and when the assembly team will be at your site to erect the building. At West Country Steel Buildings we value you, the customer and enjoy giving a fantastic service from the very start of your project to handing over the keys once everything has been completed.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01633 782684 E-mail: sales@ westcountrybuildings.com Web: www. westcountrybuildings.com

Bott promotes specialist vehicle enhancements offer at IOG SALTEX

Goupil G3 – the 100 per cent electric commercial vehicle

OTT, THE LEADING manufacturer of in-vehicle storage solutions, will be attending IOG SALTEX to highlight its specialist vehicle enhancement offer.

With more than 35 years’ experience, bott has worked with numerous local authorities and maintenance companies to provide an array of tailor-made solutions.

In addition, bott features as a key supplier on the Buying Solutions Framework agreements.

Bott’s team of experts will be on hand to talk through how they can help local authorities enhance their fleet’s performance through bespoke conversions – from property maintenance and ground care vans equipped with storage and racking, through to crew units with welfare facilities.

Bott’s original-thinking approach ensures it provides customers with practical, hard-working solutions. The company offers

FTER SUCCESSFULLY launching its 100 per cent electric commercial vehicles in mainland Europe, Goupil Industrie has introduced its right-hand drive version in the UK and Ireland.

Pascal DUCLOS, managing director of Goupil Industrie explains: “Local authorities are aiming to greatly reduce their CO2 emissions and are looking for vehicles both answering their expectations and being environmentally friendly. Thanks to its electric design and robustness, the Goupil G3 is an ecologic and an economic solution.”

Since 1996, Goupil Industrie has been developing commercial vehicles for local authorities wishing to combine reduction of CO2 emissions with operating efficiency. Environmentally friendly, economic, silent and versatile, the Goupil G3 is available in about twenty versions for many diverse applications.

With its narrow width and payload up to 700 kg, the Goupil G3 is the perfect town

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comprehensive project support – from consultation, design and manufacture to installation, logistics and recycling. Bott’s market-leading products offer up to 35 per cent weight savings, aiding efficient driving and through professional planning, a vehicle’s useful volume can increase by around 20 per cent.

Its team work with customers optimises their conversions, while meeting legislative and regulatory requirements. Safety is integral to its designs and bott’s commitment to product durability means customers benefit from a long-term investment. In fact, the company routinely crash-tests its products and installations to ensure they exceed industry standards.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For further information visit bott at IOG SALTEX, telephone 01530 410600 or visit www.bott-group.com

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vehicle, well-suited for stopand-go applications. The Goupil distribution network consists of five dynamic distributors close to customers, organising test drives, advising on the best options for their applications, and providing excellent service support.

With over 4,000 vehicles on the road and 800 customers in Europe, Goupil Industrie is one of the European leaders of the electric commercial vehicle.

FOR MORE INFORMATION E-mail: export@ goupil-industrie.com Web: www.goupil-industrie.co.uk

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Groomed for Success Surface Grooming is just one of the maintenance methods which can be applied to keep your artificial surface in perfect playing condition.

Make Technical Surfaces your first point of call.

For REPAIRS, MAINTENANCE and ADVICE, contact the UK’s leading Maintenance Specialists

Tel: 08702 400 700 www.technicalsurfaces.co.uk

The Chalk Pit, Lade Wood Hill, Doddington, Kent ME9 0ED

FSC certified Chestnut Fencing 3 Post & Rail 3 Chestnut Pale Fencing 3 Contractors Fencing 3 Hurdles 3 *New* Torry Panel Fencing

Tel: 01795 886020 Fax: 01795 886196 E-mail: chestnut@torryhill.co.uk Visit our website: www.torryhill.co.uk We now offer 100% FSC Pure Certified Chestnut Fencing

Visit the website to view the categorised product finder

Marwood – a leading non-mechanical plant hire and sales company ARWOOD GROUP LTD,

M opened in the early 1970s and is now set to continue its expansion with a new depot in East Kilbride (Scotland).

As a well-established and respected company within the plant hire industry, we are able to offer you our expertise and support on all our products range. In addition, from April 2010, Railtec Engineering became part of the Marwood Group and are moving to a new purpose built site in Mapplewell, Barnsley, Yorkshire.

As a specialist non-mechanical

plant hire/sales company with depots nationwide all over the country, we aim to supply any product from our range in any quantity, anywhere on time, every time.

Our product ranges are lifting equipment, goods handling and forklift equipment, crane accessories and general plant, foads and fencing, and safety equipment/fall arrest systems.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 020 7540 2500 Fax: 020 7540 2521 Web: www.marwoodgroup.co.uk

www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Bunce (Ashbury) Ltd introduces a new range of tractors UNCE (ASHBURY) LTD has recently been appointed the new UK importer of the Valpadana range of reversible drive tractors, which will be launched at Saltex. The 2730 unit is fitted with a 25hp Yanmar engine with two speed hydrostatic transmission.

The larger 6600 ISR unit is fitted with a 54hp Yanmar engine and has equal sized front and rear wheels. Both units allow the operator to work in the reverse position which gives optimum visibility for mowing and snow clearing.

The seat and steering consul can be converted from front to rear facing in just a few seconds.

The tractors have a number of other unique features which we would be pleased to discuss with you at the exhibition.

We will also be exhibiting a number of items from our range of snowploughs, salt spreaders

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and snow blowers which will help you to maintain your footpaths and car parks in a safe condition regardless of the weather.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact: Andrew C Bunce, sales director Address: Bunce (Ashbury) Ltd, Ashbury, Swindon SN6 8LW. Tel: 01793 710212 Fax: 01793 710437 E-mail: andrew.bunce@ bunce.co.uk

The Canopy People

Outdoor Structures, ideal for: Golf Driving Ranges School shelters Smoking Areas Alfresco Dining And so much more....

See us at the IOG Saltex Show on Stand L16 - and shelter from the elements!

Approaching Space Differently

Outside Structure Solutions www.outsidestructuresolutions.co.uk Tel: 0844 561 7679

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Visit the website to view the categorised product finder

www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Robogreen – the professional remote controlled slope mower

Highway vegetation maintenance machine to be launced at Saltex

NERGREEN UK is the sole distributor for the complete range of Energreen self-propelled machines. The comprehensive range has been specifically designed to increase productivity whilst meeting the demands of vegetation control on waterways, highways, railways, parks and amenities. All machines are tailored to the specific requirements of the client.

A brand new machine will be launched at Saltex this year – the Robogreen. A professional Remote Controlled Slope Mower.

With a powerful Kubota 44HP diesel engine and a specially designed Autec control box (range of 300 yards), this remote controlled machine is light years ahead of the competition.

The 1.3m interchangeable flail head ensures efficient productivity and being wider than the machine ensures that the tracks are not flattening grass that is yet to be

NOTHER NEW PRODUCT from Energreen to be launched at Saltex is their Highway Vegetation Maintenance machine.

Based on the already successful European model but converted for use in the UK, this machine is already creating a huge amount of interest and is poised to take the UK by storm.

It will be a maximum of 2.2m wide and weigh between 5-6T, with a rotating flail head (1.2 or 1.5m). With a powerful, 140HP, John Deere engine and 4-wheel steering it is extremely compact and maneuverable for use in restrictive areas and can also be used for towing heavy trailers.

The arm will have a 6.5/7m reach and a clearance height of 3.4m, tucking neatly away on the left of the cab when not in use. It is attached using a quick release system that

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cut. The robust flail head can cope extremely well in thick scrubs and areas of heavy growth.

Spiked tracks ensure a firm grip in wet conditions and on steep slopes (up to 60 degrees). But where a more professional finish is desired, the flail head can be replaced with a rotary mowing unit and low impact rubber tracks fitted, to avoid ground damage.

FOR MORE INFORMATION To see the full range visit our website www.energreenuk.co.uk or e-mail sales@energreenuk.co.uk

enables its removal in just five minutes so other attachments can be added, such as tree cutters, snowploughs, sweepers, blowers, weed cutting buckets, excavator buckets and trenchers.

And the best bit? Wait until you see the price!

FOR MORE INFORMATION For more information on this and other machines in the Energreen range please visit our website www.energreenuk.co.uk or e-mail sales@energreenuk.co.uk

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Government Business | Volume 17.7

www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

PLAYGROUNDS

KEEPING PLAYGROUNDS SAFE When the play inspectors call, ensure they are fully RPII Certificated, argues the Register of Play Inspectors International ALL PLAY AREAS and play equipment in public places should have an annual safety inspection. These should include outdoor play, indoor play, wheeled play and inflatable play. However, it raises a question: Who can complete these inspections and reports? The answer is: only an RPII Annual Inspector.

Another question that need answering then follows: who or what is the RPII?

THE RPII – AND ITS PEDIGREE To assist all play providers with annual safety inspections and manufactures needing post–installation inspections, the Register of Play Inspectors International (RPII) was set up in 1999 by the Association of Play Industries (API), Chartered Institute of Sport (ISPAL, originally ILAM), Fields in Trust (FIT, originally NPFA) and the Royal Society for

PLAY SAFETY INSPECTORS ARE CERTIFICATED COMPETENT TO CARRY OUT DIFFERENT TYPES OF INSPECTIONS

Inspection Type:

Annual Inspector Operational Inspector Routine Inspector

Daily/Weekly ‘Routine Inspection’

P P P

Monthly/Quarterly ‘Operational Inspection’

‘Annual Inspection’ or ‘Post-Installation Inspection’ (for insurance)

P P O

NB. Each inspector is examined and certificated within their own very specific type of play, one of: Outdoor or Indoor or Inflatable or Wheeled

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P O O

the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). The RPII works closely with each organisation and with the British Standards Institute (BSI).

The benefits of using an RPII Inspector are many. Most importantly RPII inspectors are assessed on European and British standards and guidelines on which they are rigorously examined and periodically re-examined by the RPII. Insurers and risk managers prefer inspectors who are professionally trained, certificated and audited to provide comprehensive valid reports that give best value. However, only Annual Inspectors are examined and certificated to the level required to complete valid annual play safety inspections or post-installation inspections.

CHECK INSPECTOR BADGE Check the RPII Photo ID Badge issued to the inspector (see image). At a time when national government, local authorities and schools are striving to save money and achieve better value, it is believed some so-called ‘Annual Inspectors’ are producing lower cost but possibly worthless playground

Government Business | Volume 17.7

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PLAYGROUNDS

safety reports. They may be wrongly stating they are RPII certificated and competent Annual Inspectors. They are not.

There are three levels of RPII outdoor play inspectors – Routine, Operational and Annual. Operational and Routine Inspectors are examined to an appropriately lower level of competence required by their lower level of responsibility. Genuine mistakes may be made by them or a local authority client using them for annual safety reports as Annual Inspectors – which they are not. Their inspection report, for health and safety and legal reasons, may be invalid and may not be worth the paper it is written on – making the seeming ‘low cost’ wasted money, the report unusable and the client vulnerable. This is because, in the event of legal action under the Health & Safety at Work Act, the annual safety inspection report and competence of the playground inspector will be questioned and brought in to doubt. The Act requires an inspection to be carried out by a ‘competent person’. Employing the wrong inspector, no matter how cheap, may turn out to be a really expensive mistake.

Anyone can make a thorough check – it’s easy and it’s free.

There is easy Internet access to the RPII’s website listing registered all the current Annual Inspectors, Operational and Routine inspectors. Only RPII Annual Inspectors listed can undertake play area annual safety or post-installation inspections. (See Table) INSPECT YOUR INSPECTOR SAYS SCHOOLS SURVEY In a recent pilot survey on behalf of the Register of Play Inspectors International (RPII), Hamilton House found that the majority of headteacher and administrator respondents knew play areas and play equipment should be subjected to an annual safety inspection by a suitably competent person. However, from the question, “Who undertakes such inspections”, there was an interesting array of answers, Hamilton House reports.

About one quarter said it was done by someone from their local authority but fewer than a quarter said this very important safety inspection was carried out by an appropriately qualified RPII Inspector. Over one-third of respondents ticked the “Other Inspectors” box which included the school caretaker, site manager or a private contractor or the equipment contractor. Rather worryingly, a significant number stated that they had “No Idea”.

Of course, many of these “inspectors” will have had some basic training in carrying out daily or weekly inspections, and a number, particularly from the commercial sector, will be fully trained and competent RPII annual level inspectors. However it is extremely unlikely that school caretakers or other local authority staff will be trained to annual level competency, and they should not be asked to carry out such important inspections.

Combined Playground Services Combined Playground Services covers all aspects of: • Post installation inspections • Annual and operational playground inspections • Training to RPII operational levels • Installation services • Project Management

Nationwide services Tel 01495 231464 Mobile 07828 704460 e-mail info@combinedplay.com www.combinedplay.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.playinspectors.com

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Government Business | Volume 17.7

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RECYCLING & WASTE MANAGEMENT

BECOME AN ENERGY EXPERT WITH FREE RWM SEMINARS Recognising the pace of developments in waste-to-energy technologies, the Recycling & Waste Management Exhibition, taking place at the NEC, Birmingham 14-16 September, will feature a dedicated Energy & Water Seminar Theatre SPONSORED BY MOTHERWELL BRIDGE, the three-day programme of expert-led sessions in the Energy & Water Seminar Theatre will cover Anaerobic Digestion (AD), treating food waste, Combined Heat & Power plants (CHP), Refuse Derived Fuel (RFD) and other emerging conversion technologies.

Day One (14 September) • Antony Oliver, editor, New Civil Engineer will discuss infrastructure and funding for low carbon, renewable energy and energy from waste projects • Peter Jones OBE and consultant for Ecolateral will explore some of the future challenges facing the waste management sector, looking at technologies such as biomass conversion and gasification and asking what investment is needed • The Environment Agency will give an outline of the available energy from waste resources in the UK • Aaron Berry, head of carbon and sustainability at The Renewable Fuels Agency will give an update on the UK Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation and the Renewable Energy Directive.

Day Two (15 September) • Antony Greener, waste strategy and development director, Nottingham City Council will present a case study of the City’s district heating schemes and CHP • John Stephens, relationship manager for the environment team at Triodos Bank Project will speak on financing energy from food waste; explaining why the market isn’t developing as quickly as expected and giving visitors advice on funding, contract structures, warrantees and guarantees • Martin Wylie, general manager, materials

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handling & process engineering division, Motherwell Bridge will present a case study • Richard Gueterbock, director of Clearfleau, will describe how renewable energy can be generated from liquid effluent through innovative anaerobic digestion.

Day Three (16 September) • Norman Fulton, sales director for KMH Systems, will explain how municipal solid waste can be separated into fractions for use in AD and RFD • Chris Oldfield, managing director of Riverside Waste Machinery, will review the latest technologies that will enable the UK to comply with EU landfill regulations. He will also analyse the barriers to alternative fuel production such as education and awareness, funding, capital expenditure and public misconceptions • Victor Buchanan, managing director of Bioflame will explain how the company’s clean burn combustion system works, what makes it different and what he think the future holds.

View the full programme at www.rwmexhibition.com/seminars.

EXHIBITOR HIGHLIGHTS The RWM 10 exhibitor list features leaders in renewable energy in the UK and abroad including Agrivert, Ebbsfleet Engineering Services, Food 2 Energy, Global Recycling Solutions, Komptech UK, DmnWestinghousem, Legras Industries and Renby.

The Association for Organics Recycling (previously the Composting Association) is the UK’s leading membership organisation promoting the sustainable management of biodegradable resources. Jeremy Jacobs, the Association’s managing director comments:

“There are a number of drivers both fiscal and environmental which are stimulating the growth in the collection and treatment of food waste. There is in the region of 40 million tonnes of carbon continuing to go to landfill. Food waste accounts for a significant proportion of this. The UK need to speed up the delivery of infrastructure for the treatment of this material and will only do this through government intervention. The 1999 Landfill Directive which is the main lever for driving this change is starting to have a beneficial effect and local authorities are collecting significantly more food waste, both segregated and mixed with green waste for treatment. This is an exciting time with abundant opportunities for growth in the sector, we need to ensure, however, that regulation is proportionate and does not strangle growth in the future.”

BiogenGreenfinch (Stand 1945) designs, builds, owns and operates AD plants and is responsible for 13 in the UK. The company’s current focus is AD plants for food waste and it operates three such plants: Biocycle plant in Ludlow, Twinwoods plant in Bedfordshire and the Westwood plant in Northamptonshire.

The development of the BiogenGreenfinch process has coincided with a change in UK Government strategies and a growing awareness of the need to reduce carbon emissions and greenhouse gases. Central to this is the need to divert the amount of organic waste going to landfill and to exploit new greener technologies for the management of waste and the generation of renewable energy.

Motherwell Bridge (Stand 1652 and sponsor of the Energy & Water Theatre): Motherwell Bridge’s materials handling and process engineering division provides a turnkey project management and engineering design service to clients within the power generation, alternative energy and biomass production industry sectors.

Government Business | Volume 17.7

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RECYCLING & WASTE MANAGEMENT

Its experienced and knowledgeable team take concepts through feasibility study, process design, specification, machinery selection, manufacture, installation and commissioning.

New Earth Solutions (Stand 760) offers technology and services for treatment of residual waste and composting organics, while New Earth Energy is developing schemes for recovering low-carbon energy from wastederived fuel. The company’s development director Peter Mills says: “RWM played an important part in the New Earth Solutions’ exhibition strategy last year and will do the same this year. The event is a great opportunity to showcase our fully enclosed composting process as well as an excellent platform to promote our renewable energy business.

“Landfill diversion is an ever increasing priority for local authorities and New Earth is an experienced provider of residual waste treatment capability, tailored to fit the customer’s needs. On our stand visitors will be able to see how the processes work and why New Earth facilities are amongst the most advanced of their kind in the UK. Our experienced and knowledgeable staff are all specialists in their fields and will be happy to answer any questions. With a recent

investment by the Carbon Trust of £4m in support of the renewable and low carbon energy developments, we are definitely the one to watch over the next 12 months.”

Riverside Waste Machinery (Stand 1186) is the sole distributor of UNTHA shredding technology in the UK, including the new TR2500 shredder for refused derived fuel preparation. The company’s managing director, Chris Oldfield, will be presenting a seminar in the Energy & Water Theatre this year. He says: “The RWM exhibition is without doubt one of the most prestigious trade events the UK is lucky enough to boast. Every year without fail there is a phenomenal buzz surrounding the unveiling of innovative new technologies, expert seminar discussions and product demonstrations, which provides the recycling and waste management sector with the continual recognition it deserves. No-one comes away from the event without learning something....This year’s event has a lot to live up to but I’ve never been disappointed before. Some industry statistics suggest that the UK’s approach to waste management is trailing behind that of fellow European nations, but after attending an RWM event many would question if that is in fact the case.”

The BMI Group – serving the waste management industry VER THE LAST ten years, bmi Trailers have became a common sight moving waste loads throughout the UK and Ireland. Since those early days the company has grown to be the country’s leading Ejector Trailer supplier, as well as extending the product range to include Walking Floor®, leak-proof and mobile transfer Trailers. Then in 2005 TopSelect Kerbside Recycling Vehicles and Packmat Waste Compactors were also added to the portfolio.

Through our rigorous research and design process the Trailers and municipal vehicles offered by bmi deliver increased payload capacity, improved operator safety, decreased noise levels and reduced environmental impact. Each new trailer or vehicle is custom designed and built to suit the specific needs of you, the customer. This flexibility and attention to detail has made bmi the choice of many of the sector’s leaders such as Viridor WM and Veolia ES. bmi has also

O

REGISTER NOW With the new coalition government pledging to promote energy-from-waste through anaerobic digestion, energy conversion is top of the local authority environmental agenda.

Ensure you are up to date with the latest legislation, opportunities and technology by registering to attend this free exhibition and take advantage of the expertise on offer in the Energy & Water Seminar Theatre.

Visitors can register online now for free fast track entry to RWM 10 and take advantage of a simple online tool to help plan their visit. Whether you are looking for suppliers of banks, bins and containers, machinery and equipment, vehicles and plant or specialist recycling solutions, you can use the MyRWM Show Planner to create a personalised floorplan of relevant exhibitors.

Complete the form on www.rwmexhibition.com/egovb to receive your badge and show preview approximately three weeks prior to the exhibition, plus avoid the queues when you arrive.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.rwmexhibition.com

COLLECT UP TO

50%

MORE HOUSES

PER ROUND

TOPSELECT

KERBSIDE RECYCLERS

completed a number of large projects with local and district councils in the UK and Ireland including Torbay, Swindon, Belfast, Aberdeen, Perth & Kinross and Daventry. The company’s latest product offering is a patented internal compaction system for their Kerbside Recycling vehicles which allow an increase in payload of up to 50 per cent on standard vehicles.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Address: Unit 20, Granville Industrial Estate Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, BT70 1NJ Tel: 028 8775 3999 Fax: 028 8772 5585 E-mail: sales@thebmigroup.com Web: www.thebmigroup.com

There are significant efficiencies available with the use of bmi TopSelect Kerbside Recyclers. Talk to us today about how we can reduce the cost of your Kerbside Collection process.

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ADVERTISERS INDEX The publishers accept no responsibility for errors or omissions in this free service BIFM Training

32

Institute of Payroll Professionals

11

QEII Conference Centre

BOTT

64

IP UserGroup

30

Ramada Jarvis Livingstone

BRE Training

27

Japanese Knotweed Control

63

Selectamark

IBC

JJ&B Projects

32

Sercon Support Services

Bunce (Ashbury)

66

Kings College

46

Service Management Expo 2010

Certegy

15

Landmark Information Group

27

SGP Property & Facilities Management

32

Charity Gift Voucher

59

Lexis Nexis Payroll Alliance

10

Sound of Music

34

Combined Playground Services

71

Lloyds Banking Group

12

St Johnstone FC

40

Credit Today

14

Madingley Hall

46

Technical Surfaces

66

De Vere Venues

38

Man United

50

The BMI Group

73

Earlsmere

67

Manchester Conference Centre

52

The Brighton Centre

56

Energreen UK

69

Marwood Group

60

The British Medical Association

54

Exec Peterborough

46

Mitsubishi Electrical

The Green Hotel

38

Fuelstretcher

16

Monodraught

The London Art House

54

Torry Hill Chestnut Fencing

66

Trinity Park Conferences & Events

48

BT Security Services

Newmarket Racecource

20, 24 6 44, 48

56 40 OBC 34 2

Gi-Lec Energy Solutions

4

Groundsman Industries

64

Nimlok

Groupil Industrie

64

npower

22

Visit Scotland

36

Holiday Inn Peterborough West

44

Outside Structure Solutions

67

West Country Steel Buildings

62

Homerton College

46

Peterborough Cathedral

44

Westerwood Hotel & Golf Resort

38

Institute of Groundsmanship

68

Premier Life Skills

28

Woodgreen Enterprises

42

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BT Security Solutions

In these tough times, we recognise the need to cut costs, but know that protecting communities and reducing the fear of crime has never been more important.

Safer communities and swifter justice

For more information email

btsecuritysolutions@bt.com or visit www.btsecuritysolutions.com

Using the very latest technology, we can help you consolidate your systems and allow your partners easier, faster access to CCTV images – delivering both cost savings and quicker justice.

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Property Marking Kits for thefts and burglaries, Intruder Spray for robberies and break-ins and Grease for Metal Theft

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Find out more by visiting www.selectaDNA.co.uk or call

01689 860757 for more information.