Government Business Volume 19.05

ACADEMIC VENUES | SPORTS & LEISURE | FRANCHISING | EMERGENCY SHOW + MORE BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS

TRANSPORT

PRINTING & PUBLISHING

www.governmentbusiness.co.uk | VOLUME 19.5

Business Information for Local and Central Government ENERGY

GOING SOLAR

Learn from those leading the way in Public Sector PV at Solar Power 2012

URBAN REGENERATION

TAKE THE HIGH ROAD

Support for councils that missed out on a slice of the Portas Pie

TRANSPORT

LOCAL FUNDING

Plans to devolve local major transport schemes move forward Volume 19.4 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

1

For one industry with many requirements, calfordseaden is one practice with many solutions WORKING IN THE FOLLOWING SECTORS

COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL COMMUNITY & LEISURE

EDUCATION HEALTHCARE

HOUSING HOUSING FOR OLDER PEOPLE

PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS PROFESSIONAL SERVICES REGENERATION RETAIL The award winning Graylingwell Park, Chichester A joint project by Linden Homes, Affinity Sutton and the Homes & Communities Agency, currently one of the UK’s largest carbon-neutral development. calfordseaden are appointed as employer’s agent & technical inspector on behalf of Downland Housing Association, part of Affinity Sutton.

Image courtesy of Linden Homes

calfordseaden.co.uk Chartered Surveying

Project Management

Architecture & Master Planning

Civil & Structural Engineering

Mechanical & Electrical Engineering

Sustainability Advice

Health & Safety Consultancy

COMMENT ACADEMIC VENUES | SPORTS & LEISURE | FRANCHISING | EMERGENCY SHOW + MORE BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS

TRANSPORT

PRINTING & PUBLISHING

www.governmentbusiness.co.uk | VOLUME 19.5

Business Information for Local and Central Government ENERGY

GOING SOLAR

Learn from those leading the way in Public Sector PV at Solar Power 2012

URBAN REGENERATION

TAKE THE HIGH ROAD

Support for councils that missed out on a slice of the Portas Pie

Comment

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

A SPORTING CHANCE Now the Olympics is over, Government and local authorities have a chance to reflect on its legacy. Although extremely successful, there are many lessons to be learned from the biggest event the UK has hosted in recent history. The government has recently published a 10point plan for securing this legacy which includes bringing 20 major sporting events to UK by 2019. £1bn investment over the next five years in the Youth Sport Strategy, linking schools with sports clubs and encouraging sporting habits for life, is also included. According to an LGA snapshot (see p7), council-run sports services had to draft in extra staff to cope with demand. Let’s hope this trend continues.

TRANSPORT

LOCAL FUNDING

Plans to devolve local major transport schemes move forward Volume 19.4 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

1

Has Mary Portas lost interest in the Pilots? While addressing the British Council of Shopping Centres annual conference in September, she remarked: “Part of me sometimes thinks: Is this a big PR thing or is this truly believing in town centre first?” Portas, no stranger to PR stunts herself, is making a TV series featuring three of the pilots, including Margate, where members of the Town Team resigned days after bringing one of the town’s empty shops back (see p29).

Major local transport decisions will now be made locally. After consultation since January, the DfT has decided future funding will be allocated according to population, allowing priorities to be decided by newly established Local Transport Bodies, which don’t have much time to make their plans (see p47).

Environmental building is still high on the agenda. Passivhaus, the rigorous standard for energy efficiency in buildings, is used for a new educational complex in Worcestershire (see p31).

Low carbon refurbishment is addressed at Retro Expo (see p33) which features a conference on the Green Deal. The Carbon Show (p43) is a must-attend for sustainability professionals, plus news that public sector PV is booming comes from the Solar Power UK show (p37).

In technology news, another hotshot from the private sector, Stephen Kelly, has been appointed in Ian Watmore’s old ‘COO’ role alongside Francis Maude. Superfast broadband has received a £114m boost, but planning regulations regarding infrastructure have been relaxed, causing concern for some (see p87).

Until next time.....

Danny Wright

P ONLINE P IN PRINT P MOBILE P FACE TO FACE If you would like to receive 6 issues of Government Business magazine for £45 a year, please contact Public Sector Information, 226 High Road, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055, Fax: 020 8532 0066, or visit the Government Business website at:

Business Information for Local and Central Government

www.governmenttbusiness.co.uk | www.governmenttechnology.co.uk PUBLISHED BY PUBLIC SECTOR INFORMATION LIMITED

226 High Rd, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055 Fax: 020 8532 0066 Web: www.psi-media.co.uk EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Danny Wright ACTING EDITOR Angela Pisanu EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Lisa Harris PRODUCTION EDITOR Karl O’Sullivan PRODUCTION CONTROLLER Jacqueline Lawford WEB PRODUCTION Reiss Malone ADVERTISEMENT SALES Deborah Rae, Julie Holbrook, Bernie Miller, Steve Day, Michael Kennedy, David Morgan PUBLISHER Kelly Scott GROUP PUBLISHER Barry Doyle ADMINISTRATION Victoria Leftwich, Lucy Carter, Charlotte Casey REPRODUCTION & PRINT Argent Media

© 2012 Public Sector Information Limited. No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any other means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the editorial content the publisher cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher. ISSN 1362 - 2541

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

03

Help budgets balance, install Yeoman Shield

▲ Heavy Duty Hazard

Corner Guards

▲ Door Protection & Glazing Bead Protector

▲ Handrail, Protection Strip &

▲ Guardian Handrail

▲ Door & Architrave Protection

▲ Wall Protection Panels with

Corner Protection Angle

Inlaid Logo

Yeoman Shield Wall & Door Protection - the quick, easy and cost effective solution for damaged walls and doors.

Available in a choice of materials, styles and colours.

OVER 45 YEARS OF SUCCESS

Yeoman House, Whitehall Industrial Estate, Whitehall Road, Leeds, LS12 5JB T: 0113 279 5854 F: 0113 231 0406 E: sallyann@yeomanshield.com W: www.yeomanshield.com

Contents

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

CONTENTS 07 GB NEWS

47 TRANSPORT

11 FINANCE - DEBT RECOVERY

It’s full steam ahead for local decision making on major transport schemes. By December this year, Local Transport Bodies must set out their proposals for governance and financial management.

Olympics boost for council sport services; concerns over Draft Pensions Bill

The first authoritative figures on debt produced by the association representing those companies tasked with collecting it. Peter Wallwork, chief executive, reports

59 SECURITY

Employers have a duty to ensure lone workers are adequtely protected. Alex Carmichael, technical director at the BSIA, explains how security technology is helping to keep such lone workers safe.

15 PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS The Association of British Investigators hopes that recommendations from a Home Affairs Select Committee report published in July will help weed out those considered unscrupulous and unprofessional

59 FRANCHISING Richard Holden, head of franchising at Lloyds Banking Group explains what to look out for when considering investing in a pre-packed brand

19 MARKET RESEARCH Alternative methodologies are being employed to maintain levels of customer feedback, says the Market Research Society

23 HUMAN RESOURCES Thousands of HR and development professionals will be heading to Manchester in November to take part in the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)’s Annual Conference and Exhibition

Portas Pilots funding received an incredible amount of interest, but many local authorities missed out. Susan Williams, director of Vision On, looks at what local authorities and retailers can do to help revive a flagging high street

31 LOW CARBON BUILDING

The £22m Habberley Learning Campus in Worcestershire will be built to Passivhaus standards, resulting in an ultra-low carbon building that requires little energy for heating or cooling

77 EVENT DESTINATIONS Universities transform themselves into dream locations for conferences and events. These stimulating environments provide inspiring locations for event organisers. Plus a look at York as a conference destination, which has recently announced finance from the Regional Growth Fund

Universities transform themselves into dream locations for conferences and events. These stimulating environments provide inspiring locations for event organisers. Plus a look at York as a conference destination, which has recently announced finance from the Regional Growth y

Taking place at the NEC from October 30, Retro Expo will focus on the most decisive ways to deliver the UK’s energy efficient future and fully understand The Green Deal

37 SOLAR POWER Discover how the solar industry and public sector can achieve substantial returns and higher standards of living at Solar Power, whch takes place on October 2-4 at the NEC, Birmingham

Government Business

Emergency planners, business continuity and resilience professionals will explore new ideas at this year’s Emergency Services Show on 21-22 November at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry

85 LEISURE INDUSTRY WEEK REVIEW

33 RETRO EXPO

In partnership with the Carbon Trust, the Carbon Show will share ‘lessons-learned’ in energy on October 23.

Kathy Woodward of The British Printing Industries Federation explains how the UK’s fourth largest industrial sector is managing to keep things as green as possible by environmental reporting and by promoting the responsible production and use of print and paper

69 EMERGENCY SERVICES SHOW

27 URBAN REGENERATION

43 THE CARBON SHOW

65 PRINTING & PUBLISHING

87 GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY NEWS Global utility and telecoms thought leaders will address new opportunities for collaboration in Smart Grid rollout at GridComms on October 22

93 CONTACT CENTRES

Listening to the voice of the customer can identify opportunities for major cost savings, customer experience improvements and a wealth of unexpected and simultaneous benefits, writes Jo Daly

www.governmentbusiness.co.uk Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

05

SPORT

NEWS IN BRIEF

Snapshot survey shows big Olympics boost for council sport A snapshot survey carried out by the Local Government Association has found swimming pools, gyms, athletics tracks and tennis courts across the country saw an increase in users during Britain’s Olympic summer. Councils have had to draft in extra lifeguards, coaches and leisure centre staff and extend leisure centre opening hours manage to a surge in demand from Olympics enthused residents.

Other sports in council-owned facilities which have seen more uptake include gymnastics, sailing, cycling, badminton, handball, fencing, table tennis, beach volleyball, martial arts, basketball, volleyball, canoeing, archery and hockey. Many councils’ summer sports programmes for children have also been booked out.

Council facilities played a key role in the success of the 2012 Games with about a third of councils having their sports facilities used

by Team GB or Paralympics GB athletes.

The LGA undertook a survey of officers with the responsibility for sports development between 8 August 2012 and 24 August 2012 within all councils in England and Wales. The survey revealed 44 per cent of councils reported an increase in users during the Olympics.

Cllr Stephen Castle, chairman of the LGA’s 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Task and Finish Group, said: “The scale of enthusiasm and wide variety of sports

GB News

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Ex-Ofsted chief lands Brent LBC interim role Christine Gilbert has been appointed interim chief executive at Brent LBC. Gilbert had been chief inspector at education and children’s care regulator Ofsted. According to a council statement, she will start her interim role in early November and remain in post until council leaders appoint a permanent replacement for Gareth Daniel, who left after 26 years service with the council including 14 as chief executive.

people are wanting to get involved in is really inspiring, and this snapshot survey just gives an indication of what’s happening across the country. Many councils predicted a greater increase once the Olympics finished and they had fully collated their figures. ”A key measure of the success of the 2012 Games will be if sporting participation increases in the years ahead. Councils have a key role to play in this as it’s their facilities people often rely on as they find private facilities prohibitively expensive. It’s essential governing bodies, councils, local sports clubs and community groups work well together to seize the fantastic sporting fervour generated by the 2012 Games and make sure we keep people enthused about sport once the closing ceremonies are a distant memory.

“Councils are doing all they can to manage Government’s 28 per cent funding cuts without reducing their sports and leisure services.

They are striving to increase membership to generate income, joining with each other to make savings, negotiating contracts to get the most of every pound, sourcing external funding and working with voluntary groups, local sports club and business to reduce staffing costs and keep services going.”

Final Audit Commision chair appointed Jeremy Newman has been appointed as the final chairman of the Audit Commission, replacing Michael O’Higgins as the spending watchdog’s chair. Assuming the role from the start of October, Newman will be responsible for overseeing the efficient wind-down of the Commission, and the delivery of its reduced functions in the run up to its closure.

Communities secretary Eric Pickles said: ‘Jeremy brings significant knowledge of audit and a proven track record of delivery, which will be essential as he oversees the Commission’s closure and the smooth transfer to the new local audit regime’.

READ MORE - tinyurl.com/cd57sfl

Concern over first aid training, says report

HOUSING

Landlords aware of Green Deal According to the National Landlords Association’s latest ‘Landlord Panel’, the majority of landlords are considering taking advantage of the new Green Deal energy efficiency measures available in October 2012.

63 per cent of landlords say they are aware of the Green Deal and 56 per cent of landlords are considering taking advantage of the energy initiative. Any rental properties found to have a poor energy performance rating (F or G rated) after 2018 will no longer be fit to let under the new legislation. Under the Green Deal, the cost of energy efficiency improvements, such as loft and wall insulation, will be paid through a loan attached to the property’s energy bills.

However, due to the energy savings achieved by the improvements, the energy bill will never be higher than it would have been if the work had

not been carried out. David Salusbury, chairman of the NLA, says: “Our research shows that many landlords are keen to take advantage of the Green Deal. Furthermore, it is imperative that landlords future-proof their properties and their investments. The Green Deal is their opportunity to improve the quality of their properties and demonstrate their ability to engage with government initiatives without the burden of further regulation. If landlords don’t act now, they may find their property cannot be legally let come 2018.”

546 online interviews with National Landlords Association members carried out between 7th and 19th June 2012.

A survey by St Jonhs Ambulance has found the majority of public sector staff do not know how many first aiders are in their workplace.

Research discovered that 63.1 per cent of public sector staff were unaware of how many first aid trained individuals were in their place of work, with 24.6 per cent of those questioned stating that they remained concerned about the lack of first aiders working alongside them.

While 26.9 per cent of public sector staff had been present when a colleague was in need of first aid, it was found that less than half of those questioned had administered first aid to a co-worker. Director of training and marketing at St John Ambulance, Richard Evens, said: “Every employee deserves to feel safe in their working environment and ensuring there are enough first aiders in the event of an emergency is paramount.”

READ MORE - www.landlords.org.uk

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

07

In an ever more demanding world, Variable Message Signs Limited combines innovation, experience and technology in strategic, rail and urban driver information systems.

Our road traffic product range covers applications in the strategic , urban, and traffic management equipment sectors.

We offer a full range of services to suit individual client requirements’ from design, manufacture, supply, installation and commissioning of LED driver information systems. These include fully UTMC compliant car park guidance systems, vehicle activated speed and warning signs and full matrix dual colour advance warning and information signs.

Our range of car park guidance and information signs advise drivers where the car parks are within a town or city centre, local hospital or school site, within a shopping centre or multi storey car park.

The signs will advise on the number of spaces left within each car park or area, providing information and choice for drivers entering the town or site, and via our TRAMS car park management software package, the operator has control over all the listed car parks, the number of displayed / available spaces as well as providing various management reports and helps reduce emissions by keeping traffic moving and avoiding queuing. By adding a two line of fifteen character display within the car park guidance sign, clients can enhance their system and have the capability of adding ‘free text’ information to visitors entering the site.

Our Safewatch range of vehicle activated speed and warning signs help provide road & pedestrian safety, by advising and reinforcing the speed limits and other hazards, such as pedestrian crossings, side roads, tight bends etc and other hazards such as, car park entrances and exits, The unique environment of roads adjacent to and within schools, universities and hospitals specifically, our Safewatch range can be programmed to suit varying local and site conditions, by advising permitted speed or alternatively they can display a pictogram i.e.: children crossing etc. Our Safewatch range of signs can also be fitted with four corner

conspicuity lanterns for added presence.

The Safewatch range is always evolving to suit client’s demands. Our latest evolution of ultra slim signs are lightweight and will fit unobtrusively into the most sensitive of areas. The light sensor adjusts to ambient light levels, reducing LED output at night to maintain contrast. This stops the sign dazzling oncoming vehicles. Dimming the sign also cuts unwanted light pollution.

With many of our Safety and Warning signs we can supply them with alternatives to conventional mains power where the level of usage is comparatively low or due to location the cost of installing mains power is prohibitive. Typically these alternatives are Wind and/or Solar power either singly or in combination.

Applying Technology in Transportation has always been at the forefront of everything Variable Message Signs Limited manufacture, from standard to bespoke LED signage products.

Pegasus our new range of urban dual colour full matrix signs are the latest product to be designed and built with this philosophy. The sign’s attractive and slim design is especially suited to today’s urban streetscape, where it will deliver driver and pedestrian information. The sign is offered in three sizes, with high resolution matrix areas suitable for the display of four lines of text with character heights of 160mm, 100mm, and 50mm. All variants are capable of displaying combined text and pictogram information and employ a dual-coloured, amber and red, matrix.

A special feature of the new sign system is the ability to mount it in a landscape or portrait format, with five mounting options for landscape fixing and three for portrait fixing, making it a very flexible range of signs for use around schools, universities and hospitals as well as in town and city centres etc.

Variable Message Signs Limited is an ISO9001 2000, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 Quality Company and are members of the British Parking Association (BPA). For a no-obligation quotation, site survey or a general discussion regarding your requirements, please do not hesitate to contact Mr Glynn J Hutton, Sales Manager on 07717 783134 / 0191 423 7070, ghutton@vmslimited.co.uk or visit our website www.vmslimited.co.uk for our range of products and services.

Variable Message Signs Limited Unit 1, Monkton Business Park North, Mill Lane, Hebburn, Tyne & Wear NE31 2JZ T 0191 423 7070 F 0191 423 7071 E ghutton@vmslimited.co.uk W www.vmslimited.co.uk

PENSIONS

Concerns over Draft Pension Bill The Draft Public Service Pensions Bill, which was presented to Parliament in September, proposes major changes to the governance and oversight of public sector pension schemes. In particular the Pensions Regulator is set to widen its current oversight of private sector pension schemes to cover public sector pensions.

The draft Bill contains a range of measures to implement agreements reached by the Government with workers, trade unions and their representatives following the publication of its enhanced offer to pension schemes in November last year. The new arrangements, which are set to come into force from 2015, will see pension entitlements calculated on a career average basis rather than being based on an employee’s final salary. In addition, the age at which the majority of public sector employees can retire on full pension will increase in line with the state pension age.

Commenting on the changes, CIPFA pensions panel chair, Bob Summers, said: “Any measures intended to strengthen governance in public sector pensions should be welcomed. We at CIPFA look forward to exploring with the Pensions Regulator how existing governance arrangements and associated Codes of Practice and guidance, particularly in the sphere

of the Local Government Pension Scheme, can be deployed to assist the Regulator in discharging these new responsibilities”.

However, Summers expressed some concern at elements of the bill which seek to centralise aspects of the Local Government Pension Scheme under the control of the Treasury, “The LGPS is unique amongst UK public sector pension schemes in that there is a clear accountability link between local fund administrators and local Council Tax payers.

The introduction of a third party that can influence funding strategy and the process by which employer contributions are set weakens that link and restricts the ability of the local fund administrator to manage the fund flexibly to suit local circumstances.”

DCLG’s former head of pensions Terry Crossley sought to allay fears about the wording of the bill, claiming it allowed for scheme-specific elements to be introduced in secondary legislation.

“The real challenge for authorities, senior officers, elected members and ministers is going to be getting the governance and the cost management right and getting the right level of reforms into the bill in secondary legislation for the LGPS,” he said.

Christopher Berkeley of Pinsent Masons,

HOUSING

SECURITY

the law firm behind Out-Law.com, cast doubt on the Government’s forecast savings. The Treasury has said that the measures contained in the Bill, the final stage in its public sector pension reform programme, will save £65 billion over the next fifty years. The overall reform package will, it said, save an estimated £430bn.

“The fact that the change in the measure of inflation from RPI to CPI alone is said to amount to a saving of around £250bn - mind-boggling in itself - makes one wonder how much might have been saved if the Government had stuck to its guns on its original proposals,” he said.

“The elephant in the room is whether or not longevity improvements will continue apace; if they do then these savings - which are in any event no more than a finger in the wind because of the uncertainties around the component parts, can be expected to evaporate pretty quickly.”

However, Berkeley acknowledged that, on paper at least, the Bill meant the Government could continue to provide “a very valuable defined benefit pension offering” for public sector workers, which was “immeasurably better than the typical workplace pension now offered in the private sector”.

GB News

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

READ THE DRAFT BILL tinyurl.com/9e6qsu8

Prisk encourages New regulation for CCTV on the way housing CCTV should be used to fight crime, but installed across schools in England, Scotland placing cameras in public places must be and Wales, campaign groupw Big Brother Watch associations “proportionate”, newly appointed Home said new government regulations would not Office minister Jeremy Browne has said. be applied to schools. The commissioner would to think about Announcing new arrangements under have “absolutely no powers to do anything”, the Protections of Freedoms Act as to how according to the group’s director Nick Pickles. homes for surveillance cameras will be regulated, Browne said “preparatory work” on TRANSPORT private rent a code of practice was underway.

Green light for local major In his first speech as Housing Minister, Mark Prisk urged housing associations to turn their expertise in providing social homes to also building new homes for private rent. Speaking at the National Housing Federation’s annual conference in Birmingham, he called on landlords to bid for a share of a £10billion Government Guarantee and “provide the spark to get Britain building”, delivering homes built for new tenants - whether in social homes or for private rent.

A review of the private rented sector

by Sir Adrian Montague highlighted real potential for the development of homes built specifically for private rent, with funding for these new properties coming from institutional investors.

Prisk pointed to Thames Valley Housing Association’s “Fizzy Living” scheme, which offers newly-built flats for rent on the open market in London’s East End, and urged more landlords to “take that leap of faith”.

Some authorities would have a duty to “regard the code”, but other system operators would only be “encouraged to adopt it on a voluntary basis”.

“The government supports the use of surveillance cameras in tackling crime,” said Browne. “It is committed to ensuring that any deployment in public places of surveillance cameras, including close circuit television (CCTV) and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), is appropriate, proportionate, transparent and effective in meeting its stated purpose.”

The act has also seen the appointment of Andrew Rennison as a new surveillance camera commissioner. But Browne said the commissioner would have “no powers of enforcement or inspection, nor any powers for the investigation of complaints.”

Concerns have been raised about the limitations on the role of the new commissioner.

Releasing findings which it believes show that that more than 100,000 CCTV cameras were

transport schemes

More of decisions on major transport schemes will be taken at a local level, Transport Minister Norman Baker has confirmed. The DfT will now be going ahead with the plans. A public consultation on the devolution of decision-making on major local schemes showed support for the proposals and the DfT. . n the future funding will be allocated locally according to population, allowing priorities to be decided by newly established Local Transport Bodies which will be made up of local transport authorities, local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) and others with a key interest.

Norman Baker said: “We want decisions to be made more efficiently, and at a more local level than has previously been the case.”

READ MORE ON PAGE 47

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

09

From the beginning ...

1st Credit is one of the UK’s largest debt purchase and collection companies, handling over 3.5m customer accounts.

1st Credit is respectful. We treat every customer as an individual, listen to their story and help in the best way we can. Our focus is on building relationships, not quick fixes.

Operating to the highest industry standard is fundamental to our business. Our reputation for compliance, treating customers fairly, and an ethical approach to collections is of huge importance to us. We were the first company to win Compliance Team of the Year in 2 successive years and in order to maintain and enhance our reputation 1st Credit is pleased to have been an inaugural member of the CSA’s ‘Continuous Improvement Programme’.

1st Credit is pioneering. We want to be the first and a beacon for others. We challenge our processes, technology and people so our solutions become industry leading.

From the beginning we have been a company that cares about our customers. We understand that they are all in a unique situation and we aim to reflect their circumstances in our dealings with them.

1st Credit is committed. We are committed in everything we do, so that all stakeholders understand we work to the best of our ability.

www.1stcreditltd.com info@1stcreditltd.com 01737 228 560

1st Credit is transparent. Being open, honest and transparent is part of our culture. We show the same qualities inside 1st Credit and when we work with our customers and clients.

DEBT RECOVERY

Finance

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Written by Peter Wallwork, Credit Services Association

GONE WITHOUT TRACE: THE VALUE OF DEBT DATA

There are a great many statistics published to support or weaken arguments for or against particular campaigns. But one set of figures published recently made a good many commentators in the media and beyond sit up and take note: the first authoritative figures on debt produced by the association representing those companies tasked with collecting it. Peter Wallwork, chief executive of the Credit Services Association, reports.

At the end of 2011, the total value of unpaid consumer debt held by members of the Credit Services Association (CSA) for collection stood at just over £58 billion, comprising £31 billion placed by creditors with debt collection agencies (DCAs) to collect, and a further £27 billion of purchased debt owned by Debt Buyers.

The total volume (i.e. number) of consumer debts awaiting collection by CSA members stood at a staggering 32 million as at the end of December 2011 - the equivalent of at least one significant debt for every UK household or £1,000 of uncollected debt owed by every man, woman and child in the country.

Six months earlier (H1 2011) the total value of unpaid consumer debt stood at £52 billion across 28 million cases – so both the volume

and the value of debts are rising, a fact that we can attribute to a range of different factors.

The economic environment has undoubtedly become more difficult, and so it is no surprise that debts are rising. But there are also other reasons, including ‘new’ creditors within the private sector and parts of the local and national government who no longer see an issue with outsourcing debt for collection to professional and highly regulated agencies capable of recovering monies vital to the public purse.

COST OF DEBT TO GOVERNMENT Indeed the government has gone on record recently (as part of its Fraud, Error and Debt initiative) as reporting that overdue debts cost it between £7-£8 billion –

95 per cent of which resides with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and HMRC – and part of this has now been passed to CSA members for collection.

OUTSOURCED AGENCIES That the government and various bodies within the public sector are active users of outsourced debt collection agencies is perhaps not widely known, although there is evidence that our profile and our contribution are gaining greater recognition. But that’s not to say that our relationship is not without its challenges, and one of the greatest challenges we currently face is around the issue of ‘mis-trace’.

Now the first point to stress is that the word ‘mis-trace’ is something of a misnomer. E

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

11

the power beehind the finestt debt collectio on software ...

-

Modern 2010 Look & Feel to the user interface Customisable Debt screens Create your own Data Import routines Drag & Drop Workflow Designer Automated Direct Debit Processing PCI-DSS Compliant Card Processing Integrated Reporting & Charting Tools Document Management + Archiving OFT Compliant Dispute Management Team / Collector workload distribution Seamless Dialler Integration Pause / Resume Call Recording capabilities

ORCA A ... compliiant

... OFT

...PCI-DSS Adtec Software Ltd 5 Greengate, Cardale Park, Harrogate, HG3 1GYY

www.adtecsoftware.com Tel. 01423 700 250

by Adtec Software

“Having taken several months evaluating n came close to other products, nothing ORCA. Adtec Sofftware have developed a system that all others o aspire to achieve.�

IT Director, D major London DCA

DEBT RECOVERY

What everyone in the debt collection industry is agreed upon is that access to the Full Register will mean that the likelihood of mistraces will fall dramatically. No agency wants to spend money on trace when a trace isn’t required.

E The pre-fix ‘mis’ implies a deliberate and perhaps even sinister mistake has been made (as in ‘mis-selling’) and the error rests with the collections agency, when actually a genuine attempt has been made to contact a debtor at an address that has been provided either by the original creditor or one of the many credit reference agencies. No nefarious activity has taken place; an assumption has been made in good faith and based on a probability that the individual at that address is the customer with whom the agency wishes to communicate.

But even some of the cleanest data can be flawed, and when an individual is contacted in error, there is nearly always a good explanation as to how that error came about. But that is not to belittle the impact in any way; false positive traces are the bane of everyone working in the consumer collections space, and fundamentally come down to inaccuracy of data. Indeed regardless of who is to blame, the outcome is still the same: disgruntled consumers using the press rather than the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to voice their complaints.

One of the various tools used by agencies and specialist trace businesses to determine the accuracy of the data is the Edited Electoral Register (EER). Until only a few weeks ago, the government was calling for the abolition of the EER on the grounds of improving voter registration rates. For the debt collection industry, such a move could have proved most problematic, and there was a palpable sigh of relief from the industry with the announcement that the EER would be retained – an achievement in no small way attributed to the formation of a Cross Industry Working Group that found a listening ear in the form of Minister Mark Harper.

The decision has indeed served to reinvigorate the industry’s call for access not only to the edited version of the Register, but also the Full version. The industry has argued, with understandable justification, that it is somehow strange and perhaps even unfair that creditors can use the electoral roll for lending money, but CSA members are denied access to the roll for collecting it and helping individuals resolve their financial difficulties.

Put another way, at a time when protecting vulnerable consumers is paramount, it seems incongruous that the full Electoral Register should assist consumers into debt, but not be available for us to assist them out of it.

So what is the difference between the two? Why is access to the Full Register so important? And could access to the Full Register achieve the CSA and the industry’s ambition to all-but eradicate mis-traces?

THE TWO REGISTERS The Full Register is a complete list of all the individuals eligible to vote in the UK, and their current addresses. In the broadest sense it is used by government and law enforcement agencies to prevent and detect crime, and by financial institutions to offer credit by verifying that the person applying for credit is living at the address stated. MP’s are also allowed access to the Full Register for election purposes. All of these purposes are enshrined in The Political Parties and Elections Act 2009.

The Edited Register, meanwhile, is as the name suggests: a list of those individuals who have not opted out of appearing on the Edited Register. To opt-out, the voter is obliged to tick a box on their voting form.

The key difference between the two is that the latter is available for sale to anyone who

Finance

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

wishes to purchase it, and for any means, and is used widely by the direct marketing industry, charities and the financial services sector. It is unlikely that when it was first introduced, it was ever thought that it would be so widely used for commercial purposes.

So why is the Full Register so potentially useful? Many believe that access to the Full Register would all-but eradicate mis-traces overnight. As it is an offence not to Register to vote, all individuals in the UK over the age of 18 will appear on the list, along with their current address. The Full Register is updated annually, and therefore the information contained on the list could never be more than 12 months out of date. A search therefore for a Mr Peter Wallwork will provide you with my current address. The information on the Register must be accurate, and so the likelihood of an error (a transposed house number for example) is minimal. (Another distinction between the two is that the Edited Register holds historic data, so even if I’ve opted out in 2010, but forget to do so in 2011, my 2010 address will remain!)

EVERYONE WINS FROM CHANGE What everyone in the debt collection industry is agreed upon is that access to the Full Register will mean that the likelihood of mistraces will fall dramatically. No agency wants to spend money on trace when a trace isn’t required. Similarly, no agency wants to deliberately contact an innocent third party who happens to share a common name, or who now lives at a property once owned by the debtor the creditor seeks. A change will mean that everyone wins; agencies will be able to focus their efforts more cost-effectively and consumers are less likely to be caught up in an issue that is not of their own making.

The achievement in getting this far cannot be overstated, but access to the Full Register is not in itself the panacea. There will still be some instances where a financial link may have been attached incorrectly to a creditor file and so the problems begin, but these will be the exception and not the rule.

The debate still has some time left to run.

The Electoral Commission appear keen on making sure that the ‘opt-out’ is permanent, so voters will have to ‘opt back in’ if they want to appear on the Edited Register.

The danger of this is that over time, the effectiveness of the Edited Register will dwindle to the point that it might ultimately become useless, and the data out of date. It makes the industry’s focus on gaining access to the Full Register ever more urgent. L ABOUT THE CSA The Credit Services Association (CSA) is the only National Association in the UK for companies active in relation to unpaid credit accounts, debt recovery agencies, tracing and allied professional services, dating back to 1902. For further information visit www.csa-uk.com

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

13

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Crown Intelligence are a private investigation and counter surveillance company based in offices in the heart of London. Our team of experienced detectives and ex- Police officers provide a very wide range of discreet services to government departments, legal companies and corporate organisations.

We have detectives with more than 15 years experience in: J Investigation J Specialist surveillance J Tracing, asset searches J TSCM counter electronic surveillance Combined with many years of reliable connections supported by some of the latest and most advanced electronic equipment available worldwide.

We offer: J Surveillance teams available 24 hours working nationwide J Very wide range of discreet investigation services available J Ex-police officers J TSCM Counter surveillance teams supported by advanced search equipment J Worldwide investigation and surveillance within most countries J Very discreet and confidential service

Please call us on 02071383118 - 24 hours. Talk directly with an Investigator www.crown-intelligence.com | enquiries@crown-intelligence.com

H. M. Investigations Ltd Legal Consultants — Investigators — Process Servers

Nationwide Process Serving H M Investigations Limited is a well established family firm, specialising in Process Serving, mortgage debt counselling and general investigations. Our West Yorkshire based Office can personally cover all of West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. We also have an extensive network of Agents who can deal with work on a National basis.

We can work on an agreed fixed fee basis, or alternatively in line with fees fixed by the Legal Services Commission.

Fire and Acoustic DPM Cavity Sock/Barrier This fire and acoustic barrier has the following properties: • Provides 2 hours fire integrity in a concealed cavity • Easy to use • Available in manageable lengths of 1.22m or 2.44m • Over 20 standard sizes available, other sizes made to order • Manufactured to BS EN 13967:2004 • Complies with Acoustic requirements of Building Regulations Part E • Tested in accordance with Building Regulations requirements BS4760 Part 20

In relation to Process Serving,this company prides itself on the quality of Affidavits, Certificates of Service and Statements of Service, thus obviating the need for proofs of service to be ‘re-done’, which can cause delay for the Client and the Courts.

The Directors of this Company are both full members of the Association of British Investigators, which is fully endorsed by the Law Society of England and Wales.

Hugh W. Moir or Ian H Moir, Tel: 01924 406789 Mobiles 07970 378327, 07980 285854.

Fax: 01924 406789 E-mail hwmoir@aol.com. www.westyorkshireprocessservers.com

14

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 19.5

For more information visit www.polypipe.com/building-products or email bp.promotions@polypipe.com

PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS

REGULATING THE PRIVATE INVESTIGATION INDUSTRY

Earlier this year, the Parliamentary Home Affairs Select Committee report published a report making a number of recommendations about the future of the investigation industry and regulations within it. The report came about following the Parliamentary Home Affairs Select Committee Inquiry, headed by Keith Vaz MP in a high profile government examination into standards, ethics and culture of the UK press in the wake of the News International phone hacking scandal.

As has been well publicised in recent months, some private investigators, while employed by the likes of News International, are alleged to have hacked into the voicemails of certain high profile individuals.

The most serious allegation is that the voicemail of 13-year-old Milly Dowler, who was murdered in 2002, was hacked into by private investigators working for the News of the World, while police were still searching for her. The implications of these actions were so serious that they led directly to the closure of the News of the World, a 167-year-old newspaper, in July last year.

Since then, we have seen the like of Rupert Murdoch being called before MPs to explain the actions of those working for some of his newspapers, and the arrests of former editors Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson. Clearly, the fall-out from the phone hacking scandal has been incredibly far reaching, and is still on-going. Lord Leveson is currently in the process of writing his report following the inquiry, and the world’s media waits to discover his findings.

RECOMMENDATIONS But what does it all mean for private investigators? As with the press, the actions of a few unscrupulous and callous individuals has tainted the good work done by so many. That is why the Association of British Investigators (ABI) has welcomed the findings of the Home Affairs Select Committee. Their report, which was published in July, makes a number of key recommendations in regards to future regulation of the industry. These include: The term ‘private investigator’ being protected for use by those regulated; An introduction of a two tier system of licensing of private investigators companies and registration of others undertaking investigative work; The government to

Written by The Association of British Investigators

The fall out from the phone hacking scandal has been far reaching. The Association of British Investigators, which works closely with UK local authorities, hopes that recommendations from a Home Affairs Select Committee report published in July will be implemented and help weed out those considered unscrupulous and unprofessional.

Private Investigators

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

The fall-out from the phone hacking scandal has been incredibly far reaching, and is still ongoing. Lord Leveson is currently in the process of writing his report following the inquiry, and the world’s media waits to discover his findings. consider granting privileged access to certain data for licensed investigators; A training regime for investigators based on the knowledge of the legal constraints that govern the industry, and; The introduction of a 12 month ‘cooling off’ period before a police officer can obtain a licence.

STATUTORY CONTROL The ABI has long spoken of its vision for statutory control of the investigation industry in the UK, and so when the committee made its recommendations, the ABI was fully behind it. The group makes sure to regulate investigators very carefully before

allowing them to become part of the association, and believes that statutory control of the industry would help to weed out the unscrupulous and unprofessional investigators who came to public attention during the phone hacking scandal.

Tony Imossi, the president of the ABI, has spoken out on the issue several times.

On the group’s website, he says: “With the absence of any statutory control of the investigation industry in the UK the association recognised the need for selfregulation many years ago and set very high standards to meet the criteria for membership opting for quality rather than quantity. E

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

15

C I F A S The UK’s Fraud Prevention Service

Dedicated to the PREVENTION of Fraud CIFAS - The UK’s Fraud Prevention Service is a not-for-profit membership association representing the private and public sectors. We are dedicated to the prevention of fraud, including staff fraud, and the identification of financial and related crime.

With over 20 years’ experience and over 260 Member organisations spread across various sectors, including government bodies, we have helped prevent fraud losses worth billions of pounds. Members share information about identified frauds in the fight to prevent further fraud, and for every £1 spent on membership subscriptions over the past 5 years, Member have reported £204 of fraud savings.

CIFAS is unique and was the world’s first not-for-profit fraud prevention data sharing scheme.

To find out more about CIFAS and the opportunities available to you: t 0203 004 3600 e newmembers@cifas.org.uk w www.cifas.org.uk/public_sector

CIFAS - A company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England and Wales No. 2584687 at 6th Floor, Lynton House, 7-12 Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9LTAT No. 524 3433 70

IS 572661

PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS E “Members are admitted only after stringent vetting. Members must conduct their business in a professional manner and by complying with a strict code of ethics with disciplinary procedures in place to monitor any transgressors.

“As long ago as 1952 the association sent a delegation to the Houses of Parliament to lobby the then British Government for recognition and regulation of the Private Investigation Industry. However successive Governments have refused to deal with this issue and that has remained the case until recent years.

“The Association is proud of the part it has played over many years in encouraging the regulation of our industry.”

Once investigators have become members of the ABI, the benefits for them are immediately obvious. They become part of an organisation known across the UK as the most influential and respected industry body, and can say that they have been selected for membership of a group which only gives accreditation to the most professional and scrupulous of investigators.

ENDORSEMENTS ABI members also have electronic access to DVLA keeper records, making the ABI the only industry body to have been granted access to these files. The Association has recently introduced the Lawyers’ Registration Service – a scheme allowing legal practitioners to register with the ABI to show their clients that they have exercised due diligence in their selection of investigator or process server. It is also endorsed by the Law Society of England and Wales and is an approved service provider to the Law Society of Scotland. No other body representing professional investigators in private practice carries such endorsements.

All of these benefits and many more are offered only to those investigators deemed to be acceptable for membership of the group.

To this end, the ABI has devised its own self-regulation system and members can only join the ABI once they meet the necessary requirements. Members must have an approved credit check, and they must produce a Criminal Conviction Certificate every three years. They also have to provide two references and need to be interviewed by the ABI panel before membership is granted.

Furthermore all members have to pass an examination set by the ABI which focuses on best practice and understanding of the Data Protection Act. The group also carries out random checks on their members to ensure that the services they offer are within the restraints of the law, that they are not using any unauthorised trade-marks and that their websites are not misleading in any way. There are disciplinary hearings in place for members in breach of by-laws so that the member has an opportunity to defend themselves.

Once investigators have been approved for membership of the ABI, they are able

to display the ABI logo on their websites and literature to show prospective clients that they are part of the group, and that they will go about business in an ethical and professional manner.

Members of the ABI are expected to adhere to a strict code of ethics (see panel on right) laid out by the group to ensure that their work is always completed in the most scrupulous way. It is this code of ethics which ensures that the ABI has been such a trusted and respected organisation.

ABI ROOTS The group can trace its roots back to 1913 and in that time it has cemented its place as the hallmark of quality for the investigation industry and has also led the way for decades in trying to ensure that the statutory investigation is put in place for investigators.

The ABI also works closely with local authorities around the UK. Local authorities regularly instruct professional investigators to investigate anti-social behaviour cases, support social services in proceedings, to investigate workforce issues and a variety of miscellaneous situations including fraud.

Many investigators are former police officers, military investigators, customs and excise staff and similar highly trained detectives that examine cases of embezzlement, false accounting, misappropriation, false claims and a wide array of dishonest practices that occasionally occur within local government departments.

DUE DILIGENCE It is vital that local government departments exercise due diligence in their choice of investigator, from an unregulated sector, to ensure their integrity. Undoubtedly, lessons should be learned from the Leveson Inquiry, and the phone hacking inquiry which tainted the investigation industry as well as the media.

The way that journalists go about their jobs will change, and this should be the case for the investigation industry as well. Foremost among the changes which should come into play is official regulation of industry. The report from the Home Affairs Select Committee makes sensible recommendations, and now it is time for the government to implement some of these changes. It is only then that people living in the UK can be sure that any private investigator they hire is as professional, scrupulous and ethical as the ABI’s members currently are. It will mean a safer and more honest industry, and will hopefully lead to the phone hacking scandal and the disgraceful revelations associated with it becoming a thing of the past. L FURTHER INFORMATION Formed in 1913, The Association of British Investigators (ABI) has been upholding professional standards for almost a century. For further informaton on its work, visit www.theabi.org.uk

ABI’s code of conduct: ten pillars

Private Investigators

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Responsibility and Accountability: All ABI members are personally responsible for their actions or omissions.

Honesty and Integrity: Members are to act with honesty, integrity and must not compromise their position, that of the association or of their clients.

Caution and Thoroughness: All members of the ABI are to verify the credentials of clients to ensure that they have lawful and moral reasons to request an investigation.

Conflict of Interest: Investigators having a personal or conflicting interest in any matter in which they are involved shall disclose that interest if it is in conflict with the interests of their clients.

Acting within the Law: Members are to obey the law and refrain from carrying out any act that they know, or ought to know, is unlawful, or contrary to the ABI’s policy.

Authority, Respect and Courtesy: No member is to abuse their position and must respect the rights of all individuals. They must act with self-control and tolerance, treating everyone with whom they come into contact with respect, fairness and courtesy.

Equality: All ABI members are to act with fairness and impartiality.

They will not discriminate unlawfully against anyone.

Confidentiality: Members are to treat information with which they are entrusted during the course of business with respect and access or disclose it only for the purposes for which it is intended.

General Conduct: Investigators are to act in a professional manner. They must not behave in a manner which brings discredit on the ABI or any of its clients.

Challenging and Reporting Improper Conduct: All members are expected to challenge and when appropriate take action or report breaches of the code and the improper conduct of colleagues.

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

17

Opinion Research Services Excellent research for the public, voluntary and private sectors

Introducing ORS

Your partner for effective decision-making Opinion Research Services is an independent social research practice that works across the UK First established at Swansea University, we seek to maintain academic excellence through...

• Distinctive and rigorous research • Reliable evidence and insights • Honest advice and a relationship of trust • Excellent value for money

Managing Consultation engagement that meets the required standards

Deliberative Research understanding what people really think

Online Innovation interactive services from a dedicated IT team

Our research experience and business expertise enables us to work at a corporate level to undertake well designed research that provides robust and reliable evidence to support effective policy and strategy development.

As well as utilising a range of research methodologies - both qualitative and quantitative - ORS also has extensive experience of managing complex consultations around important issues such as hospital re-configurations, services reductions for the Fire Service, and budget and service restructuring in Local Government.

Our business has been grown out of the development of long-term relationships with clients rather than “one-off” commissions; working in partnership to better understand your customers and capitalise on the information available to provide greater insight.

We recognise that decisions depend on the evidence that underpins them - so high quality data is key to getting it right.

Data Analytics statistical and econometric modelling and analysis

Key Driver Analysis results that show how you can make a difference

Personal Interviews experienced researchers with the latest technology

Telephone Interviews dedicated call centre offering a sensitive service

Our dedicated analysis and system development teams support our research projects with in-house expertise in database design

Postal Surveys

and management, statistical modelling and data visualisation.

highly inclusive and cost effective consultation

We pride ourselves on being responsive and developing the right solutions for clients. With a well-established track record of defending our research in public, ORS succeeds in delivering both high quality research and value for money services.

Local Omnibuses regular omnibus surveys for local partnerships

The Strand - SWANSEA - SA1 1AF | 01792 535300 | info@ors.org.uk | www.ors.org.uk

MARKET RESEARCH

A QUESTION OF EVIDENCE

Market Research

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Local Authority market research has changed dramatically, using alternative methodologies to surveys in order to maintain meaningful levels of feedback, says the Market Research Society.

Written by the Market Research Society

In common with the rest of the UK economy, it has been some time since local government has had it this tough; a strict austerity agenda, set against a gloomy economic backdrop, has seen budgets slashed and spending cuts implemented across all services.

Against this difficult backdrop, local authorities have been grappling with the twin challenge of how to maintain meaningful levels of customer feedback and insight while operating on lower budgets.

“Throughout the recession, local authorities continued to commission the research they need, but we have seen a reduction in general surveys and a shift to other methodologies”, says Jane Frost CBE, chief executive of the Market Research Society (MRS).

“Encouragingly, in recent months, we’ve seen that commissions now appear to be rising.”

Local authorities have always needed to understand their performance and the drivers of success, whether there is a top-down target culture from central government, or not. This is where market research comes in. It provides the evidence and insight that allows councils to benchmark, make decisions and set the agenda. “Evidence does matter if you are to understand the public’s behaviour”, Jane Frost adds. “Getting under the skin of the public mood is invaluable

when you need to know whether or not you are on the right track, on cost reduction, service provision or emerging policy”.

A CHANGING RESEARCH ROLE “Market and social research should be at the heart of every local authority”, says Gary Welch, research director at Ipsos MORI’s Social Research Institute. The recession has not been without its problems for councils and the role of research has been changing dramatically to reflect that; the days of protracted, ineffectual procurement exercises that did not deliver what was needed should now be over. Self-survey tools and DIY options have their place for small-scale exercises, such as the effectiveness of a website service, but cannot replace the insight an expert research agency can bring.

“Local authorities are placing a greater emphasis on the value that researchers can add to their customer insight and survey

data, and their ability to contextualise that”, says Gary Welch. “They are anxious, in the current climate, to know how communities might react, or are being impacted by service reconfigurations and cuts.”

“Our recent review for the Local Government Association pointed to the need for robust and comparable survey data to underpin sector-led improvement. Authorities want to know that they are on the right track”, Gary continues. Managers across all services within local government have to make some difficult calls when it comes to service provision and transformation and there is a need to ensure a strong performance and an understanding of needs on the ground, despite stretched finances. This means that benchmarking is still an essential part of the toolkit, helping to prove ‘bang for your buck’. Having strong evidence to hand is therefore very helpful for those looking for the right answers. E

Local authorities have always needed to understand their performance and the drivers of success, whether there is a top-down target culture from central government, or not. This is where market research comes in.

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

19

Same team, same experience, different name.

Alphabet brings new innovations, experience, knowledge and know-how to the Public Sector.

With over 20 years experience in providing fleet solutions to the Public Sector, we understand the diverse challenges that running a vehicle fleet in the Public Sector can present. Our specialist Public Sector team are dedicated to ensuring the running of your fleet is as efficient and effortless for you as possible.

Our commitment to innovation, and focus on what your business needs, both today and in the future, means a range of exciting ground-breaking products are on the horizon. To find out about our latest product, AlphaCity, visit www.alphabet.co.uk/alphacity Find out more: Tel: 0870 50 50 100 Email: alphabet@alphabet.co.uk www.alphabet.co.uk

MARKET RESEARCH E GAINING INSIGHTS One of the most effective routes to benchmarking your progress and assessing where to focus is through quantitative survey research, which uses large samples. Today, such surveys offer genuine in-depth insight and are no longer all done on clipboards on street corners, as the stereotype goes.

“Qualitative research is important for benchmarking and also ensuring you reach minority audiences.” says Jane Frost.

“Today there are an increasing number of methods of doing quantitative research –including telephone, online and social media research, many of which are very cost effective. Commissioners of research need to select the right one to meet their requirements. The key – whatever the methodology – is to ensure the quality is high, so that you can rely on the research.”

Public participation exercises, and perception/satisfaction surveys can so easily be dominated by the usual voices, with the views of minority groups not featured; research, done properly, ensures that the results are truly representative of the target population.

“Our work has to be ever more creative and innovative because of the dramatic changes in the way we communicate with one another.

These advances have opened up a vast range of new methods to reach our targets in ways that they feel more comfortable in engaging.” says Welch. “And it’s not just about gathering data and information, a researcher offers insights into the data, helping an authority to make informed decisions and see the best way forward.”

There are many other kinds of research which have been used to inform to the public sector policy and decision making, including: Policy development, implementation and evaluation – to evaluate each stage of complex policy development; Public consultation – to acclimatise government thinking with public opinion and to provide supporting evidence for policy decisions; Communications – to enable two-way dialogue with key stakeholders and

CASE STUDY - In Practice Earlier this year Walsall Council joined up with Public Health colleagues from NHS Walsall to commission Ipsos MORI to undertake a borough-wide postal survey of residents. Locally called ‘Your place, Your well-being’, the survey addressed the need to update local understanding of resident’s thoughts on their local area, their priorities for the future and to investigate the issues that impact on their health and well-being.

A large scale (1 in 6) random sample of households across the borough were sent a questionnaire, making it one of the largest pieces of research ever conducted in the borough, necessary in order to obtain the level of statistical accuracy needed to inform health commissioning intentions and future public health strategies.

Anna Sansom (AMRS) of Walsall Council said: “Until this survey we hadn’t undertaken any strategic research like this since the Place Survey was conducted in 2008 and the West Midlands Lifestyle survey in 2005. Collaborating with NHS Walsall was cost-effective for us. As well as providing a wealth of robust information, the project has been valuable in terms of local authority staff and public health teams developing stronger working relationships in advance of their transition to the council in 2013, and the development of a deeper understanding of responsibilities and practice between council and public health.”

She added: “From the outset we were committed to undertaking a survey that would provide reliable data that we could have confidence in.”

Since receiving the results and written report from Ipsos MORI in July, the joint project team has hosted a feedback event where results were shared and delegates were given the opportunity to discuss the findings and scope future activity in a workshop setting. The results will be further communicated widely and shared with partners in Walsall, informing commissioning, budget setting, service planning, area plans and much more.

Importantly results and outcomes will be also shared with the public.

Frost: “The evidence generated by research can tell you whether a service is valued or is being delivered in the right way; this is so important in these straightened times.”

“The secret is in the brief; to ensure you are getting ROI, choose a research supplier that will use a well-designed strategy, representative samples and ethical practices. An MRS member or Company Partner can be trusted at a number of levels, such as with using an

The days of protracted, ineffectual procurement exercises that did not deliver what was needed should now be over. Self-survey tools and DIY options have their place for small-scale exercises such as the effectiveness of a website service. guide on the most effective channels for communication, and; Public relations – to understand the behaviour and attitudes of target audiences, to ensure successful media positioning and reputation management.

COMMISSIONING RESEARCH But how to ensure you are getting the right research for the right job? According to Jane

Market Research

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

ethical approach, adhering to the MRS Code of Conduct, and the Data Protection Act 1998, with hard to reach groups, and with making sure that the research really adds value to what you are doing and that the results come with helpful insights – a good researcher will always deliver this.

This research will also bear scrutiny.”

Gary Welch points to the importance

of transparency in providing data so that it can easily be understood by everyone; “we produce infographics and try to present the data in an accessible way so that local authorities can easily share the information with their colleagues and elected members as well as with the general public. This is important, too, as there is a current trend towards collaborative commissioning by councils, neighbouring authorities and organisations like PCTs. Everyone is working together.” L FURTHER INFORMATION More information on market and social research, including survey research, is available at www.mrs. org.uk. The Research Buyer’s Guide (www.theresearchbuyersguide.com), where all MRS Company Partners and organisations with MRS members are listed, along with their contact details, location and areas of expertise.

All organisations and individuals listed in the Research Buyer’s Guide are committed to adhering to the MRS Code of Conduct.

LARIA (the Local Authorities Research & Intelligence Association), for researchers within local authorities , has its own website at www.laria.gov.uk.

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

21

The British Psychological Society Promoting excellence in psychology

Do you hold BPS Certificates of Competence in Occupational Testing (Level A/Level B)?

It is not too late to re-join the online Register of Qualifications in Test Use (RQTU) if your annual entry has lapsed!

In September 2012, the online Register celebrates its first year. The Register lists all currently active competent test users who hold BPS test user certification and who agree to abide by the Code of Good Practice for Psychological Testing. If you hold our Certificates of Competence, but are not on the Register, you have until 4th September 2013 to reinstate your entry on the Register.

How can I find out if my Register entry has lapsed?

Check your status on the Register at www.psychtesting.org.uk, by clicking on the tab called ‘The Register – RQTU’ and searching for your surname.

If your name appears you are up to date and no action is required.

If your name does not appear, please contact us. The annual fee for the Register is £36, which can be paid over the phone by card.

What happens if I do not reinstate?

After 4th September 2013 your BPS test user qualification will no longer be valid without an accompanying Register entry and you will need to have your competence reaffirmed to reinstate your qualifications at a later date.

t: +44 (0)116 252 9530 e: enquiry@psychtesting.org.uk w: www.psychtesting.org.uk

CIPD 2012

Human Resources

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

HUMAN RESOURCES: TACKLING FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES AT CIPD 2012

Thousands of HR and development professionals will be heading to Manchester in November to take part in the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)’s Annual conference and exhibition. The event will highlight HR’s role in leading change and transformation. Speakers from London 2012, Facebook and McDonald’s will be among those sharing their experiences with HR professionals from around the world.

Jean Tomlin, HR Director for London 2012, who devised the scheme to select and train the 70,000 Games Maker volunteers to make sure that the diversity and legacy goals were achieved, will talk about the lessons learned from the London 2012 Olympics in a keynote address at the conference. She will be joined by Andy Hunt, CEO, British Olympics Association and Chef de Mission, Team GB in a session entitled: ‘Learning from the Olympics – inspiring a generation’ Following the unprecedented level of success from Team GB at London 2012, they will be explaining how talent was nurtured and primed for one goal and how experienced and young talent worked together to create exceptional levels of success.

The three-day conference, sponsored

by Kenexa, will also feature an opening keynote from Gary Hamel, ranked by the Wall Street Journal as the world’s most influential business thinker and dubbed by Fortune Magazine as ‘the world’s leading expert on business strategy’. He will explore the make-or-break issues and management challenges that will determine whether an organisation thrives or dives in the future.

In a panel discussion on ‘Building the workforces of tomorrow’, CIPD CEO, Peter Cheese, Michael Davis, CEO, UK Commission for Employment and Skills, Anne Pickering, HR director, O2 and Toby Peyton-Jones, director of HR Siemens UK and North West Europe, will explore the issues. How can

organisations build effective strategies that identify ways to invest in young people for the benefit of business - and what is HR’s role in ensuring that the next generation are given a stake in society and the economy?

The conference has 59 seminars in a range of formats. As well as keynotes and panel discussions, masterclass sessions will feature strategic ideas from academics, authors and leading business figures, workshops will provide practical, hands-on solutions while a series of case-study presentations enable leading organisations to share best practice.

The conference focuses on the fundamental issues that HR need to tackle, such as leading and managing change, retaining an engaged workforce, rolling out new HR processes and developing strong leaders.

PLENTY FOR THE PUBLIC SECTOR Martin Donnelly, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills will be talking about the ways his department has tackled the challenges of a significant reduction in size and budget while still delivering key objectives in a session on ‘Managing extensive E

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

23

Human Resources

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

ChangeAhead asks: Can BPS launches Register of leaders do more with less? Qualifications in Test Use Leaders of today face many and varied challenges in the current recession fuelled, spending cuts, environment – how to maintain and, indeed, improve staff engagement, how to provide visionary leadership in times of gloom, how to align with the needs of their communities, how to be passionate about what they do, how to build teams who are purposeful, to list but a few.

Leadership at a cultural level, at a team level and at a personal level is more and more necessary to survive and thrive.

With the plethora of Leadership books and training available now, where do you go to ensure you acquire those skills?

Facilitation of courageous conversations is an innovative, powerful, engaging and rewarding way to develop the leaders needed for a future of reduced staff and reduced spending. ChangeAhead can offer you three Leadership

Interventions in this style: Nine Conversations in Leadership™ is an innovative leadership development intervention that acts as a catalyst for long-term development of leaders; The Heart of Leadership© workshop is a journey of igniting personal leadership choices in individuals who wish to stand up and make a difference in their world; Purposeful Teams™ is a powerful and participative intervention that moves teams to purpose-led execution.

The British Psychological Society (BPS) revised its suite of occupational test user qualifications in September 2011.

At the same time it also launched the Register of Qualifications in Test Use (RQTU), a list of qualified, currently active test users, who have agreed to adhere to the Code of Good Practice for Psychological Testing, who are subject to requirements to maintain their competence as a test user.

If you hold Level A/Level B in Occupational Testing and have not yet transitioned across to the Register of Qualifications in Test Use (RQTU), it is not too late to rejoin. The annually renewable register fee is £36.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 07964778549 fiona.magee@ changeahead.com www.changeahead.com

Follow the leaders... ...benefit from the alcohol activated vehicle immobiliser for the Transport industry • The Alcolock® Lion DS®-10 has been adopted by UK market leaders.

• It is already a proven deterrent for the ‘morning after’ drink-driving scenario.

• Individual vehicle readings can be transmitted live to base via internet or mobile technology so in the event of a driver failure a contingency can be implemented quickly.

The vehicle engine will not start if the driver’s alcohol level is over a pre-set limit

Tel: 01761 408159 Web: www.alcolockgb.com 24

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 19.5

To check the requirements of the new RQTU, please visit our website to access ‘An Introduction to the Register of Qualifications in Test Use.’ To check your current status as a BPS qualified test user, please visit the section on the home page called ‘The Register (RQTU)’, and search for your listing against your surname. If your name is listed, no further action is required. If your name does not appear, and you wish to reinstate your entry, please contact us.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: +44 (0)116 252 9530 enquiry@psychtesting.org.uk www.psychtesting.org.uk

CIPD 2012

E organisational change’.

In another case-study-based session, Anne Gibson, head of human resources and organisation development at Norfolk County Council, will be describing how the organisation has been using OD to drive culture change including shifting managers’ mindsets and appointing agents for change.

Another public-sector focused session will be presented by Dean Royles, director, NHS Employers and Gillian Hibberd, strategic director, Buckinghamshire County Council, who will provide insights into engaging the workforce to sustain and improve performance, against a background of staff and budget cuts.

An update on the activities of the Employee Engagement Taskforce will be presented by its Chair David MacLeod and deputy chair Nita Clarke. They will highlight what good organisations are doing to engage people and highlight the importance of engagement to business outcomes and economic growth.

Nick Gargan, chief constable and chief executive and Mike Knight, head of HR at the National Policing Improvement Agency will be looking at how to improve engagement rates in organisations on a restricted budget.

HR professionals in the public and private sector have many common concerns. Tackling the skills gap, creating high-performing organisations, keeping diversity on track and building trust are just some of the topics on the agenda that offer lessons for all.

EXHIBITION FOCUS HR and development professionals will be getting up to date with the latest supplier developments at the free CIPD Exhibition running alongside the conference at Manchester Central. Leading providers of HR services and products will be showcasing new

launches and innovations, and demonstrating practical solutions to the many business challenges facing all those involved in the management and development of people.

As well as on-stand activities, the exhibition will feature plenty of additional interactive elements and networking opportunities. Show visitors can get tips, advice and contacts in over 75 free bite-sized sessions on the exhibition floor. An Ideas Exchange will provide practical solutions and insights from HR suppliers and the CIPD. Sessions cover a broad spectrum of HR activity including mediations for managers, developing leadership agility and taking a positive approach to organisational change.

The CIPD will be sharing latest developments on its Steps Ahead mentoring programme, designed to support young job-seekers, as well as highlighting the business case for investing in young people.

There will also be the opportunity to hear some of the key lessons from the CIPD’s 2012 absence management survey, carried out in partnership with Simplyhealth.

A programme of free ‘Topic Tasters’ will help visitors keep up-to-date on topical concerns such as valuing and engaging your workforce in uncertain times, pensions autoenrolment and attracting the best talent.

The CIPD’s CEO, Peter Cheese will also be drawing on the Institute’s recent research in a session entitled ‘Trust, leadership and culture – building sustainable and responsible businesses for the future’.

The CIPD will be helping HR and development professionals with their own personal development. Experts will be providing advice in the CIPD Membership and Qualifications area on the exhibition floor, open to members and non-members.

One example of the changing environment

Human Resources

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Opening times Tuesday 6 November: 9am-5pm Wednesday 7 November: 9am-5pm Thursday 8 November 9am-3.30pm

in which HR operates is the growing impact of social media. Exhibition visitors will find a new area called the Social Media Hub where they can get practical advice on how to get the most out of social media tools such as blogging and Twitter. Presentations will also explore broader themes around its use in harnessing organisational effective and how to use social media to enhance your recruitment strategy and develop employer brand. Speed networking sessions will also give people a chance to make valuable contacts and share experiences.

Conference delegates and exhibition visitors will also be engaging in discussion and debate with fellow professionals before, during and after the event through the CIPD’s Network Online resource. L FURTHER INFORMATION Participants can join in conference and exhibition-related discussion, become a member of the CIPD’s Facebook group or comment on Twitter via the event hashtag #CIPD12. Visitors can pre-register for a free exhibition ticket online at www. cipd.co.uk/registeronline They will receive a fast-track entry badge plus email updates on the latest news, special offers and competitions. For more information on the conference programme and exhibition, go to www.cipd.co.uk/ace

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

25

Streetlife Collection 2012-2013 3 online brochures / 30 new products View the brochures on our website or request a hardcopy

www.streetlife.nl streetlife@streetlife.nl T +31 71 5246846

Olympic Parklands London 2012, South Bank walk way near Tate Modern, Sunderland City, Manchester City a.o.

Benches & Seating Isles / Tables & Info Products / Bicyle Parking & Fencing / Lighting: for public spaces and professional roof terraces.

Tree Tubs & Green Benches / Tree Grids & Tree Guards / Tree Isles: for public spaces and professional roof terraces.

Bridges / Balusters & Fencing / Sustainable Decking: for public spaces and professional roof terraces.

Street Furniture

Tree Products

Bridges & Decking

PORTAS PILOTS

NOT SELECTED TO RECEIVE A PIECE OF THE PORTAS PIE?

Earlier this year, 371 local authorities across the UK bid to become one of the first ‘Portas Pilots’ to receive a share of the £1.2 million in funding to help revive the UK’s high streets. Not only this, but they will also receive backing from the Government and Mary Portas herself.

Local Government Minister Grant Shapps said he was excited by the “enthusiastic and energetic” response to the Portas Review, which has proved a catalyst for communities to come together, form Town Teams and make plans for the future of their high streets.

Although there was a great response to the project, only 12 towns, followed by a further 15 in a second round of funding, were selected to receive a piece of the Portas Pie. Despite a rallying call for Local MP’s from unsuccessful towns to sign a national pledge to become a Town Team Partner, hundreds of local authorities will still struggle to draw shoppers, residents and visitors back into their centres.

Worryingly, experts are now warning that if something isn’t done about the decline, half the stores on the worst-hit high streets could be vacant within three years.

REVERSING THE TREND So, how can local authorities themselves reverse the trend? Budgets, if available at all, are extremely tight thanks to spending cuts. Combine this with shifts in consumer behaviour, such as an increase in online shopping, and it’s difficult to know how to go about implementing a project that will bring about a lasting change. But there are ways it can be done, and it all starts with getting to know a town centre properly and looking at it through a visitors eyes.

By carrying out the right research, asking the right questions and working alongside the local businesses, local authorities can turn around a town centres fortunes.

When carrying out a research project, it’s important to first of all ensure that the right questions are being asked.

Consider the demographic profiles for the local areas. Knowing the profile of

all potential customers will be vital in generating revenue for both the individual traders and for the entire town centre.

Research the local businesses. How many empty stores are there, what’s the business mix of the area and what are the owners unhappy about? This knowledge will provide clues as to why footfall may be low, and what changes need to be made to attract more people. It’s important to start building relationships with the businesses from the onset, and getting their feedback is vital.

Look at the town centre itself. What are the eyesores and the most frequent complaints? Looking at the General Public Complaints register will help here. Not only do you need to research the town centre but surrounding town centres too.

Find out where people are spilling over into? Visit the neighbouring town and see what’s working for them and what isn’t.

KNOW YOUR VISITORS It’s also important to know who the town centre visitors are. What’s their age, ethnicity, gender? Then find out why they’re coming.

Is it for work, shopping, to socialise? What are they shopping for and what do they do when they socialise? How do they get there are how far are they coming from? You can then break the findings down to distinguish between day time, evening and weekend

Written by Susan Williams, director, Vision On

Portas Pilots funding received an incredible amount of interest, but many local authorities missed out. Susan Williams, director of Vision On, looks at what local authorities and retailers can do to help revive a flagging high street.

Urban Regeneration

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

change the place, businesses need to work on changing themselves and their staff. By providing proper training in customer service, merchandising and marketing, business will not only make the most of the regeneration, but contribute the most to it too, making the

It all starts with getting to know a town centre properly and looking at it through a visitors eyes.

By carrying out the right research and working alongside the local businesses, local authorities can turn around a town centres fortunes. visitors. Leave no stone unturned in the research. Only by knowing every detail of a town and its visitors will you be able to see what can be done to enhance and revive it.

Having carried out the extensive research, you will then be able to see what changes can be made and plan the regeneration.

Relationships with the local businesses will now be established, so talk to them about your plans and objectives.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE It’s difficult, if not impossible, for local authorities on their own to make a notable difference to the number of visitors a town receives. Therefore businesses must be involved too. Whilst local authorities need to

town centre an easier and more pleasant destination to visit. This kind of regeneration is a partnership, and only by working together will a real difference be made.

After all, it’s not just the businesses that will benefit but the whole community too. L ABOUT THE AUTHOR Director and founder of Vision On, Susan Williams has almost 30 years’ experience working in senior retail management.

Recognised as a specialist in her field by the Greater London Authority, she has won awards for innovation, enterprise and enhancing the retail offer, and has advised on retail best practice both in the UK and internationally.

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

27

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Visibly Different Art installations by 6274 – putting the public at the centre of Public Art. • tiled murals and underpasses • shop local schemes • high street improvement and promotion • public centred artwork

greenbarnes www.greenbarnes.co.uk

Signs Suppliers of quality signage since 1989

POSTER CASES INTERPRETATION WAYFINDING Street furniture for challenging environments

0844 257 6274 6274publicart.co.uk

6274 public art advert.indd 2

10/08/2012 13:03

Pop uP Power Supplies Ltd. Safe

Silent

contact: Mike Brown Tel: 020 8551 8363

Email: mbrown@popuppower.co.uk

www.popuppower.co.uk

Secure

Visit www.greenbarnes.co.uk or call 01280 701093

®

Envirobed HA104

proven, established &

Power

PRO

VEN

The Chiswick House Project.

C hiswick House having undergone a multi-million pound restoration is ready to safely host a wide range of events that will increase revenue and introduce more people to this historic site.

The Pop uP Power installations were an important consideration when planning the restoration of this stunning historic area.

w w w . p o p u p p o w e r . co . u k 28

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 19.5

 CER

TIF

IED

TRU

STE

before

Parks Historic Areas

Brand

zero failures

Electrica l power tha t pops up out of the ground when you need it a nd hides underground when you don' t.

Markets Markets Town Town Centres Centres Shopping Shopping Centres Centres

®

An

D



ur!

after 1 Ho

> THE high performance bedding mortar for manholes, gulleys and grates > EXCEEDS HA104 requirements and fully HAPAS approved > OVER 10 YEARS of exhaustive trials, surviving through tropical heatwaves and early freezing winters

“EXTREME conditions call for EXTREME performance!”

Use as part of Ultracrete’s BBA/HAPAS Approved Reinstatement System: open to traffic in 1 hour!

Tel: 01827 871871 Email: envirobed@instarmac.co.uk www.instarmac.co.uk

URBAN REGENERATION

Association for Town Centre Management questions downbeat report on retail unit vacancy rates The figures used by the Local Data Company to compile their frightening report on the high numbers of vacant retail units throughout the country have been questioned by the Association of Town Centre Management.

Martin Blackwell, chief executive of the ATCM, said: “The figures released by the Local Data Company regarding “Town Centre” vacancy rates are, we believe, fatally flawed. They use an out-of-date set of criteria for establishing town centre boundaries and, as a result, they don’t reflect the reality on the ground.”

The boundaries used by LDC to define the ‘Town Centre’ were drawn up by government as part of the State of the Cities dataset and have not been updated since 2004.

“In many locations, very significant changes have taken place that fundamentally render the figures released at best meaningless and at worst a brake on investment that might lead to a vicious circle,” said Blackwell.

FAULTY COUNTS At each release of data the ATCM is contacted by its members to take issue with the figures, in some cases suggested that the count itself, even allowing for boundary issues, is faulty. In one famous example from three years ago, the LDC counted as vacant the units in a shopping centre which was still under construction.

Blackwell: “This gave a totally false view of reality, and the company still hasn’t appeared to have changed their methodology.

“Until these issues can be resolved we call on LDC to cease releasing figures unless verified locally by the Town Centre Manager or other qualified person.”

Blackwell isn’t the only person complaining about the LDC approach. Kim Gilmour, operations director for Wolverhamton’s Business Improvement District WVOne, said, ‘It’s very disappointing to see Wolverhampton in the worst performing large centres – our own vacancy rate shows 17 per cent,

which is still high but anyone visiting Wolverhampton would not see one in four shops empty, which is what is being quoted.

“This gives a false negative impression.

LDC appears to use different base data to us as we use the total number of ground floor units rather than just shops, and we believe our measure more fairly represents the true vacancy rate.

“It would be helpful if we could all work together and compare lists and city and town centre managers should have the right to challenge the figures.”

An Oldham Council spokesperson said, “Our figures show a vacancy rate of 14 per cent in the Town Centre core and 19 per cent for the Town Centre as a whole. Both of these are below the North West regional average of 20.1 per cent as quoted by the Local Data Company.

There is on-going interest in Oldham as a business location as evidenced by the recent announcement that BHS will open a new store in the Town Centre before Christmas.”

WIDER BOUNDARIES Cllr Dave Harling, executive member for regeneration, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council says: “What skews the figures is the much wider boundary areas quoted as town centre as well as the inclusion of vacant sites such as the old markets which is due for demolition” Eileen Ormand, Blackpool’s Town Centre and BID manager, said: “The determination by the Local Data Company of the boundaries of Blackpool’s town centre needs to be updated to ensure that change of usage in certain areas and demolition of others to make way for regeneration projects is considered before they produce their vacancy rate reports.

“The vacancy count in the core town centre at the end of August showed a vacancy rate of 16.6 per cent, significantly lower than that within the Local Data Company’s figures.” www.atcm.org

Margate Pilot gets off to shaky start In August, four members of Margate’s ‘town team’ resigned amid accusations that Mary Portas’ film crew was more interested in making controversial television than helping the town. Three of the inital twelve Portas Pilots are being filmed as part of a Channel 4 TV show.

Urban Regeneration

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Robin Vaughan-Lyons, chairman of the Margate town team and local shop-owner, resigned his post. He told the Grocer: “There are a group of people who are more interested in publicity and being on TV than they are in helping Margate and they have been deliberately encouraged by the film crew to make personal attacks on us.”

According to the Daily Mail, Portas arrived with the TV crew in June and caused outcry at a meeting when she appeared to suggest that the documentary was a pre-condition of getting the government grant.

Portas told members of the Town Team: ‘We either let the cameras in with me, or I go back on the train and some other town gets it.”

Portas has since said she had made a mistake, according to the news site.

Speaking at the Liverpool BCSC Retail Property Conference in September, Portas said that she does not speak with Whitehall regularly. She asked whether the Government is really putting town centres first. “I question if this is a PR stunt,” she said.

Kingfisher - specialists in exterior lighting Kingfisher Lighting is a specialist in exterior and architectural lighting.

With over twenty years experience in the field, Kingfisher has the most dedicated teams waiting to provide exterior lighting solutions.

Kingfisher is committed to providing the complete lighting package - from initial quotations for individual products, to highly qualified lighting designers bringing dream projects to life, to friendly technical managers all over the UK ready to visit your site at a time to suit you.

The brand new Kingfisher catalogue is available from the website at www.kingfisherlighting.com/catalogue, and is packed full of stunning luminaires to suit any project, including street lights, flood lights, bollards, in-grounds and many more. The catalogue also showcases Kingfisher’s brand new products, including a new floodlight, Aludra, and the sleek post-top, Lunio - both available in LED. Also, discover how

Kingfisher can help reduce your energy usage and costs via Intelux.

Kingfisher provides dedicated support for distributors, contractors and specifiers. Whichever area your business is part of, a personal point of contact will provide you with all the help you need, from choosing the best products for your requirements to helping design a whole area from scratch to getting the best prices possible.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01623 415900 sales@kingfisherlighting.com www.kingfisherlighting.com

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

29

Spirotech...

Dirt Filter Partner to

PASSIVHAUS STANDARD

PASSIVHAUS EDUCATION BUILDING GETS GREEN LIGHT

Low Carbon Building

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Plans have been approved to develop a major new education campus in the heart of Worcestershire. The Habberley Learning Campus will be built to Passivhaus standards, resulting in an ultra-low carbon building that requires little energy for heating or cooling.

The Habberley Learning Campus will cost £22 million to construct and is part of a significant venture to improve educational facilities in Worcestershire. Passivhaus will be the driving force behind the project. The development will also consist of the creation of a new school and signals the biggest project to date to be taken by the developer in question.

The project, which is a collaboration between Worcestershire County Council’s Property Services and WMCF contractor Speller Metcalfe, includes a special school for 220 pupils, a new science block, an early years teaching block, a residential boarding house and general refurbishment and extension of St John’s Primary. Officials have stated that the site in question, which is already occupied by Baxter College and St John’s Primary School, will be completely renovated and developed to meet the current demands of the education sector. Alongside this, there will be the creation of the new Wyre Forest Special School which will be part of a combined of the three institutes to promote integration and collaboration between the users and a share of facilities.

THE STANDARD The Passivhaus standard was developed in Germany in the early 1990s by Professors Bo Adamson of Sweden and Wolfgang Feist of Germany and the first dwellings to be completed were constructed in Darmstadt in 1991. The standard can be applied not only to residential dwellings but also to commercial, industrial and public buildings. This has led to the following functional definition of a Passivhaus.

“A Passivhaus is a building, for which thermal comfort can be achieved solely by post-heating or post-cooling of the fresh air mass, which is required to achieve sufficient indoor air quality conditions – without the need for additional recirculation of air.”

The heating requirement in a Passivhaus is reduced to the point where a traditional heating system is no longer considered essential. Cooling is also minimised by the same principles and through the use of shading and in some cases via the precooling of the supply air. Night purging and the use of natural cross-ventilation through open windows is encouraged during the summer months. As well as being an energy performance standard Passivhaus also

provides excellent indoor air quality, this is achieved by reducing the air infiltration rates and supplying fresh air which is filtered and post heated by the MVHR unit.

REDUCING HEAT LOSS Prof. Dr Wolfgang Feist: “The heat losses of the building are reduced so much that it hardly needs any heating at all. Passive heat sources like the sun, human occupants, household appliances and the heat from the extract air cover a large part of the heating demand. The remaining heat can be provided by the supply air if the maximum heating load is less than 10W per square metre of living space. If such supplyair heating suffices as the only heat source, we call the building a Passive House.”

Passivhaus buildings achieve a 75 per cent reduction in space heating requirements, compared to standard practice for UK new build. The Passivhaus standard therefore gives a robust method to help the industry achieve the 80 per cent carbon reductions that are set as a legislative target for the UK Government.

Evidence and feedback to date shows that Passivhaus buildings are performing to standard, which is crucial, given that the discrepancy between design aspiration and

as-built performance for many new buildings in the UK can be as much as 50-100 per cent.

David Thain, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Transformation and Change said: “We are delighted that this exceptional project has got the go-ahead from planners.

Apart from the benefits the local community will receive, this is a very significant project because of the Passivhaus standards.

Speller Metcalfe secured the contract as part of the West Midlands Contractor Framework. The company beat off competition from a wide range of firms to land the deal and has already spoke of its pleasure at receiving the opportunity to work on this development.

The learning campus will be built in stages to minimise disruption, with work starting on the Primary School first, followed by the weekly boarding unit, the all weather sports pitch, the Science block and finishing with the Special School. The aim is to complete the whole campus by the Summer of 2014. L

haus Passiv s a 75 e achiev reduction nt per ce ace heating in sp irements, requ ared to comp UK new rd standabuild

FURTHER INFORMATION Passivhaus Trust www.passivhaus.org.uk Passive House Institute passiv.de/en/ 3D view of plans habberleylearningcampus.blogspot.co.uk

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

31

Are you making the necessary impact with certain energy decisions?

Are you reducing energy bills and cutting the environmental effect at the same time?

Find out how Q-ton can cut sanitary water heating costs by up to 75% and deliver huge carbon savings too.

Contact the market leaders to learn more.

Call us on:

020 7421 6208 email: q-ton@mhie.com www.mitsubishirenewables.com

RETRO EXPO

LOW CARBON REFURBISHMENT GETS ITS OWN GREEN DEAL SHOWCASE

Low Carbon Building

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

A new three-day exhibition and conference taking place at the NEC, Birmingham from Tuesday 30 October–Thursday 1 November will focus on the most decisive ways to deliver the UK’s energy efficient future and fully understand The Green Deal.

Retro Expo will provide an essential guide to the technologies, products and services, that can help the construction and refurbishment industry deliver low carbon retrofit projects for less money, less disruption but with more quality and more visual impact.

Comprising of five dynamic core elements – an exhibition of retrofit innovation, The Green Deal Summit, the Retro Expo Awards, Retrofit Buyers Forum and Retrofit Knowledge Hubs – Retro Expo is supported by a range of key industry bodies and is delivered in partnership with the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and BRE. Dedicated to the low carbon boost of existing buildings in the domestic, commercial and public sector markets, Retro Expo will bring together thousands of professionals from across the retrofit supply chain, from Green Deal Providers, RSLs, Local Authorities, Housing Associations and blue chip occupiers and landlords to specifiers, assessors and installers.

GREEN DEAL SUMMIT Retro Expo will also feature the flagship Green Deal Summit. The definitive strategic conference on The Green Deal, delivered in partnership with DECC and BRE. Bringing together leaders from across the value chain, from clients to installers, the Summit will address key issues such as finance, generating demand, ensuring high standards of workmanship and achieving affordable technological solutions. For the first time ever all of the UK’s leading city councils – Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Bristol and Greater London Authority – will be coming together on this national platform to talk about their retrofit plans.

INDUSTRY EXHIBITION The exhibition element will showcase energy efficient products and services for retrofit in the domestic, commercial and public sector markets. The exhibition will feature more than 150 exhibitors, including leading names such as Travis Perkins, SIG, Knauf, Polypipe, Ideal Heating, Vokera, Technology Strategy Board, NICEIC, and Intergas. As well as the technology providers, a range of Green Deal stakeholders will be represented including

MCS, Gemserv, BRE, National Refurbishment Centre and a range of Green Deal Providers.

KNOWLEDGE HUBS The exhibition floor also plays host to four free of charge seminar and demonstration areas. They offer something for everyone, with Technical Masterclasses on Building Services and Building Fabric, the Technology Strategy Board’s Retrofit Case Studies Hub whilst The Retrofit Journeys Hub will help all professionals to find their niche in The Green Deal.

BUYERS FORUM Designed to connect large-scale buyers of goods and services under The Green Deal with manufacturers and service suppliers. The Forum will provide diarised appointments for over 100 buyers in one-to-one meetings.

Buyers will be from main contractors, local authorities, registered social landlords, specifiers, commercial clients and end users, as well as merchants and Green Deal Providers.

Retro Expo is dedicated to the low carbon boost of existing buildings in the domestic, commercial and public sector markets.

RETRO EXPO AWARDS The Retro Expo Awards recognise excellence in retrofit products, projects and people across the domestic, commercial and public sector markets. The launch of The Green Deal promises much for the retrofit market, but it is already an established and thriving market in its own right worth £32 billion per year in the UK alone. With finance tight and the newbuild sector struggling, retrofit is both a means of maintaining asset value and supporting organisational sustainability priorities, as well as enhancing the building E

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

33

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Getting More for Less by Saying Goodbye to the Classroom Cetas Kinetic addresses challenges facing the public sector by: } Reducing training expenditures } Bitesize learning with instant impact in the workplace } Increasing ROI

How?

We create a total learning experience using synchronous learning

Contact us to find out more T: 020 8397 5556 E: hello@cetas-kinetic.com www.cetas-kinetic.com/healthcare Cetas Kinetic LTD, 32 Coppard Gardens, Chessington, Surrey, KT9 2GE

about rmation More infore of tu the fu fficiency at m energy e h-efficiency.co www.hig

High 73,000 Efficiency Up to £73,000 less electricity costs.* High efficiency pays off.

• Up to 70% energy savings*, thanks in part to the High- Efficiency -Drive • Saves up to 73,000 pounds in electricity costs per pump in 15 years* • Less than 2 years of amortisation time (installation -specific)

The new high-efficiency series Wilo-Stratos GIGA. *Compared to conventional uncontrolled pumps, based on the “Blue Angel” load profile (RAL-UZ 105 and a n energy price of £0.189.

Detailed information can be found in a sample life cycle cost calculation at www.high-efficiency.com.

WILO (U.K.) LTD Second Avenue Centrum 100 Burton-on-Trent Staffordshire DE14 2WJ T: +44 (0)1283 523000 F: +44 (0)1283 523099 E: sales@wilo.co.uk

34

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 19.5

RETRO EXPO E user’s experience and achieving carbon reduction targets. The awards will recognise and celebrate excellence in all stages of the retrofit process. From large scale retrofit procurement to enabling technologies, realworld projects and R&D trials, no other awards event will bring together the dynamic retrofit.

AWARD CATEGORIES Innovation and Products Building Fabric Product Innovation of the Year Building Services Product Innovation of the Year Retrofit Innovation of the Year Projects Domestic Retrofit Project of the Year Community-driven Retrofit Project of the Year Non-domestic Retrofit Project of the Year Public Building Retrofit Project of the Year Large-scale Retrofit Project of the Year Retrofit Client of the Year People Excellence in Retrofit Training Award Outstanding Personal Achievement of the Year The Retrofit Pioneer Award. L FURTHER INFORMATION Retro Expo will take place at the Birmingham NEC from 30th October – 1st November 2012. For more information and to pre-register visit: www.retro-expo.co.uk

Green Deal Summit Conference

Low Carbon Building

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

The definitive conference on The Green Deal aimed at senior-level stakeholders from across the refurbishment value chain. Entrance to The Green Deal Summit is subject to a delegate fee, but Summit delegates have free access to the exhibition and the Summit schedule allows plenty of breaks to enable them to visit. Delegates can buy individual modules, multiple modules or a pass for the entire Summit. The Green Deal Summit will comprise of seven modules including: Module 1: Green Deal Finance Module 2: Driving Demand Module 3: Retrofit at Scale Module 4: Retrofit Learning and Innovation Module 5: Retrofit in the Social Housing Sector in Partnership with Sustainable Housing Action Partnership (SHAP) Module 6: Green Deal Skills Module 7: The Green Deal and Beyond The Green Deal Summit’s seven modules can be purchased by delegates individually or in any combination up to and including a full conference pass.

Delegate prices range from £75 to £289.00 + VAT per person. For more information email: david.pierpoint@retro-expo.co.uk

OFTEC Consultancy Services Impartial and independent assessment of oil-fired heating and cooking installations: • On-site inspections of oil-fired installations to ensure compliance with Building Regulations and industry codes of practice • Evaluation service to help you make high quality, cost effective system upgrades • Flexible service tailored to your particular needs and requirements • Detailed, illustrated inspection reports with findings and recommendations • Delivered in partnership with LABC • All inspections carried out by OFTEC’s experienced in-house technical team • Managed and delivered by OFTEC – the authoritative and impartial voice of the oil heating and cooking industry.

As a not-for-profit organisation OFTEC offers the impartial and independent inspection service that our customers demand. Our technical team have all the knowledge and expertise you need to review and manage you oil-fired cooking and heating systems.

Contact OFTEC today to discuss your requirements: T: 0845 65 85 080 E: enquiries@oftec.org W: www.oftec.org

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

35

The biggest thing in solar.

Welcome to the next generation of microinverter.

Not just smaller: more powerful, more efficient, and easier to install.

Be the first to see it for yourself at the UK launch: Visit us at SPUK on Stand #C90 Industry leading solutions, fulfilling the requirements for the Code for Sustainable Homes from 1 panel to full scale commercial projects and everything in-between.

www.enphase.co.uk

SOLAR POWER UK 2012

Solar Power

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

LEARN FROM THOSE LEADING THE WAY IN PUBLIC SECTOR PV

Discover how the solar industry and public sector can achieve substantial returns and higher standards of living for sections of the electorate struggling to keep ahead of rising energy costs. Solar Power UK takes place on October 2-4 at the NEC, Birmingham.

If you are a local authority, housing association, or community project group wanting to learn more on project funding options and procuring solar components; or an installer looking to move into this sector through tendering and building strategic partnerships, this event is not to be missed.

After numerous feed-in tariff cuts and boundless uncertainty overshadowed the UK solar market it seems there really is light at the end of the tunnel. Those working in the industry are now able to plan ahead thanks to the new degression model offering some insight into what the future incentive rates are likely to be. Yet, while changes have taken place across the board, community solar schemes, including those run by local authorities or housing associations, have been affected by unique alterations to the policy originally in place.

Following the numerous responses to the latest feed-in tariff consultation from community groups, the Government has decided to introduce a package of changes to support community energy projects, noting the importance of such projects and addressing the genuine difficulties they face in comparison to the more common installations – especially in financing and project development.Learn all about the key elements of this package, designed to kick-start the community project sector at Solar Power UK 2012.

WHY CHOOSE SOLAR? Aside from the obvious financial benefits offered by the feed-in and export tariffs there are several other reasons why community solar schemes go ahead – many of which stand up with or without Government incentives. Indeed, dozens of local authorities and public bodies across the UK have already fitted solar panels and are now enjoying a range of benefits including: As the price on conventional energy keeps rising so too does local authorities’ interest in alternative power sources. Solar has become one of the most popular resources as it is easy to install and can be used at home as well as on a larger scale. Many local authorities and social housing associations

Following the numerous responses to the latest feed-in tariff consultation, the Government has decided to introduce a package of changes to support community energy projects are also implementing solar technology as a method to reduce fuel poverty across the UK, which is becoming more of a concern as energy bills continue in their upward trend.

Although not many claim to be ambassadors of green energy (of the tree hugging

variety or otherwise) the amount of UK residents beginning to worry about where their grandchildren’s energy will come from is on the up. Reducing one’s carbon footprint is becoming important in people’s lives – even if this goal is directly E

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

37

TRUE DC Isolation Keeping Solar Safe...

The IMO range of SI Isolators has been specifically developed for PV DC disconnect applications. With arc extinguishing time guaranteed to be less than 5mS, the SI is one of the safest DC Isolators available, no matter who uses it or how slowly they operate it.

...Insist on TRUE DC

IMO is at the forefront of control component technology specifically developed for the renewable energy market and in particular solar energy. Whether meeting the demands of safe and efficient DC switching or delivering solutions that help to maximise solar energy conversion rates, you can be sure that IMO products have been developed to meet the highest technical and commercial standards.

To find out how TRUE DC Isolation is Keeping Solar Safe contact IMO for more details or come and visit us at Solar Power UK. Tel: 0800 0665065 Web: www.imorenewableenergy.com

SOLAR POWER UK 2012

Many local authorities and social housing associations are also implementing solar technology as a method to reduce fuel poverty across the UK, which is becoming more a concern as energy bills continue in their upward trend.

E linked to making one’s energy cheaper.

Finally, in a point which feeds into the previous two, local authorities and housing associations are keen on solar energy as it provides a free source of power for more than 25 years. This can be especially useful to those who are home during the day as in some well-sited cases the solar energy provided can provide a huge percentage of the annual demand.

FEED-IN TARIFFS While the case for solar in local authorities is a positive one, it is true, of course, that Government’s actions on the feed-in tariffs have left the public sector bruised. The stories of projects that had been planned for some time (and for which costs had been incurred) being cancelled are well known. But this should not deter any authority from moving ahead now. The Government’s plans, mentioned above, are

Solar Power

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

PV in the Public Sector – how to profit and provide Wednesday 3rd October 09.30 – Presentations include:

clearer now and should offer some comfort.

If you’re interested in going solar this topic will be discussed in detail at the upcoming Solar Power UK event. Offering an insight into the tendering process multi-installation projects as well as looking into how they can realistically work towards reducing fuel poverty the Solar Business Seminar Hall will consider the various routes, including proven case studies, to making solar a success on day two of the series. L

Get involved, get on board – an installers guide to tendering and getting on a local authority panel

FURTHER INFORMATION Solar Power UK 2012 will run from October 2-4 at Birmingham’s NEC. Seminar tickets are on sale now - use the promotional code ‘SPSBW3’ to receive 20 per cent off the price of the ticket, valued at £50 + VAT. Registration to the exhibition is free of charge.

Procurement and getting the best price for your solar installations

Inspiration and investment – Birmingham City Council, how one city continues to lead the way in PV The future for social PV – how solar plays a key role in securing energy prices and reducing fuel poverty

Integrating PV into a Zero Carbon Building strategy How we made it happen – tendering and partnerships in the public sector

Visit www.solarpowerukevents.org

Enphase - high technology Solar energy - reliable, safe and efficient isolation approach to solar energy Enphase Energy delivers of DC voltages from IMO microinverter technology IMO is at the forefront of control component technology specifically developed for the renewable energy market and, in particular, solar energy. IMO products have been developed to meet the highest technical and commercial standards, whether meeting the demands of safe and efficient DC switching or delivering solutions that help to maximise solar energy conversion rates.

IMO’s range of Solar Isolators have been specifically developed for photovoltaic DC disconnect applications and feature an operator independent trigger ratchet switching mechanism resulting in switching times of less than 5ms. Additionally, high reliability knife edge contacts and long arc cooling chambers ensure safe and effective

isolation of DC voltages within solar installations. Available in 2 or 4 pole versions, in a wide variety of mounting and handle configurations, the IMO Solar Isolator range is suitable for all OEM, domestic and commercial site applications. The IMO SI range of isolators is one of the safest DC Isolators available, no matter who uses it or how slowly they operate it. See IMO at Solar Power UK, Hall 5 – Booth A46.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0800 0665065 www.imorenewableenergy.com

for the solar industry that increases energy production, simplifies design and installation, improves system uptime and reliability, reduces fire safety risk and provides a platform for intelligent energy management.

Our semiconductorbased microinverter system converts energy at the individual solar module level and brings a systems-based, high technology approach to solar energy generation.

The Enphase® Microinverter System brings a new approach to managing solar power that makes solar systems smarter and more efficient. Each microinverter integrates with advanced networking technology and Enlighten, Enphase’s webbased monitoring software, to allow system owners to visualize their solar array’s clean energy

production via the Internet. To date, the Enlighten community has generated over 440 GW hours of solar energy, offsetting over 300,000 tons of CO2.

This is equivalent to powering over 41,775 households and saving 26,354 acres of forest.

FOR MORE INFORMATION enphase.com/uk/contactus

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

39

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

t r 2, si la 1 Vi t So 20 3 a UK C7 us er oth w o Po B

s s s s s s

PV Mounting Systems 25 Years Warranty Easy & Quick Installation Flexible Design Special Zn-Mg-Al coating Suitable for any ground “Lock & Safe” security solution

» » » » » »

Power Performance Promise Technology Excellence Partnership

www.hillsmithsolar.com T: 01902 499400 / 0121 288 02 03; E: sales@hillsmithsolar.com Springvale Business & Industrial Park, Bilston, Wolverhampton, WV14 0QL

Experience our range of Solar PV energy metering products Concerns over the quality, performance and delivery of imported PV products feature prominently in the minds of most UK companies and their customers.

Everybody wants the best possible price – but nobody wants the problems.

Single phase (new installation or retrofit) PV meter - iCredit500 Three phase (new installation or retrofit) PV meter - Sprint 200 Web based data collection and FIT reporting - Vuenergy

Please visit us at

NBS has the solution.

Visit us at Solar Power UK to find out more about our High Performance panels and outstanding Warranty.

NBS Scotland Ltd. 109, Barrie Road, Hillington, Glasgow, G52 4 PX. William Wallace – 07711 350385 Philip Rowley – 07973 285820 TEL: 0845 274 7212 / 0141 611 7575.

FAX: 0141 280 0031.

YOUR LOCAL PV FACTORY SALES AND DISTRIBUTION CENTRE.

40

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 19.5

2nd - 4th October 2012 The NEC Birmingham, United Kingdom

Stand D19

Secure Meters (UK) Ltd Secure House, Moorside Road, Winchester, Hampshire S023 7RX United Kingdom p: +44 (0) 1962 840048 | e: sales@securetogether.co.uk | www.securetogether.co.uk

Innovative Solar PV mounting systems from Hill & Smith Solar

Hill & Smith is an international group, leading in the design, manufacture and supply of infrastructure products, galvanizing services and building and construction products.

The company’s manufacturing and trading roots date all the way back to 1824.

In 1960, Hill & Smith Holdings plc was listed on the London stock exchange. The group now employs some 3500 staff operating worldwide.

Hill & Smith Solar, as a division of Hill & Smith Group, is specialised in the design, engineering, production and supply of Solar PV Mounting

Systems. The company provides innovative mounting solutions designed to fit the individual requirements and specifications of every project. Hill & Smith Systems combine optimum performance, durability and efficiency at attractive prices.

Hill & Smith Solar supplies numerous large-scale photovoltaic projects across the globe and serves its customers from facilities principally in the UK, France, USA, Thailand, Sweden and China.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: +359 244 24394 julia.koleva@hillsmithsolar.com www.hillsmithsolar.com

Solar panels suited to perform in UK weather NBS Scotland is a joint venture enterprise with a major Chinese solar PV panel manufacturer that has been selling into Europe since 1996. Its panels are MCS accredited and are perfect for the UK weather.

Visit Stand D70 at Solar Power UK at the NEC from 2-4 October and learn how the company’s high performance panels have been made specifically to suit the UK weather and can perform like a hybrid panel – at standard prices.

Customers can enjoy a 12 year manufacturer’s warranty and a 90 per cent performance guarantee at 20 years.

ENA Inverters from New Zealand complement NBS high performance panels and offer you ease of installation and

integrated AC & DC Isolators – saving you time and money.

Customers also benefit from embedded monitoring via Integrated Wi-Fi (Ethernet available); front facing heat sink; the ability to mount onto plasterboard, wood or brick without the need for additional materials; and wide DC Operating Voltage (120v start-up for low quantity panel configurations.

For anyone wanting to maximise their system output and to remotely monitor it to ensure performance is maintained, there is only one choice to make – NBS and ENA. FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0845 274 7212 Tel: 0141 611 7575 Fax: 0141 280 0031

Tap into the solar expertise of the Linuo Power workforce Established in 1994 Linuo Power is a leading global manufacturer and distributor of high quality, high efficiency solar panels, offering power, performance, technology, excellence, and partnership.

Linuo was one of the first three manufacturers to be TUV certified in Europe and it is part of the Linuo group which have five main industries (solarPV, glass, solar thermal, pharmaceutical, coating & sodium).

Linuo Power currently has a 2000MW annual manufacturing capacity covering an area of 270 hectares (27,000000m2), consisting of two solar cell factories and two solar module production factories, a college and a university.

All of Linuo’s factories use world class manufacturing equipment from Germany, Italy, USA, and so on. Linuo also has the most highly educated work force in the solar industry;

Solar Power

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

of its 13,000 employees 70 per cent have a university bachelor’s degree or above and 30 per cent are educated to HND standard or above.

Linuo operate a fully automated manufacturing process with 100 per cent EL testing before and after lamination.

Double ‘A’ rated silicon is sourced from the company’s own mine, meaning globally bankable (investment grade) panels, suitable for financial institutions and other investors.

10 year warranty and 100 per cent insured in Europe

by CHUBB with a 25 year performance guarantee.

FOR MORE INFORMATION www.linuouk.com

Discover the benefits of remotely monitoring your PV installations Secure Meters (UK) Ltd, one of the world’s largest meter manufacturers, will be exhibiting at this year’s Solar Power UK 2012 show at the NEC Birmingham on 2-4 October 2012. Exhibiting at stand D19, Secure Meters will be demonstrating its range of solar PV energy meter products including the iCredit500 single phase (new installation or retrofit) PV meter; the sprint 200 three phase (new installation or retrofit) PV meter; and Vuenergy – its web based data collection and FIT reporting.

For PV asset owners and installers a visit to the stand is a must to see why remote monitoring of PV installations is important to get the most from your investment, and

how it ensures that PV assets are generating energy and income every day.

Visitors to the stand will also find out how remote monitoring can help asset owners and installers diagnose faults remotely, and minimise initial return site visits to non communicating systems by indicating to installers the actual communications status within one minute of power up.

The stand will have on display both single and three phase PV meters using the latest communication technology, as well as a working demonstration of Vuenergy – Secure Meters’ web based FIT reporting system.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01962 840048 sales@securetogether.co.uk

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

41

Power for Professionals n n n n

Hedge Trimmers Blowers Brush Cutters Hedge Clippers For details on the complete range of Power Products visit www.kawasaki-powerproducts.eu or call +44 (0) 1628 819555

CARBON SHOW

MAKING SURE EVERYBODY PLAYS THEIR ROLE IN ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Carbon Show

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

In London on October 23, The Carbon Show in partnership with the Carbon Trust will welcome carbon, energy and sustainability managers and thought-leaders to share their ‘lessonslearned’ so far in their journeys to increase energy efficiency, streamline carbon management strategies and incorporate green technology into their businesses and organisations.

With climate change gaining general acceptance in society, the mitigation of its effects remain high on the political agenda with local and central government forming an essential piece of the puzzle to combat its impacts. Improving sustainability, establishing the low carbon economy and overall decarbonisation of organisations, businesses and infrastructure are objectives which are increasingly underpinning legislation and policy at regional, national and international levels. Targets relating to the reductions of greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption are ambitious in an era where energy demands are high and budgets are squeezed and the need for sharing knowledge and experience on how to achieve these targets has never been higher.

The Carbon Show is a must-attend for sustainability professionals from industry, government, energy and finance and the seminar programme will encompass four seminar streams: Energy Efficiency, Carbon Management, Green Technology and Carbon Investment and Finance.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY Energy efficiency has moved to the forefront of sustainability strategies in both the public and private sectors especially since binding national ’20-20-20’ targets came into force in 2009. These targets aim to reduce EU GHG emissions by 20 percent of the emission levels in 1990, ensure 20 percent of energy consumed nationally is from renewable sources and also to achieve a 20 percent reduction in primary energy consumption overall through energy efficiency improvements. Future legislation will also include the impending Energy Efficiency Directive from the European Commission which will have potential impacts on businesses and organisations.

In conjunction with legislative pressures, there are also numerous case studies available which highlight the potential long-term business savings associated with improving energy efficiency. Whilst these long term benefits are becoming clear, challenges still remain associated with the initial costs of

In conjunction with legislative pressures, there are also numerous case studies available which highlight the potential long-term business savings associated with improving energy efficiency. implementing energy efficient measures. This is a topic Myles McCarthy, Managing Director at Carbon Trust Implementation Services, Carbon Trust has been addressing including alternative funding models available and how to overcome barriers between opex and capex to ensure joined-up thinking when it comes to your balance sheets.

Even with the most energy efficient technologies in place, ensuring personnel are aware about their role in reducing energy consumption is an essential component of increasing overall energy efficiency. Engagement campaigns and effective communication to personnel has been seen to have benefical impacts for many companies and increasing and boosting employee engagement has been an aspect of Bupa, The Co-Operative Group and John Lewis Partnership’s energy and sustainability strategies.

CARBON MANAGEMENT At Rio+20 in June 2012, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced the Government’s plans for mandatory carbon reporting to come into force from April 2013. Initially affecting companies on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market, it has become essential for companies to know the standards and parameters currently being used and the level of detail that will be required in emission reports.

Related to emissions reporting, The Metropolitan Police Service has developed an energy and carbon management system framework with effective information management and also established the links between estate management, energy management, energy efficiency programmes and carbon reporting.

Another of the most challenging aspects of emissions reporting is accounting for your supply chain and Scope 3 emissions. With difficulties in accessing and obtaining E

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

43

Outstanding productivity saves time and money

Megger PAT400 high speed PAT tester offers you so much more: WWW.MEGGER.COM

n Instant reboot when moving locations n Test group stored with asset details for faster re-testing n Quick test key for direct access to individual tests n High current testing with no overheating n Fast back up to USB memory-stick

Find out more today.

Call 01304 502 101 Or scan the QR code with your smart phone to watch a demonstration The word ‘Megger’ is a registered trademark

Megger Limited Archcliffe Road Dover CT17 9EN UK T +44 (0) 1304 502 101 F +44 (0) 1304 207 342 E uksales@megger.com

CARBON SHOW E complete emissions data up and down your supply chain and sometimes unavoidable data gaps it can seem like an impossible task to ensure Scope 3 emissions are calculated and reported accurately. Supply chain emissions affect the majority of industries from transport and logistics to FMCGs and have been examined by companies such as Eurostar and L’Oréal.

GREEN TECHNOLOGY The term green technology spans a wide variety of technologies and can be considered an all encompassing term for any technology which can be seen as more sustainable and mitigating the impacts of climate change from renewable energy to LED lighting. One of the Government’s financial incentives for reducing energy consumption in British properties is the ‘Green Deal’ which will provide small loans to companies and households to install measures and green technology which will increase energy efficiency and reduce energy costs.

Another technology which is being greened is the automotive industry. Transport accounts for a large portion of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions each year and reducing these emissions is both vital and logistically and economically challenging. The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership and the Energy Saving Trust are two organisations currently working to implement strategies to reduce emissions and keep costs to a minimum in a bid to meet environmental targets.

A form of alternative energy which is increasingly being seen as the best-fit option to tackle the volume of waste and the energy demands is Energy from Waste. The Waste Framework Directive describes energy recovery from waste as the preferred option of waste disposal following waste prevention, waste recycling and re-use. In July 2012, Buckinghamshire County Council awarded a contract for the construction and operation of the Greatmoor Energy from Waste Facility following an extensive public consultation process. The plant has become part of the council’s waste and financial strategies, and is expected to have positive impacts including reducing the amount of waste going to landfill.

Carbon Show

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Seminar highlights at the Carbon Show GREEN TECHNOLOGY KEYNOTE Stepping up to the Energy Challenge In the first half of this century, global energy supply needs doubled and carbon emissions halved. This means a huge change With technologies available and overall costs affordable, what opportunities are there for individuals, companies and countries that have the vision and skill to step up to the challenge?

Speaker: James Smith, chairman, Carbon Trust

hand in hand with significant changes to emissions trading. This keynote session aims to highlight some of the key alterations compared to Phase I and Phase II including changes to the rules and allocation of free allowances, small emitter exclusions from the ETS and more stringent use of offsets. What will be the consequences of Phase III for your organisation and how can you incorporate the changes into your carbon management strategies now?

Speaker: Eoin Parker head, EU ETS - Department of Energy & Climate Change

ENERGY EFFICIENCY KEYNOTE With the publication of an Energy Efficiency Directive non-paper in April 2012, there are questions around its implementation and the impacts it may have on businesses and organisations across the EU when it comes into force. Hear the latest developments of the Directive and also how other legislation and the EU ETS are being taken into account.

Speaker: Philip Lowe, director general, DG Energy European Commission

CARBON MANAGEMENT KEYNOTE With acceptance that carbon emissions reporting is becoming a core element of organisation’s formal business processes, how can you streamline your data and information to ensure alignment with the broader business operations to guarantee accurate, consistent and auditable reports that are ready at the right time?

Speaker: Neil Grange, head of carbon management, Metropolitan Police Services

CARBON INVESTMENT & FINANCE KEYNOTE Phase III of EU ETS is fast approaching

CARBON INVESTMENT & FINANCE The price of carbon is something which has had many fluctuations over the past few years and the future of global emissions trading and markets remains uncertain. The third phase of the EU ETS is approaching bringing changes to auctioning platforms and registries and the allocation of free allowances. Questions surround what lies beyond Phase III and EU ETS reform.

All of the topics above will be covered in depth in The Carbon Show seminar

programme including senior-level speakers from the DG ENERGY European Commission, DECC, Buckinghamshire County Council, Bupa, The Co-Operative Group and John Lewis Partnership and the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership. L FURTHER INFORMATION For more details about The Carbon Show seminars and the free-to-attend exhibition, please visit www.thecarbonshow.com or call 020 8267 4011.

Nationwide graffiti removal with unbeatable results from Eden Company The Eden Company specialises in graffiti removal from all types of surfaces. Over the years, the graffiti removal business has grown to cover all of the UK, leading it to remove graffiti tags and art large and small all around the country.

The Eden Company currently undertakes work for Tesco’s, home-base, KFC and many government bodies including schools and parish councils.

The Eden company believes that work should be done by the right person, using the right

materials, following the right design. In addition to graffiti removal, the wide range of specialist services offered includes snow clearance and gritting, grounds maintenance, car park planting schemes and all aspects of soft and hard landscaping and tree surgery.

Each service is carried out by a qualified and experienced member of the Eden Company team, and strong, durable Eden-Co certified materials are used.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01785 254547 adam@theedencompany.co.uk www.theedencompany.co.uk

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

45

Solutions from

Creating safer and cost effective road markings Solutions is offered by Euromark GB Ltd, a market leading road marking contractor and thermoplastic manufacturer. Solutions offers a service that allows the client to enhance their road network by utilising Euromark’s in-house capabilities to survey, design, manufacture and apply road markings.

For further details, please contact us on e: info@euromarkgb.co.uk t: 01403 215800

LOCAL TRANSPORT FUNDING

Transport

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

DEVOLVING MAJOR LOCAL TRANSPORT SCHEMES: MOVING FORWARD After boundaries have been set and indicative budgets revealed, by December this year Local Transport Bodies must set out their proposals for governance and financial management. By April 2013, an initial list of prioritised schemes for funding (from 2015) is expected, so its full steam ahead for local decision making on major transport schemes. The consultation document contained some interesting responses, including population concerns and the exact role of the DfT in the process. E

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

47

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

The pot-hole debate rumbles on and not much changes – don’t waste precious budget on quick temporary fixes, go for the permanent solution from Star Uretech Ltd Uretech RRS originated as the surfacing element of RMC’s Readyraise Manhole System but is now available as a stand-alone material consisting of a design blend of aggregate bound with the same polyurea resin system used for HFS high-friction surfacing (BBA Certificate No: 11/H177). Cold-applied, thermo-set, excellent moisture tolerance and lowtemperature cure; it provides the permanent solution.

Heathrow’s best ISO approved courier, Mini Cab & Executive Car Service (private hire)

n n n n

MINI CABS n MPV’S EXECUTIVE CARS n CHAUFFEUR DIESEL VEHICLES RUN ON RECYCLED COOKING OIL ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY VEHICLES

PRICES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST

Call: 01895 444333 91 Station Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7LT Fax: 01895 449961 | www.qdellhr.co.uk | twitter@lhrcars

Tel: 01254 663 444 Fax: 01254 681 886 e-mail: info@star-uretech.com Enterprise House, Hollin Bridge St, Blackburn BB2 4AY

GROUP LTD

MarroBar System

Traffic Barrier Systems RB Barrier System

Marwood Group Limited stock a wide range of road traffic barriers that suit all applications, our barriers offer a clear visibility presence on our roads, making it safer for both pedestrians & drivers. All barrier systems are of high quality and are either free standing or can be water filled.

MarroBar System has been designed to offer maximum safety, MarroBar is one of the quickest deployable systems on the market and with up to 200 metres per load it offers savings on both labour and transport cost. On impact MarroBar will bring an errant vehicle to a controlled stop.

This system is a very versatile yet strong, flexible one piece system for ease of handling and installation. There is also no need for crane lifting machinery for any given emergency set-up.

• Tested and approved by TRL to BS EN1317-N1 50MPH

The RB Barrier System is a heavy duty road barrier that can be filled with water or ballast for stability, with its fully interlocking design, the barriers can be weighted to 480kg when water filled. Accessories can be added to enhance the features and functionality of the RB Barrier such as Security Fencing or Hoarding Panels.

Also available upon request: Concrete Security Barrier, Delta Bloc, Evo 1000 Traffic Separator, Pedestrian Barrier, Safewall Plastic Separator, Self Weighted Traffic Separator, Stacca Barrier System, Strongwall Barrier, Multi-Functional Traffic Barrier System.

All our professional staff can offer advice & expertise on all our products please call us on Tel: 0800 050 2012 • www.marwoodgroup.co.uk A47050 Marwood Barrier Advert P4.indd 1

48

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 19.5

24/08/2012 08:47

LOCAL TRANSPORT FUNDING E Ministers finally confirmed their intention to press ahead with devolving transport funding. The new local transport bodies (LTBs) have until 28 September to draw up their boundaries. Afterwards the DfT will announce indicative budgets, allocated according to population, and is set to publish guidance to enable LTBs to draft robust local assurance frameworks by December.

The current spending review period the major schemes programme is the result of a competitive process. Plans for LTBs comprising of councils and local enterprise partnerships to take responsibility for decisions on new transport infrastructure were put out for consultation in January. The DfT have now confirmed the move will go ahead, more or less as set out in the consultation document, responses from which were published in July. Decisions on the use of the devolved funding will be expected to demonstrate to local stakeholders and central Government that the schemes they will carry forward provide good value for money. = Transport minister Norman Baker stressed making decisions on new transport infrastructure at a local level would be more efficient:“While it is right for the Government to look at the big picture and co-ordinate schemes with a national impact, there is no substitute for local knowledge. That is why we want to make sure that important decisions affecting the future of towns and cities across England are made by those who best understand the specific issues facing their communities.”

The transport minister’s written statement to Parliament on September 18 also contained: “I am pleased to say that our consultation proposals were met with approval from the majority of respondents, particularly Local Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships.

“Transport is vitally important to local economies, and new infrastructure can provide the missing links that are often so crucial in getting economies moving and creating opportunities for new investment and employment. We want to ensure that decisions on new transport infrastructure are made more efficiently, and at a more local level than previously. Local Enterprise Partnerships are well placed to understand how transport investment can be used to boost economic recovery and growth and that is why we want them, working with Local Authorities, to have a key role.

“I fully support the key objective of removing Whitehall from the process of making decisions on which local schemes should or should not go ahead. However we have a responsibility to ensure that the new local decision makers have arrangements in place to achieve the value for money that we know the right schemes can deliver and to take account of other important factors such as environmental impact. Most respondents accepted the need for robust local assurance frameworks and we will shortly publish detailed guidance on this, to enable local areas to submit their draft frameworks by December.

Transport

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Key features of the new system for funding local major transport schemes The primary decision making bodies on the use of the devolved funding will be Local Transport Bodies (LTBs), voluntary partnerships of local transport authorities, local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) and possibly others.

LTBs will have non-overlapping boundaries, to be broadly based on the geography of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and ideally determined by local agreement.

LTB membership must be open, as a minimum, to all the constituent local transport authorities (LTAs) that are within the LTB area, and to the primary LEP or LEPs upon whose geography the LTB is based.

Representation of other bodies such as District Councils, other public bodies and NGOs should be for local decision.

There will be no funding retained at the centre as a top-slice for larger schemes, which, if required, will need to be funded by a combination of pooling LTB resources and securing contributions from other sources.

There will be no centrally imposed minimum cost threshold for schemes but the Department encourages the setting of local “Transparency is also essential, to ensure that priorities are widely publicised and understood and can be effectively shaped by local people that have a key interest in them. Evaluation will also assume an even greater importance, to enable all parties to look critically at whether key outcomes were achieved and to learn lessons for future investment decisions.”

CONSULTATION - POPULATION CONCERNS A simple population basis of allocation was supported by almost half of respondents (49 per cent) with no consensus in favour of any specific alternative method. The Department proposed three possible options for allocating funding between local areas: Option 1: population (i.e. per capita) allocation (which was the preferred option of the DfT); Option 2: economic contribution, and; Option 3: A measure of transport need. Of those expressing any preference 49 per cent of respondents supported Option 1 for similar reasons to those suggested by the DfT, because the alternative mechanisms were either too complex or not sufficiently compelling. Some of the respondents that favoured population stressed the need for it to take account of

thresholds appropriate for the LTB. The available funding will be distributed on a simple per-capita basis. Indicative figures for planning assumptions will be provided for each LTB in October 2012. Confirmation of the actual level of funding available will be made following the next Spending Review.

LTBs will need to operate within assurance frameworks that meet minimum standards of governance, financial management, accountability, meeting value for money and environmental considerations. The frameworks will need to be approved by the Department and we will set out the minimum requirements in more detailed guidance shortly.

LTBs must have a high degree of transparency, including routine and timely publication of all key documents, as well as arrangements for involving local stakeholders that are not represented on the LTB. The Department’s Transport Business Case guidance and WebTAG, the DfT appraisalframework must be used for all schemes considered by LTBs for funding. The Department will provide support and advice on how WebTAG may be used in a proportionate way. expected growth in population. But the consultation document did throw up some interesting responses that it felt couldn’t really be categorised, such as: “there is a value in … a per capita basis, but it is suggested that wider issues including ‘economic GVA contribution and a measure of transport need’ is also taken into account”, and“funding distribution should be based on a combination of greatest population (both current and expected growth), economic contribution, strategic importance and transport needs.”

As you would expect, there was a tendency for local areas to favour an allocation method that they would most benefit from, as demonstrated by these contrasting responses from three LEPs in different parts of the country. These included: “We are part of the country’s economic engine room, with far more potential than other areas to help recover from recession. We would therefore urge you to increase the allocations to this area by taking account of factors such as the area’s contribution to Gross Value E E Added or the very high level of congestion that our businesses are forced to endure.”

“There is a strong concern that the options

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

49

Trust GripTop because road safety simply isn’t an option

The GripTop Range of Anti-Skid Access Covers • Winner of the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award for contributions to innovation in road safety • Long term durability maintains a PSRV >70 • Kitemarked in accordance with the requirements of BS EN 124: 1994 • Compliant with the recommendations of HA Guidance Note HA104/09 • Available in a wide range of clear opening sizes, to D400 and E600 load classifications • Manufactured in the UK

For more information, visit www.griptop.co.uk call now on 0115 930 5000 or email innovations.uk.pam@saint-gobain.com

LOCAL TRANSPORT FUNDING

To assist authorities in meeting the timetable the DfT will be providing detailed guidance about the minimum standards for assurance frameworks, and local planning assumption figures by October

explicitly that there would be no need for any reporting. Some NGOs also stressed that, as well as transparency there needed to be a mechanism for a wider group of stakeholders to be actively involved in the decision making process. They also felt that LTBs should be subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

do not acknowledge the difficult transport issues faced in larger rural counties, … [we] would urge that the formula includes a factor which takes account of the overall geographic size of the LTB.” “If the Government is serious about delivering its stated intent to address the north/south divide then it should take this opportunity to direct funds where they are needed most. A formula based upon population but weighted in inverse proportion to GVA is suggested.” As the DfT suggested, these are difficult concepts to implement.

TIMESCALE The consultation set out a timetable for implementation, including a deadline of December 2012 for Local Transport Bodies to set out their proposals for governance, financial management and assurance frameworks, and April 2013 for them to publish an initial list of prioritised schemes for funding from 2015.

There were a mixed range of views expressed on whether the timetable was realistic and achievable. DfT accepted that the timebale is challenging, but believes is also necessary in order to ensure a sufficient number of schemes are able to start construction when new money becomes available from 2015/16.

If there are any LTBs that fail to meet the timetable or choose to adopt a slower one, then it follows that they are unlikely to have schemes ready for construction in the early years of the next spending period. That being the case, the DfT cannot guarantee to provide those LTBs with the funding allocation for the whole of a future spending period.

To assist authorities in meeting the timetable the DfT will be providing detailed guidance about the minimum standards for assurance frameworks, and local planning assumption figures by October. The department will also work with LTBs as they develop their assurance frameworks with a view to minimising the time required for formal approval, and allow LTBs to submit and gain approval for their assurance frameworks earlier if they are ready.

RESIDUAL ROLE FOR THE DFT? One question in the consultation document asked: Do you have any general comments on proposals to devolve decisions and funding, and on any residual role for the Department?

Many respondents stressed the importance of LTBs having influence over funding decisions on the Strategic Road and Rail networks. Nearly a quarter of respondents expressed concern that the Department was minded not to provide funding support for LTB administration, particularly for the initial prioritisation of schemes and noted the difficulties of resourcing this locally. Some explicitly asked the Department to reconsider this position. On the residual role for the Department the responses tended to focus on four main areas: Assurance/audit - Although not accountable for individual scheme decisions, the Department will need to remain responsible for ensuring that the devolved architecture is robust and fit for purpose; Advisory – It is clear that many authorities feel that they would benefit from the Department’s expertise and advice, particularly in the early stages of LTB set up and scheme prioritisation. This may well include the identification and dissemination of good practice; Technical – the DfT was felt to have a clearly defined role in developing and maintaining fit-for-purpose assessment and appraisal frameworks and providing guidance on their use, and; Champion – ultimately this role is the securing of funds for major schemes in the future by building up the evidence base.

LARGER SCHEME FUNDING The consultation included a section on how to promote strategic investment through larger schemes. Three options were put forward: Option 1: Local transport bodies decide themselves to allocate funding for big schemes either by central encouragement or requirement; Option 2: a central competition run by the Department for big schemes, and for which the Department retains a top-slice of the total budget and Option 3 (the DfT’s

preferred option): no separate distinction for big schemes, and no central encouragement or requirement to help promote their delivery.

Individual Local Enterprise Partnership areas would get a budget to prioritise whatever schemes were agreed locally.

There was an large majority against any top slice for large schemes. 85 per cent of respondents answering this question said there should be no top-slicing for larger schemes at local or national level. Only four respondents argued for a national top-slice and competition as per Option 2. In line with the principle that it is for the LTB to decide on their priorities, the DfT proposed that there would no longer be a £5m threshold defining a major scheme, meaning that a scheme of any size or on any network could potentially be prioritised and funded, where this was seen as a local priority. 90 per cent of those expressing a view agreed that there should be no mandatory minimum £5m threshold.

Some of those argued a threshold may in principle be a good idea, in order to maintain the distinction between major schemes and Integrated Transport block, but said either that it should be a guideline, that it should be lower, or that it should be locally determined and not necessarily set at the same level in every LTB. ACCOUNTABILITY The consultation set out the need for LTBs to have in place appropriate accountability measures as part of a wider assurance framework; measures to enable independent and public scrutiny of decisions and spend, as well as ensuring that local communities’ and citizens’ views are adequately represented and considered in the decision making process. It set out a suggested list of criteria to ensure this. The consultation document asked: Do you have any comments in relation to how local transport bodies should demonstrate that they are accountable to central Government for tax-payers’ money and to local communities and citizens?

A significant number of respondents pointed out that local authorities’ existing arrangements for local accountability and scrutiny should be adequate for this purpose.

Many of those respondents stressed that this meant that elected members would need to have a defining role in the decision making process, and some linked this back to their more general views on ensuring that LTBs are democratically accountable.

There were far fewer respondents with anything specific to say about how accountability to Central Government could be achieved, although a small handful said

Transport

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

IOD: THE RIGHT DECISION Responding to the decision to devolve funding and decision-making on local major transport schemes to new Local Transport Bodies from 2015, Corin Taylor, senior economic adviser at the Institute of Directors, said: “This is the right decision, which should give businesses more of a say on key projects in their region and speed up approval of vital work to ease road and rail bottlenecks. Britain’s Government is over-centralised, with far too many decisions still made in Whitehall, but today’s move should restore some much-needed control to local areas. It will now be vital for the new Local Transport Bodies to put together a list of priorities, so that work can start as soon as responsibility is transferred.” L FURTHER INFORMATION Consulation document tinyurl.com/8amcmut Transport Ministers statement tinyurl.com/9s6kd5k

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

51

R

SER . M -U

E

AT

D

. INTE G R

A

FAC TU R NU

OR . EN

n Four High Level Conferences: n 30 Free to attend Technology Workshops – Aviation Security & Air Cargo – Maritime & Counter Piracy n Networking Functions & VIP Hosted Lunch – Public Transport Security – Supply Chain Security in Association with TAPA n Free to attend Evening Reception n Focused Exhibition

Aviation Supporters

Cargo

Maritime

Supply Chain

For more information please email info@transec.com

www.transec.com/advert12 14-15 November 2012 | Olympia, London

TRANSPORT SECURITY EXPO

Transport

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

TRANSPORT SECURITY EXPO CELEBRATES ITS TENTH YEAR Delegate numbers for this year’s Transport Security Expo, taking place at Olympia on 14-15 November, have hit a record high, reflecting renewed concern over transport security issues.

This year’s Transport Security Expo marks its 10th anniversary with exhibitor and delegate numbers hitting record highs.

The boost reflects renewed concern over aviation, maritime, mass transit and supply chain security. Visitors to the two-day annual event will therefore experience a much expanded exhibition, conference and workshop programme, very clearly focused on the most pressing issues at hand.

Being held once again against a backdrop of ongoing tension on the world stage, an industry wide threat level that remains high, and fundamental policy changes under review, Transport Security Expo will reconvene at the Olympia Exhibition & Conference Centre with an unprecedented level of support from governmental entities, the vendor community and key trade associations from 14-15 November 2012.

News that significantly more industry leading suppliers of products and services will exhibit at Transport Security Expo reaffirms that the sector remains buoyant despite the harsh economic climate. A three-fold increase in conference delegate numbers underscores the fact that Transport Security Expo remains a world-class event firmly established in the calendar of industry professionals.

A SETTING TO FORMULATE STRATEGY Transport Security Expo is not only renowned for its high level conferences addressing principal concerns in the aviation, maritime, mass transit and supply chain security arenas.

Each year it hosts a series of closed door meetings – this time dedicated to ATOC (Policing & Security Forum), ITS (Security Special Interest Group), BIMCO (Ship Owners/CSOs) and AON (Crisis Management Workshop) – which bring senior level government and industry people together in a secure setting to formulate strategy going forward. Open door technology workshop events at Transport Security Expo focus upon mitigation techniques across the threat spectrum, delivering real world and mission critical insight.

Transport Security Expo actively supports exhibitors and buyers alike, with a dedicated programme aimed at bringing key people together, to exploit potential industry-wide business opportunities across the possible threat spectrum, during its annual industry professionals gathering. While reflecting upon the seemingly intractable security challenges

that continue to bedevil the collective transport industries, Transport Security Expo’s extensive conference programme aims to bring clarity to the threats currently faced and those that may be over the near horizon.

Transport Security Expo delegates have frequently debated best practice techniques to mitigate or head off the potential impact from the terrorist or criminal fraternity over the past decade. Significant security issues remain across the transport domain space and they could combine to create the perfect storm conditions

Finn, managing director, Augmentiq, Chris Trelawny, deputy director Maritime Security and Facilitation, International Martime Organisation (IMO), Giles Noakes, chief maritime security officer, BIMCO, Neil Skelton, head of professional services, ITS UK and Chris Lynch, transport security lead, Deloitte.

Over the past decade we have discovered to our cost that terrorist organisations are resourceful and nimble adversaries, with the capability to strike when least expected and from often times unexpected directions. In

“Through extensive research and widespread industry outreach we have focused each of the conferences toward identifying threats and real world methods of mitigation.” to have serious and long lasting impact.

Within the context of the aviation, maritime, mass transit and supply chain sectors, six specialised Transport Security Expo workshops will focus on passenger screening, freight and cargo security, terminal and facilities protection, perimeter security & hostile vehicle mitigation, shipping protection and rail security.

ADMIRAL LORD WEST OF SPITHEAD Transport Security Expo is delighted to announce that Admiral Lord West of Spithead will host a luncheon for dignitaries and senior ranking officials in the global transportation arena.

Lord West produced the United Kingdom’s first National Security Strategy and Cyber Security strategy as well as formulating a series of other groundbreaking strategies.

These included the counter-terrorist (Contest 2); Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) and Cyber Security policies of Her Majesty’s Government.

Lord West left government in 2010 and currently acts as a strategic advisor across the defence and security sector.

Transport Security Expo features an expanded exhibition; conference and workshop programme with two-thirds more floor space. Delegates, exhibitors and visitors will also benefit from on-site, purpose-built catering and other enhanced facilities.

Conference chairmen include Andrew McClumpha, director, LeighFisher; Mathew

these times of austerity the transport sector must do its bit to do more with less and plug these gaps in the overall security architecture.

Commenting on the forthcoming event, managing director David Woodbridge said: “Through extensive research and widespread industry outreach we have focused each of the conferences toward identifying threats and real world methods of mitigation. These expanded conferences also introduce the relatively new concept of The Great Live Debates, allowing delegates from across the globe to fully engage in the important discussions at hand.”

“We continue to work in a tough economic environment but budgetary constraint should not distract us from the ultimate goal of making the transport infrastructure more secure than it is today. These conferences help to identify the key security issues faced in each of the transport fields and could potentially help attending delegates to make informed decisions as to where tight budgets should be focused. We look forward to welcoming those with primary responsibility for security within the transport world back to London Olympia” concludes Woodbridge. L FOR MORE INFORMATION Transport Security Expo is a preregistration only event, registration will not be permitted on-site.

Complete the registration form on www.transec.com

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

53

www.atgaccess.com

08456 75 75 74

sales@atgaccess.com

ATG ACCESS ATG Access proves that they are still at the forefront of traffic management barriers with a visit to the Houses of Parliament.

ATG Access revives LARBUG with style at the Houses of Parliament The local authority rising bollard user group (LARBUG) reconvened at the Houses of Parliament in July this year. Many traffic management engineers and highway control officers attended from all over the country in a bid to provide their experience in installing traffic management systems with other councils and to share their thoughts on the future of such systems.

Siemens, Mouchel and Capita Symonds all spoke at the one day conference which was supported by the North West Labour MP, David Watts.

The LARBUG group was originally established due to the wide spread recognition that traffic orders alone would not provide the control necessary to improve traffic within town and city centres and the limited traffic advisory documentation available. So far the user group has achieved some interest from the Department of Transport on signing issues within the highway and some combined efforts to produce the Highways Agency specification: TR 2510.

This year’s conference concentrated on the future of traffic control systems and highlighted the leap in technology available within the market place to successfully improve traffic flow within town and city centres. The importance of remote monitoring and real-time monitoring of systems became clear throughout the conference with many of the attending councils experiencing staff cuts, reducing the amount of human contact time available to monitor the systems physically.

ATG Access will continue to work with LARBUG on key developments in traffic management systems, such as IP Broadband based communications and UTMC object based data exchange formats which have been already been adopted in the UK by the Highways Agency.

Traffic management systems are not only important to control traffic flow but they are also vital to reduce the number of vehicles in town and city centres and also contribute substantially to pedestrian safety.

Find out more about traffic management systems on the ATG Access website where you can also request a free site survey.

LONE WORKER SECURITY

More than six million people in the UK work either in isolation or without direct supervision, often in places or circumstances that put them at potential risk. A wide variety of organisations employ people whose jobs require them to work or operate alone, either regularly or occasionally, in sectors as diverse as education, transport and healthcare. Alex Carmichael, technical director at the BSIA, explains how security technology is helping to keep such lone workers safe.

Almost by definition, lone working can be both intimidating and at times dangerous, so the protection of lone workers involves a twofold approach; not only to provide safeguards but also to offer reassurance to the people involved. The nature of their work means that many are required to travel alone, both in isolated rural and busy city-centre locations, and often after dark, leaving them particularly at risk.

To address these important issues, the security industry has worked with the police and end-users to develop a combination of practice, technology and standards capable of providing an effective – and cost-effective

- solution to the risks. The development of technology and practice in the field has focused on encouraging and enabling lone workers to assess the risks they might be facing and provide them with the means both to summon aid in an emergency and collect information that can be used in evidence, if necessary. This has led to the creation of lone worker devices equipped with mobile phone technology that connect employees quickly and discreetly with an emergency response system that has direct links to the police. A number of products are commercially available from BSIA member companies, including miniature devices that resemble ID holders.

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Written by Alex Carmichael, technical director, BSIA

DUTY OF CARE FUNDAMENTAL TO ENSURING LONE WORKER SAFETY

EFFICIENT POLICE ESCALATION PROCESS In the United Kingdom, the most efficient way to raise a lone worker alarm is through a lone worker solution that is audited and approved against BS8484, the first British Standard for the provision of lone worker device services, introduced in 2009.

The ability to elicit a police response is clearly a crucial factor and credible lone worker solutions have been developed to maximise effectiveness through the reduction of false alarms (often achieved through the capture of valuable audio evidence informing a process of discernment during an emergency situation involving a lone worker).

This is achieved through a combination of 24/7 remote monitoring and two-tier alert facilities, classified as pre-activation (aka amber alert or pre-alert) and activation (red alert). All approved devices are monitored by an Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC), accredited to British Standard 5979 (Category II). An ARC should also be audited and approved against the relevant section of BS8484 along with BS5979 Category II in order to apply for a Unique Reference Number (URN). Once issued by the local Police Force the URN allows the ARC to raise an alert one level above a 999 call, which aids the user in receiving a timely and efficient response.

Sending a pre-activation message from a device allows users to dynamically assess risk whilst informing the ARC when they are entering an area with a potential risk – e.g. before walking across a dark car park. If the user then experiences a problem or encounters a situation that seems likely to escalate into something more serious the lone worker device can be activated to summon help quickly.

Typically, activating the lone worker device automatically triggers a voice call to the ARC. No further action is required by the user, as E

Security

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

55

MOBILE SECURITY SOLUTIONS

BODY WORN SYSTEM and 3G Transmission in ‘real time’ BODY WORN SYSTEM HIGHLIGHTS n Touchscreen HD Digital Video Recorder n High Resolution camera n Solid State 16Gb SDHC Internal memory n Pre-Event Recording n Still image capture n 6 x resolution settings n Law enforcement secure and tamperproof password protected files saved to solidstate robust memory n All DVR “Settings” are password controlled which ensures that the user cannot enter the “Settings menu” to change options You can also ‘couple’ the Body worn system with the AGS StreamRS, a portable device designed to offer visual point of view Multimedia streaming from the field over the cellular 3G network (using any SIM card). It allows users to stream live video/audio/location and the wearer can be monitored in real time from any location.

The unit has a built-in alarm button which can be pressed by personnel in the case of an event or emergency. The alarm triggers an SMS to any preset phone number and will activate live video streaming on the connected server or PC/laptop client. The unit can stream high quality video/audio to any specified IP and iPhone/PDA. The system supports any HSPA/3G/ Edge/GPRS SIM based cellular provider.

Both the Body Worn System and the AGS StreamRS are very small & lightweight, with built in rechargeable lithium batteries for 6+ hours of recording and streaming. Contact us for full specifications

Audax Global Solutions Ltd T: +44 (0)1752 264950 F: +44 (0)1752 603087 E: info@audaxuk.com W: www.audaxuk.com

LONE WORKER SECURITY

The ability to elicit a police response is clearly a crucial factor and credible lone worker solutions have been developed to maximise effectiveness through the reduction of false alarms E the device effectively functions as an open microphone, enabling the ARC to capture an audio recording of the incident for future action such as police investigation of legal proceedings. Operators at the ARC also monitor the audio channel in real time, enabling them to assess the situation and alert the police if the user needs help or protection.

This procedure allows the police to optimise their response to genuine emergencies by providing a ‘moving picture’ of the incident, including an increase or decrease in risk as it happens.The very knowledge that this is taking place is, of course, a major boost to the user’s confidence.

DUTY OF CARE Working alongside their clients, many BSIA members have developed similar, highly effective lone worker solutions to protect a wide range of personnel, including truancy officers, community nurses, transport workers and victims of domestic abuse.

Meeting their obligations under duty of care legislation is a key concern for many customers, and one of the main reasons why lone worker devices are introduced. In fact, acknowledging its responsibilities under Health & Safety legislation and duty of care and by identifying and understanding specific risks encountered by its wone workers were the primary reasons behind The Capita Group’s decision to invest in a lone worker security.

The Capita Group PLC is the UK’s leading business process outsourcing (BPO) and professional services company. Among the many roles performed by Capita is providing the majority of customer service, administration and enforcement of TV Licensing throughout the UK. Visiting addresses throughout the UK, sometimes in crime-hit urban areas, carries with it an inherent risk of confrontation, which can escalate to verbal and physical abuse.

Fundamentally, should one of Capita’s front-line enquiry officers experience jeopardy, they are a single button-press away from summoning assistance - quickly and discreetly. Using a preconfigured button on their mobile phone, they can issue a duress signal, which instantly alerts Argyll’s 24/7 manned control room and simultaneously opens a voice channel enabling operators to listen in. Trained operators then put into effect an agreed incident management procedure and, if required, use existing links with the Police to ensure a swift response. Sophisticated voice recording ensures that every incident is captured and can be produced as evidence if required.

EXPERT GUIDANCE The development of British Standard BS8484, a Code of Practice for the provision of Lone Worker Services, has been a key element of the security industry’s work to create such solutions. BS8484 is employed by most members of the BSIA’s Lone Worker Steering Group and forms the basis for police response to lone worker systems.

The BSIA has also published two associated guides, which provide both employers and lone workers themselves with easy-to-follow advice.

‘Lone Workers – An Employer’s Guide’ informs employers about and what to look for when sourcing a supplier. The guide covers the employers’ responsibilities to its lone workers, as well as specific criteria for selecting technology, monitoring services and providers, including the possession of quality management systems such as ISO 9001 and the delivery of appropriate training. It can be downloaded free by visiting

Security

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

www.bsia.co.uk/publications, and searching for form number 288.

For employees whose role requires them to work alone, the BSIA has produced a separate guide, ‘Lone Workers – An Employee’s Guide’, which can be downloaded free by visiting the BSIA’s website and searching for form number 284.

James Kelly, chief executive of the BSIA, comments: “These guides recognise the importance of keeping lone workers safe and secure.

Responsible employers will consider the health and safety of their lone workers as a top priority, and the use of lone worker devices can help by connecting such employees with an emergency response system that has direct links to the Police. BS8484 is the basis on which Police respond to lone worker systems, so it’s important for employers to choose a supplier who works to these standards.” L FURTHER INFORMATION To find out more about the BSIA and the work of its members (including the case studies mentioned in this article), or to find a reputable supplier of lone worker devices near you, visit the Association’s website at www.bsia.co.uk/lone-workers ABOUT THE AUTHOR Alex Carmichael is technical director of the British Security Industry Association, the trade association covering all aspects of the professional security industry in the UK. BSIA members provide over 70 per cent of UK security products and services and adhere to strict quality standards.

For more information see www.bsia.co.uk

At Paul Kessington we aim to provide you cost-effective, professional and comprehensive security guards and services including: v Building Site Security v Corporate Office Security Service v Events Security v Stewards and Cleaners v Supermarkets and Retail Outlets Security v Door Supervisors v Door Men or Bouncers v Car Park Security and Traffic Marshals v Sub contract guards for other security companies v We cover London and the home counties

Just look at the benefits:

v Affordable rates starting from 8.50 per hour, no minimum hours v SIA licenced security guards – our guards are vetted and insured, smartly dressed in uniforms and experienced to handle any situation Tel: 01883 334 875 Email: paulajuwa@aol.com Web: www.paulkessington.com Lombard House, 2 Purley Way, Suite 10.07, Ground Floor, Croydon CR0 3JP

Providing Individual Security Staff To Our Clients Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

57

Proven, ethical and highly profitable property business Create your financial freedom, a secure future and legacy business

‒ ‒ ‒ ‒ ‒

Join a community of like-minded individuals across the UK who are building marketleading property portfolios Be part of the world’s first property investment franchise Our Franchise Partners have purchased over £55 million worth of property in the last 5 years Discover why key business individuals like the former CFO of Norwich Union/Aviva and the ex Financial Director of Coca Cola have all joined Platinum Property Partners

Do you want to earn £50k – £150k income p.a?

Achieve an average R.O.I of 15% Generate £15,000 gross profit per property per annum from rental income Join an award winning team

Join a franchise where you own the assets

Claim your FREE copy of our best-selling book Successful Property Investing - How to earn £50,000 to £150,000 in two to five years Contact us today on 01202 652101 quoting GB0912 BE MORE - DO MORE - HAVE MORE - GIVE MORE www.platinumpropertypartners.co.uk

FRANCHISING

Franchising is still an attractive proposition for those looking for investment or a change in career path. Richard Holden, head of franchising at Lloyds Banking Group explains what to look out for when considering investing in a pre-packed brand.

Franchising is playing an increasingly important role in supporting enterprising individuals who are setting up their own business, as it provides them with the reassurance of a proven model.

The UK franchise market continues to display strong growth, despite the current economic conditions. With over 900 franchised brands operating in the UK there are many investment options available.

Well established franchises should be high on your shopping list. A franchise business should already have been tried and tested and when you add in initial training and ongoing support from the franchisor it is easy to understand why so many view franchising as an attractive alternative to setting up their own independent business.

TRACK RECORD Belonging to a network of businesses has many benefits for franchisees, including brand recognition, greater buying power and proven marketing strategies. The opportunity to share best practice and to talk through your problems with other franchisees is a valuable resource

which should not be overlooked. Independent business owners often find it a lonely existence with no-one to turn to when they need help. If you are thinking of investing in a franchise there are some key considerations that you need to make and pitfalls to avoid.

First decide whether franchising suits you.

If you have a strong entrepreneurial spirit and want to re-invent the wheel, then you may not be suited to franchising which involves following a proven model.

Next, eliminate opportunities that are outside of your price range or those that will not offer you the financial return you need, then scrutinize a range of franchises

to see which one is most suitable for you.

It is sensible to begin your research with the British Franchise Association (bfa) member franchise brands as they have passed a rigorous accreditation process and adhere to the standards laid down by the bfa. Whilst bfa membership is no guarantee of success, it is a good starting point.

Brands that have a successful track record over several years and that have prospered through the ups and downs of the economic environment are well placed to offer you the opportunity to build a successful business of your own. A knowledgeable and experienced franchisor can share ideas and guide you through your business lifecycle.

The logical extension of that is to investigate the availability of buying an existing franchised business rather than setting up a new one – a franchise re-sale. More and more people are opting to do this. E

Richard Holden, head of franchising, Lloyds Banking Group

SEIZING OPPORTUNITIES AND AVOIDING THE PITFALLS OF FRANCHISING

Franchising

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

The UK franchise market continues to display strong growth, despite the current economic conditions. With over 900 franchised brands operating in the UK there are many investment options available.

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

59

For more information please visit our website www.greensleeves-uk.com or contact us on: Freephone 0808 100 1413

FRANCHISING A re-sale business has a trading history.

There is a track record of how the business has developed since it started. There are accounts to show the costs involved and how much profit has been made. The franchisor can also demonstrate how you, as a new owner, would be able to grow the business further.

Because there is a trading business it means there will be an existing cashflow and so it is most likely that personal income can be able to be taken early in your new ownership which may not be possible in a new start up. The business will also be known within the local market and will have existing customers in place. This means there is a clear advantage in not having to start from scratch and launch a new venture into an uncertain market.

Re-sale opportunities are however not for everyone. Many people would rather not take on a “second hand” business but would prefer to put their own stamp on their business from day one. That’s fine, but for others who would rather have the comfort and security of starting a business knowing how it has performed in the past and what the potential of it might be in the future I suggest the franchise re-sale opportunities from well established and proven brands may well be an option worthy of some consideration.

It is important to consider what you are good at and what you enjoy doing. Your existing skills and experience are an asset that should be taken into account. Your family life and personal circumstances are another important consideration.

Ensure your loved ones are involved in the selection process from the outset.

Use the internet to fully research each individual business, the market it operates in and the history and track record of the chosen franchise brand. Speak to trade associations for their expert view of the type of business you are interested in. Remember it is a two way process - the franchisor will also be assessing you to decide whether you match what they are looking for.

SPEAK TO PEOPLE Speak to as many existing franchisees as you can by asking the franchisor for a contact list of the entire network. Don’t let the franchisor cherry pick who you speak to. Carefully chosen questions will give you a good understanding of the business potential and whether it is the right franchise opportunity for you. Look for franchisees with a similar background to yours and speak to those at differing stages of development to give you a broad view of the business you are looking to enter into.

Before signing on the dotted line, ensure that there is a clear vision for developing the franchise and you are happy with the direction it is heading. Get the franchise legal agreement checked and explained to you by an experienced franchise solicitor before you make the commitment to invest.

It is essential that you receive the right professional guidance and support. One of

Franchising

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Speak to as many existing franchisees as you can by asking the franchisor for a contact list of the entire network. Don’t let the franchisor cherry pick who you speak to.

Carefully chosen questions will give you a good understanding of the business potential the cornerstones of launching a franchise business is ensuring you have access to the necessary funding, which is where a strong relationship with your bank can be vital.

And beyond funding, banks with specialist franchise departments will be able to give guidance to support your franchising research.

Before approaching a bank, you need to prepare a business plan. The importance of a good business plan cannot be overstated.

People who have a strong plan and sound capital base are well placed to take advantage of available finance. The franchisor may provide some assistance with the plan and most banks can provide a template to guide you.

The initial objective of the document is to help you raise finance, but it will also help you understand what you wish to achieve from the business and to review the performance against your projections, alerting you to anything that is not going according to plan as well as identifying opportunities within the business.

The presentation of the plan is also important to create maximum positive impact. You should practice delivery of your plan before speaking to a bank manager so that you can communicate your passion in a professional manner.

It is worth remembering that well established franchises generally have much higher success rates than stand alone start-ups, therefore some banks may be willing to consider lending a higher proportion of the total set up costs. Typically franchise specialist banks will consider financing up to 70 per cent of the total investment for people investing in a fully tried and tested franchise brand.

People who have a sound capital base and strong business plan are well placed to take advantage of the available finance. We continue to approve 80 per cent of customers’ requests for loans and overdrafts. Lloyds TSB Commercial has made clear commitments not only to lend, but to encourage enterprise.

SECURITY Bank finance will be subject to status and a review of your business plan. The lender may require security to cover the finance which is usually a legal charge over a residential property with sufficient equity. The Government backed Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme maybe available if you do not have adequate security to offer so it would be worthwhile speaking to the bank’s franchise department to get their view on the financial

support that maybe made available to you.

It’s worth remembering that no franchise can offer you a guarantee of success.

Some franchises provide better investment opportunities than others. Choosing a well established franchise model will give you a head start. Self-employment can be a daunting prospect however hard work, determination and a large amount of common sense will take you along way towards achieving your business goals. L

About the author Richard Holden heads up the Lloyds Banking Group Franchise Unit and is an expert speaker at exhibitions and seminars. He also regularly contributes in the national and trade press. The Lloyds Banking Group has trained franchise managers based throughout the UK to offer support to prospective franchisees.

Lloyds TSB have 50 trained franchise managers located throughout the UK, ensuring a true ‘on the ground’ presence.

Wherever you are in the country, there will be a franchise manager available to guide you. If you are attending The Franchise Show at Earls Court, London on the 7th and 8th September, you can speak to our franchise managers at the bank’s stand. For more information on how Lloyds TSB Commercial can help your franchise plans, please call us on 0800 681 6078 or visit www.lloydstsb.com/franchising Lloyds TSB also sponsors a series of free evening educational seminars about the benefits and pitfalls of franchising, which are must attend events for people starting on their franchising journey. For further details and booking information, visit www. franchiseseminars.biz

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

61

Who’s up for a business with real opportunity for growth?

We’re here for the long term – we could grow together!

Think about it. All your neighbours love printing – and you’ll love providing all the products they need.

Our proven business model and ongoing support have already helped many Cartridge World franchises in the UK to become successful businesses (not to mention over 1,600 worldwide!).

Find out how you can be part of our team.

Franchise opportunities that are right up your street

Simply call Amy on

0800 21 55 990

or email: franchise@cartridgeworld.co.uk

www.cartridgeworld.co.uk/franchise

FRANCHISING NEWS Richmond House,

Finalists revealed for bfa HSBC Franchisee of the Year Awards 2012 5-8 Richmond Terrace, Otley Road, Guiseley, Leeds LS20 8BP. Tel 01943 484848 Fax 01943 484888

The bfa has announced the finalists in the 2012 bfa HSBC Franchisee of the Year Awards.

15 finalists from five regions have been chosen.The national awards highlight excellence within the sector and the ongoing commitment of those franchisees who set the 223934in the industry.

No.practice standard forJob best The finalistsClient will attend an interview with Cartridge World the judging panel before the winners are CW Franchise Adverts announced at aJob prestigious black-tie dinner being held Element at the NECAdverts in Birmingham, on Thursday 4th October 2012.

Creation date Created by GR INSPIRATIONAL Cathryn Hayes,date head 06/09/12 of franchising, HSBC, Amended said:“The 2012 bfa HSBC Franchisee Award EWinspirational, with bytruly entries Amended have been individuals showing passion, innovation Artwork size (wxh) 210 x 297mm and business flair. Working with some Scale 100% of the UK’s best franchisors every day at 210these x 297mm (+3mm bleed) Size HSBC, itFinished is great to see successful individuals rewarded for their determination Safe type area and dedication to their profession. It is a pleasure to see entries brought life during CYAN MAGENTAto YELLOW BLACK the judging process and 2012 has been no exception with fresh business thinking at the forefront of each franchisee story.”

Brian Smart, director general of the British Franchising Association (bfa), which formed in 1977 to represent the interests of the

franchise industry, added: “Each year the sheer number of high calibre entrants from the UK never ceases to amaze me. With a multitude of sectors being represented, from global restaurant chains to local toddler football groups, the finalists have all shown a high level of integrity, entrepreneurialism and community commitment - making the next phase of judging very difficult.”

Seán Hammond, head of franchising, Express Newspapers, said: “These awards provide us with a fantastic opportunity to see the best examples of successful franchising in the UK. At Express Newspapers, we are in the business of educating our readers on the benefits of investing with a franchise network so it is very exciting to hear so many stories of success from individuals who have taken this bold step in their lives.”

In addition to the winners across the five regions, this year’s awards will include an overall winner – the Gold Winner of the awards – who will be named bfa HSBC Franchisee of the Year and will receive £5000 from HSBC. The Silver and Bronze Winners will receive £3000 and £2000 respectively. The five regional winners will each receive £500.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.thebfa.org

Franchising

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Franchisee finalists LONDON/SOUTH EAST n Liz Dillon, Antal International (Essex) n Carl Belle, Belvoir Lettings (Essex) n Gurpreet Bains, Driver Hire (London) n Daniel Bowyer, Dyno-Rod (Norwich) SOUTH WEST/SOUTH WALES n Robert Schuler, Barking Mad (Somerset) n Ron Mounsey, McDonald’s (Stonehouse) n Sedge Gooding, Rosemary Conley Diet and Fitness Clubs (Reading) MIDLANDS/NORTH WALES n Steven Prime, Esquires Coffee Houses (Coventry) n Barbara and Ian Roberts, Merry Maids (Stafford) NORTH n Luke Norbury, Home Instead Senior Care (York) n Eve Kay, Jo Jingles (Cheshire) n Malcolm Lant, Signs Express (Gateshead)

SCOTLAND/NORTHERN IRELAND n Keith Ellwood, Autosmart (Edinburgh) n Gabriel McGeown, Card Connection (County Antrim) n Andrew Gibson, McDonald’s (Glasgow)

APPROVAL

BE YOUR OWN BOSS Creative

WITH THE UK’S NO.1 FRANCHISE Artwork

Account ManagerRob Whitby has been an Autosmart franchisee

for 7 years and has never looked back!

“The area was almost completely untapped when I started so there was a lot of work to do.

But I was prepared for that and with Autosmart’s support I have built a profitable and successful business, that now gives me an excellent income. My sales grew by over 15% last year, despite the recession, and I’m still growing.”

• • • • • • •

Established resale business Average earnings £60K Trade’s favourite products Award winning support Huge potential customer base Investment required No experience necessary

EXCELLENT TERRITORIES AVAILABLE IN & AROUND GREATER LONDON & THROUGHOUT THE UK.

t: 01543 482926 www.startautosmart.co.uk Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

63

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Public Sector Design and Print Specialist Services we provide: Branding Print and print finishing Transactional data print Graphic Design for all media We have a great working relationship with all our Public Sector clients including other LA’s, NHS, Housing Associations, Fire Service, Police and Schools.

Contact us for all your

design and print requirements Tel: 01922 653223 Email: PrintandDesignEnquiries@walsall.gov.uk Web: www.printanddesignwalsall.co.uk info@pingpongmanagingprint.com www.pingpongmanagingprint.com

64

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 19.5

PINGPONG AD.indd 1

06/09/2012 12:12

GREEN PRINTING

The print and media industry is now the UKs fourth largest industrial sector. The UK print sector alone has over ten thousand companies and employs in excess of 140 thousand people.

Despite the rise of other media including the internet the industry is still responsible for multi billion annual sales and an import export surplus of close to a billion pounds.

Recent independent surveys continue to demonstrate print media as an effective medium for ensuring messaging is clearly communicated and most marketing and communication managers still see print as a core element in their campaigns. Due to the success of cross European campaigns many of the myths associated with the unfavourable environmental comparison between print and digital media have been dispelled.

RESPONSIBLE USE OF PRINT “Two Sides” as an organisation was created in 2008 with members from the Graphic Communications Supply Chain including forestry, pulp, paper, ink, chemicals, pre-press, press, finishing publishing and printing with a common goal to promote the responsible production and use of print and paper and to

Written by Kathy Woodward, ceo, The British Printing Industries Federation

STEPS TOWARDS A A LEANER, GREENER PRINTING INDUSTRY

The British Printing Industries Federation explains how the UK’s fourth largest industrial sector is managing to keep things as green as possible by environmental reporting and by promoting the responsible production and use of print and paper

Printing & Publishing

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

dispel common environmental misconceptions by providing users with reliable information on why print and paper is an attractive practical and sustainable communication medium.

Its website www.twosides.info provides a wealth of information supporting its mission and its “Myths and Facts” section provides the data to combat so called “green wash”.

Print and paper manufacture through continual investment in changing technologies and processes has significantly reduced its environmental impact and each member within the supply chain has an excellent story to tell in terms of both material usage, and process improvements. Whilst some of these initiatives have been driven by legislation most have resulted from the industries drive towards Corporate Social Responsibility.

Wood and recovered paper are the base raw materials that provide fibre for paper making. Sustainable forestry and paper recovery systems are at the heart of paper production. Most virgin paper used in the UK is sourced from sustainable forests and the industry has an outstanding record for recycling. The life cycle of wood fibres is extended by using recovered paper in the E

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

65

Printing & Publishing

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

GREEN PRINTING E production of new paper. In Europe collection rates have now reached 70 per cent.

The industry has worked hard with collection agencies to reinforce the need for appropriate segregation to ensure maximum use is made of this important recycling material.

The EU has stipulated that by 2020 twenty percent of all energy will be from renewable sources such as wind, solar energy and bio energy. The last category is likely to include the incineration of wood and recovered paper.

The industry is canvassing to encourage a hierarchy of use to combat the diversion of wood pulp to fuel prior to printing.

Whilst the print and paper industry is an intensive user of water it is not a large consumer. The investment in modern water treatment plants by many producers means that over 90 per cent of water used is returned to the water system from where it was extracted in many cases in better condition than its original content.

Paper making is an energy intensive activity but significant progress has been made in reducing the impacts through the use of bio energy the installation of CHP plants and production efficiencies across the full production cycle.

UNDERSTANDING SUSTAINABLE PAPER Understanding sustainable paper procurement including Forest certificates can seem daunting. The two most established endorsements are The FSC and PEFC certifications.

The Forest Stewardship Council which provides global standards for forest management encompasses a balance of environmental social and economic aspects.

The well being of forest communities and ecosystems is as important as replacing trees in ensuring the future of the world’s forests. The FSC system also provides a way of tracking forest products through independently verified Chain of Custody Certification.

This has to cover every stage in processing, conversion, distribution, and printing before the final product can carry the FSC label.

FOREST CERTIFICATE SCHEMES The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certificate Schemes is an independent non profit; non governmental organisation founded in 1999 which promotes sustainably managed forests through independent third party certifications. The PEFC provides an assurance mechanism to purchasers of wood and paper products that they are promoting the sustainable management of forests.

The newly introduced EU Timber Regulations places a set of requirements on those using imported timber based products taking away some of the voluntarism of the above schemes.

Carbon measurement has over the last decade played an increasingly important role in the reporting of environmental impacts. In 2007 the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

66

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 19.5

Most companies within the industry are now looking to a more integrated approach to managing their environmental impacts and efficiencies and are adopting a range of environmental standards including EMAS highlighted their global impacts. They identified the primary cause of climate change as being Greenhouse Gasses.

These are produced in nearly all human activities including agriculture, transport, sewage treatment, and energy generation.

(There is a direct correlation between CO2 carbon fossil emissions and energy consumption.)The Kyoto treaty set targets for the reduction of greenhouse gasses.

Whilst improved energy efficiency is the fastest and cheapest way to reduce CO2, most companies within the industry are now looking to a more integrated approach to managing their environmental impacts and efficiencies and are adopting a range of environmental standards including EMAS (Eco Management and Audit scheme). This is a voluntary initiative designed to improve companies’ environmental performance. Its aim is to recognise those organisations that go beyond minimum legal compliance and continuously improve their environmental performance.

In addition it is a requirement of the scheme that participating organisations regularly produce a statement that reports on their environmental performance. It is this voluntary publication of environmental informationwhose accuracy has been independently checked by an environmental verifier that gives EMAS and those organisations that participate, approximately 110 in Europe so far, enhanced credibility and recognition.

ISO 14001 standard represents the core set of standards used by organisations for designing and implementing an effective environmental standard whilst the BPIF Environmental Health Check questionnaire has fifteen sections and one hundred and ten elements to direct an organisations evaluation of their environmental performance.

FIVE STEPS IN WASTE MINIMISATION Each of the above approaches identify with the five steps in the successful minimisation of waste: gather available information, identify opportunities and prioritise, make initial savings, measure savings, review to identify the next focus areas.

And underpinning the steps are the principals of the Four Rs: systematically conserve resources through redesign, reduce waste, re-use materials where practical and recycle through the effective collection and separation of materials.

An integrated approach to the total supply chain of waste undoubtedly delivers improved business efficiency. Printing

companies recognise these as: Cost savings from waste reduction reuse and recycling and lower disposal costs; Reduced purchasing costs from using less ink, paper, solvent, water and energy; Reduced Volatile Organic Compound emissions; Improved product quality and process control; Providing a basis to comply with regulations; Reduced insurance premiums; Improved brand image and differentiation to customers financial and investment institutions, neighbours and regulators.

DEFINING A CARBON FOOTPRINT There is a plethora of other terminology that has emerged as climate change and other environmental drivers have gained visibility across the globe. Carbon footprint is a frequently used term that has no precise scientific definition for fossil CO2 emissions.

A commonly accepted description is “The carbon footprint is a measure of the exclusive total amount of carbon dioxide emissions that is directly and indirectly caused by an activity or is accumulated over the life stages of a product (ISA Research report 2007).

There are currently a number of models and philosophies for calculating a carbon footprint and the BPIF is currently working with a number of companies and suppliers to define a definition and process to suit the needs of the printing industry.

Often associated with carbon footprint is the term ‘Carbon Neutral’ - this is defined as no net carbon emissions across a producer’s entire life cycle either for a total process or a total product. The term carbon neutral allows a company to negate the creation of its carbon by avoiding the release of or removing from the atmosphere the same amount of carbon somewhere else. The Kyoto treaty mandates that this must be “real, verifiable and additional to what otherwise would have occurred” Each of these initiatives plays an important role in developing strategies that not only address the role of products in effectively taking messages to the aimed recipients but also do so in a ‘Corporately Socially Responsible’ way.

The European Printing and Paper Industry have an excellent track record.

Visit the Two Sides website for more details with a whole range of data to substantiate the value of the industry. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.britishprint.com

OFFICE PRINTING

A CONTROLLED APPROACH TO PRINTING

Office Printing

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

In recent years, many local authorities have faced an increasing number of departmental spending cuts. Yet despite this, it is estimated that only around 2.3 per cent of spending cuts have been completed so far, against a target of 19 per cent by April 2015.

Given this news, it is vital that departments are working efficiently. Already many local authorities have taken action to manage and minimise outgoings such as phone and electricity bills. However, there is still one cost that often goes unchecked – printing.

In-fact, most departments do not have a clear view of print spend or how to streamline the process to make it more cost effective.

Working with a global business-to-business brand such as OKI, which is dedicated to creating cost effective, professional inhouse printing solutions, a range of print strategies and products can be implemented to meet each specific department’s needs.

However, before any services can be deployed, local authorities need to assess their current print environment so that the right solution and strategy can be chosen.

MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICES To make sure that the right print strategy and solutions are implemented, local authorities need to first gain a transparent view of their current printing processes. In light of this, OKI’s comprehensive managed print services (MPS) programme starts with a print assessment that uses advanced techniques to provide a comprehensive analysis of the print environment. Following this assessment, an audit of existing output volumes, types of printing and paper sizes takes places.

The results are then used by OKI to select

the right printers for the job and create a tailored implementation plan to meet the specific needs of each department.

The whole analysis processes is designed to enhance printer usage and create a more efficient managed print strategy. By using high-quality in-house solutions, public sector organisations will see an immediate impact both on the overall cost of their printing and their levels of wastage. Simply by bringing more print jobs in-house, they can eliminate overruns and by raising the level of ‘right first time’ printouts, reduce the need to repeat work.

ADDITIONAL BENEFITS One of the additional benefits of conducting an audit with an experienced print provider is that the vendor can also point out the unseen overheads. For example, it is important to consider the need for storage space and the cost of man-hours spent supporting disparate systems.

MPS also offers local authorities a means of purchasing printers, supplies, maintenance and support in one all-inclusive contract.

Working in this way can reduce both capital investment and on-going printing costs. And, if a department is struggling to use one of its printers, the technical support needed to maintain the device is quickly delivered by the print vendor. This ensures that staff can continue to work as efficiently as possible, rather than wasting time trying to fix in-house faulty printers.

The results of an MPS assessment also makes it easier to asses where further cost savings and efficiencies can be made. In fact, it when it comes to in-house printing, often being more efficient is as much about the right choice of printer as it is about adopting smarter printing practices.

Written by Rob Brown, OKI Systems UK

Rob Brown, managed print services manager, OKI Systems UK discusses how local government can keep a lid on printing costs by deploying managed print services

For example, the simple task of ensuring that printers are set up and used correctly, can further reduce costs. In fact, many departments don’t realise how much money they waste powering printing equipment when it is not in use; a problem which OKI has addressed.

DEEP SLEEP Two years ago OKI implemented ‘Deep Sleep’ mode – a setting that reduces power consumption to the barest minimum (often less than 1 watt) yet the machine is still able to ‘wake up’ quickly when a new job is needed – and today this is standard on all new ranges such as the compact B401 mono laser through to the A3 C800 series colour device.

Today, OKI has added ‘Auto-Power Off’ technology to its latest products, saving hundreds of watts of power. The setting automatically turns off the printer after extended periods of non-usage and as a result, this can create big savings in power usage over the product’s life. OKI print devices also enable departments to set up their printers to print double-sided or mono, as a default option. As a result, this further saves costs as less paper and colour ink is used.

TIME TO TAKE CONTROL Faced with an increasing number of spending cuts, it is vital local authorities gain control of printing costs. And, the benefits of MPS should not be overlooked as it can help local governments to monitor, regulate and cut printing costs, whilst driving business efficiencies. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.oki.co.uk

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

67

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

ALL RISKS, ALL HAZARDS

Braemar Howells has provided safe and efficient responses to Hazardous Incidents and situations for over 60 years.

The company and its highly trained oil, Hazmats and CBRN Responders have assisted in the recovery phase of numerous high profile UK and Worldwide Incidents, ranging in diversity from grounded container vessels through to wide scale flood relief. Braemar Howells personnel have experience of working in numerous industrial sectors and transportation infrastruture sectors.

Braemar Howells Ltd The MPSC, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire SA73 3AQ Email: info@braemarhowells.com

Emergency Contact Number

The UK’s leading solutions provider for homeland security and related markets

Bespoke Industry Solutions * Emergency Resilience

* Rapid Deploy Shelter Solutions * Specialists in Mobile Decontamination * Solutions for Casualty Clearing Visit Electrosonic & NEC at the Emergency Services Show 21-22 November Stoneleigh Park • Coventry • Stand 226 GET YOUR FREE PASS HERE: www.emergencyuk.com/ele

* Service and Maintenance

Emergency Services Show 2012 Come and Visit Us: Stand OS16 0845 121 3780 @NBCnewsupdates www.nbcgroupinternational.com

68

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 19.5

EMERGENCY SERVICES SHOW 2012

THE EMERGENCY SECTOR CHALLENGE

Emergency planners, business continuity and resilience professionals will explore new ideas at this year’s Emergency Services Show on 21-22 November at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry 2012 has been a year to remember for national and international events as the UK and the rest of the world celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The most recent success for the UK’s emergency services and associated departments was the London 2012 Olympics; one of the biggest security challenges the UK has faced for a number of years. With security levels at their highest, pressure was on the emergency and resilience industry to guarantee that correct plans and procedures were in place to ensure that the various events being held across the country ran as smoothly as possible. The Olympic Torch Relay and the Games themselves saw thousands of people flocking to London and their local towns and cities and with no serious incidents, proved to be outstanding examples of blue light collaboration and efficient emergency planning.

WORKING TOGETHER Strong relationships between the various emergency services, emergency planning officers and business continuity and resilience professionals are key to the success of events such as these and ensuring that public safety

are able to deliver in their local communities, without direction or influence from Whitehall.

Networking and collaboration with suppliers, colleagues and partner agencies is and will continue to be an essential part of ensuring an emergency is dealt with as efficiently and effectively as possible.

The Emergency Services Show 2012 – taking place on 21-22 November at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry – is the ideal place for emergency planners, business continuity and resilience professionals to explore new ideas and initiatives in delivering efficient and effective emergency planning, as well as networking with like-minded professionals to discuss collaboration, ideas and initiatives focused on improving public safety.

EXHIBITORS There will be a range of suppliers exhibiting at the show including CFOA National Resilience Limited, Government Decontamination Service, Emergency Planning College, Babcock, Fire Service College, Emergency Planning Society, Civil Contingencies Secretariat and British Red Cross, that will be on hand to demonstrate their latest innovations and developments and to talk about cost saving

With security levels at their highest, pressure was on the emergency and resilience industry to guarantee that correct plans and procedures were in place to ensure that the various events being held across the country ran smoothly is maintained for the future. This includes a shared understanding of respective roles and responsibilities, operational procedures, guidance and terminology. Pooling and reconfiguration of resources between the different services will also help strengthen partnerships as the budget cuts influence procurement procedures and available resources. Changes to the allocation of budgets and roles and responsibilities within the different departments are taking accountability away from central government and placing it in the hands of the local communities. These changes in accountability will provide emergency professionals with much more flexibility in the services that they

initiatives. New exhibitors for 2012 include Falck Emergency Services UK, Arco, Training 4 Resilience and Explosive Learning Solutions.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE ZONE The Emergency Response Zone features exhibitors from fire and rescue, police, ambulance, government and voluntary organisations from around the UK, demonstrating the capabilities of partnering agencies and the voluntary sector – an ideal opportunity to discuss interoperability.

As well as the exhibition, there are also a number of educational opportunities available to visitors including the National Interoperability Summit and the CBRN

Decontamination Workshop run by the Emergency Planning Society (EPS) and the Government Decontamination Service.

The CFOA National Resilience team will also be on hand discuss their role in the latest flooding, that in some areas of the UK devastated whole communities.

Emergency Services Show

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

NATIONAL INTEROPERABILITY SUMMIT The National Interoperability Summit will be supported by the Home Office, Cabinet Office, Department of Communities and Local Government and the Department of Health. Debates will cover an overview of the Joint Emergency Services Interoperability Programme (JESIP), an Olympics de-brief, perspectives from ACPO, CFOA and AACE, the Government’s aims and priorities and external challenges from the worlds of law, academia and the military.

CBRN DECONTAMINATION WORKSHOP The EPS CBRN Professional Working Group, in association with the Government Decontamination Service, will be holding a CBRN Decontamination Workshop at The Emergency Services Show 2012. The workshop has been developed following concerns amongst local authority staff about the challenges posed by decontamination after a CBRN incident and uncertainty in how to deal with such events. The workshop aims to educate local authority staff, in particular, in the issues around CBRN decontamination and to improve their ability to manage decontamination incidents. The workshop, sponsored by Scott Safety and the Health Protection Agency, will include speakers from the Cabinet Office, Home Office and Government Decontamination Service. The cost of attending this one day workshop is £35 for the public sector and EPS members and £45 for others.

RHA Recovery will be laying on a recovery demonstration which intends to involve all the emergency services to highlight each service’s role in a road traffic collision. The demo will showcase each of the service’s particular skills and specialties but it will also show how they all work together to rescue any individuals who are unfortunate enough to have been involved. L FOR MORE INFORMATION The Emergency Services Show will be hosting a number of discussions on LinkedIn running up to and during the event. To join in with relevant industry news discussions involving emergency planning, response or recovery, please join The Emergency Services Show LinkedIn Group. Register for the event at www.emergencyuk.com

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

69

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

The UK’S LEADING INDEPENDENT PROVIDER OF FIRE FIGHTING FOAM SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT Focussing on the Oil, Gas, Chemical and Power Generation sectors has allowed Firemain to specialise and develop foam based solutions. We offer them to a market sector that relies on system and equipment integrity to provide protection to high value assets. On-going support is essential and we back up our installations with foam testing and system/ equipment maintenance.

Firemain understand the huge cost of fire to the high risk industries – cost effective loss control is our mission.

Tel: 01744 850063 Fax: 01744 812014 info@firemain.com www.firemain.com

Specialist Prescription Safety Eyewear Solutions for Specialist Requirements Focux RX is the new brand name for Ophthalmic Technologies Ltd (OTL).

Renowned for its high quality and attention to detail throughout the industry, the Focus RX brand features a range of stylish eyewear with a choice of safety and every-day prescription eyewear.

Frames are available to view at the show or online at www.focus-rx.com.

Our clients benefit from: 3 Manufacturing to British and European Standards ISO EN9001-2008 and BS EN 166 3 In-house glazing laboratory for all prescription ranges, including outside +/- 6 dioptres 3 Everything from the simplest single vision through to the most complex vari focal lenses manufactured in-house 3 Swift delivery times 3 Guaranteed quality 3 Choice of lens material, coatings, tints and the latest Transition ® photosensitive lens 3 and most of all, a company that knows its business JOIN US ON STAND 462

70

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 19.5

...the serious solution

Call us now on 01463 236539

www.pionerboats.co.uk info@pionerboats.co.uk Caley Marina, Canal Road, Inverness. IV3 8NF

Fischer Panda bring a world of difference to generator design and manufacture.

Engineered Electrical Solutions for: n Incident Command Vehicles n Mobile training classrooms n CCTV Vehicles n Welfare Cabins n Patrol Craft n Remote monitoring stations With more than 25 years of expertise, we know you need reliable diesel generator power that is clean and quiet - yet as small and lightweight as possible.

These design principles hold across the range with outputs from 4-130kW in pure sine AC or DC voltages and with a choice of conventional fixed speed models or the iSeries variable speed where the engine rpm changes to suit demand - saving around 25% on fuel.

The iSeries are especially noted for even lower weight and size, releasing valuable payload back to the operator.

Fischer Panda offer the most technologically advanced power systems to a global market with back-up to match. Reliabilty, low operating noise, compact size and weight are all factors built-in to bring you the power you need, wherever you are.

Call us now on 01202 820840 or visit www.fischerpanda.co.uk

Cosalt range displayed at Emergency Services show Visitors to Cosalt’s stand (57) at this year’s Emergency Services Show at Stoneleigh Park will be able to see a number of exciting new products, including the new Wildland coverall and the winning structural fire-kit ensembles being supplied to the South East and Eastern Region fire consortium and the North West fire consortium.

Also on show will be Cosalt’s two-piece Public Order coverall which is fully compliant with HOSDB standards.

Cosalt has delivered protective clothing for more than twenty years as well as a comprehensive range of industrial workwear, corporate garments, high visibility and waterproof/foul weather garments. The company is a

trusted supplier of specialist protective clothing to the emergency services and armed forces and is the main supplier of high visibility and waterproof protective clothing to the rail industry, including Network Rail.

Cosalt has provided personal protective equipment to a number of police authorities over the past few years including the West Midlands Police consortium, Greater Manchester and the Police Service for Northern Ireland. In addition, we also supply firefighting and waterproof clothing to the Ministry of Defence and UK Fire and Rescue Services.

Tried and trusted pre-hospital burn-care products from Water-Jel For more than 25 years, market leader Water-Jel has been offering its tried and trusted pre-hospital burn care products for the pre-hospital treatment of burn injury victims.

Front line EMS, burn care professionals and burn victims alike have long benefited from this experience in every area of application for burn injuries.

Water-Jel has become a firm friend of the emergency medical services, fire services, sea air rescue, all areas of the military armed forces, industry, catering, Formula One, and motor racing world wide, for the management

of burn injury victims.

The product range covers front line emergencies and first aid as well as end user sales in drug stores or pharmacies. Brands like Water-Jel burn dressings, Burn Jel EU, Sun Burn Jel or Muscle Jel are well known to satisfied end users.

New to the market is WaterJel’s radio oncology treatment system, R1R2, which is its answer to the problem of treating the side effects, which can occur on the skin during and after radiation treatment.

Emergency Services Show

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

FOR MORE INFORMATION www.waterjel.net

FOR MORE INFORMATION www.cosalt.com

on et re el.n mo erj ad at Re w.w ww

See us at the Emergency Services Show 2012 on stand 57

Professional burn care are – around the world

Cosalt Protection Cosalt has been supplying the emergency services with complex PPE and safety equipment for many years.

From structural fire fighting to USAR, Technical Rescue, Wildland, HVP and Line Rescue situations for the fire service, to hi vis uniforms, public order coveralls, firearm clothing and POLSA kit to police forces, firefighters and police officers put their trust in Cosalt every day.

To see a full range of our products and services please visit www.cosalt.com/workwear or alternatively call 0844 493 2804 or email our team at workwear@cosalt.com

Confidence in a hostile environment Cosalt, Union House, Hempshaw Lane, Stockport, Cheshire SK1 4LG

www.cosalt.com

t: 0844 493 2804 f: 0844 493 2801 e: workwear@cosalt.com

w w w . w a t e r j e l . n e t

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

71

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

THE UK’S PREMIER PLASTIC VEHICLE BODY FABRICATOR

- IMPACT RESISTANT - LIGHTWEIGHT - LOW MAINTENANCE - EASY TO REPAIR - CHEMICAL RESISTANT - 100% RECYCLABLE Tel: +44 (0)1827 302490

Fax: +44 (0)1827 54999

Email: info@strongs.co.uk

Web: www.strongs.co.uk

You Could Try Crossing Your Fingers...

Or you could try a training course from the Emergency Planning College - the UK’s specialists in emergency and crisis management, business continuity, crowd safety and risk management training, exercising and consultancy. We are also an approved provider of Business Continuity Institute (BCI) approved and accredited courses and qualifications. We can review your plans, deliver training from our site or yours and offer courses and qualifications across a wide range of topics.

www.epcollege.com

(01347) 821406 Govt Business Advert Sept 2012.indd 1

72

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 19.5

07/09/2012 17:10

Fire fighting foam and equipment from Firemain Fire protection professionals know that fire suppression is all about choosing the right option – the type of hazard dictates the fire fighting medium.

When it comes to fighting fires in large inventories of flammable liquid, there is usually only one choice – foam.

Since 1990, Firemain have offered design, supply, commissioning and maintenance.

The company supports numerous Loss Prevention Council (LPC) accredited contractors in their professional approach to the UK fire market. Alternatively, projects are often driven by NFPA and military standards, and Firemain has an extensive portfolio of completed projects to all internationally recognised standards. Its export business is also thriving through links with a number of UK contractors working overseas.

Firemain is pleased to be associated with arguably the worlds’ best known foam and foam equipment brands,

Ansul, Williams Fire & Hazard Control, MSR and Total Walther - as their UK distributor.

Quality products to deal with all flammable liquid fire scenarios are avialable. MSR of Germany offers the FireDos foam proportioning system which is gaining many loyal followers, particularly in the petro-chemical field. Focusing on the oil, gas, chemical and power generation sectors has allowed Firemain to specialise and develop foam based solutions. Firemain understands the huge cost of fire to the high risk industries – cost effective loss control is its mission.

FOR MORE INFORMATION www.firemain.com

Electrosonic partners with NEC at Emergency Show

Electrosonic’s Control Rooms team has partnered with NEC Display Solutions at this year’s Emergency Services Show in Coventry and will be demonstrating a range of audio-visual control room solutions to help manage each and every emergency.

The Electrosonic team understands the critical nature of control rooms and the challenges the emergency services face keeping them running 365 days of the year.

Both Electrosonic and NEC specialise in offering a complete and cost effective service to the blue light industry. NEC supplies products which use the latest display technologies including

video walls, desktop displays, projectors and the software to manage the video wall.

Electrosonic offers a complete turn-key service from design consultancy, systems integration, 24/7 technical support to a simple lamp replacement program.

Visit Electrosonic and NEC on Stand 226. To obtain your free pass to the Emergency Services Show visit www.emergencyuk. com/ele or call the Control Rooms team on 01322 282313.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01322 282313 www.nec-displays.co.uk www.electrosonic.com www.nec-displays.co.uk

Polyethylene workboats with exceptional durability and longevity Built for the tough environment of the work/rescue sector, the five metre Pioner Multi is the choice of professional organisations. Approved by Det Norske Veritas and available to MCA Code, these inexpensive polyethylene workboats offer exceptional durability & longevity.

Similar in style to a catamaran, the twin hull configuration of the Pioner Multi offers tremendous stability, a huge uncluttered self-draining working deck, and a payload capacity of 1100kg. It also has a unique drop-down bow door which not only makes loading heavy items easy, it greatly assists in recovery of able bodied persons and those who are wheelchair bound, and makes the difficult task of recovering casualties from the water so much simpler and safer for all concerned.

The polyethylene construction of the hull not only provides exceptional impact resistance and longevity, it dramatically

Emergency Services Show

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

reduces the time and costs of ongoing maintenance. It is also not subject to the risk of puncture unlike an inflatable boat, so remains operational.

The company is in operation with the fire service, police, security firms, civil engineering companies, the Red Cross, Environment Agency, oil companies, airports, harbour authorities, and so on. The company is able to tailor each boat to the end users exact operational requirements.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01463 236539 info@pionerboats.co.uk www.pionerboats.co.uk

Fischer Panda - a world of difference to generator design and manufacture With more than 25 years of expertise, Fischer Panda knows customers need reliable generator power that is clean and quiet, yet as small and lightweight as possible. These design principles feature across the range with outputs from 4-130kW in pure sine AC or DC voltages and with a choice of conventional fixed speed models or the iSeries variable speed where the engine rpm changes to suit demand saving around 25 per cent on fuel. The iSeries are especially noted for even lower weight and size, releasing valuable payload back to the operator.

Fischer Panda offers the most technologically advanced power systems to a global market with backup to match. Reliabilty, low operating noise, compact size and weight are all factors built-in to bring you the power

you need, wherever you are.

System design integration of the on-board power is enhanced by the Fischer Panda accessories available, which include power electronics and its new C³-Cockpit Control, a centralised instrument, switching and status command hub, bringing all the various consumer items and power source control to one screen.

Fischer Panda’s technical team is available to discuss individual needs at the Emergency Services Show on stand 1-204.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01202 820840 www.fischerpanda.co.uk

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

73

Emergency Services Show

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Choose light towers from Will-Burt for increased visibility and safety The Will-Burt Company is the world’s leading manufacturer, sales and service provider of telescoping masts, light towers and speciality payload elevation applications for the fire and rescue industry, with a focus on quality, performance and ongoing product support.

The number one mast for the UK’s emergency services industry is the Nightscan roofmounted, fold-down light tower; Will-Burt has established a design and specification that suits all emergency vehicles. Extending up to 56 per cent higher than other light towers, Will-Burt delivers up to four times as much light coverage, providing increased visibility and safety.

The Nightscan is over 42 per cent lighter in weight than other light towers and is easy to install.

Will-Burt’s light fixtures illuminate as soon as light

tower elevates, even before full extension, allowing operators to illuminate an area in less than 15 seconds, with full rotation and tilting of the light – directing light where it’s needed the most.

30 years of manufacturing expertise are combined with latest designs, materials and technology to create the most successful telescoping masts in the industry.

FOR MORE INFORMATION T: +44 (O) 1793 441 475 www.willburt.com

Will-Burt delivers telescoping masts, light towers and integrated security cameras for target industries and specialty applications with focus on quality, per formance and ongoing product support.

The Will-Burt Company Ltd Windmill Hill Business Park Whitehill Way Swindon SN5 6QR T: +44 (O) 1793 441 475 www.willburt.com

74

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 19.5

Illumination tools for the emergency services Fenix flashlights, head torches and accessories are distributed in the UK by the Photon Shop, a Cardiff based company serving the emergency services and wholesale customers since 2007.

The company stocks the full range of Fenix products, which are backed by the manufacturer’s two year warranty.

Fenixlight is a leader in the LED flashlight industry, and since appearing on the market it has produced an outstanding product line.

With manufacturing quality of the highest order, and designed with durability and performance as the cornerstone of product development, Fenix products offer cutting edge, proven, highly durable and reliable illumination tools for police, tactical, tough

outdoor and industrial use.

Fenixlight is a leader in the LED flashlight industry, and since appearing on the market the company has produced an outstanding product line.

When you procure any Fenix Flashlight, incredible brightness, multiple lighting levels, efficient power regulation, long battery life, full two years’ warranty and waterproofing to 2m depth, come as standard, courtesy of the most up to date technology in the industry. With its worldwide reputation for extreme durability and reliability in the most extreme conditions, the Photon Shop is proud to supply Fenix Flashlights to its discerning customers.

FOR MORE INFORMATION www.myfenix.co.uk

Gear up your protective equipment with APS

Páramo’s quality workwear range is best in class

Ansell Protective Solutions (formerly Trelleborg Protective Products) is one of the world’s leading producers of protective clothing and related products. Through world renowned brand names like Trellchem® and Viking, APS develops and manufactures chemical protective suits and dry diving suits, along with inflatable shelters, dock seals and a range of custom-made products for various industries.

Ansell’s protection concept is fundamental in practically all these products. But how the concept is realised varies from business to business, from product to product and, most importantly, from customer to customer.

The Trellchem range of chemical protective suits include both gastight suits with uncompromising protection against hazardous materials as well as splash protective suits and hoods. Viking dry suits are

If your team needs exceptional performance and a strong corporate image from hardworking outdoor uniform, Páramo can help.

Páramo is an award-winning outdoor clothing manufacturer offering performance, environmental sustainability and ethical production. The company has built a pedigree in the UK’s harshest conditions – Mountain Rescue were some of the first adopters and remain loyal to Páramo. ‘Highly Commended’ in Best Innovation in 2012’s Professional Clothing Awards, Páramo have a very credible reputation in workwear – from British Antarctic Survey to Utilities – for delivering performance, comfort and outstanding value through longevity.

Páramo offers a genuine difference in protective clothing.

It offers unprecedented comfort and safety by removing moisture from the clothing system more effectively. All garments use UVstable, highly durable polyesters

developed, manufactured and adapted to fulfill the needs and requirements stated among divers from the harshest commercial sector, the area of fire and rescue and public safety, from military divers and law enforcement agencies as well as sport and technical divers. Ansell’s ability to adapt to user requirements is vital to its customers. And through the years and from daily work with protective rubber products, it could indeed be said that the company knows how to protect its customers.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: +46 410 510 00 orderprotective@eu.ansell.com protective.ansell.com

Emergency Services Show

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

which are easily repairable and designed for hard work. All waterproofs are manufactured ethically via Colombian charity the Miquelina Foundation, and the waterproofing is easily renewable, ensuring ongoing performance and smart corporate image. Páramo was the only outdoor clothing company awarded a ‘Best buy’ in Ethical Consumer.

Equipped with Páramo, outdoor workers will consistently be drier, more comfortable, able to work longer and more safely in all conditions.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01892 786446 contract.sales@paramo.co.uk

Meet the industry experts Specialist prescription safety eyewear for in emergency planning As industry experts, NBC specialist requirements Group is attending the Emergency Services Show, Stoneleigh Park, Coventry (21-22 November 2012) and invites you to come along and join them.

NBC Group is the UK’s leading solutions provider to homeland security and related markets, as well as being a significant international exporter.

Established in 2004, NBC Group specialises in providing bespoke solutions to government agencies, emergency services and critical infrastructures, (such as chemical, nuclear, telecoms and utility industries).

The core product range provides bespoke solutions for emergency planning and resilience, specialising in both static and mobile decontamination, as well as personal decontamination.

Working closely with its customers, NBC Group offers the latest in technologies and products for emergency resilience.

Both ISO 9001 and 14001 accredited, they also hold the

national framework agreement for the UK Ambulance Service.

During the Emergency Services Show, NBC Group will display a wide range of services, solutions and products including mobile decontamination shelters, inflatables and instant shelters.

As official sponsors of the EPS CBRN Decontamination Workshop – Emergency Services Show, resilience specialists will be on hand to discuss any solution that you may be interested in.

Alternatively, see the solutions in action and visit stand OS16.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0845 121 3780 Twitter: @NBCnewsupdates info@nbcgroup international.com www.nbcgroupinternational.com

With a pedigree of more than twenty years, there are few surprises in store for specialist prescription safety eyewear manufacturer, Focus RX. But the company might just be able to surprise customers needing prescription safety with an excellent quality product and swift delivery.

In-house optical manufacturing to British and European Standards ISO EN 9001-2008 and BS EN 166 is undertaken by an experienced specialist optical team. This means the company is not bound by restrictions often experienced by those using external glazing laboratories where a prescription outside (+/-) six dioptres can lead to unacceptable delays.

Often Focus RX is able to carry out a final quality check and despatch orders within 48 hours of receipt.

In addition, the company enjoys working with clients

to find a solution to specific environment or industry sector problems encountered. One such example is the optical adaptor which has been developed to fit inside a full-face visor.

The optical adapter works particularly well for the fire service. This, together with their newly branded Focux rx range of prescription safety and fashion eyewear can be viewed at the Emergency Services show.

Visit Focus RX, the new brand name for OTL, on Stand 462 FOR MORE INFORMATION www.focus-rx.com enquiries@focus-rx.com Tel: 01903 212316

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

75

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

15 venues 1000 theatre style 500 reception 2000+ bedrooms 400 flats 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.

76

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 19.5

Contact our team on

+44 (0)131 651 2189 edinburghfirst.co.uk

ACADEMIC VENUES

THE DREAM LOCATION FOR EDUCATIONAL EVENTS As well as providing the best-kept secret for event organisers during the summer, the majority of universities now offer a range of dedicated meeting and events space all year round. And those universities with year round meetings facilities but limited overnight accommodation out of student vacations develop strong relationships with adjacent hotels to offer a complete residential conference package all year round. As well as benefitting the university, by enabling any profits to be reinvested directly into the facilities, there is also a significant economic impact on the local economy.

Based throughout all regions of the UK, universities provide a varied, accessible and stimulating learning environment. Ranging from those traditional universities steeped in history, featuring impressive architectural surroundings to a new raft of universities with modern state of the art facilities, they offer not just something for the student population, but are also a credible venue choice for the meetings, conferences and events market.

The two ‘customers’ for the universities generally complement each other. Those universities with purpose-built, all year round facilities often employ specific teams dedicated to the needs of the event organiser. For those with limited availability, students clearly take priority during term time but when they leave for vacation, they also leave often in excess of 1000 bedrooms which the conference teams actively sell to larger organisations. The more traditional association, sports and not-forprofit sectors often require a large number of bedrooms to be reserved which hotels are not always willing to do a long way in advance.

LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS For not-for-profit and large association clients, academic venues can often be a popular choice, having been built specifically to create the best possible learning environments.

However, they are also well-liked by youth/ sports groups, with many having the benefit of a wide range of impressive sports facilities.

Team-building activities, carried out in some of the extensive outdoor spaces and large scale gala events and award dinners, utilising some of the larger indoor areas are also popular choices. Good news then for academic venues, often able to offer a variety of options for an event organiser, without compromising

Written by Kirstie Danzey, De Vere Venues East Midlands

During the summer months, universities transform themselves into dream locations for conferences and events, with an abundance of the highest quality facilities. With students dispatched home, these stimulating environments provide inspiring locations for event organisers with high class audio visual support and first rate accommodation options.

Event Destinations

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

East Midlands Conference Centre Atrium

on the overall quality of the event.

For event organisers looking to attract speakers who are experts in a specific academic field, universities often offer a wealth of relevant resources. And with ongoing research being carried out, they offer a unique resource for a conference.

Experts in their own field are also often keen to showcase the university where they are based and conference teams based at universities can help organisers to find a relevant speaker from sources on campus.

Award-winning chefs are now commonplace in academic venues, allowing a range of high quality menu choices to suit a variety of different events. Often, universities have robust buying systems in place and make use of locally-produced seasonal produce to meet clients specific needs for refreshments.

Profits generated from conferences held at academic venues are reinvested into the university. As well as providing a source of income for keeping these meetings facilities up to date, revenue can also be invested back into other learning facilities. At a time when the funding of higher education is being reviewed universities are recognising

the importance of the revenue streams that hosting conferences and events can generate.

RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES Continued investment in facilities in the current economic climate has enabled universities to keep up with the requirements of both students and conference organisers.

Many of the larger universities now offer conference facilities with residential accommodation all year round. State-of-theart audio visual equipment in brand-new lecture theatres, coupled with modern en-suite accommodation can often be found. And in some cases these facilities are sited within beautifully-landscaped parkland surroundings, the perfect place to rewind and relax at the end of a busy day. Investment in purposebuilt dedicated facilities for conference guests can also be found, an indication of the dedication and focus some universities have to providing the best facilities and service for conference guests, and the focus on conferencing as a key income stream.

The conference facilities at the University of Nottingham are about to receive a significant boost with the imminent launch of the E

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

77

www.coachhireconnections.com

0845 257 9942

We required specialist help in organising coach transfers for 1000s of people attending festivals from across the country. Connections not only sourced vehicles competitively but helped to manage the onsite requirements as well.

Mark Kristensen-Bagguley Logistics See Tickets

I just wanted to say a huge thanks for all your help over the last couple of weeks! The coach service couldn’t have gone any smoother and it was a great help to have you on-site.

You did a fantastic job and no doubt I’ll be in touch with the next one soon Nikki Rees Events Manager

From

AWARD WINNING CORPORATE & BUSINESS COACH HIRE Coach Hire Connections has responded to the direct needs of our existing corporate coach hire clients, offering organisations a coach travel management solution that offers compliance to duty of care and delivery of corporate and social responsibility targets as standard.

A choice of 1000s of vehicles from mini coaches to double deckers Supplier payment and complaint resolution Carbon neutral ground transport

Whether you are looking to hire a coach to transport your clients or colleagues to a day at the races, an office party or another corporate event, simply contact Connections and we will manage the whole process for you. In addition, our coach hire and coach travel management solutions offer business clients the following benefits: a single approved coach hire supplier offering:

Bespoke management information (MI) reporting A modular solution from dedicated account management to self booking tools best available market pricing for corporate coach hire

Part of

0845 257 9942 www.coachhireconnections.com sales@coachhireconnections.com

ACADEMIC VENUES E brand new 202-bed Orchard Hotel. This £20 million investment, making the most of the latest technology to reduce carbon emissions is ideally sited adjacent to the East Midlands Conference Centre on the university’s main campus, and has been built as part of the university’s strategy to become an even more environmentally-friendly institution.

Providing year-round accommodation for conference delegates using the EMCC, the hotel will also be open to visitors to the university and the general public. Opening on 6th November 2012, architects and interior designers have developed the eco-friendly building featuring accessible rooftop terraces and the maximum use of natural daylight.

Open spaces will provide superb views of the The University of Nottingham’s extensivelylandscaped campus, spanning 330 acres.

The project’s commitment to the surrounding environment is further reflected in its high level of sustainability. Aiming for a BREEAM rating of Excellent, with sustainable features including a green roof system, photovoltaic panels, smart building management systems and energy efficient lighting, glazing and ventilation systems.

The new Orchard Hotel further compliments the entire range of conference facilities provided by the University of Nottingham.

As well as the East Midlands Conference Centre, accommodating between 10 and 850 delegates, a wide range of facilities are also

Universty Park Artists Impression

available at University Park, Jubilee Campus and Sutton Bonington. University Park offers over 3000 bedrooms in 12 halls of residence, and over 150 meeting spaces, in 330 acres of beautifully-landscaped parkland. Jubilee Campus can accommodate 600 guests in en-suite accommodation, with over 20 meeting spaces available for up to 488. Sutton Bonington offers modern accommodation for up to 94 and meeting facilities for up to 400.

All facilities for conferences, meetings and events at The University of Nottingham benefit from being centrally located,

Event Destinations

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

close to Nottingham and with excellent transport links by road, rail and air.

Day to day management of the East Midlands Conference Centre and Orchard Hotel will be provided by De Vere Venues.

Working in partnership with the University of Nottingham, De Vere Venues will also promote the conference facilities based at University Park, Jubilee Campus and Sutton Bonington on a preferred partner basis. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.deverevenues.co.uk

New Institute for Advanced Manufacturing research centre unveiled at University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham have opened the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing.

Airbus, Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems are among the major global stakeholders in the Institute, which has received £2m from the University’s Capital Investment Fund.

The facility will centralise activity, encompassing an international team of academics from the UK and the University’s campuses in Malaysia and China. £550,000 has been provided by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for the Institute to invest in specialist equipment.

A further £979,000 of ERDF money will support business engagement and knowledge transfer activities with local SMEs. The Institute has excellent links with industry and has partners in such diverse sectors as aerospace, automotive, medical, instrumentation, defence, power engineering, sustainable energy, textiles and clothing, recycling and consumer products.

It will have strategic and operational links to the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry. Its manufacturing expertise focuses on next generation knowledgedriven manufacturing methods, technologies, systems and services, where Nottningham University has supported over 200 regional

companies across the supply chain.

Nottingham is one of the founding partners of the MTC and the High Value Manufacturing Technology Innovation Centre (HVM TIC).

These centres provide new opportunities for manufacturing knowledge and technology transfer, allowing accelerated testing, demonstration and industrialisation of manufacturing concepts, technologies and processes developed at Nottingham.

At the opening, Professor Svetan Ratchev, director of the Institute, said: “We are looking forward to working with our industrial partners to establish a real centre of excellence for advanced manufacturing here in Nottingham. The Institute for Advanced Manufacturing will drive the development of cutting-edge technologies in one of the University’s key research areas, with the aim of radically improving all aspects of advanced manufacturing.”

The University was one of the founding partners in the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, which subsequently formed part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult. Professor David Greenaway, vicechancellor of The University of Nottingham, said: “We are lucky to have such reserves

of expertise in the area of manufacturing research here at the University. The Institute for Advanced Manufacturing will enable us to further build our capacity in this area, benefitting manufacturing businesses based locally, nationally and internationally.

“The Institute for Advanced Manufacturing is focusing on next generation knowledge driven manufacturing methods, technologies, systems and services and will support numerous regional companies of all sizes.

I would encourage any manufacturing businesses that feel they could benefit from the Institute to get in contact with us.”

Professor David Delpy, chief executive of the EPSRC, which has provided funding for the Institute, added: “The new Institute for Advanced Manufacturing will build on our earlier investments in The University of Nottingham, which includes £16 million support for the Nottingham Innovative Manufacturing Centre. It will also be one of our strategic training centres for the next generation of engineers through the EPSRC funded manufacturing EngD programme.”

FURTHER INFORMATION tinyurl.com/cnafesv

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

79

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL 178by125_090812.pdf 9/8/12 16:09:52 GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Destination Nottingham

Paris 322 miles

London

With a choice of four stunning locations at the University of Nottingham, featuring landscaped parkland, award-winning architecture and with excellent transport links and plenty of parking, we have just the venue you’re looking for.

109 miles

And in November 2012 a new boutique hotel, incorporating 202 contemporary bedrooms, an executive lounge, 160-cover restaurant and bar will open. Sited adjacent to the EMCC, it will feature floor-to-ceiling windows, bespoke furniture and unique décor throughout.

133 miles

Edinburgh 221 miles

Cardiff Manchester 57 miles

Liverpool 80 miles

To be kept up to date with progress of the hotel, visit

Bristol

www.nottinghamconferences/hotel

119 miles

To discover more, visit nottinghamconferences.co.uk or call us now on

0115 846 8000 quoting GB0812

Four venues, one solution: • A dedicated conference centre, offering a flexible range of meeting spaces • State-of-the-art meeting spaces & modern en-suite accommodation in award-winning surroundings

East Midlands Conference Centre

80

Jubilee Campus

University Park

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 19.5

Sutton Bonington

• Traditional meeting space and accommodation set in 330 acres of beautifully landscaped parkland

• An inspirational rural escape, yet only minutes away from the M1 and East Midlands Airport

BUSINESS EVENT DESTINATIONS

YORK BOOSTS ITS BUSINESS TOURISM CREDENTIALS

Event Destinations

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

As well as announcing finance from the Regional Growth Fund, Visit York has launched Visit York 4 Meetings - a new business tourism brand that hopes to demonstrate the versatility of the range of venues in York to increase its appeal as a conference and event destination

York has always been a popular leisure destination crammed with museums and attractions to occupy even the most demanding visitor, but the history and culture associated with the area is also a big attraction to conference and event organisers, particularly in the public sector. It’s one of the many reasons that York is ranked seventh in the top ten cities to do business, with business tourism responsible for £203 million.

But Visit York, the city’s official tourism agency, doesn’t intend to rest on its laurels when it comes to business tourism. Instead, they have developed Visit York 4 Meetings, the new business tourism brand for the city, which will create an even stronger and more coherent marketing campaign to enhance conference and event bookings to the area.

Laura Freer, business tourism manager at Visit York 4 Meetings, said: “The re-brand is part of our dedicated strategy to boost

business tourism in the city, providing greater profile for our fantastic venues which range from the striking Chapter House of York Minster and 5 star Cedar Court Grand Hotel & Spa to smaller venues like the Hospitium or Bar Convent Conference Centre.

“The Visit York 4 Meetings team have an unrivalled knowledge of York and the surrounding area and, as well as being able to provide a complimentary venue finding service, deliver accommodation bookings and produce bid-documents, we have a passion for ensuring conference organisers find the right venue to suit every event and budget.”

REBRAND The re-brand will also see the first ever ‘Visit York in London’ meet the buyer event in March 2013, aimed at attracting conference buyers from London and the South, as well as a number of international business tourism

marketing opportunities in partnership with Visit England. Other projects the Visit York 4 Meetings team are working on include the Conference Ambassador Programme with 30 Ambassadors on board, a dedicated sales day working with York venue sales staff to drive business conference bookings to the city and a programme of exhibitions and workshops promoting York’s conference venues.

By hosting a conference or event in York, delegates get the added bonus of experiencing an award winning leisure destination, winning the title of ‘Britain’s Most Beautiful City’ and ‘Best Gastro Destination in Britain’.

In the coming months York will welcome a number of high profile events ranging from the Rotary 1210 conference, the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center conference, a gala dinner for MENSA and the Institute of Agricultural Secretaries Conference. E

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

81

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

www.priorystreetcentre.org.uk

01904 622113

n Opened as a purpose-built conference centre in support of our

academic vocation, Robinson College Cambridge has been excelling as a conference venue for over 30 years by exceeding expectations. n Your event objectives and delivering on those are of utmost importance to us n Service + portfolio offering an extensive choice of event support services and delegate management tools n “Early Bird” and “Try Before You Buy” offers always available n Year-round residential conference facilities and central location with easy access and parking n Reputation for outstanding imaginative food and great service n Experienced Event Managers, IT & AV support on site n Complimentary fast wireless broadband connection and social media options

priory street centre

Call the Conference Office on 01223 332859 or email conference@robinson.cam.ac.uk to find out more or arrange a site visit

accessible and affordable conference facilities in the heart of York

Robinson College Grange Road Cambridge CB3 9AN Telephone 01223 332859 Fax 01223 315094 conference@robinson.cam.ac.uk www.robinson.cam.ac.uk/conferences

A breath of fresh air for conferences and training In the heart of the Hampshire countryside - yet just ten minutes from Winchester - lies The Wessex Conference Centre. A stunning suite of venues and facilities for conferences, meetings, training and team building events.

Regent’s College Conference Centre • Central London event facilities for 2-370 delegates • Light & spacious rooms ideal for meetings seminars & workshops.

• All-inclusive day delegate rates available.

• Award winning catering.

Inner Circle Regent’s Park London NW1 4NS T +44 (0)20 7487 7540 conferences @regents.ac.uk www.regentsconferences.co.uk

82

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 19.5

Located on the campus of the renowned Sparsholt College Hampshire, The Wessex Conference Centre offers exceptional value and a variety of flexible spaces, all surrounded by glorious scenery. If you are looking for the perfect conference venue, you can look forward to: • • • • •

Boardrooms, venues and conference centre for up to 250 people Free use of all presentation and audio-visual equipment Plenty of free parking Accommodation: 25 comfortably appointed en-suite bedrooms On-site catering, training and hospitality teams

Or perhaps you are considering a motivational team building day? Take advantage of the College’s 400 acres for events such as a low ropes course, perhaps clay pigeon shooting or even horse-whispering!

Speak to our team for inspiration.

The Wessex Conference Centre Sparsholt College Hampshire, Winchester, SO21 2NF info@thewessexcentre.co.uk | 01962 797259 | www.thewessexcentre.co.uk

BUSINESS EVENT DESTINATIONS E REGIONAL GROWTH FUND Visit York, has announced it will receive £666,666 from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund as part of a new three year partnership project coordinated by the national tourist board, VisitEngland.

The investment project called ‘Growing Tourism Locally’, will deliver a series of local destination marketing and thematic campaigns across the country. Boosted by additional private sector support, including investment by East Coast Rail and ongoing support from the City of York Council, this means that York will benefit from a new £1million pound campaign over three years.

The project will generate £365million in additional tourism spend for the UK as a whole with a number of destinations benefiting from £19.8million from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF), with contributions from Visit England and the private sector.

ECONOMY BOOST Visit York’s campaign aims to boost the local economy by five per cent, an estimated £22 million over the three years, creating an estimated 391 new jobs. UK-wide, Visit England’s ‘Growing Tourism Locally’ campaign will grow jobs in the tourism sector by 9,100.

Visit York will receive £160,000 in the first year, which will fund a UK wide campaign targeting visitors from London, the South

In the coming months York will host a number of high profile events ranging from the Rotary 1210 conference, the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Center conference, and the Institute of Agricultural Secretaries Conference.

East, Midlands and Scotland. The first wave of activity will persuade visitors to choose York for a winter break between November and March, so boosting revenue to the city in the off peak season. Details of the new campaign will be released shortly but will include online marketing, outdoor advertising and dedicated public relations.

Gillian Cruddas MBE, chief executive of Visit York, commented: ‘As a tourism agency, we have worked for over 25 years to promote our great city to the rest of the UK and we are now recognised globally as a world class destination. The RGF funding is a major coup for York and will enable us to take this awareness to the next level and inspire UK holidaymakers to choose York.’

James Berresford, VisitEngland’s chief executive said: “The RGF money is a huge boost for tourism in England. This project enables our public and private sector partners to work together to stimulate tourism and

Unique Place Special Space Our beautiful parkland campus is just minutes from the vibrant city of Brighton n Year round conference delegate packages n Imaginative food served in stylish restaurants n Well appointed summer accommodation n Extensive variety of meeting and exhibition space n Tiered lecture theatres seating up to 500 people

E conferences@sussex.ac.uk T +44 (0) 1273 678678

Quote “Unique Place Special Space” to claim one free delegate per 20 paying for all new events in our Conference Centre when booked by 31st October 2012.

Event Destinations

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

ultimately grow jobs throughout the country with particular emphasis on some local areas.

This is a great time to launch and we hope that by riding on the crest of a wave of a successful London 2012 Olympic Games we will harness the swell of national pride and inspire Brits to take the home advantage and holiday at home this year and beyond.”

Across the country, destination campaigns will start to roll out over the next six months whilst themed campaigns will begin running in early 2013 to stimulate Easter and summer holiday bookings for next year. Themes will focus on what England is most loved for including: Heritage, Coastal, Countryside, and Culture including Sport and Literature. L FURTHER INFORMATION Visit York www.visityork.org Visit York 4 Meetings Tel: 01904 554453 www.visityork4meetings.com

Conferences Receptions Weddings Seminars

Exhibitions Meetings Functions Holiday Accommodation

Terms and conditions apply

www.sussex.ac.uk/conferences

For more information on our extensive range of venues, including availability, please contact:

Conference Office

The Hawthorns, Woodland Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1UQ Telephone 0117 954 5501 Fax 0117 331 0625 Email conference-office@bris.ac.uk www.bris.ac.uk/conferences-hospitality

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

83

Great just got greater.

Greater heights. Greater lengths. Greater workout.

The new Adaptive Motion Trainer速 (AMT速) with Open Stride offers unparalleled freedom of motion. The breakthrough Open Stride technology lets users adjust stride height at will. Combined with the ability to dynamically adapt stride length, the AMT offers a low-impact workout experience with unrivalled personalisation and limitless engagement.

See Open Stride in action at:

amtfitness.com

LIW 2012

POST OLYMPIC FOCUS ON PLAY AND FITNESS AT LIW

Fitness & Leisure

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Taking place at the NEC, Leisure Industry Week 2012 provided a host of informative and thought provoking seminars for the fitness and leisure industry, plus plenty of new equipment, and live demonstrations from some of the UK’s top industry experts.

Leisure Industry Week returned to Birmingham NEC this September, and showcased a diverse variety of industry leading exhibitors and hours of free educational sessions to visitors from across the leisure sector.

LIW is the only UK trade show to cover the entire out of home leisure industry sectors.

These combine to offer leisure professionals, from health club operators and public sector managers to facilities specifiers and catering specialists, innovative business solutions.

With both local and national cuts still affecting leisure services, it is essential that operators ensure maximum efficiency throughout the procurement process.

The broad educational content at LIW provided a comprehensive mix of keynote presentations, seminars and workshops.

This year saw the introduction of the new Association Lounge, where visitors could seek advice from some of the leading associations including the Play Providers Association (PPA) and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. The PPA, Association of Play Industries and the Register of Play Inspectors International, which together form the Indoor Play alliance “PAR”, ran a programme of New Start Up seminars aiming to provide independent indoor play market information to potential new start ups. This joined up approach to providing advice and expertise led by the leading operators, manufacturers and inspectors is designed to help in driving the industry forward in the coming years. Content included include business planning, legal requirements, financing, location and other key considerations when starting a play centre.

REPS CONVENTION The Register of Exercise Professionals (REPS) ran its national convention over the three days of the event, which featured a keynote session from weight loss specialist Pete Cohen entitled Obesity - an untapped fitness market. Cohen discussed the importance of understanding human behaviour in order to help people become fitter, slimmer and healthier, with

© Twitter

practical applications that fitness professionals can apply to help clients break unwanted habits and develop confidence and self belief.

Tim Fearon from The Extraordinary Coaching Company presented ‘Welcome to the age of different’. Bob Laventure of Later Life Training’s session was titled: ‘Can you really teach an old dog new tricks?’

RoSPA’s approach to leisure and play, is ‘as safe as necessary, not as safe as possible’. In the REPs theatre, David Walker and Nathan Davies explored how to strike a balance, with often competing demands through a number of cases studies including children’s play, swimming and water safety.

SWIMMING The Swimming Teachers’ Association (STA) presented a case study as part of the Education Village outlining their work with Shropshire Council to draw up a unique joint venture project: the Shropshire Swim Academy, the first of its kind in the country. This project saw STA and Shropshire Council work together as partners to deliver this innovative academy programme, which was rolled out across all six of the local authority-run leisure centres in the county in January 2011.

Roger Millward, STA chief executive said: “Shropshire Council has been pro-active and innovative in their approach to how they manage the county’s swimming lessons programmes. The Shropshire Swim Academy model, the first of its kind in the country, means STA is now delivering a cost-effective,

top level service consisting of a programme of high quality teaching for all ages.”

Millward also announced the formattion of RAPs - The Register of Aquatic Professionals, which aims to create a common licensing platform for all aquatic professionals, and discussed what this will mean for the leisure industry. Making an appearance at LIW was the up-and-coming US dance and group exercise phenomenon ‘Bokwa’, which focuses on cardio respiratory endurance, muscular strength, and flexibility. Bokwa uses universal sign language so that instructors and participants can signal the next move to each other, making the workout a fun group experience allowing children, adults and senior citizens to engage and become healthier, more energetic and lose weight while burning up to 1200 calories per workout.

Live demonstrations took place throughout the show., with former heavyweight world champion Frank Bruno making an appearance at the show’s LIW Live stage.

LIW commissioned customer insight and business intelligence provider Leisure-net Solutions to produce a market intelligence report into the rapidly expanding and increasingly popular outdoor fitness sector.

The report was outlined as part of the Education Village programme at LIW 2012 and will be made available for download to visitors. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.liw.co.uk

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

85

Come and see us at the itSMF UK Annual Conference; 5-6 November 2012; Stand F03-F04

business

If only all Service Management decisions were this easy to make

Cherwell makes it easy.

Empower your users and customers.

Streamline and automate common service requests. Cherwell’s newest offering is a selfservice portal as you’ve never seen before!

Flexibility and agility. Things change – often. Thanks to Cherwell, there’s no need for consultants or developers to make changes. You can do it – it’s easy!

High ROI with lower TCO. Reduce management overheads, increase productivity, better use of resources, focus on what matters, streamline efficiencies, enhance your business value.

Portability and choice. Deploy on premises or as a fully hosted solution. It’s your choice at any time.

Anytime, anywhere access. Out in-the-field or away from your desk? Use the iCherwell app to keep track of calls and add notes to activities. Love the GUI! Social IT. Be where your customers are.

Use social media tools to prevent an influx of calls to the service desk. Then, you can focus on getting the job done.

Cherwell offers a fully integrated ITSM solution for internal IT and external customer support. 11 ITIL v3 PinkVERIFY accredited processes right out-of-the-box in one integrated platform. Choose as many, or as few, processes as you like without incurring additional license fees.

Find out why Cherwell says ‘yes’ to better business. Contact us on

+44 (0)1793 858181 www.cherwell.com

PROCESS COMPLIANT BRONZE LEVEL

ITIL® is a registered trademark of the Cabinet Office. The Swirl logo™ is a trade mark of the Cabinet Office.

The Service Catalogue Management, Change Management and Request Fulfilment modules within the Cherwell Service Management™ solution enjoy endorsement from the Official ITIL Accreditor.

Innovative Technology Built Upon Yesterdays Values

BROADBAND ROLLOUT

NEWS IN BRIEF £114m investment in broadband as million not online says infrastructure regulations are relaxed Eight think tank report

The four UK capital cities along with Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds & Bradford, Newcastle and Manchester will share £114m of funding to transform into ‘super-connected cities’ The allocations to each city are: Belfast (£13.7m), Birmingham (£10m), Bristol (£11.3m) Cardiff (£11m), Edinburgh (£10.7m), Leeds & Bradford (joint bid £14.4m), London (£25m), Manchester (£12m) and Newcastle (£6m).

Meanwhile, regulations regarding broadband infrastructure are to be relaxed. Culture Secretary Maria Miller stated: “Superfast broadband is vital to secure our country’s future – to kick start economic growth and create jobs.

We are putting in the essential infrastructure that will make UK businesses competitive, and sweeping away the red tape that is a barrier to economic recovery.”

Under the new plans, street cabinets and other infrastructure can be installed without the need for prior approval from the local council (except in sites of special scientific interest), so broadband companies will face less cost and bureaucracy in laying cables in streets.

Responding to the Culture Secretary’s announcement, Cllr Mike Jones, chairman of the Local Government Association’s Environment and Housing Board, said: “You cannot take away the rights of people to have a say on six-foot high humming junction boxes outside their windows and gardens or poles and wires festooning their streets. Decisions on where to place broadband infrastructure must consider the impact on local environments rather than

simply suit the convenience of companies and their engineers. Rushed and unnecessary road works to lay cables also risk costing council tax payers a fortune in repairs and, even when done properly, shorten the life of the roads.

“The real barriers to broadband roll-out are Government failing to get EU clearance to spend the £530 million earmarked funding and providers trying to dictate the terms of infrastructure development without regard to local communities and conservation areas.

Government needs to encourage providers to work together to make better use of existing ducts and poles, rather than duplicating infrastructure.”

According to UK Broadband chief Nicholas James, a possible solution lies in the field of fixed wireless connections. “We’re trying to get everyone connected by 2015 – that’s not possible purely with pipes,” he stated at the ‘Broadband Britain’ Westminster eForum conference, which took place in September.

James said:“Over and above fibre to the home (FTTH) or fibre to the cabinet (FTTC), fixed wireless towers have a capacity for targeted, high-quality fast connections that may turn out both cheaper for a government with a mere £680m to spend on ultrafast broadband until 2015 and easier to physically implement in rural areas.” James remarked that fixed wireless solutions offer “a wider spectrum of deployment”, which could lead to faster speeds over respectable distances. tinyurl.com/ch88okc

OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

Open source systems ‘essential to business’ says former BCS president

GT News

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

According to a report by think tank Policy Exchange there are eight million people in the UK who are not online. Of those, nearly half are registered disabled, nearly half without home access are from the lowest socioeconomic group, and some 44 per cent have no formal qualification.

TO READ MORE PLEASE VISIT... tinyurl.com/cu46f2x

Sheffield Council data breach could prove costly Sheffield Council could be fined up to 500K for breach of the Data Protection Act after confidential paperwork about mental health patients was found ‘blowing around’ a city centre street. Shaffaq Mohammed, leader of Sheffield Council’s opposition Lib Dem group, said: “Clearly a full and thorough investigation is needed.”

Beta version of gov.uk goes online before Oct 17 launch From October 17 the new gov.uk website will replace Directgov and Businesslink as the best place to find government services and information, according to a sign on the Directgov homepage.

A link takes the user through to the current beta version, where the motto is ‘simpler, clearer, faster’ www.gov.uk/tour

Ofcom grants local TV licenses

Open source systems are ‘essential to business’, according to a report from policy advisor and former BCS president professor Jim Norton.

The report Open for Business calls for open systems in demanding real-time processing environments. It outlines how open systems have developed and why today they are not just fit for purpose but have the potential to deliver industry-wide benefits. Open source has been key to the growth of e-commerce over the last

10 years because it has enabled the industry to move quickly, said Norton.“Anyone trying to be innovative with mobile devices will have to go down the open source route” he said.

Norton said the total cost of IT ownership decreases by around 20 per cent when organisations move to open source.

DOWNLOAD OPEN FOR BUSINESS REPORT - tinyurl.com/bobgw8v

Ofcom has awarded the first licences to run local TV services on digital terrestrial TV (DTT).

The channels will broadcast on a specific ‘multiplex’, a discrete amount of spectrum reserved for local TV broadcasting on DTT. The first two are Brighton (Latest TV) and Grimsby (Lincolnshire Living).

TO READ MORE PLEASE VISIT... www.ofcom.org.uk

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

87

The Papyrus Communications and Process Platform Papyrus Adaptive Case Management for Government Business.

Papyrus is ideal for document-centric applications in the public sector, such as Immigration, Customs, Tax, Child Allowances, HR, Student Loans, Healthcare and Social Security, closing the loop between inbound and outbound communications to consolidate ECM,

BPM and CRM.

There is no process without content.

Once Papyrus captures and classifies an incoming document, e-mail or message (social networks), it will automatically trigger the process/case handling and goal assignments based on rules, pattern matching or participant selection to add the goals. Alternatively, management defines the goals and business actors define the tasks.

Powerful document design and formatting capabilities.

Enable the knowledge worker to create and manage content, templates and documents for batch and online document production, as well as for interactive, ad-hoc reporting, contracts and correspondence used by the business front office.

Key Platform Features Communication Hub Closed-loop Business Communication Adaptive BPM - real-time, event-based Collaborative Case Management Integrated Security / Auditing Adapters - loosely coupling data Portal, Desktop, Mobile

www.isis-papyrus.com

info@isis-papyrus.com

it! s s i ’t m n o D

Global Open House and User Conference | Vienna/Austria | May 6–8, 2012 UK Open House and User Conference | Kingsclere/UK | June 21, 2012

EFFICIENCY REFORM

Stephen Kelly appointed as chief operating officer to to replace Ian Watmore in cabinet office team Stephen Kelly has been appointed as chief operating officer for government as Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude completes the lineup of new appointees at the head of his department.

Kelly will replace Ian Watmore in leading the Cabinet Office’s efficiency and reform team. Watmore resigned in May 2012 as permanent secretary and head of the efficiency and reform group. Senior government lawyer Richard Heaton replaced Watmore in August as permanent secretary, in a part-time capacity, while Katherine Kerswell, former managing director of Kent County Council, is the new director general for civil service reform.

Kelly has been working for the government since July 2011, when he was appointed crown commercial representative, a role in which he was responsible for negotiating new contracts with IT suppliers such as SAP, Oracle and Microsoft. Kelly was also responsible for finding potential spinouts from government organisations, and led the successful spinout in April 2012 of MyCSP, which administers central government pensions.

Kelly is the former ceo of legacy modernisation firm MicroFocus. He resigned suddenly from the firm in 2009 after three years in the role, just months after the company had announced its Make Britain

Great Again Technology Manifesto, an ambitious plan to create 250,000 new technology jobs in the UK within the next 10 years. Minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, said: “I’ve always said government needs to function more like the best run businesses and this new appointment, which will strengthen the corporate centre at the heart of Whitehall, is another step towards meeting that goal.”

GT News

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

“Last year, the Efficiency and Reform Group helped departments save a staggering £5.5bn - or £500 for every working household in Britain. But we want to go much further in cutting waste, saving money and streamlining Whitehall. Stephen brings expertise and charisma to this crucial role and I look forward to working with him. Together, we will save taxpayers even more money and improve the way government is run.”

CYBER SECURITY Universal Credit Systems faces cyber threat says Lord Freud Cyberfraud and identity theft pose the most serious threat to the implementation of the government’s welfare reforms, according to Lord Freud, parliamentary under-secretary of state for welfare reform. He claimed that online security was a risk to the introduction of the universal credit. The department was focusing on identity and potential cyberfraud to make sure the system was “utterly robust”. Security systems developed by banks were being adopted, and the government was in talks with Amazon to learn from its online security measures, he said.

Lord Freud and Iain Duncan Smith faced questioning during a select committee hearing about potential hiccups in the development of universal credit, which will replace six benefits with one streamlined payment. During the session, the work and pensions select committee went through a list of concerns about the system, which will be piloted from next April and rolled out in October 2013.

MOBILE NETWORKS

CLOUD COMPUTING

EE gets headstart as 4G launches in the UK

Cloud Services showing huge growth, says Gartner

A new era for mobile device use began as UK’s largest network operator unveiled plans to launch the country’s first superfast 4G products and services in time for Christmas. Orange and T-Mobile owner Everything Everywhere, now renamed as EE, will make the state-of-the-art technology available to some 20 million people in 16 cities across the UK. Unveiled at the Science Museum in London, the 4G network, which offers speeds up to five times faster than 3G, will be available on Apple, HTC, Samsung, Nokia and Huawei devices. The 4G services will allow uninterrupted access to the web on the go, high definition movies to be downloaded in minutes and TV to be streamed without buffering.

Four cities (London, Bristol, Cardiff and Birmingham) are switched on already for the company’s engineers to begin live testing and systems

According to Gartner, sales of cloud services will exceed $100bn globally this year after a 19 per cent increase over the past 12 months. Sales of business processes as a service (BPaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS), which includes services such as email, account for 77 per cent of the market. These areas represent the fastest growing part of cloud services, with a 45 per cent increase in sales in 2012.

integration in readiness for the customer launch.

EE said 4G should be available to its customers by Christmas in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Derby, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Sheffield and Southampton. The group plans to roll out the service to further towns, cities and rural areas next year, with population coverage of 70 per cent and rising to 98 per cent in 2014.

Orange and T-Mobile customers will continue to use the 3G and 2G mobile networks and must upgrade to EE if they wish to access 4G services. Vodafone, 3 and O2, have threatened legal action over telecoms regulator Ofcom’s decision last month to allow EE to launch 4G on its existing network.

“The cloud services market is clearly a high-growth sector within the overall IT market,” said Ed Anderson, research director at Gartner. “The key to taking advantage of this growth will be understanding the nuances of the opportunity within service segments and geographic regions, and then prioritising investments in line with the opportunities.”. tinyurl.com/9ho7qb7

TO READ MORE VISIT... tinyurl.com/8sahx4m

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

89

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

A leading UK manufacturer of professional refrigeration supplying schools, prisons, police, laboratories, care homes, the British Army, hospitals and health centres with specialist medical and scientific refrigeration Vaccine & Pharmacy Fridges Sparkfree refrigerators & freezers Ultra low temperature freezers

www.labcold.com LabcoldHPGB.indd 1

02/08/2012 09:51

Delivering Professional Training to the Private and Public Sector Industries Pass Training Consultancy Ltd has a team of professionals with a combined experience in excess of 30 years. Our qualifications and training lifecycle knowledge is extensive, offering a wide range of developmental and people management skills. Demand for parking specific qualifications is growing as more come to us for a cost effective solution.

Current courses offered are: • Conflict Management • Welcome Host Training • Welcome All Disability Awareness • Customer Care Training • Notice Processing 1916-01 • Civil Enforcement Officers 1950-02 • Appraisal Training • Fire Safety Training • Manual Handling Training • Supervisory Training • Parking Shop Training • Car Park Officer Training • CCTV Enforcement Officers 1950-02 • Basic Deaf Awareness • Basic British Sign Language • First Aid at Work 3 Days (FAW) • 1 Day Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW)

90

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 19.5

Maintenance contracts

Pharmacy I Laboratory I Blood

Professional Medical and Scientific Refrigeration

• 1/2 Day AED Defribrillator & Emergency Oxygen • Care of Children First Aid • In Case of Emergency (‘ICES’) We can also develop your employees professional qualifications. In particular, there is currently a lot of interest in the 1916 Level 3 notice processing qualification, as well as 1950 for Civil Enforcement officers. Even with the current economic climate, the development of staff is crucial at all levels.

Using nationally accredited courses to up-skill your team is a fantastic way to increase their knowledge, productivity, morale and provide them with a lifetime qualification. Why not contact us for a cost effective, robust solution that meets your organizational needs?

CALL US NOW ON

0843 2895581 info@passtraining.co.uk

GRIDCOMMS

SMART GRID TECHNOLOGY COMES TO TOWN

Global utility and telecoms thought leaders will address new opportunities for collaboration in Smart Grid rollout at GridComms on October 22 at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel, London With governments and utilities accross the world reportedly investing more than $130 billion by 2013 to upgrade utility infrastructure, Smart Grid represents a crucial opportunity for the energy industry to move into a highly-efficient era. Relying on twoway communication between providers and customers, Smart Grid is set to pave the way for the future of utilities, as energy companies can now respond digitally to the ever-changing electrical demands. But Smart Grid is also driven by continuously hotbutton issues, such as energy efficiency, job creation and business process optimisation.

As the term “smart” implies, the development of both individual utility smart networks and the overall national and global initiatives to update and automate age-old transmission and distribution systems, relies heavily on infrastructure investment and transformation. Both telecommunication and utilities are concurrently undergoing a business, technology and infrastructure transformation, offering opportunities for synergy and sharing of best practices and lessons.

SMART GRID MANAGEMENT Taking pace October 22, 2012 at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in London, GridComms is the premier global Smart Grid event focused on Smart Grid communications infrastructure. From deploying and securing advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) to building smart cities, GridComms is aimed at bringing communications professionals together to discuss innovation, application and management of Smart Grid networks.

“Smart Grid is a widespread effort to automate, upgrade and secure the electric transmission and distribution system,” said Juliet Shavit, ceo of SmartMark Communications and founder of GridComms.

“It is the entire infrastructure upgrade and transformation of the utilities industry, thanks to two-way communications technology.”

SMART GRIDS, SMART CITIES From building and securing networks with the latest advancements in Smart Grid technologies, to managing the customer

experience and envisioning the future of smart cities, GridComms features the most comprehensive information from the world’s preeminent Smart Grid thought leaders.

A major component of GridComms – and Smart Grid as a whole – is customer education and engagement. “It’s extremely important to understand how utilities engage customers to adopt to new Smart Grid technologies. This is everything from

between the telecommunications and utilities industries. The goal is to build and secure Smart Grid networks. “At the heart of Smart Grid is the deployment of smart meters, electric meters that serve as two-way communications devices providing detailed energy information back and forth between the utility and the customer/commercial premises,” said Shavit.

Smart Grid Communications

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

TELECOMS AND UTILITIES GridComms will bring together global leaders from the telecom and utility industries to discuss the future of smarter energy distribution and communications networks and the importance of building and securing networks for the advancement of Smart Grid.

According to Shavit, “as the Smart Grid transformation continues to occur, we are excited to bring together the most influential individuals from utilities, telcos and government to discuss the unique opportunities for cross industry collaboration between service providers and the utility sector.”

“Telecommunications and utilities are two service industries who are simultaneously tackling customer experience and management issues. Two industries where technology

The development of both individual utility smart networks and the overall initiatives to update and automate age-old transmission and distribution systems, relies heavily on infrastructure investment. designing communications programs to helping utilities select the back office systems they need to execute these strategies,” said Shavit, who launched SmartEnergy IPTM, a research and consulting group wholly-dedicated to Smart Grid customer education and engagement strategies.

CHANGING ENVIRONMENT “Like telecom, utilities must also adapt to a changing environment where customers become increasingly important,” claimed Shavit. “AMI engineers are quickly realizing that they can have the most successful technology implementations of smart meter networks, but unless customers engage, long term investments become jeopardised.”

GridComms is presented by SmartEnergy IP, the industry leader in providing strategic communications, strategy and solutions for utilities across the world. From the development of specialised customer education programs to the implementation of those programs, SmartEnergy IP provides a wealth of knowledge and experience to improve the customer experience. This event will showcase technology innovation, network and data management, and customer engagement technologies, with a special focus on opportunities for collaboration and innovation

transformation is necessary to helping the large enterprise environments become agile, innovative and secure. Both industries share common business objectives and are both increasingly dependent on technologies to automate, streamline and optimise.

ADVANCED CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT “What is important to understand is that it is communications technology itself that is helping transform the energy industry,” continued Shavit. “There is simply no industry that knows how to better build and manage networks, offer complex billing solutions and advanced customer engagement tools than the communications industry.

Additionally, GridComms will host a wide variety of discussion topics covering the whole spectrum of Smart Grid, including building utility mesh networks, wireless networking options outside traditional mesh networks, managing data presentment, billing and CIS systems/ business intelligence and data analytics, home energy management and much more. L FURTHER INFORMATION To register for GridComms, or for more information about the conference, visit www.gridcomms.com

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

91

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

IGEL Thin Clients & Virtual Desktops Stay ahead with the IGEL Technology Thin Client Series

Visit us on Stand D64 at IP EXPO 2012!

HOSTING Secure hosting.

On average, IT downtime costs £3,000 every minute.

- Flexible access to all leading VDI-environments, Citrix, VMware, Microsoft, Quest, Red Hat - IGEL UDC software to turn old PCs into fast thin clients - The best management software in the industry - From 1080 Multimedia through to old Green Screen support

For your mission-critical data, why not trust our bomb-proof, disaster resilient systems instead?

Memset is an IaaS/Paas G-Cloud Foundation Delivery Partner and our Miniserver VM® is now IL-2 acreddited.

Order your free evaluation unit now!

www.memset.com

0800 634 9270

SCAN ME!

www.igel.com

Rechargeable Bee-Bot EL00363

Easi-Ears

92

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 19.5

EL00295

Bee-Bot App See website for details

Easi-Headphones

EL00356

CONTACT CENTRES

Listening to the voice of the customer can identify opportunities for major cost savings, customer experience improvements, and a wealth of unexpected and simultaneous benefits, writes Jo Daly We all know it. Times have changed and this is even more apparent when it comes to the relationships that customers have with their providers. The digital age is upon us where information moves and gets collected much faster, changing and shaping the way relationships are built. Blind spots are being created across organisations resulting in a sea of untapped opportunities that revolve around customer needs. Organisations need to embrace new technologies to deepen their understanding of the ‘new customer’ - who is technically savvy and is not afraid of voicing an opinion in ‘real time’, ‘all the time’ to the rest of the world – and innovate the way they serve customers.

ABOUT THE CCMA The Call Centre Management Association is the longest established association in the industry and is focused on supporting its members to raise the standards of call centre management across the UK. The CCMA believes that the most important ingredient of a call centre is having knowledgeable, helpful agents whose behaviour and actions reinforce the organisations brand and values. It also believes that in these days of increasingly demanding customer expectations, there is a necessity to invest in sophisticated technology, which makes life easier for customers. These technologies range from basic routing of

call to agents, tools to support resource planning, through to multiple self service capabilities. Many organisations are looking to how they can best use the technologies available to build better relationships with their customers whilst avoiding increased costs. Customer experience and digital will be the key differentiators going forward, both governed and influenced by social media, cloud, mobility, big data and gamification.

These new trends represent the biggest challenge and yet also present the greatest opportunities for organisations that are prepared to embrace them.

but doing so can identify opportunities for major cost savings, customer experience improvements, and a wealth of unexpected and simultaneous benefits. Using appropriate technologies, customer feedback data can be converted into valuable insights into the efficiency and effectiveness of an organisation’s end-to-end delivery chain, pinpointing specific areas for corrective action. Converting this insight into targeted improvements is the ‘Midas Touch’ that delivers benefits for the customer and the organisation, including impressive cost savings.

The importance of using the true ‘Voice of the Customer’ to drive an organisation’s success cannot be underestimated.

It delivers: the ability to match services to the needs of customers; improved operational efficiency through fewer unnecessary interactions; enhanced effectiveness of customer interactions; enhanced customer relationships by removing the causes of dissatisfaction, and; Improved end-to-end supply chain performance. Despite this, E

Written by Jo Daly, Insight Now

USING CALL CENTRES TO DELIVER IMPROVED CUSTOMER INSIGHT

Contact Centres

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Many tor sec public ions fail to g, sat organi on measurining focus ing and act r analys n what thei upo mers are custo g them tellin

TECHNOLOGY FOR ANSWERS With all these data sources it is easy to lose control of what is important and misinterpret what it all means for organisations.

Make sure you start with the questions you need to ask to inform your business decisions, and then look at technology for answers - not the other way around.

Public sector organisations are struggling to make ends meet and deliver services with ever-decreasing resources and budgets. In these circumstances, listening to the ‘voice of the customer’ may not seem a priority,

Voted UK’s Best Web Host by PCPro readers Memset is one of the UK’s cheapest and best hosting companies. Its Miniserver VM® virtual servers’ per-month pricing is lower than all other British providers – per-hour less than Amazon EC2 for RAM & CPU – and its cloud storage solution, Memstore™, is between Amazon S3’s standard and reduced redundancy tiers.

Furthermore, Memset has been voted UK’s Best Web Host six years running by PCPro magazine readers and has won the prestigious ISPA Best Managed Service 2011 award and the DCS Best Public Cloud Product 2012 .

Memset started offering virtual machines on short time scales in 2002. Since then the company has developed a comprehensive,

integrated suite of highly automated provisioning, asset management, billing and CRM systems built on open source software with its own enhancements (the company pays no license fees). Memset is also expert in delivering enterprise-class resilience using commodity hardware.

The company was Britain’s first Carbon Neutral ISP and the first hosting company to gain all three of ISO9001 quality, ISO14001 environmental and ISO27001 information security certified management systems.

Memset is also an IaaS/PaaS G-Cloud Foundation Delivery Supplier and our Miniserver VM® are IL-2 accredited.

Memset is highly profitable and growing at 35 per cent CAGR while accumulating cash.

The company has sold no equity and is debt-free.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0800 634 9270 www.memset.com

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

93

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

Barriers, Handrails, Balustrades, Bollards & Meshwork • • • •

Rigid and Soft Barrier Systems BS 6180 & BS 6399 Compliant Integrated Handrails and Anti-Climb Mesh Infill Corner & Column Protection

Mobile Scotland 2012 25th September, COSLA, Edinburgh Register at www.ctechs.co.uk /Mobile Scotland2012

Offering a comprehensive overview for Scottish Local Authorities seeking to learn more about Mobile Working. Experts speakers from: Aberdeen City Council, Highland Council, Fife Council, Motorola, Fujitsu & Vodafone.

Call Us 7am-5pm on 0121 520 9400 office@cenpart.co.uk www.cenpart.co.uk Cenpart Ltd, Dudley Road West, Tividale, Oldbury, West Midlands, B69 2PF Tel: 0121 520 9400 Fax: 0121 520 9211

TC-Voice Guardian

TC-Wireless headset

Please visit our stand at Call Centre Expo 2012 No: D68 for further information on how to limit noise exposure for your operators or contact us on the number below.

Clement Clarke Communications Ltd, Unit A, Cartel Business Estate, Edinburgh Way, Harlow, Essex. CM20 2TT T: 01279 456320 F: 01279 456339 E: info@c3headsets.com www.c3headsets.com

94

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 19.5

CONTACT CENTRES E many public sector organisations fail to focus on measuring, analysing and acting upon what their customers are telling them, with the result that they fail to capitalise on the wealth of strategic, tactical, financial and experience-related insights that their customers willingly provide.

THE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE We live in a multi-channel world and the customer service centre has become a critical touch-point in the end-to-end customer journey. Historically, however, customer service performance has been assessed through operational KPIs such as call volumes and average handling time, which along with resource planning metrics such as occupancy, are essentially internal efficiency metrics.

As such, they add minimal value to the customer experience or insight. Similarly, the value of traditional customer satisfaction measurement approaches such as quarterly outbound surveys is questionable when survey results appear some while after the actual customer interaction, so management action cannot be taken immediately.

As a first step, it is essential that businesses take customer feedback seriously and make the decision to invest in high quality realtime, data capture tools and methodologies.

Payback is possible within a few months.

IVR, Email, SMS, and Face-to-Face Surveys The process to extract customer feedback is very simple. Using a multi-channel survey tool, real-time customer experience feedback can be gathered simultaneously, providing feedback and comments directly from the customer, along with insight from the Agent and Team Leader. This provides an automated 360 degree view of the same transaction, and organisations can analyse the data to assess the performance and identify areas for improvement. All data is presented immediately (including alerts) through realtime management dashboards. The more sophisticated survey tools also identify and establish Agent best-practice profiles, essential for improving Agent performance and quality.

WEB SURVEYS Web Surveys can present survey invitations to customers at strategic points on the web journey. In a multi-channel environment, this is a critical component for achieving a comprehensive view of the customer experience and sentiment i.e. How do they rate the online experience? (navigation, content, functionality and so on).

Innovative insight providers are also using speech and text analytics to drill down further. Speech-based technologies can automatically identify key words, phrases, and trends that are not possible through more traditional manual call listening or sampling. Text analytics converts speech to text by scanning emails, written verbatims and complaint letters before feeding the outputs through text mining software, to

extract key words, phrases and themes, again removing or reducing human intervention and enabling much larger volumes of customer feedback to be mined for insight.

Social networking analysis enables an organisation to dig even deeper and understand root causes, emotion and intent quickly and accurately. These tools ‘listen’ to social networking conversations across literally millions of community sites in order to extract relevant commentary about an organisation’s brand, products and services.

Research from Gartner* pointed out that nowadays over 50 per cent of customer comments about service are no longer provided direct to the organisation through the official channels, but instead are simply shared with other customers and social network groups (e.g. Trip Advisor). The implication of this is that organisations that rely on feedback solely through the traditional channels may have a seriously distorted view of how their brand, service and customer experience is rated. Any actions taken as a result of feedback through these traditional channels may therefore be out of line with what customers really expect.

TURNING INSIGHT INTO GOLD Unlike many organisations across different sectors, Government organisations lag behind in adopting these same solutions to deliver best-practice customer outcomes and genuine cost savings. The real-time, actionable dashboards and the professional analysis of survey results and verbatim comments enable an organisation to strike gold, by accurately pinpointing areas for both tactical and strategic corrective action. Comprehensive, in-depth Deep Dive Reports reveal numerous aspects of the customer experience, both positive and negative, and frequently quite startling volumes of failure demand (avoidable calls, repeat calls), broken processes causing re-work (double-handling, ill-conceived forms and letters, failed deliveries) and recurring sources of customer frustration.

In essence, the analysis identifies exactly where to focus the improvement activity and shapes how to deliver service in the future.

QUICK WINS Targeted improvement projects can convert ineffective supply chain processes into tangible cost savings. In a London Council, a trial on their Environment Action Line identified that 12 per cent of calls were Repeat Calls and 11 per cent were Avoidable Contacts – all of which could potentially be eliminated, with the consequential benefit of cost savings (Use scant resources to add value, not manage failure) Customer verbatims captured though this survey tool identified the non-delivery of additional recycling bags at residents’ homes.

After investigation, the diagnosis was that although the bags were being delivered as promised, the delivery men could not gain

access to resident post-boxes inside the flats, and bags left on the doorstep were being stolen. An innovative solution was recommended whereby recycling bags were stocked by local shops and callers given a unique code to authorise collection, saving wasted costs of failed deliveries, repeat and avoidable calls, and complaint handling.

Contact Centres

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

CONCLUSION Customer insight, from multiple channels and expertly analysed, can help businesses to take targeted immediate action, bringing enormous value add in terms of improved customer experience, savings and growth.

The findings add considerable quantitative and qualitative value. No organisation can afford to ignore the Voice of the Customer, since this should be the primary strategic driver to improving customer experience and reduce operational and supply chain costs.

This can only be achieved by a thorough analysis of customer feedback down to the root cause level (the bedrock), then using this actionable insight to develop tangible and targeted improvement initiatives.

The technology is just an enabler. The critical issue is that asking the right questions, and listening to and understanding the customer are not enough in themselves – insights from their invaluable feedback must be translated into innovative improvement action or the investment in the insight tools and new technologies are simply wasted.

There is no point mining for the data, if the output remains no more than a pile of untouched rubble, especially in today’s cost-conscious world. Like Midas, the true value lies in turning the ore into gold. L ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jo Daly has three decades of experience working with private and public sector business clients. Her specialisms are customer experience, process re-engineering and multi-channel integration. As a Managing Consultant with InsightNow, she helps Clients to transform their business through actionable customer insight.

ABOUT THE CCMA Formed in 1994, the Call Centre Management Association (UK) is an independent, not-for-profit organisation run on a voluntary basis by working call centre professionals.

The association believes that the key to quality employment lies in promoting managerial excellence by helping to develop individuals with the vision, expertise and the commitment necessary to enable their respective organisations to thrive in an era of fast changing, networked economies, global competition and heightened customer expectations. For further information visit www.ccma.org.uk

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

95

Available with integrated microwave motion sensor and light sensor Long life of 30,000 hours significantly reduces maintenance costs

Energy consumption reduced by up to 65% compared to fluorescent DD lamps with magnetic ballast

12W 4pin

Retrofit Replacement for 16W DD Lamps

Suitable for Emergency Module

Retrofit Replacement for 28W DD Lamps

with motion & light sensor

Suitable for Emergency Module

Retrofit Replacement for 38W DD Lamps

Emergency Module

12W 4pin With Integrated motion & light sensor

Suitable for Emergency Module

Retrofit Replacement for 28W DD Lamps

*This is a guide only. This product does not generate the same light output compared to fluorescent DD lamps.

However, LED DD lamps only emit light from one side of the lamp hence creating a similar effect in most applications.

Suitable for Emergency Module

Retrofit Replacement for 38W DD Lamps

Can be configured to work in either maintained or non-maitained mode

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

by Dicky Davies, business development director, Lowell Group According to Credit Action, the national money education charity, outstanding consumer debt stood at £1.458 trillion at the end of June 2012, which makes the average amount owed per UK adult £29,687. And it is not just money owed to banks, building societies, credit card and loan companies; a significant amount is also owed to public sector organisations.

Public sector consumer debt covers everything from income tax, council tax, benefit overpayments, student loans and child support payments through to parking fines, library fines and unpaid TV licence fees.

For example, according to the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, there is some £3.8 billion in unpaid child maintenance, which has accumulated over the 18-year life of the Child Support Agency. Last year, local authorities in England collected £21.9 billion in council taxes by the end of March 2011 out of £22.5 billion due, which is a 97.3% success rate and without doubt a good performance. But to put matters into perspective, that still left around £600 million council taxes unpaid.

In an effort to improve debt recovery performance, some Government departments and local authorities are already outsourcing elements of their debt collection to specialist agencies, typically on a conventional commission basis. In fact HM Revenue & Customs recently signed a well-publicised deal with a number of debt collection agencies to collect £1.5 billion of debt.

ALTERNATIVE RECOVERY OPTIONS But are public sector organisations considering all of their options…and how do they go about choosing the right partner? There are current restrictions on selling debt but there are other options available to public sector organisations looking to maximise their debt recovery, including ‘outsource to sell’ and ‘right to collect’ – both offering ways to enjoy many of the benefits associated with selling debts without the full commitment of a sale and now both offered by Lowell, the UK’s leading debt purchase specialist.

Anticipating that current restrictions on selling debt might be lifted within the foreseeable future, Lowell Group has recently launched a commission-based ‘outsource to sell’ debt recovery service specifically with the public sector in mind. Outsource to sell allows

organisations to outsource accounts for collection on a commission basis initially, with the option to sell them to Lowell at a later date. It’s a chance for organisations to benefit from Lowell’s particular skills in collections and customer management without committing to debt sale.

With ‘right to collect’ agreements, legal ownership of the debts stays with the original creditor with the ‘purchaser’ being granted a licence to collect for a set period of time. As with debt sale, the original creditor realises value for the debt immediately rather than relying on an uncertain income spread over several years, so it improves cashflow. Also, for the period of the agreement the ‘purchaser’

takes responsibility for managing all queries on the account thus removing the relationship management costs from the seller. At the same time, this frees up in-house resources to be used more productively, for example by focusing more on recovering performing debt.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT PARTNER When choosing the right partner for your debt recovery three important things to consider are; how experienced the company is, how they access and use data and the efficiency and accuracy of their tracing.

Lowell Group ticks all of these boxes. Formed in 2004, we have a strong track record, nine million customer accounts and a host of bespoke technology developed in-house – including our in-house automated tracing tool.

The Group’s significant customer base provides access to unrivalled data – in fact, if we don’t already have a relationship with your customers it’s highly likely that we’ll have some knowledge of them. Our unrivalled in-house tracing tool has been developed to filter out as many inaccuracies held across credit reference bureaux as possible. A highly automated system, it combines complex logic with multiple data resources – both internal and external – to ensure ultimate confidence in the results.

This is better for your business, as the automation delivers quicker results, but also better for the customer as we are able to deliver more accurate results.

Debt collection is a sensitive business and Lowell adheres fully to the stringent regulations and standards that apply to collections and ‘treating customers fairly’.

Also, whilst we are not officially regulated by FSA, the clients we work with are so we aim to meet these standards across the board.

Written by Dickie Davies, Lowell Group

IMPROVING DEBT RECOVERY IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR

Debt Recovery

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

ABOUT LOWELL GROUP Lowell Group is widely regarded as the UK’s leading debt purchasing specialist and takes pride in its close transparent relationship with clients, fair treatment of customers, ethical approach to collections and reputation for excellent service.

Headquartered in Leeds, the Group employs more than 500 people across three state-of-the-art offices in Leeds and Preston. For the last four years Lowell Group has been ranked number one in an index of all the leading credit management and debt collection businesses in Europe compiled by industry consultants OC&C. The index takes into account both past performance and future strategy. L FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0113 285 6612 betterresults@lowellgroup.co.uk www.lowell.co.uk

Volume 19.5 | GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE

97

Advertisers Index

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR LOCAL AND CENTRAL GOVERNMENT – www.governmentbusiness.co.uk

BASEC launches UK’s largest cable testing facility The British Approvals Service for Cables (BASEC) has announced the completion of a new 18,000 sq ft world-class cable testing laboratory. The state-of-the-art facility, which has also become BASEC’s new head office, is the largest dedicated testing laboratory for cables in the UK. BASEC has made a significant investment in the new laboratory, including the commissioning of brand new test equipment. BASEC’s previous arrangement for testing with the British Standards Institution (BSI) has been concluded and staff and equipment have been transferred to BASEC. New fire performance testing capabilities have been commissioned, and there are further plans for additional test capabilities, cable types and product areas.

“This is a very exciting time for BASEC,” said Jeremy Hodge, chief executive at BASEC. “The world-class facility aims to be a centre of excellence for cable testing, it is already operational and will be managed and run by the BASEC team. Our intended benefits for our clients are increased efficiency and more rapid turn-around of samples. We will be expanding the range of services to cover fire and other tests, for the benefit of our clients holding BASEC approvals.

In addition, the laboratory will be offering a competitive service to other parties directly, to support purchasers and users of cable.”

BASEC works with cable manufacturers in the UK and across the world, rigorously testing cables in a diverse range of environments in order to certify compliance and safety to UK, European and international standards, and to assist manufacturers, traders and users of cable. It also provides a market surveillance

service to test suspect cables, working with national initiatives to help stamp out the manufacture, distribution and use of non- compliant, or counterfeit cables. Electrical power and wiring cables, data and signal cables and ancillary products are tested to meet necessary and appropriate standards through detailed examination of manufacturers’ production processes and controls, full initial type-testing and regular surveillance testing.

BASEC can in principal certify any type of cable, including bespoke and novel designs.

The technical specifications for cables are set out in standards at British, European and international level, supplemented in many cases by industry, application or company specifications. In addition to construction and materials requirements (for example the types of plastics) these documents also specify the testing that needs to be applied in order to demonstrate and verify compliance. Most cables require between 30 and 60 different tests and examinations.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01908 267300 mail@basec.org.uk www.basec.org.uk

ADVERTISERS INDEX

The publishers accept no responsibility for errors or omissions in this free service 1st Credit 10 6274 Public Art 28 Adtec Software 12 Alcolock 24 Alphabet 20 Ansell Protective Solutions 68, 75 ATG Access 54 Audax 56 Autosmart 63 Basec 98 Braemar Howells 68 Calfordseaden IFC Cartridge World 62 Cenpart 94 Cetas Kinetic 34 Change Ahead 24 Cherwell Software 86 CIFAS UK Fraud Prevention Service 16 Clement Clarke 94 Consillium Technology 94 Cosalt 71 Crown Intelligence Service 14 Diana White & Associates 4 Edinburgh First 76 Electrosonic 68, 73 Enphase 36 Esson Print 64 Fibre Technologies 6 Firemain Engineering 70, 73 Fischer Panda UK 70, 73 Focus RX 70 Greenbarnes 28 Greenfield Software 64

98

GOVERNMENT BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 19.5

Greensleeves Garden Care 60 Hill & Smith Solar 40, 41 HM Investigations 14 IGEL Technology 92 IMO 38, 39 ISIS Papyrus 88 Kingfisher Lighting 29 Kosnic UK 96 Labcold 90 Linuo Power 40, 41 Lowell Financial 97 Manchester Metropolitan University 76 Marwood 48 Megger 44 Memsnet 92, 93 MIC Hotel & Conference Centre 80 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 32 NBC Group 68, 75 NBS Scotland 40, 41 Nottingham Conferences 80 OFTEC 35 OKI Printing Solutions 67 Opinion Research Services 18 Owatrol UK 92 Paramo 75 Pass Training Consultancy 90 Paul Kenssington UK 57 Ping Pong 64 Pioneer Boats 70, 73 Platinum Partners 58 Plumbrite 63 Polypipe 14 Pop-Up Power Supplies 28

Precor 84 QDELL 48 Regents College 82 Ringway Eurova 46 Robinson College 82 Saint Gobain 50 Secure Meters UK 40, 41 Solen Energy IBC Spirotech 30 Star Uretech 48 Street Vision 34 Streetlife 26 Strongs Plastics 72 Surrey Energy Ratings 34 The British Psychological Society 22, 24 The Eden Company 45 The Emergency Planning College 72 The Kings Ferry 78 The Photon Shop 74 The Rezidor Hotel Group OBC The Wessex Conference Centre 82 The Willburt Co 74 Transport Security Expo 52, 53 TTS Group 92 Ultracrete 28 University of Bristol 83 University of Sussex 83 Variable Message Signs 8 Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council 64 Waterjel 71 Wilo UK 34 York Council for Voluntary Service 82

Solen Energy UK are an approved preferred supplier and installer to a number of high profile organisations including local government and to Landmarc Services nationwide.

We are experts in designing, installing and supplying solar photovoltaic systems with specialist services including high tech monitoring and security systems.

By InstallInG a 50KW GroUnD moUnteD system yoU coULd bEnEfit from: PayBaCK WIthIn 6 yEarS 47,500 UnitS of eleCtrICIty GenerateD eaCh year savInGs of more than 920 tonnES of C02 over the next 20 years retUrn of Investment startInG from 15% GUaranteeD InCome for the next 20 yEarS

massive energy savings with solar-Pv Why use Solen Energy UK? We are subsidiary of German Innovation and technology at the forefront of the UK renewable industry.

Contact Debbie Webb

01726 862470

e: Debbie.webb@solenenergyuk.co.uk

www.solenenergyuk.co.uk aDvICe - eqUIPment - InstallatIon - retaIl - Wholesale

£££ earn for all electric produced

 The stock exchange.  The housing market.  The conference ✓ facilities.

Hotels you can rely on:

Day Delegates from

£35

Book your next meeting in Park Inn by Radisson – the smart choice for meetings.

Park Inn. Adding Color to LifeSM

Aberdeen ■ Bedford ■ Belfast ■ Birmingham ■ Cardiff ■ Doncaster ■ Harlow ■ Leigh Liverpool St.Helens ■ London Heathrow ■ Manchester ■ Northampton ■ Nottingham Peterborough ■ Sheffield ■ Southend-On-Sea ■ Telford ■ Thurrock ■ Watford ■ York

For more information or reservations, visit parkinn.co.uk