By Elli Kiely, Design & Innovation Director, HJK Construction
Open any newspaper in the UK, and it will mention the housing crisis in the UK. The actual extent of the crisis is hotly debated, but there is one thing everyone agrees on – there is undoubtedly a serious problem with the supply and demand of housing in this country. In 2018, The National Housing Federation suggested there should be 340,000 new homes built every year until 2031, with 145,000 of these in the social and affordable category. In 2022, the NHBC reported that 191,801 homes were built in the UK. Far short of what is generally believed to be necessary. The UK is one of Europe’s most expensive places to buy or rent a home. It has among the fewest homes per person. Over 50% of people in the UK live in households that spend more than 40% of their income on housing costs.
Elli Kiely
Given these costs, one way to alleviate the crisis is to increase the amount of affordable housing. Affordable housing for sale is defined as homes are sold at a discounted rate of at least 20% below market value, either by shared ownership, a discounted sales rate by developers, or discounted by the First Homes Scheme, which sells homes to people at 30-50% below market value. The National Planning Policy Framework requires that 10% of new homes built in major residential developments are affordable.
Over the last five years, around half of all new affordable homes were delivered through developer contributions, with most of the rest delivered through the Government’s Affordable Homes Programme.
Housing Associations are another way that the housing crisis might be alleviated. These associations are not-for-profit social landlords providing homes and support for around six million people around England. Housing associations build a quarter of England’s new homes, including almost all new social and affordable homes. Here at HJK Construction, after completing our first development with a housing association, we found that the standards were met and expectations were excellent. Housing Associations are committed to quality, and we are excited about the potential for further successful collaboration.
However, there is a very high demand for Housing Association properties. In the North West, as of July 2024, almost 200,000 households were on housing associations’ waiting lists. Liverpool has the highest figure with 10,683 waiting for a home within its local authority, closely followed by Manchester with 8,394. The average waiting time for a three-bedroom family home in Manchester is around four years. The North must create 16,603 new social houses to meet needs.
However, collaborations between Housing Associations and SMEs face a huge hurdle, and it’s one at the very centre of the housing crisis – planning permission and how it’s currently working in the UK.
Delays with applications are holding back construction projects and the delivery of new homes. These planning bottlenecks are seriously failing communities—many people are simply being left without suitable housing, forcing them to move elsewhere. Post-COVID, many local authorities’ lead times for planning decisions have increased dramatically. The Housebuilding Federation’s 2023 report stated that planning permission for new housing has continued to decline and is predicted to fall to unprecedented levels.
Local Authorities need to streamline the planning process—making it leaner, more efficient, and crucially, much quicker. Put simply, faster decisions mean more houses can be built, alleviating the housing shortage. We urge local authorities up and down the country to recognise the detrimental effects these delays are having and take steps to hold planning departments accountable for timely and efficient decision-making.
Speeding up planning approval addresses the housing crisis and has substantial knock-on effects nationally and locally. Building new homes helps create jobs, encourages the establishment of businesses, and stimulates the local economy. Ailing towns, suburbs, and villages have been revitalised across the country by building new homes.
A survey published in 2023, commissioned by the Homebuilder’s Federations, Close Brothers Property Finance, and Travis Perkins, shows that 93% of SMEs cite securing planning as a major barrier to growth. 91% of these businesses say that planning departments in local authorities need to be more resourced, hindering SME homebuilders’ growth. 46% of SME developers say the cost of obtaining planning permission has risen by over 30% in the past three years.
We urge local authorities to recognise the impact of planning delays on the housing sector and take steps to hold planning departments accountable for timely and efficient decision-making. We recognise that council budgets are tight, and the staffing and management of planning departments are under considerable strain, but we ask local authorities to recognise how beneficial housebuilding is to the local economy and act accordingly. There is huge potential for growth, job creation, and town and urban centre regeneration; all it needs to be is enabled by a positive, proactive approach from central government and local authorities.
James Johns, Head of Corporate Affairs, UK, Workday
Nations across the globe are feeling a squeeze on skills. One recent McKinsey study found that nine in ten executives or managers are having trouble hiring people with the talent they need – or that they expect to have that problem in the next five years.
Paradoxically, these shortages are becoming more acute despite the rapid rise in degree-qualified candidates in most developed nations. In the UK, student numbers have approximately doubled since the 1990s – and similar trends are seen across the OECD38 countries.[1] Meanwhile, a study from Dell predicts that 85% of the jobs which will exist in 2030 are yet to be invented.
With such shifts already taking place – and more on the horizon – it’s clear that ‘jobs for life’ are a thing of the past. What’s more, learning should no longer be limited to school and university. Instead, it must continue throughout our careers in a way that’s integrated into our work and which provides us with the evolving skills we need for a flourishing career and a strong economy.
Yet today we’re not nurturing a skills-based workforce in this way. From limiting business growth to driving inflation and stunting individual careers, the ramifications of the skills shortage are far reaching. Stakeholders across business, academia and government need new strategies for bridging the gap.
It’s positive to see the new Labour government prioritising the skills gap, with the introduction of the Skills England bill set to unite businesses, skills providers, unions, Mayoral Combined Authorities and national government to deliver a highly trained workforce. Initiatives such as this, alongside the strategic use of new technologies like AI, will be crucial in creating the skilled workforce the future needs.
Assessing the new government’s skills strategy
Announced in the King’s Speech, the Skills England Bill aims to “provide learners with the skills required to thrive in life, businesses with the trained workforce they need to succeed and local areas with access to the right skills to spur economic growth.” This will entail delivering skills ranging from the essential to the highly technical.
At the heart of the bill is an ambition to map the current skills landscape across England, identify critical gaps and work with stakeholders across the public and private sectors to address them. With research showing that the number of skills shortage vacancies doubled between 2017 and 2022 to a total of 531,200 this will be no mean feat. It will require the tracking, analysis and management of vast amounts of data. Such a process will also need to be ongoing – reacting to new demands and shifts in the workforce in real time to continuously address new skill requirements as the needs of the economy evolve.
Supporting the UK’s shift to a skills-based workforce cannot though solely be left to the Government, vital though their leadership will be. Employers also have a critical role to play. In both cases, AI and other innovative technologies can help. These tools are uniquely suited to the analysis of the significant pools of data that’s necessary for tackling a challenge as complex as nationwide skills shortages. What’s more, they can do so efficiently, without the need for costly investment in more manual work.
Applying AI to skills shortages
For more than a decade, Workday has been at the forefront of applying AI to human capital management (HCM). Our AI innovations have been built on an unprecedentedly clean and structured dataset informed by billions of transactions and tens of millions of users.
At the heart of our approach to AI in HCM is Workday Skills Cloud, which can analyse and map existing skills and identify key gaps. It does so by drawing on data sources that contain more than 200 million identified skills while using large language models to maintain a definitive taxonomy of skills in 16 different languages. From there, it provides a range of features – from recommended learning to bolster skills, toanalyticswhich allow employers to identify and tackle unknown skill gaps before they become critical. Already used by a quarter of Fortune 500 companies, it provides a clear example of how large organisations with complex and diverse workforces can effectively use technology to tackle skill gaps at scale. When employers understand skills, they can deploy the right people to the right projects, and tap into or build new talent pools, improving both agility and diversity. When employees understand skills, they can make more informed decisions about their work, better plan their career progression and access higher-paying, more fulfilling roles. As consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton has stated, “Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help democratize access to opportunities […] Al can yield a greater, more diverse talent pool than old-fashioned networks.”
One business that’s harnessed the benefits of Skills Cloud is the aerospace and power leader Rolls-Royce, which first deployed the tool in 2020. The business was responding to reports from employees that they felt careers were siloed and that skills weren’t being transferred or nurtured effectively between departments.
During its rollout, Skills Cloud quickly took off. During the pilot alone, 60% of people completed a profile and a third of managers raised a ‘gig’ – a skills-based request for internal candidates for specific jobs or tasks. The first rollout ended with 4,000 people, and since then the business has continued to scale quickly, with 10,000 people onboard at the last count.
Thousands of Rolls Royce’s employees have been using the platform to develop skills and discover new opportunities. It’s not only helping the business to efficiently target skills where needed, but also enabling it to paint a clear picture of the overall skills (and shortages) across the organisation. As a result, leaders are able to make informed strategic decisions on workforce planning, while individual employees can cultivate and apply skills in a way that bolsters career development and satisfaction.
Moving to a skills-based future
The significant scale of Rolls-Royce’s deployment reveals how technology can aid the shift to a skills-based future.
New technology can rapidly map skills across different departments or even organisations, offering a bird’s eye view of gaps. It can empower individuals and teams to untap and nurture existing skills and direct human capital within an organisation to where it will have the greatest impact.
It’s through deployment of intelligent technology like this, combined with political will, that we’ll build a workforce that continuously nurtures skills and can meet the challenges of both today and tomorrow.
[1] Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Education at a Glance 2022: OECD Indicators (Paris: OECD, 2022).
New research challenges the idea that 2024 was the year of the ‘digital election’ – particularly for younger voters
New nationally representative research from Marketreach, the marketing authority on commercial mail, reveals that mail is more likely to have had an influence on voting intention than any other marketing channel across all ages. 27% said that Mail was ‘most influential’ on making decisions compared with 24% saying TV and 18% who chose social media.
Mail was voted as having the highest level of engagement at 70%, i.e. it is most likely to be read, shared or talked about, and it was seen as most trustworthy in the run up to the 2024 general election. In fact, it was regarded as almost twice as trustworthy by voters than other channels on average*. Mail is also much less associated with misleading or inaccurate information (20%), compared with social media (34%).
The youngest age groups polled demonstrated the highest levels of engagement with mail. For instance, among 18-24-year-olds, over four in five (81%) people said they had engaged with mail during the run up to the election, higher than social media (72%), posters (67%), online advertising (64%) and party political broadcasts on TV (51%).
Among 25-34-year-olds the figures were 69% for mail, followed by social media (63%), posters (52%), online advertising (48%) and party political broadcasts on TV (32%). In addition, 60% of 18-19 year olds (new voters) kept any mail until a few days before the election versus an average of 27%.
Andrew Marr, journalist, broadcaster and commentator, wrote in the report’s foreword: “Elections are national, sometimes even global, events. But in our Parliamentary system, they are first of all local ones. We want a direct, emotional connection between ourselves, the candidates and ultimately the MP. It’s about intimate space – mail arrives at an actual address not an IP address; a physical postcode, not a digital identifier; something I can hold in my hand, not something only held, briefly, in the mind’s eye. And something that I can trust. This report is a welcome dose of reality, a happy corrective.”
The research was conducted in partnership with Thinks Insight & Strategy. Released during this year’s Parliament Week (18th-24th November), the research and report explore voter behaviour in relation to marketing from all parties in the 2024 election. The report from Marketreach, entitled Landslide: How mail swept the board for political parties in the 2024 General Election, explores why certain channels are more effective over others. The research found that mail is more effective at:
Making people think
Voters who received election mail found that it was more than 50% more effective at making them think about their voting intentions than other channels. This could be because mail was seen as having close to twice the relevance of other marketing channels in the run up to the election and was the most likely of all channels tested to be perceived as trustworthy. Subsequently, mail was considered the most useful channel for future election communications – chosen by 36% of respondents, compared with 31% who said party political broadcasts and 15% who said social media.
Being memorable
There was some Election mail presence throughout the campaign, but the volume became much larger towards the end of the campaign period. It became the most recalled communications channel – with three quarters (74%) recalling a piece of mail towards the end of the campaign compared to one third (32%) for social media from political parties.
Reaching voters locally
Locality is important. Mail is the only medium that can be localised down to constituency level, which means the content can be personalised to very small groups of voters and their concerns, with 65% of respondents reporting that mail was primarily focused on the election in their local constituency. This is almost three times higher than the figure for online advertising (22%) and for social media (23%).
Amanda Griffiths, Head of Planning & Insight at Marketreach who commissioned the research said: “Everyone thought reaching voters in this election was going to be about digital channels. It wasn’t. In fact, mail proved to be the most effective way for political parties to communicate – according to the voters themselves. And it’s even more effective when integrated with other media. For all the talk about the shift to digital in all areas of life, there are some times when we want things to be tangible, steadfast and dependable. When it comes to important moments of contemplation we want to deliberate carefully and in our own time. Mail delivers on this desire, and it is effective with younger generations too.”
The NHS emerged as an election issue during the campaign, which posed a challenge for Labour. The party knew it was going to inherit an economy with low levels of growth and high levels of debt. It also knew the NHS was struggling and ‘unprotected’ public services were facing cutbacks on an undeliverable scale.
The Highland Marketing advisory board met to discuss Labour’s first 100 days in office, the Darzi review, the Budget, and prospects for technology in next year’s 10 Year Health Plan.
Their view? The new government has got off to a slow start and needs to come through with a realistic plan for the future of health and care with technology as a key enabler.
If Rishi Sunak had gone to the polls when political correspondents predicted that he would, the UK would have been voting at the start of November. However, he called an election in May, the country voted on 4 July, and Sir Keir Starmer had been in his job for four months by the time bonfire night rolled around.
Yet shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves ruled out the most obvious ways to raise taxes. So, Labour made the electorate a ‘retail offer’ of an additional 40,000 appointments per week to tackle waiting lists, paid for by a crack-down on ‘non-doms’, while insisting there would be no further money without “reform.”
Buying time
When he arrived at the Department of Health and Social Care, new secretary of state Wes Streeting announced that “the policy of this is that the NHS is broken.” He also announced an independent review by Lord Ara Darzi, a surgeon and health minister in Gordon Brown’s government.
In September, Lord Darzi made headlines by declaring that the NHS “is in serious trouble.” But health tech entrepreneur Ravi Kumar said: “there is nothing in there that will surprise people who have been in and around the NHS.”
“There were no surprises in there,” agreed David Hancock, an interoperability expert who has worked for both shared care record and electronic patient record suppliers, “so why do it? The only reason was to buy time.”
Cindy Feddell, a former NHS CIO who now works in Canada agreed, although she felt more urgency was needed. “I thought they would have used the review to launch a plan, but they didn’t,” she said. “It’s very disappointing, because it is a plan we need, not more strategic reviews.”
Diagnosing NHS Failure
Lord Darzi did make a diagnosis of the NHS’ problems that could feed into the 10 Year Health Plan due next January. He argued the root of its challenges lie in the austerity politics of the Cameron/Osborne era, that starved public services of money while driving demand.
He argued these issues were exacerbated by the “calamity without international precedent” of health secretary Andrew Lansley’s reforms in 2012, which fractured NHS structures in a last-ditch attempt to drive competition across the system.
But he also noted that the governments that came before and after these changes have talked about ‘left shift’ reforms without making them stick.
Lord Darzi argued one reason is that they failed to align funding flows with these changes. Plus, he noted, it has become routine to transfer capital funding to the ‘frontline’ – leaving the NHS with crumbling facilities and “stuck in the foothills of digital transformation.”
Reform talk and reality on the ground
When Streeting talks about “reform” these days, he talks about three shifts: from hospital to community, from treatment to prevention, and from analogue to digital.
However, Nicola Haywood-Cleverly, a former chief information officer and trust non-executive director, noted there is a big gap between where the NHS is now, and where these three shifts would take it.
At the moment, she said, NHS England is focused on waiting lists and financial discipline, even if this means cuts in staff or services that pull in a different direction. “I want to know what is going to be different,” she said.
“At the moment, my main concern is there might be a gap between what the Operational Priorities and Planning Guidance [which sets out NHS England’s ‘must dos’ for the service] and the 10 Year Health Plan might say.”
Budget smoke and mirrors
This gap was not closed by the much-anticipated Budget delivered by chancellor Rachel Reeves in October. To fill the “£20 billion black hole” in this year’s public finances, invest in infrastructure, and stabilise public services, Reeves raised taxes by £40 billion and borrowing by £70 billion.
Around half the headline tax increase will go to the NHS, which was promised £22.6 billion over two years. However, this year’s £10.4 billion includes a £1 billion transfer from the capital budget and £1.8 billion for waiting list initiatives announced in the summer.
What’s left will have to cover financial pressures of around £4.8 billion, drug and pay pressures, including changes to employer National Insurance contributions.
“What came out of the Budget was smoke and mirrors, again,” said James Norman, who worked in NHS finance and as a trust CIO and who now works on the supplier side. “It is just covering the pressure that is there; there is nothing new coming down the line.”
In fact, he argued, it’s worse than that, because NHS employers will be covered for the NI changes, but the GPs, third sector, and social care providers who will have to deliver any shift from hospital to community and prevention, won’t. Another example of how talk about reform and reality on the ground are pulling in different directions.
Capital funding mirrors and smoke
The Budget also made a big deal out of promising more capital spending. An additional £3.1 billion was added to next year’s capital budget, taking it to £13.6 billion. Of this, £1.5 billion has been allocated to capacity increases, including additional beds, surgical hubs, and scanners, and £2 billion to “technology and digital.”
However, the advisory board noted that while Streeting talks about a shift from analogue to digital it is virtually impossible to invest in the current climate. “Digital leaders are saying they cannot do anything without going through two or three layers of governance outside their own organisations,” said Nicola Haywood-Cleverly.
“That makes it very hard for suppliers to build a pipeline.” Many trusts are having to freeze vacant non-clinical posts to manage system deficits, reducing their capacity to digest innovation and transformation.
Meantime, it is unclear whether Reeves’ tech spending is new money or, in effect, a re-announcement of the £3.4 billion that her predecessor, Jeremy Hunt, announced for NHS digitisation in March. Certainly, the Treasury ‘red book’ makes no mention of the latter.
Left shift, acute capture
For the advisory board, though, the big question is how the money that is available will be spent. Rizwan Malik, imaging leader, picked up on the promise to invest in community diagnostic centres and scanners. In principle, he argued, this could help to ‘left shift’ services into the community; but in practice many CDCs and new scanners have been attached to acute trusts.
Nicola Haywood-Cleverly argued there are similar issues with virtual community and urgent health care. Some of the innovative projects developed during the Covid-19 pandemic have morphed into virtual wards overseen by acute trusts “so primary and community-led care in its purest sense has been diluted, and become part of the old way of doing things.”
Integrated care boards were set up to create joined up services that still found room for both health and social care providers and innovative ideas. But, as Lord Darzi pointed out, NHS England’s policy focus and funding flows have not moved in the same direction – and nor has investment in IT.
Where’s the enabling tech?
The Treasury red book says Reeves’ £2 billion will “run essential services and drive NHS productivity improvements” while making sure that all trusts have electronic patient records, the NHS has better cyber security, and there are enhancements for the NHS App.
James Norman pointed out it makes no mention of some of the big, enabling technologies that will be needed to ‘left shift’ services and loop in innovative providers or social care. “What has happened to the shared care records?” he asked, as one example.
“They were meant to connect care, by integrating data and letting people see information relevant to them. But in some places people have backed them while in others they’ve been put in at a minimal level and nobody is using them. What’s the plan?”
Big projects, brownfield sites
Just before the advisory board met, the DHSC announced that eleven ‘enabler’ groups have been set up to feed into the 10 Year Health Plan. Encouragingly, there is a digital group, led by NHS England chief data and analytics officer Ming Tang and former national director of transformation Tim Ferris.
However, Ferris is best known for launching the Frontline Digitisation programme to complete the deployment of EPRs at trusts and Tang is leading on the roll-out of Palantir’s Federated Data Platform, which suggests the group may focus on acute IT.
It could also go looking for a ‘big project’. The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change has been making a lot of noise about creating a single, digital health record for every UK citizen within five-years.
But it has failed to answer questions about whether it would build on initiatives like shared care records, or junk them. Advisory board chair Jeremy Nettle raised a similar issue about the NHS App. When it was set up, the app was billed as a “digital front door” for the NHS.
Then NHSX decided it should just provide identity and login services and sign-post people to third-party apps. Now, it’s a mishmash of login and basic functionality; a lot of which is dependent on what GPs allow their patients to see.
“The NHS App shows that it is not just technology that matters,” he said. “It is how it is deployed and how it is used. You need a roadmap and consistent investment to deliver.”
One plan, with technology at its heart
The advisory board also felt that it would be a mistake to develop a 10 Year Health Plan with strategies to support it. Past experience suggests these strategies too easily become menus of options, from which ideas are funded or not-funded according to political interest and the finances available.
Instead, the board argued there should be one plan, that explains how the finance, workforce, and technology available will be used to enable its direction of travel. “We shouldn’t have a 10 Year Health Plan and a tech strategy to go with it,” James Norman argued. “There should be one plan that says how technology will be used to deliver.”
Unfortunately, as Jeremy Nettle pointed out, that won’t be easy to achieve. “The NHS may not be broken, but it’s certainly unwieldy, and its integration with social care is complex, and both are subject to a lot of different pressures that will need sustained effort and investment to address,” he said.
And what about social care?
Social care is a crisis of its own; one that is threatening to bankrupt councils and providers, while not providing adults the care they need. After the main board meeting, Jane Brightman, a social care expert with a special interest in technology, said there had been some measures for the sector in the Budget.
These included £600 million of new grant funding for local authorities, an £86 million increase to the Disabled Facilities Grant to support 7,800 more adaptations to homes to reduce hospitalisations and prolong independence, and an increase to the Carer’s Allowance weekly earnings limit from £151 a week to the equivalent of 16 hours at the National Living Wage (which means carers can earn over £10,000 per year).
There was also an extra £250 million to test new ways of working in children’s social care next year, including a pre-announced £44 million to test allowances for kinship carers and to roll out regional hubs to support the recruitment of foster carers.
Despite these measures, she said there is significant concern that this will not make a dent in the sector’s current problems, or the ones being stored up for the future. The increase in employer National Insurance contributions will also hit the sector hard and could swallow up any additional funding on offer. Despite Labour’s missions to improve and its talk about reforming health and social care, a Fair Pay Agreement for social care workers and a National Care Service have not featured in its first months in government. “Both ideas are welcomed by the sector, but too far down the road to provide the hope that is much needed right now,” Jane said.
A national image sharing platform, used by NHS organisations, patients and others to securely access diagnostic scans and tests, has seen record usage across the country.
The image exchange portal, widely known in the NHS as the IEP, is now being used to share as many as 500 images each second – includingx-rays, CT, MRI, ultrasound scans and more.
The system was first introduced into the NHS in 2009, to allow trusts to share images with each other. Greater reliance on the independent sector to help to tackle diagnostic backlogs, and an increase in patients requesting access to their own images, have contributed to a growth in use of the portal, as more images move beyond organisational boundaries.
Rising volumes of scans and tests taking place for patients has also fuelled growth in the use of the IEP.
Deployed in every acute hospital trust in England, a growing number of organisations beyond NHS trusts have been using the portal – including stroke networks, organisations delivering new insights into cancer, large private healthcare groups, teleradiology reporting providers, and innovative companies helping to create 3D models for pre surgery planning.
In total more than 450,000 individuals currently use the IEP. The portal was used to transmit close to 12 million patient imaging studies in 2023, compared to approximately 2.8 million studies back in 2012.
Chris Scarisbrick, deputy managing director for Sectra, the company which hosts the IEP, said: “The image exchange portal remains globally unique, and is envied as a national tool for sharing diagnostic images for patients.
“Developed for the NHS originally as a means to share radiology imaging between individual hospitals, the role of IEP has changed in line with the needs of a health service now dealing with greater diagnostic demands than ever before.
“As hospitals work hard to tackle a substantial diagnostic backlog, the portal has become an important means to share diagnostic imaging with the independent sector, to help to ensure timely diagnosis for patients. And as more and more ‘ologies’ become digital, it is supporting national access to more than just radiology images.”
Steven Frisby, IEP national account manager at Sectra, added: “Use of the image exchange portal continues to expand in ways that couldn’t have been envisioned 15 years ago when it was first introduced into the NHS.
“Patients are increasingly demanding access to their own imaging. And as medical frontiers expand, and technological capabilities in healthcare continue to evolve, the ability to access imaging through a secure platform, and in ways that protect patient data, is ever more important.
“Now, as the NHS seeks new ways to share images nationally, we welcome conversations on how this national platform can continue to evolve as we ensure it receives the investment needed to meet the needs of healthcare into the future.”
From left to right: EVIES Presenter, Cat Hancock (Believ’s Chief of Staff), Madeleine North (Assistant Planner at Believ), Murray Sirel (Believ’s Head of Product), Luke Templer (Interim Chief Finance Officer at Believ), James Bruce (Head of Bidding at Believ), EVIES presenter)
After a year that has seen Electric Vehicle (EV) Charge point operator (CPO) Believ double its cumulative socket numbers and employee head count, the firm has triumphed in the prestigious Electric Vehicle Innovation and Excellence Awards (EVIEs) winning ‘EV Scale Up of the Year’.
The award recognises both the rapid growth of its ‘all-speeds’ charge point network, and how technical innovation and a commitment to sustainability and social value are driving the best charging experience and helping deliver ‘cleaner air for all’.
The judges were especially impressed by Believ’s ‘very strong consumer feedback’, with drivers rating them 4.6 out of 5 for safety and charging experience, supported by uptime statistics of 99.8% and 98.0% on rapid and fast charge point availability respectively.
The award win was also influenced by Believ’s recent Carbon Neutral Britain and ISO environmental management, health and safety, information security and quality accreditations. A notable technical innovation put forward in Believ’s award submission was ‘Digital Electricity’, a new way to roll out charge point infrastructure quickly and cost effectively. It capitalises on Believ’s close relationship with delivery partner Virgin Media O2 to utilise existing telecom ducts to significantly reduce the need for disruptive installation works, thus making previously commercially unviable sites deliverable.
Guy Bartlett, Believ CEO, says the award is the result of highly experienced and dedicated teams, of which he is extremely proud:
“I am thrilled we have won this award. It is testament to the expertise and unrivalled experience of our teams, as well as a total dedication to deliver on our mission to make sustainable transport available to everyone and deliver cleaner air for all,” he says.
“Our rapid growth and ability to recruit the very best people to drive our mission is thanks to our industry-leading backing from Liberty Global and Zouk Capital. My thanks to all stakeholders for helping us to achieve this important recognition.”
Strategic diversification plan sees the creation of a new position that will extend TTC’s offering to new markets
TTC Group, the learning and development and training experts, has appointed legislation, risk and compliance training professional, Kylie Wilson as Public Sector Director. Her role will focus on developing and managing Public Sector relationships with law enforcement agencies and other entities such as emergency services, regulatory bodies and government agencies.
Kylie Wilson
The new position supports TTC Group’s strategic growth plan, helping the business extend its offering to support the compliance needs of the wider Public Sector.
A highly experienced learning and development (L&D) professional, Kylie was formerly a Detective in Public Protection in the Metropolitan Police and was part of the New Scotland Yard Crime Academy for Detective Training. In this new role, Kylie is responsible for developing and managing relationships with key stakeholders, securing new contract opportunities and developing new product lines. She will also engage with the TTC’s information security strategy to ensure alignment with industry standards and legal requirements, be an ambassador for cyber security and own the business-critical relationship with UKROED, the NDORS programme regulator.
Kylie commented: “Having worked in the public sector for over 15 years, supporting a wide range of organisations, I look forward to the new challenge of building relationships that will support a broad range of employee compliance and training programmes. My background means I have a deep understanding of industry trends and legislation and how best to adapt to changes in the competitive landscape. I am genuinely excited to become a member of the TTC team, helping to further shape the future of its already hugely successful behavioural training offerings.”
Dave Marsh, CEO of TTC added, “As we continue to diversify the TTC Group offering, Kylie’s holistic understanding of the challenges and requirements of the public sector will be invaluable. As an experienced and highly successful training professional, Kylie has both a strong history and deep understanding of the public sector to help ensure TTC training meets the needs of a wide range of organisations. We are thrilled to welcome Kylie to the TTC team and look forward working together to serve existing and new clients and partners.”
The British Army demonstrated the Archer Mobile Howitzer – an artillery system with fully automated gun designed for rapid deployment.
The first in the series of Exercise Dynamic Front 25 involved 5,000 soldiers, including 350 deployed by the British Army.
This is the first time Finland has hosted a major international military exercise since becoming a NATO member in April 2023.
British Army personnel have demonstrated a first live firing of a next-generation howitzer amidst freezing conditions in one of the largest series of NATO artillery exercises ever conducted in Europe.
As temperatures plummeted to -3 degrees Celsius just outside the Arctic Circle, 350 Army personnel joined soldiers from 28 countries – including NATO’s newest member Finland – on Exercise Dynamic Front 25.
During the 12 days of training, which began on the 14 November, the Army demonstrated its capability by conducting its first live firing on exercise with the Archer Mobile Howitzer – an artillery system with fully automated gun designed for rapid deployment. The system, which can fire more than eight rounds a minute at a range of 50km, was procured at speed from Sweden last year.
An Archer Artillery Gun is fired by troops from 19th Regiment Royal Artillery, during a live range on Rovajärvi Training Area during Exercise Dynamic Front, Finland
Also demonstrated in training were the enemy artillery detection radar, TAIPAN, and the UK’s Multiple Launch Rocket System, which can fire up to 12 rockets or missiles in less than a minute.
The training is the first in a wider NATO Dynamic Front 25 series, which takes place across four more countries in the coming months and aims to coordinate live fire artillery capabilities between allied nations from the Arctic Circle to the Black Sea. The exercise reinforces the government’s ‘NATO first’ defence strategy which has seen it set European security as its defence priority and commit to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence.
Minister for the Armed Forces Luke Pollard MP said:
“The successful live firing of the powerful Archer Mobile Howitzer shows we are equipping our Armed Forces with the latest battle-winning weaponry to help keep the UK secure at home and strong abroad.
“This joint exercise reiterates our unshakeable commitment to NATO and demonstrates our collective readiness to meet emerging threats and deter aggression across Europe.”
The exercise focused on advanced NATO technology, with soldiers connecting different military systems from multiple members of the alliance. This allowed shared information to rapidly direct responses across the field.
This comes a month after the UK announced it will strengthen NATO’s eastern flank with a new defence roadmap signed with Estonia. The joint declaration will see thousands of UK troops held at high readiness, ready to defend NATO’s eastern flank, in addition to those deployed in Estonia. It will also boost cooperation on developing long range missiles with NATO Allies, improving the Alliance’s collective air defence and offering opportunities to the UK defence industry.
It is the first time Finland has hosted a major international military exercise since becoming a NATO member following Russia’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It takes place as Ukraine marked 1,000 days of the war on 19th November.
The LGIU and CCLA Cllr awards are the only national awards to celebrate the vital work of councillors across the country.
Cllr Robinson was first elected to Liverpool City Council in 2008, representing the Kensington & Fairfield ward. He became Leader in May 2023, having previously held the position of Cabinet Member for Finance, responsible for setting the Council’s budget. He is also the Liverpool City Region Cabinet Member for Innovation.
Awards: Cllr Robinson (centre) and Cllr Rahima Farah (far right) receiving their gongs
Cllr Robinson was nominated for his “calm, committed leadership, focused on integrity and good governance” which has helped lead the Council out of statutory intervention” and he was praised for “new relationships with partners and community engagement being at the heart of his leadership style”.
Prior to that, Cllr Robinson was Chair of Merseytravel, and subsequently Portfolio Holder for Transport for the Liverpool City Region. During his time at Merseytravel and the Combined Authority, making public transport more affordable, particularly for young people, was a key focus.
A second major award of the night was for Liverpool’s Cllr Rahima Farah, who represents Toxteth, who won in the Community Champion category.
The judging panel noted that Cllr Farah “has made an immediate and outstanding impact across her community, with a particular focus on tackling health inequality and providing opportunities for young people.” Elected in 2023, Cllr Farah was commended by the judges for her “commitment to constituents.”
The winners were announced at a ceremony at London’s Guildhall, showcasing the best of local government, and were chosen by a judging panel comprised of senior councillors and leading stakeholders from across the sector.
More information about the winners can be found here.
Fusion21 has announced the renewal of its national Building Safety and Compliance Framework, worth up to £800 million over four years, and is now inviting bids from interested suppliers providing regional, or national coverage.
The procurement with purpose provider is seeking competent and specialist suppliers to help landlords manage and maintain safe buildings and demonstrate compliance.
Suitable for all building types across the public sector, this fourth-generation framework continues to support Fusion21’s ‘big six’ offer and includes a new lot dedicated to sprinkler and mist systems.
The framework is split into twelve lots:
Lot 1 Asbestos Surveying and Consultancy
Lot 2 Asbestos Abatement and Removal
Lot 3 Legionella and Water Hygiene Consultancy
Lot 4 Legionella Monitoring and Control
Lot 5 Fire Safety Surveying and Consultancy (Multi-Disciplinary)
Lot 6 Fire Risk Assessments
Lot 7 Fire Safety Inspections
Lot 8 Passive Fire Protection
Lot 9 Fire Suppression (Sprinkler and Mist) Systems
Lot 10 Active Fire Safety
Lot 11 Warden Call and Tele-health
Lot 12 Electronic Security
Peter Francis, Group Executive Director (Operations) at Fusion21 said: “Set to launch in April 2025, this framework renewal will enable members to continue addressing the unique safety challenges of buildings ensuring the ‘golden thread’ of information is maintained, while also helping to address the challenges created by new legislation – such as the Building Safety Act (BSA 2022).
“The framework is being set up under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and Fusion21 members accessing this offer will benefit from flexible call-off options, support from technical experts, and measurable cost efficiencies.
“As with all Fusion21’s frameworks, the Building Safety and Compliance Framework will help members to deliver social value they can see in communities, aligned with their organisational priorities.”
Tender applications are welcome from interested suppliers (existing and new) that meet the criteria set out in the tender documentation. To learn more and apply for the framework use the following link: hubs.li/Q02XgVxN0 and click on ‘Current opportunities’.
The submission deadline is Friday 17 January 2025, at 12 noon.
Scottish Public Finance Minister Ivan McKee has welcomed a report detailing spending by Scotland’s public bodies.
Commenting on the Public Bodies Data Report, Mr McKee said it will provide ‘crucial clarity’ and inform work to establish how frontline services can continue to be prioritised.
Mr McKee said: “The Scottish Government has made improving public services a key priority, alongside eradicating child poverty, building prosperity and protecting the planet. We are proud to have more frontline public sector workers than other parts of the UK, and to pay them more, demonstrating the value we place on workforce, skills, quality and fairness.
“But we also recognise that within our finite budget, and ongoing financial constraints and cost pressures, exacerbated by Brexit and 14 years of austerity, we have a responsibility to ensure that the investment the Scottish Government makes in our public services on behalf of the people of Scotland is used efficiently and sustainably.
“Our commitment to improvement is reflected in a programme of public service reform built on two key elements – ensuring public services remain fiscally sustainable – and improving outcomes for people and communities.
“Our reform challenge will be ensuring spending is proportionate to the value the public derives from services. Today’s publication marks a key step towards addressing the challenges we face. But I am hugely encouraged by the commitment already demonstrated to this work by public sector leaders as we work closely to focus on front-line spending and ensure services remain fiscally sustainable through investment.”
A collaborative partnership between Sodexo’s Aberdeen-based Energy & Resources business and Sodexo-managed prison, HMP Addiewell will see 50 sleep pods donated to the Aberdeen Cyrenians, a registered charity dedicated to supporting vulnerable people and those experiencing homelessness.
Sodexo is committed to contributing positively to the communities in which it operates and with a strong presence in Aberdeen was aware of the work of the Aberdeen Cyrenians and reached out to offer support.
The Aberdeen Cyrenians is a local charity and social care services provider supporting some of the most vulnerable people in the community facing crisis, trauma, addiction, homelessness, and isolation for over 50 years.
With winter planning underway, Aberdeen Cyrenians and partners had identified a need for rapid response and immediate relief for potential rough sleeping. Sodexo connected the charity to HMP Addiewell to organise a donation of 50 sleep pods to help the city, with Aberdeen Cyrenians acting as a distribution ‘hub’ to support local organisations.
The sleep pods are emergency one-person shelters developed by registered charity, Sleep Pod to protect rough sleepers in severe weather.
Donna Hutchison, chief executive officer, Aberdeen Cyrenians said: “Whilst our focus is on the prevention of homelessness we recognise the need to have the necessary contingencies in place to mitigate risk as we come into the winter months. We are delighted to be working with Sodexo and HMP Addiewell, with the sleep pods offering a safer and more dignified alternative to sleeping rough.”
Sleep Pod has been working in partnership with Sodexo and HMP Addiewell for a number of years, distributing sleep pods to charities across the country. This collaborative partnership is not only benefiting the vulnerable and homeless in local communities in Scotland and beyond but is helping reduce the risk of prisoner reoffending by equipping them with valuable skills which improves their employability prospects on release.
Ian Ashby, Sleep Pod co-founder adds: ”Sleep Pod is pleased to work alongside HMP Addiewell, Sodexo’s Energy & Resources business, and Aberdeen Cyrenians in supporting vulnerable individuals facing homelessness. Together, this partnership enables us to provide vital emergency shelters that meet the needs of those most affected by severe weather. Our ongoing collaboration with Sodexo allows us to strengthen these efforts, providing essential resources where they are most needed.”
Tony Brady, business development director, Energy & Resources, Sodexo UK & Ireland, told GPSJ: “As a business, we are committed to supporting and helping out our local charities. Building this partnership with the Aberdeen Cyrenians was key in making a real difference in the lives of those who are experiencing homelessness, especially as we now head into the colder months.”
Typhoons from RAF Lossiemouth monitored the Russian Bear-F aircraft flying over the North Sea
Operation comes as Royal Navy shadowed Russian military vessels passing through the English Channel
Second time in three months that the Royal Navy and RAF have detected Russian ships and aircraft within a week of each other
RAF fighter jets were yesterday scrambled when a Russian military aircraft was detected flying close to UK airspace.
Two Typhoons from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland monitored a Russian Bear-F aircraft as it flew over the North Sea. The Russian reconnaissance plane had been detected in the UK’s area of interest and at no time was it able to enter UK sovereign airspace.
The incident comes after the Royal Navy shadowed Russian military vessels passing through the English Channel over the past week.
The Typhoons, which were supported by a Voyager refuelling aircraft, are part of the RAF’s Quick Reaction Alert. This sees aircraft in Scotland and England at high-readiness 24/7, 365 days a year ready to defend and protect UK airspace.
The scrambling follows British warships, helicopters, and long-range maritime patrol aircraft keeping close watch on the progress of two separate groups of Russian ships as they sailed in opposite directions – one bound for the Atlantic and the other towards the Baltic. This ensured the ships acted in a safe and non-threatening manner.
In the Channel, HMS Iron Duke and tanker RFA Tideforce shadowed three Russian vessels, which were led by the new frigate Admiral Golovko.
The Golovko was accompanied by oceanographic research vessel Yantar and supporting tanker Vyazma. All three had been tracked by the Norwegian Navy before British forces took over. The Duke class frigate and Tide-class tanker, supported by an RAF P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, followed the ships through the Dover Strait and Channel before handing over monitoring duties to the French Navy.
As the Golovko continued her journey, Iron Duke took over shadowing duties of the second Russian group. Frigate Neustrashimy and her support ship, tanker Akademik Pashin were travelling to their home port in the Baltic. Iron Duke remained in contact with the pair back through the Channel and into the North Sea before handing over to a Dutch warship.
Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard said:
“Our adversaries should be in no doubt of our steadfast determination and formidable ability to protect the UK.
“The Royal Navy and RAF have once again shown they stand ready to defend our country at a moment’s notice and I pay tribute to the professionalism and bravery of those involved in these latest operations.”
This is the second time in three months that the Royal Navy and RAF have detected Russian ships and aircraft within a week of each other.
In a landmark policy shift, the UK government has announced the complete abolition of the non-dom tax regime, effective April 2025. The reform will replace the current non-domiciled status with a residence-based tax scheme, fundamentally altering the tax obligations for thousands of non-dom individuals residing in the UK. With this announcement, many non-dom residents are considering their financial future and residency status to align with the new rules.
Steph Gemson, founder of accountancy company TaxGem, discusses the implications of this change in the UK tax landscape and offers guidance on what people should do next if it impacts them.
What does the New Residence-Based Scheme mean?
From April 6, 2025, all UK residents, regardless of domicile status, will be taxed on their worldwide income and gains after four years of residence, removing the previous remittance basis option.
This means people who don’t class the UK as their permanent, main country of residence can no longer pay an annual remittance basis charge to exclude foreign income and gains from UK tax if they are not brought into the UK; all global income and gains will be taxed on an arising basis.
Individuals new to UK tax residence (defined as those in their first four years, after at least a decade abroad) will still have a four-year period during which foreign income and gains will be exempt from UK tax, with no restrictions on remittance.
How will the new regulations impact current non-doms?
The existing option for non-doms to pay a remittance basis charge to limit UK tax to UK-sourced income will be abolished, meaning all residents will now be taxed on worldwide income after four years of UK residence. Previously, non-doms could maintain their status and the remittance basis for many years, but under the new regime, non-dom distinctions are effectively eliminated for tax purposes, creating a uniform tax treatment for all residents.
Unlike the previous indefinite remittance basis option, the new regime will offer new UK residents a limited four-year exemption from foreign income and gains taxation, after which full UK taxation applies.
Non-doms accustomed to sheltering foreign assets, income and gains may face increased administrative and financial complexities under full worldwide taxation, which can impact wealth management, trusts, and cross-border income tax planning.
What should current non-dom UK residents do to manage their tax liabilities and finances?
Global financial planning is essential for non-dom UK residents who have previously relied on remittance-based rules. Careful global assets and income management under a worldwide tax scope, potentially impacting wealth management strategies and investments abroad, must be undertaken by a qualified, experienced accountant or tax adviser who understands global tax liabilities.
Non-doms new to the UK may benefit from the four-year exemption on foreign income and gains. Planning around this window can help maximise tax efficiency during the initial years of UK residency. For individuals with significant foreign income or assets, relocating outside the UK may be more attractive to preserve tax advantages.
Non-doms with foreign trusts or complex asset holdings should reassess these structures under the new rules, potentially restructuring to mitigate global taxation impacts. Non-doms can also utilise the Temporary Repatriation Facility (TRF) to remit overseas funds at a reduced tax rate. Also, they could qualify to rebase certain foreign assets, providing short-term opportunities to manage tax exposure effectively.
How can non dom UK residents still optimise their financial portfolios in the UK?
Despite removing the non-dom status there will still be tax-efficient investment options and methods for non dom UK residents to optimise their financial portfolios. With worldwide income becoming taxable, investing in UK-based assets can simplify tax obligations and reduce exposure to additional foreign tax complications, especially for income-generating assets. Tax-efficient investment wrappers like ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) and pension contributions remain exempt from UK income and capital gains taxes – making this an attractive option for individuals looking to shelter investments from tax.
Eligible non-doms can elect to rebase certain foreign assets to their value as of April 5, 2017, ensuring only gains arising after this date are subject to UK Capital Gains Tax. This can significantly reduce tax liabilities on existing assets.
Reviewing offshore trusts under the new rules is essential for those with substantial assets. Due to new UK-wide tax obligations, trusts may need to be adjusted or, in some cases, liquidated if they no longer provide the intended tax benefits.
The Temporary Repatriation Facility (TRF) offers a window to bring pre-6 April 2025 foreign income and gains into the UK at a reduced tax rate. This can be advantageous for non-doms needing liquidity or wishing to reinvest in the UK while managing tax exposure.
Non-doms can also explore UK-compliant offshore investment funds structured to defer tax on growth until assets are realised or repatriated, aligning with global investment strategies while managing immediate tax impacts. Consideration must also be given to restructuring investments to prioritise assets generating capital gains over those producing dividends or interest, as capital gains may allow for more flexibility with lower rates of tax and available reliefs and exemptions, optimising the overall tax efficiency of the portfolio.
To ensure you navigate the new rules, seek a tax expert to help you make the correct financial decisions and understand your obligations and potential reliefs. Missteps in reporting foreign income or structuring international assets under the new rules could lead to hefty tax penalties. Professional advisors will ensure compliance with the updated HMRC requirements and minimise any risk. Experienced tax advisors can also guide non-doms in assessing options like relocating assets, adjusting investment portfolios, or considering alternative residency plans to optimise tax exposure and align with personal financial goals. With transitional reliefs, such as rebasing and the Temporary Repatriation Facility, professional advice is also key to strategically timing and structuring asset transfers, allowing non-doms to maximise these benefits while available.
Clinisys WinPath go-lives at Northern Health and Social Care Trust and the cervical cytology screening service complete phase three of the CoreLIMS programme to transform pathology services across the country
The transformation of pathology services across Northern Ireland has achieved another milestone, with the completion of phase three of the CoreLIMS programme to deploy Clinisys WinPath to all five health and social care trusts and the blood transfusion service.
Phase three was completed in late October, when Northern Health and Social Care Trust went live with the laboratory information management system in blood sciences and microbiology, and the national cervical cytology screening service hosted by Belfast Health and Social Care Trust adopted the LIMS.
South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust also completed its deployment by implementing the blood transfusion module. Health minister Mike Nesbitt paid tribute to the hard work and dedication of all those involved.
“I would like to acknowledge all the teams and individuals involved in the latest, successful implementation,” he said. “Congratulations to the Business Services Organisation CoreLIMS project team and Northern trust laboratory staff for all their hard work and dedication.
“A world class digital healthcare service is at the heart of our future healthcare needs. This will enable us to better manage demand, standardise reporting across the health service, and ensure a better service for patients.”
The pathology transformation programme was set up to create an integrated, regional laboratory service to streamline management, standardise ways of working, modernise working conditions, and improve access for patients.
The CoreLIMS programme is a key enabler for these ambitions. It has to be aligned with other IT developments, including the roll-out of a new electronic patient record and imaging system at each trust as part of the Encompass programme to create a single, digital health record for every citizen.
Despite this complex environment, the programme has proceeded successfully since the first trusts, Belfast and South Eastern, went live with Clinisys WinPath last November.
In the second phase of the project, the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service went live at the start of June and all of Northern Ireland’s laboratories went live with cellular pathology to prepare for the cervical cytology service implementation.
The successful completion of phase three means just Southern and Western trusts still need to go live, and this should happen next year. Karin Jackson, chief executive of NIBT, said: “Years of preparation, testing, testing, and hard work have brought the CoreLIMS project to this point.
“Yet again, this has been tremendous work by an amazing team. Well done to all trust staff, the BSO and Clinisys on another great milestone achieved on this CoreLIMS expedition.”
Pathology services in Northern Ireland cost around £100 million each year and employ more than 1,100 staff at 12 laboratory sites to provide a 24/7 service that carries out more than 40 million tests per year.
The CoreLIMS project is not just delivering modern IT to these services, but laying the foundations for further developments, including digital pathology and the use of AI.
Melissa Cochrane, head of programmes delivery at the BSO IT Services division, said one benefit of having the same LIMS in use at the NIBTS and trusts is that it will be able to implement ‘vein to vein’ blood tracking from early 2026.
“We have a blood production and tracking project that we are very proud of,” she said. “We will know where all our blood is at any given time, which is making the system much more efficient, and safer.”
Robin Bell, senior project manager at Clinisys, said the phase three go-lives had gone smoothly, and that was down to the efforts that had been done early in the project to standardise tests, harmonise workflows, and test the new LIMS.
“I would also like to thank all the project managers, IT and laboratory staff for their hard work,” he says. “It is because of the hours they put in upfront that everything went smoothly on the day.
“The success of the latest go-lives with Clinisys WinPath bode well for the rest of the project, because we will be using the same approach, and the trusts are learning from each other as they go.
“We look forward to completing this programme on time or even ahead of time, and to seeing it improve laboratory and clinical services that will transform patient care in Northern Ireland.”
UK remains steadfast in support for Falkland Islanders’ right of self-determination.
Armed Forces Minister met service personnel, members of the Government of the Falkland Islands, and residents
Visit to the South Atlantic islands is first by a Minister from the new Government, and the first of a Defence Minister since 2022
The UK has reaffirmed its commitment to the security and prosperity of the Falkland Islands, as the Minister for the Armed Forces visited the Territory to commemorate Remembrance Day.
During the first visit to the Falkland Islands by a Minister from the new Government, and as the first Defence Minister to visit since 2022, Luke Pollard MP met with service personnel who play a key role in defending the UK’s interests in the South Atlantic.
The annual Remembrance service and parade took place in Stanley today with Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard MP in attendance
The Minister also met the Governor of the Falkland Islands, Members of the Legislative Assembly, and officials from the governments of South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands to reaffirm the UK’s commitment to support security and prosperity in the region.
At a poignant Remembrance Sunday ceremony, the Minister joined residents and military personnel in paying tribute to all those who have served in defence of the Falkland Islands and conflicts across the world.
The Minister laid a wreath in remembrance of the 255 service personnel who lost their lives in the Falklands conflict, honouring the courage and sacrifices made by British servicemen and women in 1982.
The ceremony highlighted the strong bond between the United Kingdom and the Falkland Islands, with the UK remaining steadfast in supporting the islanders’ right of self-determination and security.
Minister for The Armed Forces, Luke Pollard MP told GPSJ:
A Remembrance Service first took place in the Christ Church Cathedral in Stanley before a parade made up of all three branches of the Armed Forces, Falkland Islands Defence Force and Veterans, made its way along the coast to the war memorial where a further Service and wreath laying took place
“The UK’s commitment to the Falkland Islands’ security and economic prosperity is as strong as ever – from protecting the region’s incredible wildlife to upholding the islands right of self-determination.
“I am honoured to have been able to join islanders and service personnel as they commemorated those who sacrificed so much to protect the Falklands.
“The UK stands with the Falkland Islands today and always.”
During the visit, the Minister met with service personnel stationed on the islands, where he thanked them for their dedication to securing peace and stability in the South Atlantic.
The UK continues to retain a strong defence presence on the Falkland Islands, on land, sea and air, highlighting an unshakeable commitment to the security of the region.
Minister Pollard visited HMS Forth, which patrols the sovereign waters of the Islands, to meet her crew.
He also met personnel from the Royal Air Force’s 905 Expeditionary Air Wing, which currently operates four typhoons as part of a Quick Reaction Alert, which are poised 24/7 to intercept any unidentified aircraft.
Alongside the RAF, the Royal Navy’s HMS Forth patrols the region seas, with their focus on reassurance and joint training operations, search and rescue support, fishery protection and general maritime security in the area.
On land, around 100 troops from 2 Royal Gurkha Regiment are currently stationed on the island as part of the British Forces South Atlantic Islands forward presence.
The Minister’s visit serves as a clear message of the UK Government’s enduring commitment to the Falkland Islands and its Overseas Territories, highlighting ongoing efforts to foster regional stability and reinforce the UK’s historical and strategic ties in the South Atlantic.
SWARCO UK & Ireland, the UK’s leading intelligent traffic solution and technology business, has signed a significant long-term partnership agreement with Suffolk County Council to deliver, install and maintain Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) throughout the county over the next 10 years.
The new contract, which extends SWARCO’s working relationship with Suffolk County Council to more than 30 years, has been expanded from previous iterations to deliver innovative transport systems to provide greater benefits to the Suffolk taxpayer.
Alongside fault attendance, planned maintenance and traffic signal upgrades, different sign types including Vehicle Activated Signs (VAS) and Variable Message Signs (VMS), CCTV, Air Quality and Weather Station monitoring, SWARCO will also provide the county council with its Urban Traffic Management Control (UTMC) system, SWARCO MyCity, providing a long-term innovative solution to controlling, monitoring and managing Suffolk’s entire portfolio of ITS assets.
John Clements, Assistant Director of Highways Services at Suffolk County Council, says: “ITS is a vast umbrella of services which includes repairing and maintaining traffic signals, to monitoring air quality on busy junctions around our towns. SWARCO is an industry leader when it comes to innovating in this arena and we are glad to have them working with us in Suffolk.
Darrell Webb, SWARCO UK & Ireland’s Regional Operations Manager, says the new, expanded contract is a significant milestone for SWARCO and testament to the knowledge and expertise of its Suffolk-based delivery team that has helped foster a long-term working partnership with Suffolk County Council:
“The contract win was a real team effort drawing upon the local knowledge and expertise of our Suffolk-based delivery team, ensuring our delivery model was tailored to the exact requirements of the contract and its day-to-day needs. Our technology team developed and delivered a clear ITS roadmap, which includes the introduction of our MyCity system to handle Urban Traffic Control operations and traffic signage control.
“We look forward to our continued partnership, helping to deliver greater ITS efficiency to the benefit of the local community. We continue to invest in the Suffolk area with a local service centre, several local charity partnerships, and recently becoming a ‘Suffolk Industry Partner’ providing careers guidance to local graduates and trainees.“
Fusion21 has recently announced the renewal of its national Workplace and Facilities Management Framework, worth up to £800 million over four years, and is now inviting bids from interested suppliers providing regional, or national coverage.
The procurement experts are looking for suppliers that can manage the operation of non-domestic buildings – from single sites to larger portfolios.
The framework will provide a range of facilities management (FM) services suitable for various building types including hard and soft services.
The framework is split into four lots:
Lot 1 FM Principal Contractor (Total FM)
Lot 2 Cleaning and Washroom Services
Lot 3 Security Services
Lot 4 Building Engineering Services
Peter Francis, Group Executive Director (Operations) at Fusion21 said: “In response to member and supplier feedback, our refreshed offer is due to launch in February 2025 and will facilitate the outsourcing of building management contracts to support built environment portfolios and enable organisations to focus on their core activities.
“This simplified and compliant framework will offer a fast route to market and updated pricing models, alongside supply chain innovation and efficiencies. Other benefits include flexible call-off procedures to streamline procurement activity.
“Fusion21 has a 22-year history of delivering procurement with purpose, and as with all of Fusion21’s frameworks, the Workplace and Facilities Management Framework will help members to deliver social value they can see in communities, aligned with their organisational priorities.”
Tender applications are welcome from interested suppliers that meet the criteria set out in the tender documentation. To learn more and apply for the framework use the following link: hubs.li/Q02RQ30G0 and click on ‘Current opportunities’.
The submission deadline is Friday 22 November 2024, at 10am.
The Armed Forces Commissioner will champion those serving and their families.
A bill introduced in Parliament today will create the new role to improve service life.
The first of its kind commissioner will have powers to hold the department to account.
In the next step of this government’s commitment to improving service life, the government has introduced the Armed Forces Commissioner Bill today – the first ever independent champion for serving personnel and their families.
The bill introduced yesterday, which was included in The King’s Speech in July, is the first step in legislating for the brand-new role which is welcomed by serving personnel.
The Commissioner will be a direct point of contact for serving personnel and their families to raise issues which impact service life, from equipment to housing and unacceptable behaviours.
With powers to visit defence sites unannounced and commission reports, the Commissioner will hold defence to account and drive improvements to service life. The Commissioner will report to Parliament through annual and one-off thematic reports.
Defence Secretary John Healey
Defence Secretary John Healey MP said:
“Our government is delivering on our manifesto commitment to renew the nation’s contract with those who serve. The new Armed Forces Commissioner will be a strong, independent voice for our forces to improve service life.
“Our government will always stand up for those who serve our country, and our Armed Forces will always have our fullest support. That’s why we have already confirmed the largest pay rise for personnel in over 20 years, and are taking further steps today.
“The Armed Forces Commissioner will champion serving personnel and their families who make great sacrifices to help keep Britain secure at home and strong abroad.”
The new role, a manifesto commitment, acknowledges need for change to better support serving personnel and follows the largest pay rise for Armed Forces in over 20 years. Recruitment reforms have also taken place to scrap outdated policies and make the process more straightforward for those who wish to join the military.
The Commissioner will be appointed once legislation is complete. Once in post, the Commissioner will incorporate the functions currently undertaken by the Service Complaints Ombudsman Commissioner whose remit is too narrow and reactive. The Ombudsman can only investigate individual complaints after the Service Complaints Process has finished.
The Armed Forces Commissioner is an important part of this government’s commitment to renew our nation’s contract with those who serve, because the strength of our defence lies in the serving men and women of our forces.
Charge point operator (CPO) Believ has won a place on a framework agreement with the Church of England (CoE) and Church in Wales (CiW) Parish Buying Service to make its publicly accessible electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure solution available to the 18,000 properties under the Parish Buying Service’s jurisdiction.
The Framework is designed to support the CoE and CiW in achieving net zero by 2030, and to help communities to provide publicly accessible EV charge points for their residents and visitors.
Believ offers a fully funded solution installing, operating and maintaining charge points of all speeds – at zero cost to local authorities, landowners or businesses. As a supplier on the framework agreement, Believ will partner with the Parish Buying Service in its mission to reduce its carbon footprint, protect the biodiversity within church grounds and land and help reduce the Church’s impact on the climate emergency.
All churches, schools and village halls with car parks on land owned by the CoE and CiW are able to request EV charging infrastructure support through this tender.
Kevin Ledger, Senior Business Partnerships Manager at Believ, says the CoE and CiW properties sit at the heart of their communities:
“These organisations are some of the largest landowners in the UK, and so this framework agreement has the potential to accelerate the rollout of much needed publicly accessible charging infrastructure,” he says. “By installing EV charge points, churchgoers and local residents without off-street parking spaces will now benefit from the possibilities that sustainable motoring can bring them and help us connect rural communities to the EV charging infrastructure.”
David Richards, Net Zero Carbon Officer for the CoE and CiW Parish Buying Service, says Believ’s fully funded solution is essential: “Through establishing this framework, we aim to drive awareness of how installing EV charge points can help churches in their journey towards becoming more sustainable, crucially without any capital expenditure, but also introduce them to a new income stream that can derive from a church’s existing parking spaces and land.
“This new income can then be used to fund further net zero projects. We urge all churches to take advantage of these opportunities to make sustainable changes and tackle the climate crisis.”
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