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The Institute of Economic Development (IED) and the Rural Services Network (RSN) have devised a new practitioner-focused toolkit which is intended as a guide for “anyone seeking to raise rural relevance in the economic agenda”.
The Rural Economy Toolkit, which is being launched on 12 November ied.co.uk/news_events/events_calendar/rural_toolkit_launch, is designed to ensure that rural areas are better recognised in economic strategies and to enable the identification of new opportunities to drive forward rural initiatives.
 Bev Hurley The IED and RSN collectively believe that rural economies present great opportunities for the UK and have been somewhat overlooked in recent economic policy, including in the development of the UK Industrial Strategy (and subsequent local versions) and the Government’s Plan for Jobs. A recent report from the RSN states that predominantly rural areas in England contributed £260 billion of Gross Value Added to the national economy during 2018, which accounts for almost a 16% share of England’s economic output. That rural share has reduced somewhat over time, from 16.4% in 2010 to 15.9% in 2018, as London has expanded further its share of the country’s activity.
Acknowledging that “the situation needs to be addressed”, with the UK required to better utilise its overall resource base, its existing built assets and infrastructure and the whole of its population through more even distribution of productive effort, the Rural Economy Toolkit:
- Uncovers the issues that are preventing rural economies from gaining full recognition.
- Reviews some of the policy drivers that are affecting rural economies.
- Outlines some of the ‘mega trends’ which will create change in rural economies but links these to opportunities.
- Provides a number of case studies of different rural economy initiatives as well as some examples of successful rural businesses.
- Identifies the steps that can be taken to ensure that rural economies remain in the economic narrative.
- Summarises the key measures that rural economies can address to answer “what looks good”.
Speaking ahead of the toolkit’s formal launch on Thursday, IED Chair Bev Hurley CBE and RSN CEO Graham Biggs MBE said: “Current economic
 Graham Biggs strategies in the UK tend towards an urban narrative with the important rural agenda overlooked – despite the importance of resources, activities and people in these areas to the future economic strength of the country. Many drivers of change in the economy have an important rural dimension and create economic opportunities. The most important drivers in this report are identified as low carbon, digitisation, ageing and wealth creation. There are many examples of best practice, where rethinking a rural approach led to economic gains ignored by mainstream strategy. This toolkit approach encourages lateral thinking not standardisation. There is no such thing as ‘rural businesses’ – any business can thrive in a rural setting. The Rural Economy Toolkit provided sets out how rural areas can define themselves; find and present the relevant data; use comparators and time series data to identify strengths and weaknesses and then combine this with lived experience to seize the initiative in strategy.”
Rural economy ‘best practice’ featuring in the toolkit are the Borderlands Growth Deal, Broadband for the Rural North, National Innovation Centre for Ageing, South West Mutual and Transition Town Totnes. There is also a handy ‘top tips’ guide on the things that should be considered to deliver a successful economic strategy.
 Reporter: Stuart Littleford
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will embrace AI and automation, enhance patient safety, and alleviate pressure on busy staff in a new deal with tech partner Alcidion. Clinicians will use an entire new range of smart technologies and get more from existing IT.
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has signed a major deal with smart health technology provider Alcidion. An entire range of new technology capabilities will alleviate pressure for busy NHS professionals, helping to automate routine tasks, enhance patient safety and improve the delivery of care, whilst also fully harnessing the trust’s existing IT.
The trust, which employs around 9,000 people, will benefit from a modern technology suite that will allow clinical staff to much more easily utilise crucial information and insights, with IT systems working together to proactively aid clinical decisions.
South Tees Hospitals will adopt Alcidion’s Miya Precision solution as well as the Better OPENeP electronic prescribing and medicines administration system, in a move that will rapidly advance the trust’s digital maturity and orchestrate the trust’s best of breed technology strategy.
Mr Andrew Adair, chief clinical information officer and emergency medicine consultant at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This technology is designed for clinicians by people who really understand clinicians. Our agreement with Alcidion will allow us to accelerate our digital maturity and adopt modern technology that will have a very significant positive impact on the daily lives of the people who use it.
“We have been determined to finalise this agreement at a time of unprecedented pressure in the NHS. The systems we are about to implement will help to lighten the burden faced by clinical staff who are working fantastically hard, by reducing time spent on manual processes and providing some extremely impressive clinical decision support tools. We have chosen to work with Alcidion as more than just another technology supplier – but as a partner that has already demonstrated it understands the needs of our healthcare professionals, our digital strategy and the specific needs of our organisation.”
Miya Precision, a new type of technology for the UK, was formally launched during the summer as the first smart clinical asset for the NHS. It will provide South Tees Hospitals with a trust-wide orchestration layer to integrate information held across existing systems, converting it to the FHIR standard. This will allow data currently held in disparate systems to be consolidated and referenced by artificial intelligence and advanced clinical decision support provided through the Miya Precision platform.
The new system will automate tasks, care plans and pathways at South Tees Hospitals, saving many hours of time traditionally spent by doctors and nurses on manual and administrative functions. Intelligent algorithms and data science that underpin Miya Precision will support new ways of working at the trust and will provide new and advanced functionality around clinical noting, natural language processing, flow management and remote monitoring of patients. The system will also provide a common user interface for dozens of IT systems in place across the trust, whilst Miya Memory, the company’s mobile solution, will make the full patient record accessible to clinicians on mobile devices.
 Lynette Ousby General Manager UK – Alcidion Lynette Ousby, UK general manager for Alcidion, said: “South Tees Hospitals will use Miya Precision to move beyond static systems of record, to systems that proactively engage staff. We are committed to working with the trust and its existing suppliers to unlock substantial value from their current IT investments and complementing that with new technological capabilities in an interconnected way. Ripping out investments to accelerate digital maturity is no longer the only option for the NHS. South Tees Hospitals’ decision demonstrates this, and we look forward to working with the trust to make sure we deliver technology in a way that is genuinely helpful to users.”
The Miya Precision suite of modules incorporates the well-known Patientrack electronic observations system. It will alert staff at South Tees Hospitals with early warnings when patients are at risk of harm or deterioration and will digitise how nurses capture vital signs at the bedside. This will allow the automatic calculation of patients’ early warning scores that will trigger alerts to doctors and appropriate care teams in the hospital when they need to intervene to prevent harm.
This electronic observations functionality is used in more than 40 NHS hospitals to great effect, where healthcare professionals have innovated with the system to help to save lives, improve patient safety, and substantially reduce adverse events such as cardiac arrests and admissions to intensive care. It has also been used to better manage and detect deadly illnesses including sepsis and acute kidney injury.
 Kate Quirke – CEO Alcidion OPENeP – a highly respected ePMA system from Better, will allow the trust to digitise its prescribing and medicines administration processes. South Tees Hospitals will be the second NHS trust to benefit from a partnership between Alcidion and Better. The ePMA will launch alongside the electronic observations and patient assessments in the first phase of the technology deployment, allowing seamless integration between electronic observations and medication processes, in a move that will enhance patient safety.
South Tees Hospitals is the second NHS trust to procure a combination of Alcidion’s Miya Precision and Patientrack systems and the Better OPENeP solution – following early adopter Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust. It is the largest hospital trust in the Tees Valley and runs the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough and the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton as well as community services in Hambleton and Richmondshire, Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland, providing care for more than 1.5 million people.
Alcidion Group managing director, Kate Quirke, said: “Clinical staff working across South Tees Hospitals will be among the first in the UK to benefit from our range of healthcare technologies that have been specifically built to make the right thing to do, the easiest thing to do, even during the busiest of times. It is extremely rewarding to see South Tees Hospitals enter into this agreement so soon after we formally launched Miya Precision as the first smart clinical asset for the NHS. The NHS remains one of our most significant partners anywhere in the world, and I look forward to driving forward this new partnership for the benefit of staff and patients at the trust.”
 Woking Town centre WPS, one of the UK’s leading parking equipment providers, is helping Woking Borough Council to provide a seamless visitor and resident experience with a series of ticketless car park upgrades as a part of Woking town centre’s regeneration.
Central to each installation is the use of WPS’s leading-edge Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) based parking technology, which reads a driver’s number plate on entry to a car park and calculates the parking fee based on their length of stay.
Before leaving, users have multiple payments options, including cash, chip & pin and contactless (including Apple Pay and Google Pay) at WPS’ ParkAdvance™ pay stations or via the WPS-integrated JustPark App. The customer keys in their car registration number at the pay station or enters a car park code in the app – once paid, exit barriers automatically open. The overall solution includes a web portal for managing season ticket / permit holders using the car parks. The WPS system also links real-time to the JustPark app to provide an ‘AutoPay’ parking experience, where regular users can exit and pay automatically for their parking by preregistering their licence plate and payment details.
New digital “VMS” signage will be installed both on approaching roads and in the new car parks, to help visitors efficiently find available spaces.
The IP-based architecture of the ParkAdvance™ system enables the straight-forward integration of multiple technologies providing total flexibility in system design, as well as a convenient, singular management and reporting platform. The system is also future-proofed, as it can be readily expanded with further features, for example to include retailer and leisure validation and loyalty schemes.
Visitors to the car parks will soon have the option to pay with their theatre or cinema ticket and retailers will be able to discount parking for customers who spend in their outlets. The ticketless system is a greener option, eliminating the requirement for paper tickets and completely removing issues that arise from faulty or lost tickets.
Cllr Ayesha Azad, Leader of Woking Borough Council, praised the excellent working relationship between Woking Borough Council and WPS, which allowed an exacting brief to be developed. She said:
“Our brief was for a seamless customer experience and an advanced system that matched the forward-thinking nature of the town’s regeneration, and this is exactly what we got.
“We are very excited about the enhanced, greener, parking experience that we will now be able to offer visitors to the town centre and can’t wait to welcome shoppers to their new, improved car parks.”
Simon Jarvis, Managing Director of WPS in the UK, says parking is a vital touch point in a visitor’s town centre experience:
“The Council had a well thought out brief that allowed us to work in partnership with them, JustPark and other providers to fully-utilise the best systems and services available. We’ve been able to bring together an integrated suite of leading technologies to create a solution that delivers the utmost in flexibility, efficiency and convenience for Woking residents, commuters and visitors, as well as the Council.”
Hannah Fuller, Head of Partnerships for JustPark, says: “Putting together this brilliant solution is a testament to the collaborative abilities of WPS, JustPark and Woking Borough Council. We’ve worked very hard to create a seamless payment solution, that includes our new AutoPay feature, allowing customers to set up their account to debit automatically when they drive in and out without having to think about it. It’s great to see all this coming to fruition for the benefit of the residents and visitors of Woking.”
The first car park to go live is Victoria Way, a multi-story car park open 24/7 that provides 932 spaces. It will be followed in early 2021 by Shoppers Yellow, Shoppers Blue, Brewery Road and Heathside Crescent. The newly-built Shoppers Red car park will also be launched with the new system.
The installation follows WPS and JustPark’s 2020 British Parking Awards win in the ‘Parking Technology’ category for a solution that combines the benefits of WPS’ ParkAdvance™ pay-on-foot parking system with JustPark’s payment app technology, designed to enhance the customer experience at multiple car parks operated by Cornwall Council.
 Momentum growing in education sector for CO2 monitors
The Scottish Government is leading the call for increased usage of CO2 monitors in classrooms, to reduce the transmission of COVID, and protect pupils and teachers. Local authorities are being advised to learn from neighbouring authorities who already have the monitoring devices in place.
Recently published guidelines state: ‘Local authorities should consider whether CO2 monitors may play a useful role in their overall ventilation monitoring strategies, particularly in areas of the school estate that are identified as higher risk or of concern. CO2 monitors detect the amount of CO2 in a space, which will increase if adequate ventilation is not provided, thereby prompting user intervention such as opening a window or vent, and some schools will have these installed already.’
Universities and local authorities throughout the UK are also implementing a similar CO2 monitor installation strategy.
Preliminary research produced by Sage’s Environmental and Modelling Group (EMG), suggests that in spaces where the same group of people regularly attend, for example schools and universities, continuous monitoring may be possible to use as a transmission risk indicator. The report suggests that a space with 20 people would be unsafe once it reached carbon dioxide levels greater than 1500ppm (parts per million).
‘It has been recognised, even before COVID, that carbon dioxide monitoring is a key indicator as to whether a room is properly ventilated,’ commented Jane Warburton, MD of Flamefast, one of the leading manufacturers of CO2 monitors in the UK.
‘Installing CO2 monitors with an easy-to-follow traffic light indicator provide the occupants with the information to safely manage the air quality,’ she added. ‘Fresh air levels can be measured with CO2 monitors, and doors and windows opened when necessary, without pupils having to work in a constantly cold environment,’ concluded Warburton.
For more information please visit www.flamefast-gas-safety.co.uk/covid
 It has been announced that Pinnacle Group has been appointed to Tier 1 and Tier 2 of the Department for Work and Pension’s (DWP) Commercial Agreement for the provision of Employment and Health Related Services (CAEHRS) across North East England, Southern England, Central England, London and the Home Counties and Wales.
The CAEHRS programme will run for five years, with a budget of £7.5bn, and will be used to facilitate the provision of employment and health services on behalf of the Government and other contracting bodies.
Pinnacle is acting as the lead organisation for an innovative partnership called PORTRUS between Pinnacle and PeoplePlus Enterprises Pty Ltd trading as PeoplePlus Australia. The collaboration brings together vast expertise to deliver market leading employability services aimed at helping people find and stay in work. Combining Pinnacle’s successful and established delivery model with the Australian partner’s innovation and knowledge from an overseas market enables this partnership to offer new ways to combat employment and health challenges in a complex environment.
Pinnacle has been a trusted partner to the DWP since 2008 and is a current Prime provider of DWP’s New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) and has helped more than 40,000 customers to find sustained work through the delivery of a range of community-led solution since its inception.
PeoplePlus Australia helps people move into work by enabling them to gain the skills they need to make them employable. They provide employment and training services to thousands of people each year in over 150 locations across Australia and are appointed to all the Australian’s Government three major program contracts.
Claire Kober, Managing Director, Homes of Pinnacle Group, said “Our work in employability services has become ever more important since COVID-19 and we have a strong track record of delivering employability contracts. We are delighted to be collaborating with PeoplePlus Australia to explore innovative ways to tackle today’s UK employment, health and skills challenges. There is great synergy with our values and those of PeoplePlus Australia, and we look forward to working with them to help people in the UK find lasting employment.”
Executive Director of Growth and Innovation at PeoplePlus Australia, Emma Crichton, echoed Claire’s remarks and added “Our vision at PeoplePlus Australia is to transform lives and businesses through work and training. We help thousands of people a year in Australia and can’t wait to get started on helping thousands more in the UK. We’re excited to partner with Pinnacle Group, and eagerly await the start of CAEHRS.”
If you would like to be considered to work with the partnership, please get in touch at: caehrs@pinnaclegroup.co.uk
 Steve Swinden, Flamefast CEO, with CO2 monitor Reporter: Stacy Clarke
A report by Government scientists suggested that coronavirus could be checked using CO2 monitors.
As pupils and teachers return to classrooms after half term, major concern is currently being expressed throughout the UK for their health and safety and the threat of airborne transmission of COVID.
However, Carbon dioxide monitors could warn when indoor areas are reaching unsafe Covid-19 transmission levels, government scientists have said.
A report produced by Sage’s Environmental and Modelling Group (EMG) suggested that fresh air plays a significant role in keeping the virus at bay indoors, and could be checked using CO2 monitors.
The scientists conclude that measuring elevated levels of carbon dioxide would be an effective way to spot if air flow levels have reached a level where the coronavirus is more likely to spread.
Early in the epidemic, scientists believed that the COVID largely spread on surfaces, but there is increasing evidence it is airborne and people can breathe the virus in and out.
“Continuous CO2 monitoring is not likely to be a reliable proxy for transmission risk in most environments,” the scientists conclude.
“However preliminary research suggests that in spaces where the same group of people regularly attend, for example schools, universities and offices, continuous monitoring may be possible to use as a transmission risk indicator.”
The report suggests that a space with 20 people would be unsafe once it reached carbon dioxide levels greater than 1500ppm (parts per million).
‘It has been recognised, even before COVID, that carbon dioxide monitoring is a key indicator as to whether a room is properly ventilated,’ commented Steve Swinden, CEO of Flamefast, the leading manufacturer of CO2 monitors in the UK.
The researchers recommend that people working in indoor areas such as offices, universities and schools for several hours should be given regular breaks, with the room purged of air before they return.
“We propose installing CO2 monitors with an easy-to-follow traffic light indicator,” commented Swinden. “These are already widely used in schools and offices, and whilst they do not necessarily solve the ventilation problem, they provide the occupants with the information to safely manage the air quality.”
“Fresh air levels can be measured with CO2 monitors and doors and windows opened at regular intervals,” concluded Swinden.
For more information please visit www.flamefast-gas-safety.co.uk/covid
Influential digital health leader joins growing not-for-profit consultancy committed to ‘making a difference to and for the NHS’
 Andy Kinnear Andy Kinnear is to join Ethical Healthcare Consulting, a growing community interest company that is proud to be the only not-for-profit digital health consultancy in the UK.
The former chair of BCS Health and Care and director of digital transformation at NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit, will become partnerships director at Ethical, which is expanding by bringing together high calibre like-minded experts. Andy joins Anne Cooper, the former chief nurse at NHS Digital, who is Ethical’s clinical director.
Andy Kinnear said: “I am really looking forward to getting started. I like what Ethical and the people who work for it stand for: they have real public sector values, and an emphasis on delivering value for health and care that I find very attractive.”
Ethical Healthcare Consulting was founded by its chief executive, Thomas Webb, who previously worked for the NHS and wanted to provide a different consultancy offering more in line with NHS values.
The community interest company is focussed on supporting digital transformation projects across healthcare, from strategy through to business cases, procurement and implementation. It specialises in EPR, clinical imaging, enterprise infrastructure and data strategies as well as clinical safety.
With few financial motivations, the team is focused purely on working in partnership with the NHS, to improve patient care.
Andy Kinnear said: “Most of our work is focused on the real problems that the NHS needs to address today. We all know that a new wave of innovation is coming, with AI and robotics and other technologies that will have a lot to offer health and care in the future.
“But we will only be able to realise their potential if we get good, digital foundations in place now.
 Thomas Web, CEO Ethical Healthcare “We need to create a framework for the exciting world that is coming. That is what I spent my career in the NHS doing, and what I am joining Ethical to continue to do.”
Thomas Webb said he really welcomed the fact that Andy Kinnear had decided to join Ethical’s “small but smart team” at an exciting time for the consultancy.
“It is credit to the Ethical team that they have helped to create an environment in which Andy feels he can continue with his ambition and share our ethos.
“I know that Andy has had his pick of prestigious offers, so it says something that he has decided to work with us,” he said. “We are not super-corporate, and we don’t subscribe to the ‘omnipotent consultant’ mould.
 “We like to think of ourselves as normal, approachable human beings who want to do good work for the right reasons. I’m sure that Andy will support our growth and help us to do more of it, so everybody can benefit from the next wave of digital transformation.”
Ethical is currently working clinical safety for national Covid-19 response programmes, multiple regional EPR and imaging programmes as well as the growing number of regional image and record sharing projects that are being launched to support the NHS ‘reset’ next year.
London housing association uses Totalmobile’s cloud-based job management solution Connect to power up a new in-house repairs service for residents
Totalmobile, the UK leader in Field Service Management software solutions, recently announced that it has provided the technology for Barnet Homes to successfully launch a new in-house repairs service that is dedicated to improving the way property maintenance is delivered to tenants. The provision, designed in consultation with residents and the housing association’s Performance Advisory Group, is shaped around delivering services in line with customers’ needs.
“Our vision is to deliver services efficiently, first time. To achieve that goal, we needed a modern integrated system that could handle everything from appointment booking to work planning in a highly unified and automated manner,” says Pete Davey, Head of IT, Barnet Homes. “Delivering the high-quality repair and maintenance services our residents expect and deserve depends on us having full visibility of our repairs teams at all times – and that’s exactly what Connect gives us, thanks to integrated job management and mobile working technologies.”
Providing a real-time snapshot of the performance of field operatives, the easy-to-configure solution has enabled Barnet Homes to streamline, automate and centrally manage its service delivery processes. The fully featured cloud-based solution provides all the scalability, integration with back-office systems and secure backup Barnet Homes needs to ensure its day-to-day operations are never compromised or disrupted.
Launched at the height of the coronavirus crisis, the new service has already proved a hit with residents.
“Even though Barnet Homes have only been using Connect for a short while, we can already see the benefits that this is delivering to our organisation,” continues Davey. “The dashboards provide us with the real time visibility and control we need and the transition to a cloud-based solution means we now have complete confidence in the security of all our tenant and organisational data.”
Barnet Homes is now using Connect to initiate a number of service enhancements that will significantly extend the portfolio of services delivered to residents. In August, just months after the initial service launch, Barnet Homes successfully brought the servicing and installation of gas heating appliances, as well as managing heating breakdowns, back in-house.
“Residents now have the confidence of dealing with our own operatives, plus we’re better able to manage the speed and quality of our response to residents’ needs. Connect not only enables us to better manage and coordinate our services on a day-to-day basis, it also gives us instant access to the data sets we need to determine the effectiveness and performance of the service and evolve our offering in line with new identified needs,” concludes Davey.
Jim Darragh, CEO of Totalmobile comments, “With Connect, Barnet Homes can use real time monitoring to trigger tasking into the work management system, increase workforce capacity with automation, and use a video-based diagnostic solution to reduce unnecessary site visits. It represents a huge milestone for the team and has been pivotal in helping it transform its operations and respond more effectively to the needs of residents.”
 Abbot’s Way school With schools increasingly relying on digital technologies and cloud-based storage and services to plan and teach the curriculum as well as to communicate with parents and carers, fast, reliable internet access is now essential in education.
For community focused ISP Truespeed, pledging free ultrafast broadband for life to schools passed by their network is part of their ongoing deployment of full fibre, gigabit-capable broadband to businesses and homes in harder to reach areas of the south-west underserved by national broadband providers.
The Bath-based full fibre infrastructure provider is providing staff and students at 50 rural schools in the BANES (Bath and North East Somerset) and Somerset local authority areas free ultrafast broadband for life to support their education.
Marksbury School, Abbot’s Way School and Churchill Academy are already connected to Truespeed’s gigabit-capable broadband service. And all 31 schools that make up the Bath & Wells Multi Academy Trust will come on stream soon, ensuring 7,800 pupils and over 1,400 staff benefit from this award-winning service.
According to Julie Player, Head Teacher at Marksbury C of E Primary School, Truespeed’s ultrafast broadband service has already transformed school life for pupils and staff. “Before we went live with this service our broadband connectivity was so unreliable that we couldn’t really rely on online learning resources,” she explained. “Now teachers can now make the most of cloud-based storage for lesson planning, as well as a whole host of valuable cloud-based teaching aids accessible via interactive smart boards during lessons. Pupils also get to do more real-world learning in class – an important part of the curriculum – by using school iPads to access the internet and connect with local businesses. We have also been able to resurrect our dedicated ICT lessons.”
Gareth Wright and Hellen Lush, Joint Heads at Abbot’s Way School, a new forward-thinking specialist school near Glastonbury added, “The introduction of our Truespeed connection is a vast improvement, with speeds reaching 200Mbps. For our students, assistive technology is an essential resource, enabling them to explore, discover and thrive within the world of technology and support their general learning. The installation of a fast, reliable broadband service is crucial to any educational environment and we are very happy with the Truespeed service,” they concluded.
The firm’s community ethos also extends to providing free broadband for life to local community hubs passed by its network.
Founded in 2014 to help people overcome their struggles with poor connectivity, Truespeed started rolling out its network and gained a £75million from Aviva Investors in 2017. Since then it has connected over 100 communities and has brought life-changing broadband to thousands of people. Truespeed’s deployment methods include connecting fibre cables to existing ducting and poles used for telephone and power lines, minimising disruption to local residents and businesses.
Truespeed recently announced plans to bring Wells into the digital era with Gigabit-capable broadband connectivity for residents, schools, GP surgeries and businesses.
 This afternoon, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and CDL Michael Gove spoke to 250 business leaders on preparing for the end of the transition period.
The Prime Minister thanked businesses for the huge efforts they have made so far this year, both to help with the coronavirus pandemic and to prepare for the end of the transition period. He reiterated that on 1st January 2021, change is going to happen and we will be leaving the single market and the customs union, and that the Government stands ready to help businesses get ready.
He added that this should be a moment of change and dynamism for the UK, providing businesses with fantastic opportunities. He also set out the Government’s ambition to unite and level up the country, by providing better skills, education, technology and infrastructure.
The Prime Minister said:
“Our job is to create the platform for dynamic businesses such as yours to compete and to grow. But it is vital that everybody on this call takes seriously the need to get ready, because whatever happens – whether it’s Canada or Australia – change is going to happen. There is a big opportunity for this country and we want to help all of you to seize that opportunity.”
CDL said:
“I am hugely appreciative of the efforts that so many companies have made over the course of this year, both to help us deal with the Covid crisis and also to prepare for the end of the transition period. We know that this December 31st we will be leaving the customs union and single market come what may. It’s in law, and it’s a fact that the EU and UK accept as immoveable, and that means we need to make sure we’re ready.”
Attendees represented a range of British business and industry, including transport, retail and manufacturing. They outlined ongoing preparations for the end of the transition period, including the challenges and opportunities ahead.
CDL committed to continue working closely with industry in the coming months to ensure that all businesses can prepare for the changes at the end of the transition period, and the actions which businesses need to complete regardless of the outcome of negotiations.
The Prime Minister also made clear that the Government will support businesses to get ready – and was optimistic that the country will thrive whatever the outcome of the negotiations.
Prisons across England are being virtually connected to local hospitals by secure encrypted video, in a move that will reduce the need for prisoners to travel to receive specialist care
NHS England and NHS Improvement have signed a new national agreement that is rapidly connecting prisons in England with specialists in their local hospital through a video collaboration platform provided by health tech company Visionable.
Instead of coordinating physical visits to hospital – which can cost hundreds of pounds – prisons will now be able to use Visionable’s technology to allow prisoners to securely speak to consultants remotely whenever possible and appropriate. The system has already been used to transform how patients and doctors interact in the NHS, and has seen a sharp rise in use during the coronavirus pandemic.
A secure, encrypted client version of the Visionable system was initially rolled out to a prison in March allowing hospital clinicians to provide specialist video consultations to prisoners under the supervision of the prison’s own medical team.
The initiative has proven so successful that it has now been scaled nationally and is in the process of being rapidly deployed to 114 prisons and young offender institutions, 15 secure children’s homes, and five immigration removal centres, where in the longer term it could also potentially be used to virtually connect patients to other NHS services – including primary care and mental health.
 Security has been a paramount consideration during the introduction of the system into prisons. Secure laptops can only be activated with a remote key held by the prison’s own healthcare team, who take the laptop to the prisoner’s location.
The member of staff then uses the secure Visionable platform to join a virtual room, in which they connect to a specific consultant at the hospital at an arranged time. The laptop is then placed in front of the prisoner who can virtually talk to and see their consultant. Consultants are also able to use the system to show important information and diagnostic images such as x-rays and CT scans.
Once the consultation has finished, the consultant can then talk to hospital staff and advise them of necessary next steps – such as issuing a prescription.
The laptop and software have been configured so that it cannot be used for any other communication purpose and that in the event of a laptop being stolen, it would be rendered inoperable.
Alan Lowe, Visionable chief executive, said: “Virtual ways of working in healthcare have quickly become more urgent since Covid-19. But they are also a key means for transforming how people interact with their healthcare professionals in the longer term. This particular project, envisioned before the coronavirus pandemic, is an important expansion of how the NHS has been using remote video technology to transform pathways, and will result in significant efficiency and security gains for organisations involved. But it also demonstrates how clinicians can be brought to the individual, regardless of their location. If used in the right way, remote technologies provide significant opportunities to bring services to individuals in a more convenient way and in ways that can improve access and equity in healthcare.”
Data loggers have highlighted more than £1.5 million of potential additional water costs for organisations this year, after highlighting issues including leaks at sites, new figures show.*
This included:
- One of the largest universities in the UK had leaks on two sites – which were losing an estimated 100 cubic metres (100,000 litres) of water a day. It was able to spot these after installing 29 Automatic Meter Reader (AMR) data loggers through work with water retailer Water Plus.
- Another large university has been supported this year with their maintenance programme after 17 data loggers were installed, making more data on water consumption available to them to help identify any weak points on their sites’ pipework.
A London-based university was also able to see a water loss that needed attention, after more than 30 AMR data loggers were attached to water meters, so they could get more information see where any water issues or savings opportunities were. Data monitoring from the loggers made it possible to identify and fix a 1,750 litre per hour leak in the last year.
More than 720 data loggers have been installed during 2019, through work by Water Plus to help organisations to track levels of water consumption.
An online AMR portal helps energy and utility managers stay a step ahead to keep control on water costs when working remotely
Scott MacIndeor, Head of Advanced Services at Water Plus, said: “Data loggers and online portals help to get organisations with multiple water meters much closer to their water use and helps to highlight where issues or opportunities for efficiencies are when it comes to water consumption across sites.
 Photo by Samuel Sianipar on Unsplash “We know organisations in the public sector – and elsewhere – are keen to help protect their operation and prevent extra spending in the future, particularly now, and data loggers with online portals provide an easy to use platform to spot when action is needed to avoid increased costs. It helps to keep energy and utility managers a step ahead – and in more control – when they’re working remotely across multiple sites.
“As we know data is an important tool for the Public Sector and businesses – and as part of enhancements to our online customer portals – we’ve recently updated how information on water use is displayed on the AMR portal, giving greater detail and data analysis – making it even easier to use and saving time for organisations.”
Water Plus has also recently secured a place on the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) framework which will allow it to be a water, wastewater and ancillary services supplier to public sector organisations across the UK. It’s the second time the retailer has won a supplier place on the CCS framework, which runs for four years from 1 December this year (2020) and is expected to save the public sector approximately £20 million.
 Scott MacIndeor, Head of Advanced Services at Water Plus Scott said: “We manage the water and wastewater services for many public sector organisations, including some of the largest and most diverse in the UK – such as councils, schools, colleges, universities, UK Government-owned sites, prisons, hospitals and the emergency services – so we understand their different needs and drivers and we’ve helped organisations make significant savings across their portfolio, reducing water use and contributing to their sustainability aims and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”
The CCS supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. In 2019/20, CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits worth over £1bn – supporting world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers.
Water Plus won a number of substantial Public Sector contracts while on the previous framework, which they secured a place on in March 2017. These included Greater Manchester Police and Bury Council.
As part of wider work to help raise awareness around leaks and water efficiency, an interactive water leak checklist for site managers and caretakers has been provided this year by Water Plus for use on smart phones, tablets and laptops (and to print out, if needed). And the retailer also commissioned research last year to help public sector utility and facility managers on water attitudes of public sector employees.
As part of highlighting water efficiency and its benefits across England and Scotland, it regularly joins industry events and meetings including the Greater London Authority’s Water Advisory Group, chaired by the Deputy Mayor.
Find out more about lowering your costs in the future and how to help meet your organisation’s sustainability goals.
If you’re interested in Automatic Meter Reader (AMR) data loggers, that show water use through an AMR online portal, as well as getting closer control over water costs – or exploring how water efficiency can benefit your organisation – please email our experts at: advancedservices@water-plus.co.uk or go to www.water-plus.co.uk/watermanagement.
- Water Plus is the UK’s largest business water retailer that provides customer service, meter reading and billing for water and wastewater services, along with advice on water efficiency, to public sector organisations and businesses of all sizes, across England and Scotland. It works with and supports universities that are amongst the top rankings in the People and Planet University League (2019) and the Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings (2019) for their contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Further detail on the main cost statistic
 *The “more than £1.5 million” additional cost for businesses and public sector organisations is based on the volume of water lost if the leaks had run for 12 months without a repair. The leaks would have seen 650,000 cubic metres of water lost along with increases in bills and potential structural damage. Having the data available allowed for the leaks to be identified early, reducing risks to businesses and other sites continuing to operate and costs. The cost of £1.6 million is estimated, based on average wholesaler water and wastewater charges per cubic metre of water. 1 cubic metre of water is equivalent of 1,000 litres of water.
Research Water Plus commissioned and published about water attitudes in the Public Sector at work can be found here – admin.water-plus.co.uk/wpstrategic/media/PDFs/water-use-in-the-public-sector.pdf
And further details on the research can be found here – www.water-plus.co.uk/fresh-thinking-hub/your-employees-want-you-to-save-water
 Responding to the news that Wales will go into a national lockdown from Friday 23 October to Monday 9 November, Plaid Cymru Leader Adam Price MS told GPSJ: “A fire break is a last resort and should only be used in an emergency. We are now in an emergency.
“The time the fire break buys us must be used build up a resilient test trace and isolate system in Wales which means we can prevent being in the position we’re currently in where the case numbers have risen to the point where they can overwhelm an already exhausted NHS.
“We also need to ensure the safeguarding of workplaces, and that sufficient financial support is available for businesses and their employees who will be directly impacted by this fire break.
“It’s time for us as a nation to come together once again – as communities, as Government and as Opposition – working together to protect our NHS and save lives.”
 Sascha Giese, Head Geek™, SolarWinds By Sascha Giese, Head Geek™, SolarWinds
The U.K. public sector has never been more digital than it is now, and an increasing use of applications—both within organisations and for use by the general public—have allowed the sector to work more efficiently and provide better services. But, the more applications in use, the higher the risk something could go wrong. The problem needn’t be something as severe as the app breaking entirely, but could include something as simple as it not performing optimally. If, for example, an app for patients to book GP appointments is slow and tricky to use, most patients will give up and call their surgery instead, making the app unnecessary and increasing the pressure on GP receptionists.
That’s why “slow” is the new “down.” Users have high expectations from technology now, and the public sector must keep up. There are five key reasons why organisations need a comprehensive performance management strategy to track and measure all of their digital touchpoints and mitigate the impact to both the organisation and the user.
- Keeping Everything on a Tight Schedule
Until recently, most organisations across all sectors typically ran on analogue models, where users or customers would physically go to the organisation and initiate an interaction to receive certain products or services. The old system worked fine in most cases, but compared with new methodologies the analogue model was inefficient. It required more advanced prep, longer wait times, and led to higher overheads.
Now the public sector—along with the rest of the world—is interconnected, often by custom apps and websites (custom, because each organisation is different, with different needs unable to be fulfilled by a “one-size-fits-all” approach). When it works well, everything runs smoothly. But a small blip can mean disaster. Every modern, digitally-interconnected system is kept in good working order by monitoring. Everything about the app and the site is monitored and measured to the “nth degree.” How is the mobile app performing? How long did the user stay on a page? How quickly did the app fulfill a request?
Monitoring allows you to find this out quickly, and fix any problems before they grow. This is known as application performance monitoring, or APM, and it’s rapidly becoming a must-have for organisations to ensure poor performance is avoided.
- Speed Should Be a Top Priority
In the business world, speed is rapidly becoming one of the most important features of apps and websites. In 2018, Google changed its algorithm to make site speed a ranking factor in mobile search, prioritising sites providing users with a fast response. Businesses unable to provide this can miss out on potential sales, because customers expect quick transaction times.
A similar challenge is becoming evident in the public sector—users interact with digital services far more than before, but if a site is slow to load, they may be tempted to seek the same help elsewhere. A recent study by Decibel found 95% of consumers in the U.S. and U.K. will leave an e-commerce or brand site if they’re having a frustrating time. Google says a mobile site should load within three seconds. Take longer than five seconds, and the probability of users bouncing increases by 90%. Every organisation, therefore, needs to know where and when they jump. You can find out with APM. It gives you continuous visibility into how your application is performing and helps answer the question, “is my app any good?”
- But Speed Isn’t the Only Priority
In the early days of cloud, the majority of IT leaders were impressed by its ability to disconnect from messy interactions with on-premises equipment. It was elastic, scalable, and agile; they could quickly deploy more resources if anything slowed down in the cloud. However, it didn’t automatically guarantee a better user experience.
Teams still need proactive visibility. With continuous monitoring, you can understand the performance of both the application and the infrastructure it runs on. Instead of always reacting to any problems, you can start delivering better results. APM tells you where you’re getting value and where you’re not, and highlights when you’re spending too much on a less vital feature. Successful monitoring isn’t necessarily about spending the most money—it’s about knowing where and when to spend it. APM won’t solve everything, but it does give you a perspective of the cost of running your applications and the performance of running those applications—and it does this proactively.
- Ensuring Teams Can See Clearly
Having full visibility of all IT systems and applications ensures problems potentially causing delays or outages can be kept to a minimum. But when there are interruptions, end-to-end visibility shows you the links between the application and the infrastructure. Technology teams can rapidly do root-cause analysis and fix the problem much faster because they’re no longer guessing at where the issues might be.
It means IT isn’t wasting time pointing fingers, and in the public sector where budgets and time are often limited, this is particularly important. Teams can work off a consistent and standard set of information. Additionally, for traditional IT organisations, APM gives advanced visibility into infrastructure, whether on-premises, cloud, or hybrid. It also gives key stakeholders a view into important metrics, helping them keep up to date and showing the value of the investment.
- Developing the Perfect Application
There are many reasons why applications don’t always perform well. They could have other applications contending for resources or custom applications could be poorly written. APM is especially useful in the development stage of applications because it allows people writing the applications to understand how their application code is performing immediately. This way, they can optimise their code before it goes live.
That app can be written in any number of languages, and it can be designed for any location. APM instruments these apps and allows you to see how those apps are performing down to the code level. The likelihood of deploying poorly performing code into production is then greatly reduced.
The key takeaways for public sector IT leaders are that APM might be an expense now, but it enables organisations to deliver better performing applications, and have confidence in doing it quickly and efficiently. Without APM, you have an unknown level of risk associated with the availability and performance of your applications, their transactions, and your infrastructure. And for stakeholders, APM is a valuable tool to boost visibility, so they can be sure their investment provides value to users who can help continue to improve public services across the country.
 Alert Technology Ltd, is excited to announce the launch of their new Alert PureAir R150 unit Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) is a growing environmental health and wellbeing risk faced by most building occupiers today. Recognised as one of the largest environmental risks we face by WHO (World Health Organisation) – it is known that general air pollution causes over 3 million deaths globally per year and 3 million lost working days in the UK.
It appears there’s little reprieve indoors either, with UK campaigners calling our highly insulated, poorly ventilated, energy efficient homes and buildings “toxic boxes” where the air inside can be up to 3 times worse than outside.[1] Air pollution contributes to lung cancer, asthma, allergies, cognitive impairment and mental health issues and the negative impact of poor IAQ or ‘Sick Building Syndrome’ is just as worrying – long term damage is being caused to our health, wellbeing and productivity and as Europeans spend 90% of their time indoors, improving our indoor air quality is a major issue.
Clean Air Day falls this year on 8th October 2020 and is in its fourth year as the UK’s largest air pollution campaign. Led by Global Action Plan, its objective is to bring communities, businesses, schools and the health sector together to raise awareness of how air pollution impacts our health and how we can all work together to tackle it. To learn more about Clean Air Day and what you can do, visit their website www.cleanairday.org.uk.
In recognition of Clean Air Day, Devon-based company Alert Technology Ltd, is excited to announce the launch of their new Alert PureAir R150 unit – the ultimate in air purifying technology as part of their ongoing commitment to safe air and safe working environments.
The Alert PureAir R150 eliminates 99.995% of particles passing through its multi-stage sanitising process. Using medically proven UVC technology, superior HEPA-14 filters and fully programmable controls, it changes the air in a room of 150m3 up to 7 times per hour providing clean, safe, virus-free air.
Alert Technology believe there is no better way to demonstrate your commitment to the health and safety of your people than the strategic placement around your premises of air cleaning purifiers (of the correct capacity), like the Alert PureAir R150 unit.
Mr Alan Archer, CEO of Alert Technology Ltd says, “As the UK reaches ~50,000 COVID-19 attributed deaths, and approaches the winter flu season, for businesses trying to safely encourage the return of their employees and customers it has never been more important to provide a clean and safe environment to live, work, and breathe.”
Mr Archer goes on to highlight, “Recent evidence that the coronavirus can remain suspended in the air for some hours[2], means we have to fundamentally change our tactics for reducing transmission rates in crowded, closed or poorly ventilated settings. Studies show even a small increase in long-term exposure to pollutants such as fine dust can increase the COVID-19 mortality rates by up to 8%[3].”
The Alert PureAir R150 unit filters out airborne pollutants such as dust, allergens, aerosols, moulds, and VOCs (volatile organic compounds), and its UVC light sterilisation kills airborne bacteria and viruses, including COVID-19. It is also effective at removing strong odours with the addition of an optional extra carbon filter.
Air purification is already widely adopted within the healthcare sector. The wider implementation of air filtration and purification across all sectors will help reduce risk, demonstrating that the duty of care to provide a safe environment for people to live and work in a post lockdown world is being fulfilled.
For more information on the Alert PureAir R150, please contact: Loretta King, COO, Alert Technology Ltd
www.alerttechnologyltd.com/pureair | Email: info@asbestos-alert.com | Tel: 01803 546262
 Stuart Hardisty By Stuart Hardisty
Yesterday I spoke at the Westminster Briefing event on Planning Policy Reforms Under the New Government www.westminster-briefing.com/Planning_Under_The_New_Government around the impacts of such reform on employment land, an issue I am firmly embedded in.
Three years ago I wrote a blog post setting out a series of risk factors affecting the supply of employment sites and premises ied.co.uk/news_events/a_crisis_is_brewing_are_we_fuelling_a_future_employment_space_crisis/. Then, 18 months later, I wrote a second article looking at some of the possible solutions, following the IED and British Chambers of Commerce coming together to discuss the problems ied.co.uk/news_events/how_can_we_help_solve_the_uks_looming_lack_of_employment_land_crisis/.
A further 18 months on, and with a raft of reforms to the planning system in England either implemented or proposed, including the Planning for the Future consultation which closes on 29th October, it is timely to consider where we are now and where we might be headed. To summarise the position prior to recent announcements:
- There is evidence of continued demand for new employment sites and premises. Whether you look at short-term trends in enquiries, long-term indicators of economic change and market drivers, or speak to commercial agents there is a consistent picture of unmet need and a requirement for new premises to come forward. New stock that is brought to the market is taken up rapidly, whether you are in rural or urban settings.
- Much of England’s (and the rest of the UK’s) existing employment premises are ageing and often dilapidated. Occupiers are often having to make do with sub-standard accommodation because there is no alternative. However, it also means a supply of low-cost accommodation for smaller companies operating with tight margins.
- There is insufficient delivery of new employment premises. Whilst there is no real shortage of allocated employment land within local plans this is not coming forward for development. There are a raft of supply side constraints contributing to this. These include an overwhelming policy focus on housing which is leading to landowners holding out for higher value development; fundamental viability challenges across large swathes of the country and a lack of infrastructure to open up sites. The move away from significant levels of active public sector delivery of employment property (e.g. the days of English Partnerships and the Regional Development Agencies – remember them?) is a key issue here.
- The rapid extension of Permitted Development (PD) rights over the last seven years, in a bid to deliver additional housing, has eroded the existing stock of employment premises at a time when there is already insufficient delivery of new floorspace. Take-up of PD was much higher than anticipated and is consistently identified as negatively impacting the supply of employment floorspace, including the Government’s own research[i]. It is not just removing vacant and dilapidated stock, with clear evidence of landlords failing to renew leases in order to realise higher values from their assets with the impacts disproportionately falling on SMEs and the third sector.
- A deficit in strategic planning in some areas is making it a challenge to allocate large strategic sites for uses such as logistics that are not always viewed as desirable by local authorities.
So, where will the recent and proposed reforms to the planning system take us?
- Further extensions to PD rights came in to force in July 2020. This will lead to further erosion of the stock of premises and more of the effects already outlined above.
- The new E Use Class moves current B1 Uses into a combined new Class for commercial uses. Whilst the intention is that this will enable a more flexible approach to town centres there is concern as to what this will mean for business parks and other out-of-town employment locations. Unlike PD rights there will be no Article 4 type directive to stop change of use. In terms of employment land the expectation is that it will lead to further erosion of existing stock and create incentives for landlords to seek higher value uses or hike rents for existing tenants. Savills report an expectation of substantial disruption to existing leaseholders[ii]. RPS note that it will make planning for future employment land needs challenging, with so much uncertainty in how much existing supply is likely to remain[iii].
- Planning for the Future is virtually silent on employment matters with a primary focus on housing. As many have pointed out, the lack of detail is so great it is difficult to comment. But the concern is that the current picture of employment as an afterthought will continue. There is also concern as to how strategic employment matters will be resolved with the removal of the duty to cooperate. Local government reform was clearly a potential tool to address this, but all indicators are that this has been kicked down the road for the time being. Being able to address employment issues across functional economic market areas is essential. The approach to zoning or categorising, with three types of land, is attracting a lot of attention. The detail will be critical here, as there is a clear risk that housing will again crowd out employment with landowners seeking the greatest return. Finally, the proposed Infrastructure Levy could be an opportunity if employment land is recognised as key supporting infrastructure and funds are directed to support its delivery. However, I will not be holding my breath with a long queue of infrastructure needs.
- Revisions to the standard method for calculating housing numbers may not seem to be an employment land issue, but in reality the significant uplifts in housing need figures will squeeze employment land and become the focus for landowners.
So, all in all, there is little comfort. To date it all points towards exacerbating the issues that were already clear with existing stock being eroded and no real clarity on how delivery of new employment space can be achieved.
Stuart Hardisty is a Director of the Institute of Economic Development and a Director of Hardisty Jones Associates. He has worked as an economic development consultant for more than 20 years, primarily at the interface of planning, property and economic development. He regularly advises public and private sector clients on employment land matters.
[i] RICS (2018) Assessing the impacts of extending permitted development rights to office-to-residential change of use in England.
TCPA (2020) No place for place-making: the impacts of permitted development rights on place-making, and what they tell us about the Government’s planning reforms.
MHCLG (2020) Research into the quality standard of homes delivered through change of use permitted development rights.
The Prime Minister has set out new plans to Build Back Greener by making the UK the world leader in clean wind energy – creating jobs, slashing carbon emissions and boosting exports.
£160 million will be made available to upgrade ports and infrastructure across communities like in Teesside and Humber in Northern England, Scotland and Wales to hugely increase our offshore wind capacity, which is already the largest in the world and currently meets 10 per cent of our electricity demand.
This new investment will see around 2,000 construction jobs rapidly created and will enable the sector to support up to 60,000 jobs directly and indirectly by 2030 in ports, factories and the supply chains, manufacturing the next-generation of offshore wind turbines and delivering clean energy to the UK.
Through this, UK businesses including smaller suppliers will be well-placed to win orders and further investment from energy companies around the world and increase their competitive standing on the global stage, as well as supporting low-carbon supply chains.
The Prime Minister has also set out further commitments to ensure that, within the decade, the UK will be at the forefront of the green industrial revolution as we accelerate our progress towards net zero emissions by 2050.
These include:
- Confirming offshore wind will produce more than enough electricity to power every home in the country by 2030, boosting the Government’s previous 30GW target to 40GW.
- Creating a new target for floating offshore wind to deliver 1GW of energy by 2030, which is over 15 times the current volumes worldwide. Building on the strengths of our North Sea, this brand new technology allows windfarms to be built further out to sea in deeper waters, boosting capacity even further where winds are strongest and ensuring the UK remains at the forefront of the next generation of clean energy.
- Setting a target to support up to double the capacity of renewable energy in the next Contracts for Difference auction, which will open in late 2021 – providing enough clean, low cost energy to power up to 14 million homes
These commitments are the first stage outlined as part of the Prime Minister’s ten-point plan for a green industrial revolution, which will be set out fully later this year. This is expected to include ambitious targets and major investment into industries, innovation and infrastructure that will accelerate the UK’s path to net zero by 2050.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
“Our seas hold immense potential to power our homes and communities with low-cost green energy and we are already leading the way in harnessing its strengths.
“Now, as we build back better we must build back greener. So we are committing to new ambitious targets and investment into wind power to accelerate our progress towards net zero emissions by 2050.
“This sets us on our path towards a green industrial revolution, which will provide tens of thousands of highly-skilled jobs.”
Together with planned stringent requirements on supporting UK manufacturers in Government-backed renewables projects, these measures will mean the industry can reach its target of 60% of offshore wind farm content coming from the UK.
 Business and Energy Secretary Alok Sharma said:
“The offshore wind sector is a major British success story, providing cheap, green electricity while supporting thousands of good-quality jobs.
“Powering every home in the country through offshore wind is hugely ambitious, but it’s exactly this kind of ambition which will mean we can build back greener and reach net zero emissions by 2050.”
Today’s announcement marks the latest stage of the Government’s support for renewable energy. Last September the third round of the Contracts for Difference renewable energy auction delivered record-low prices on enough clean energy to power 7 million homes. Earlier this year the Government announced the next round would be open to onshore wind and solar projects for the first time since 2015.
The UK has the largest installed capacity of offshore wind in the world, with around 10GW in operation off its coasts.
The Government’s plan for renewable energy forms part of wider efforts to ensure the UK meets its legally binding target to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and build back greener from coronavirus.
Over the past decade, the UK has cut carbon emissions by more than any similar developed country. In 2019, UK emissions were 42 per cent lower than in 1990, while our economy over the same period grew by 72 per cent.
 Specialist social value agency, Samtaler, has appointed entrepreneur and former Vice Chair of Social Enterprise Scotland, Zahra Hedges, as its new director of operations.
The Scottish-based boutique agency has been experiencing a period of rapid growth in 2020 and has a solid roster of clients including Europe’s leading energy company, Vattenfall, as well as several local authorities. The agency is also working closely with Social Value UK, on its latest project, Contracts For Change, which will feed into national policy and improve how social value is embedded in organisations across the UK.
As social value continues to rise to the top of the agenda in both the public and private sector, Zahra will be responsible for all aspects of Samtaler’s future growth and strategic direction, bringing with her a unique blend of commercial, third sector and public sector experience.
With an entrepreneurial background, having founded and sold a successful retail and wholesale business, Zahra moves to Samtaler from CEIS, where she led the marketing strategy for Just Enterprise – the national support for the third sector – and managed ‘Our Place’, the asset-based community development project in North West Dumfries. She has also spent the last three years as Vice Chair and Board Member for Social Enterprise Scotland where she was involved in reviewing the intermediary support provided to social enterprises, and worked with Glasgow City Council to quickly adapt and transform the support given to social enterprises during the Covid-19 lockdown. Zahra will also continue to work with the Scottish Government on projects across all 32 local authority areas.
Speaking of her appointment to GPSJ, Zahra said: “I have long been a fan of Samtaler and the work they do, so to be able to join the business at this pivotal time is a real honour. The growth over the past two years has been remarkable and shows a real desire amongst both public sector procurers and some of our large businesses to really understand and embed community benefit and social value in what they do in a meaningful, sustainable and cost-effective way.
“Samtaler is a thought-leader in this field and is shifting the paradigm from a mitigation-based approach to a far more positive and dynamic one which actually meets the needs of all stakeholders. This is an area I am really passionate about and I’m looking forward to helping Samtaler lead the way in what I believe will be a seismic shift in how social value is delivered across the UK.”
Sarah Stone, director at Samtaler, comments: “Zahra’s extensive experience across the private, public and third sector makes her a real asset to our team. She has a natural ability when it comes to understanding the different needs and priorities of clients, stakeholders and their communities and how they can align their core purpose and values to deliver social value. This is exactly what Samtaler is all about.
“While our vision is to remain a small, boutique agency, we will be using Zahra’s fresh perspective and expertise to grow our client base. Every organisation is different and we believe in designing bespoke solutions for all our clients, so Zahra will be leading this personalised approach and focusing our growth strategy so that we only work with organisations who are ready to collaborate and genuinely want to build social value.”
Bristow & Sutor, one of the UK’s leading players specialising in debt recovery, are meeting with more people now than before the coronavirus pandemic began. Despite not currently entering premises, contact rates have increased by 15% and Enforcement Agent (EA) payment results have shown an increase of 24%. The company believes this proves the majority of debtors are willing to engage and those who can afford to pay remain happy to do so.
Bristow & Sutor has over 42 years’ experience in the collection of local council tax, non-domestic rates and unpaid Penalty Charge Notices. Importantly, the company has received zero complaints related to doorstep enforcement or conduct since the resumption of EA visits at the end of August. Bristow & Sutor employees are directly employed and are not paid based on the performance of one visit, their goal remains to help find the best solution and not focus purely on achieving immediate revenue.
Much of the success seen since resuming activity last month can be attributed to more people working from home, making now a better time than ever for local authorities to act and resolve cases of unpaid debt. Less traffic on the roads has also resulted in faster journey times for EAs, with call rates increasing by 8%.
In the first 7 days of resuming enforcement activity, Bristow & Sutor EAs knocked on almost 10,500 doors. The company has indicated reactions to their visits and case outcomes have been reflective of business as usual, which is a pleasant surprise considering the significant COVID-19 related changes to processes and procedures. Every Bristow & Sutor EA now possesses equipment such as hand sanitisers, antibacterial wipes, disinfectant sprays and gloves as standard. They are not permitted to enter properties currently, so any resolution found is done so in a socially distanced manner from the doorstep.
Latest Government and CIVEA advice and protocol is being followed by Bristow & Sutor employees at all times. COVID-19 guidance for staff on how to deal with customers, including revised guidance on vulnerability, is allowing EAs to deal with cases appropriately, safely and efficiently. This includes immediately withdrawing from the doorsteps of vulnerable debtors and passing these cases onto welfare teams so that people can get the correct support that they need. So far, Bristow & Sutor has recorded less than 100 instances of COVID-19 affected debtors in line with CIVEA guidance since resuming enforcement activity.
The reality remains however, that debts are less collectible the older they become. ‘Gone Away’ results have increased by 48% recently due to cases aging during the five-month period where no visits were permitted. It is imperative, therefore, that local authorities seize the moment and engage with debtors now that they are available and open to communication.
Andy Rose, CEO at Bristow & Sutor, says, “Suspending enforcement action during the coronavirus lockdown has left local authorities requiring fast, efficient and accountable recovery action as soon as possible. Our strong performance for councils following the return of visits shows that the public are comfortable with the measures in place and remain keen to resolve their debts. Now is the perfect time for all local authorities to act and recoup significant amounts of money they are owed, at a time when they need it most.
“We must acknowledge that more people could face vulnerable circumstances, but our ability to handle these scenarios and support those individuals remains the same. We believe that our approach maintains the same sensitivity and pragmatism that recovery cases should always be handled with.”
Before resuming visits, Bristow & Sutor supplied reconnection letters to debtors, giving them the opportunity to set up flexible payment arrangements and discuss changing circumstances. The company managed to secure over £8million pounds of revenue for local authority clients throughout lockdown, prior to enforcement resuming.
Bristow & Sutor prides itself on delivering an ethical, compliant and high-quality service to the public and private sectors. Agents regularly assist debtors with completing questionnaires, setting up payment arrangements and directing them towards support and advice where appropriate. They are trained to the highest standard and use modern technology and data to achieve market-leading performance, whilst protecting the most vulnerable in society and the reputations of clients.
Following a highly competitive procurement process, last week The Retail Energy Code Company (RECCo) announced the appointment of three new service providers to carry out the Code Manager function for the Retail Energy Code. RECCo is the corporate vehicle for ensuring the proper, effective, and efficient implementation and ongoing management of the Retail Energy Code (REC) in the UK. All three providers will collaborate, so the single Code Manager operates seamlessly to parties, industry and stakeholders.
The implementation of the REC will set an innovative new standard for industry code governance. It will mark the transition from a ‘Code Administrator’ to ‘Code Manager’ function, and it is critical that the appointed Code Manager service providers embody this role. They will deliver this through a consumer outcomes-based’ approach, an accessible set of arrangements in plain English and digital format with robust technical and performance assurance frameworks.
Chris Anastasi – Chair of the RECCo Board, stated “The RECCo Board is committed to the efficient and effective running of the retail energy market, including its systems and processes. It is delighted to be working with three established and experienced service providers that are aligned with its vision and will strive to promote innovation, competition and positive customer outcomes”.
 Gemserv has been appointed to the role of REC Professional Services provider (RPS). Gemserv will be responsible for delivering the REC Portal, which parties and stakeholders will use to communicate with all Code Manager services irrespective of provider. In addition, they will offer support to parties through Operational Account Managers, manage the change process, provide the front-line service desk and the REC knowledge repository.
Jon Harley, Executive Director and REC RPS Mobilisation Director, Gemserv commented “We are incredibly proud to be appointed as the REC Professional Services Code Manager. The REC will modernise how retail energy markets operate, delivering better outcomes for consumers, supporting net-zero and reducing regulatory burdens. Gemserv is now focussed on getting the REC up and running to deliver these benefits, and we look forward to working closing with RECCo, the other code manager service providers and industry stakeholders on this”.
 Deloitte has been appointed as REC Performance Assurance provider (RPA). In this role, Deloitte will monitor market participant and service provider performance, using dynamic risk assessments, digital technologies and analytics to help drive market and code improvements. Deloitte will be responsible for administering the REC Party entry, and exit process on behalf of the Performance Assurance Board (PAB) and will develop and implement the REC Performance Assurance Framework (PAF) to identify, assess and mitigate retail market risks, working collaboratively with the other code manager functions.
“Deloitte will support RECCo during this period of significant change for the retail energy market. The RPA has an important role to play in the new REC arrangements which are intended to protect consumers, provide wider societal benefits through greater reliability and speed of switching energy supplier, improve consumer engagement within the sector, and drive greater energy efficiency and value.”
Walter Carlton, Deloitte Lead RPA Partner. Capgemini will undertake the role of REC Technical Service provider. Capgemini will be responsible for delivering and implementing the REC Digitalisation Strategy, development and maintenance of the Energy Market Architecture Repository (EMAR) and undertaking the role of Technical Design Authority. The EMAR will contain the digital twin of the code and will include all industry code data items, messages, processes, services and business rules.
“The role of RECCo is pivotal in accelerating the pace of change as the energy industry transitions to net zero, meets the needs of society, and protects the interests of consumers. We are committed to be the digital engine room of this change and working with RECCo, the other providers, and all stakeholders to deliver this.”
Peter King, Capgemini Invent VP Head of Energy and Utilities and Capgemini Exec for RECCo RTS.
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