Business Secretary Vince Cable today confirmed Government support for multi million pound investments to secure low carbon and science projects in the UK and the Post Office Network.
This followed the Treasury concluding a review of significant projects announced since January to check they were affordable, value for money and that they fitted in with the priorities of the Coalition Government.
Government will continue with BIS projects for:
Bristol and Bath Science Park - £2.6 million;
International Space Innovation Centre in Harwell - £12 million;
Discovery Research Ship - £75 million;
National Renewable Energy Centre (NAREC) Offshore Wind Blade Test Site, Blyth - £11.5 million;
NAREC Offshore Wind Turbine Test Site - £18.5 million;
Offshore Wind Demonstration and Development - £12.4 million;
Offshore Wind, Mitsubishi Collaborative R&D to support Mitsubishi and partners - £30 million;
Support for the Post Office Network - £180 million ;and
Spectrum clearance costs.
However, two previously announced projects are no longer to receive funding from Government. These are:
Sheffield Forgemasters ;and
Outokumpu – Sheffield
Dr Cable said the Government had both to reduce the deficit and help create growth. It was essential to strike the right balance between the two to lock in the recovery.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said:
“In the economic climate that we find ourselves in some of the commitments previously made by Government can now no longer go ahead.
“This is why it is so important that there is support for skills, science and entrepreneurship through more apprenticeships, spending on gold standard science research and slashing burdensome red tape.
“It is clear that Government can not simply continue to commit money to every project, but there are other things that government can do to secure the recovery.”
All of the projects which have not met the criteria will now be wound up or Government will seek alternative ways to ensure that they go ahead.
Dr Cable said Sheffield Forgemasters was a worthwhile project but the money had run out.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said:
“Sheffield Forgemasters is an important part of the UK’s ability to develop a civil nuclear supply chain and its specialist forging skills are in demand globally.
“However, we have to find a balance between reducing the deficit while helping the economy to grow. Against a backdrop of reduced public spending, the Government’s role is to create the right business environment and the right skills base. The Government cannot simply keep writing out cheques.
“The Government hopes the company secures private investment for this worthwhile project.”
He said the Post Office plays a hugely important social and economic role in communities throughout the UK.
“We will protect the £180m of Government funding for the Post Office in 2011/12 to maintain the network at around its current size.”
The number of people unemployed in the UK rose by 23,000 to 2.47m during the quarter to April, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
However, jobseekers allowance claimant numbers dropped last month by 30,900 to 1.48m.
Minister for employment Chris Grayling said: “The figures also demonstrate why our planned Work Programme is so important. With nearly five million people on out of work benefits and record numbers of people who are economically inactive, we have to make sure that as the economy grows and jobs are created in the next few years that we learn from the mistakes of the past, and ensure that we provide real help and support for people on benefits so they can take advantage of employment opportunities and make the move into work.”
Microdec Plc and CogniSoft Ltd announced that Microdec has signed an agreement to acquire a majority shareholding in CogniSoft, a transaction that will bring the two market leaders together to enable the companies to become a stronger enterprise. As a result of this transaction the companies will benefit from greater productivity, speed and agility to help the business grow.
Both Microdec and CogniSoft will benefit from synergies across product lines and markets and enable both companies to accelerate the reach of their solutions across Recruitment, Connexions and Training Provider organisations.
With this transaction, the combined company will dramatically expand its addressable Local Authority market by making available its market-leading solutions to underpin the integrated youth support services (IYSS) provided by the Local Authority for the benefit of children and young people.
Microdec said it will continue to support each organisation’s product road map while enhancing products to help customers derive additional value from existing investments. It also stated that both companies’ development organisations would remain intact, with the opportunity to cross-collaborate to increase innovation for customers.
The two companies announced that CogniSoft will operate as a standalone unit under the name “CogniSoft Ltd, part of the Microdec Group”. CogniSoft’s existing directors will continue to run the business with Microdec’s directors joining the CogniSoft board. The Managing Director will be Clive Seagers, the existing Managing Director of Microdec.
CogniSoft was first established in 1984 and are specialists in the design, development and implementation of web based information systems to providers of learning, guidance, support and employment services. The team has grown over this time and has racked up an incredible 150 years of service with the company. For customers, this translates to a wealth of product and industry knowledge that is available to call upon and is reflected in the market leading products supplied.
BNB Recruitment Consultancy (BNBRC), the wholly owned subsidiary of Garner, has gone into liquidation.
In a statement issued to the Stock Exchange, Garner says: “It was agreed that there is no realistic prospect of BNBRC paying its debts, and accordingly there is no alternative but to take the necessary steps to place the subsidiary into creditors’ voluntary liquidation.”
BNBRC has net current liabilities of around £1.6m, including £879,000 to HM Revenue & Customs and £742,000 owed to other Garner group companies.
“The employees of BNBRC were transferred to another subsidiary of the Garner group of companies,” the statement continues.
Garner says that trading within BNBRC in 2009 was worse than anticipated. However, it says that the Garner group of companies as a whole has made a promising start to 2010, and is trading profitably at the pre-tax level in the first quarter of the year.
Interserve, the services, maintenance and building provider, has won the award for Innovation at the Human Capital Awards ceremony in London on 12 October 2009.
Interserve, which faced tough competition in the innovation category, was recognised for its successful development and implementation of its Sustainable Development Guide - RENEWABLES. The entry focussed on how all Interserve employees implement sustainability in day-to-day duties, and are driving a cultural shift in service delivery.
The Human Capital Awards celebrate the impact of people and HR-led programmes on the business performance and profitability of organisations across the UK, highlighting the growing flexibility, versatility and productivity of the best UK companies.
Steve Thomas, HR Director at Interserve Facilities Management, commented: “We are delighted to be recognised by such a prestigious awarding body. Our aim is to provide a practical means of implementing our sustainable development policy and drive a cultural change across the organisation. Since the RENEWABLES guide was launched in June 2008, sustainability has become embedded into every activity across the country, with a direct and positive result for our clients, and our business. Winning this award is a fantastic achievement and testament to the hard work of all of us.”
Russell Leon Carter, the man who murdered the director of a recruitment company Driverline 247 in October last year, and held three others hostage was handed a life sentence on Friday.
Nicholas Cooke, QC, at Newport Crown Court said that Carter, of Rumney, Cardiff, will serve at least 30 years in prison of a life sentence .
The court heard how Carter murdered Kingsley Monk by strangling him, probably with his own tie, at the offices of recruitment agency in October last year.He also tied up three Driverline workers: Gethin Heal, Nathan Taylor and Robert Lewis, during the incident. They were doused in fuel as Carter demanded thousands of pounds he claimed he was owed by the company.
Jobcentre Plus, the insolvency trade body R3 and the Insolvency Service have signed a Memorandum of Understanding today which outlines how insolvency practitioners dealing with struggling businesses will work with Jobcentre Plus offices to develop a tailor-made plan to support those at losing their jobs quickly and efficiently.
Those affected by redundancy will then be given access to information and services that will help them claim benefits, identify new job opportunities or get access to training.
Employment minister, Jim Knight MP, said: “It is important that we don’t just wait for someone to lose their job before we start to help them. The pre-redundancy service Jobcentre Plus offers has helped thousands of people get new jobs quickly stopping a short-term difficulty becoming a long-term problem...It is essential that we work with R3 and the Insolvency Service to make sure even more people get help before they are out of work. I am hugely grateful to Phil Wilson and R3 in facilitating this agreement.”
The government today has announced that it is to delay implementation of the agency workers directive until October 2011.
In a statement business minister Pat McFadden said: "Last year the Government secured a deal in Europe on the Agency Workers Directive that allows us to base Britain's rules on the agreement reached in the UK between the CBI and TUC...This allows us to implement the directive in this country in a way which gives fair treatment to agency workers and maintains labour market flexibility. It was only possible because the government is engaged in the mainstream of Europe actively influencing proposals coming from Europe, which affect the UK economy and UK workers. Careful and sometimes difficult negotiations were required to get the CBI-TUC agreement reflected in the final EU directive."
He added "As the Prime Minister has said, the government is committed to getting this legislation on the statute book by the end of this parliament. The law will come into force in the UK in October 2011, giving recruiters and their clients time to prepare and plan. We are also mindful of the need to avoid changing requirements on business until the economic recovery is more firmly established."
Shadow minister for corporate governance and business regulation Jonathan Djanogly has told the conservative conference this week that the implementation of the Agency Workers’ Directive (AWD) will be delayed until December 2011, should the Conservatives win the next general election. He said the directive would cost British businesses £40billion over the next decade and consequently the Conservatives would campaign against early implementation.
Kevin Green, the REC's Chief Executive commented on the announcement saying that: "The REC has been calling on the Government to delay implementing this Directive until the last possible moment in 2011. We are pleased to see the Conservative Party recognises that the cost of getting the implementation of this Directive wrong, could be huge. It is vital that the labour market recovers before the regulations are implemented. This will also give recruiters and their clients the time to plan how best to ensure that equal treatment after 12 weeks works in practice. This is a complex issue and by waiting until December 2011 we can ensure that we minimise the adverse affect this legislation may have on jobs."
Recruitment form Ellis Fairbank has gone into administration.In a written statement issued exclusively to Recruiter, director Harry Cross confirmed that the company went into administration on 29 September 2009. “Despite all our efforts we could not keep it viable in the current market. There will be no buyout and no ongoing business. I don’t have anything else to say I’m afraid,” Cross told Recruiter.
Harrisons has been appointed as joint administrators.
This the second time that a company using the Ellis Fairbank name, of which Cross and fellow director Jason Martin were directors has gone into administration.In October 2008, Ellis Fairbank went into administration, owing almost £14million to creditors, including £10million to Bank of Scotland, more than £3.7million to unsecured creditors, and £92,000 in unpaid wages and redundancy payments.
Ellis Fairbank PLC was subsequently bought from the administrators, when IHR Group, whose directors include Cross and Martin, agreed to pay £198,000 for the company, of which £135,000 was deferred for 18 months.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has issued fines totalling £39.27million to six recruitment companies for price-fixing and the collective boycott of another company in supplying candidates to the construction industry.Beresford Blake Thomas and Hill McGlynn & Associates, were granted immunity from fines in return for exposing the cartel.
The OFT found that Warwick Associates, Beresford Blake Thomas, CDI AndersElite, Eden Brown, Fusion People, Hays Specialist Recruitment, Henry Recruitment and Hill McGlynn & Associates all breached the Competition Act 1998.
The breaches to the Act were as follows: 1.Collective boycott: the companies in question refrained from entering into contracts with an intermediary company, Parc UK, for the supply of candidates to construction companies in the UK. 2. Price-fixing: The companies an agreed to fix target fee rates for the supply of candidates to intermediaries and certain construction companies in the UK.
Between 2004 and 2006 the parties formed a cartel, referred to as 'the Construction Recruitment Forum', in which the firms agreed to boycott Parc, an imtermeiary firm and also co-operated to fix the fee rates they would charge to intermediaries, such as Parc, and also certain construction companies.
The total amount of fines before reductions for leniency were taken into account was £173m. Heather Clayton, OFT senior director, said:"This is a serious breach of competition law and the level of fines reflects this. Cartels such as these can impact on other businesses, in this case construction companies, by distorting competition and driving up staff costs. Ultimately it is the consumer and the wider economy that loses out from such behaviour."
Following investigations from the Companies Investigation Branch (CIB) ,seven recruitment advertising firms have been wound up after it was found they were deceiving health trusts into paying for job adverts that had been already placed.
Companies with similar names to long-established publications, were cold calling the trusts pretending to be verifying details of the job adverts.Six of the firms obtained more than £600,000 between August 2006 and March 2009, according to the Insolvency Service.
The firms, all based in Leamington Spa, were called: First Call Publications, Mode Enterprises, Community Care Jobs Online, BMJ UK, Nursing Today, Nursing Tomorrow and Reload Recruitment.
Hill McGlynn, the construction recruiter, has announced an increase in profits for 2008. After tax profits reached £10.38million in the 12 months ended 31 December 2008, compared with £7.31million in 2007.
Profits were boosted by the sale of Hill McGlynn Australia, which contributed £2.67 million to the bottom lineas revenue remained static at £135.38million (2007: £135.34million).
In the directors’ report, Hill McGlynn’s managing director, Mark Bull, says: “We continued our strong performance in 2007 into the first half of 2008, although we experienced a rapid slowdown in the second half of the year, particularly in permanent placements.”
Figures from the Office of National Statistics show construction and finance were the hardest hit sectors as the number of people looking for work rose to 2.47 million.Construction suffered 61,000 job losses during the three months to July as unemployment across the UK jumped to its highest level since 1996.
The ONS said: "There were 31 million workforce jobs in June 2009, down 163,000 on the quarter and down 664,000 over the year. Most sectors showed falls in jobs over the quarter with the largest falls occurring in finance and business services (down 67,000) and construction (down 61,000)."
The official unemployment rate is now 7.9% across all industries. The number of redundancies in the three months to July 2009 was 246,000, down 55,000 over the quarter but up 107,000 over the year.
There were 434,000 job vacancies in the three months to August 2009, down 12,000 over the previous quarter and down 174,000 over the year.
The August Report on Jobs published by the Recruitmenet & Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG has shows there are signs of recovery now beginning to appear in the labour market. Kevin Green, the REC's Chief Executive, told the BBC "It seems that employers are becoming more confident in their hiring decisions," .
Key points of the Report are:
• Marginal increases in both permanent and temporary staff appointments.
• Candidate availability rose at weaker pace.
• Permanent and temporary staff pay fell at slower rates.
This was the first growth of permanent appointments for 17 months and the first increase in temp billings since July 2008. The rate of contraction of demand for staff eased further in August. The latest drop in overall vacancies was the weakest in just over a year.
Recruitment consultants reported another month of declining pay rates in August. However, the latest reductions in both permanent salaries and temporary/contract staff hourly wages were the slowest in ten months.
Kevin Green, says: “For the first time in 17 months, this month's report shows signs that the UK jobs market is improving. It seems that employers are becoming more confident in their hiring decisions with an increase in permanent recruitment and growth in temporary placements for the first time in over a year."
“The stabilisation in the jobs environment must not be put at risk by the introduction of ill-designed regulation like the Agency Workers Directive. This legislation needs careful consideration to avoid putting jobs at risk and must not be introduced until the last possible moment in 2011. Unemployment will continue into 2010 so we call on the Government, employers and recruitment businesses to work more effectively together to build on these green shoots and safeguard the recovery of the jobs market.”
The Report on Jobs provides the most comprehensive guide to the UK labour market, drawing on original survey data provided by recruitment consultancies.
The recruiter reports that the trial of a man accused of murdering the head of a recruitment agency in New Inn, Pontypool, and attempting to kill three other agency employees is expected to last three weeks.
Lorry driver Russell Carter, 52, of Cardiff, denies murdering Kingsley Monk and the attempted murder of three other Driverline 247 employees in Torfaen. The trial is being held at Newport Crown Court.
The jury in the murder trial on Tuesday visited the site of Monk’s death. According to the South Wales Argus, the jury heard on Monday that Carter went to the agency and waited for staff to arrive before subjecting them to a “terrifying” attack which lasted more than four hours.
England's most traditional seaside resorts have seen unemployment rates increase in the last 12 months according to TUC analysis of official statistics revealed last week.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealed last week that five million Brits are choosing instead to holiday in the UK. However, some of England's best-loved seaside destinations have been hit hard by the economic downturn.Bournemouth, Weston Super Mare and Weymouth have suffered the sharpest rises in unemployment. In Bournemouth, where 4% of adults are claiming unemployment benefit, the jobless rate increased by 130%, compared to the national average of 81%.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'Millions of people are opting to save money during the downturn and have rediscovered what great holidays you can have in the UK. 'However, in spite of this welcome boost to the UK's seaside resorts and tourist industry, unemployment is at crisis level in many of our best-loved traditional English holiday destinations. 'Many seaside towns have made impressive and imaginative efforts to regenerate themselves - and deserve real praise - but even the most ambitious scheme cannot buck the effects of such a deep recession. Just as in the rest of the country, a whole generation of young people in seaside towns are finding it almost impossible to make the right start to their working lives. 'We should welcome any signs of economic recovery, but they are very shallow. The economy remains in deep trouble with unemployment still set to carry on rising all through next year. 'Unemployment remains a national emergency. Fighting it, particularly among young people, should be number one priority. Public spending cuts are the last thing we need, and run the risk of sending the economy into an even more serious decline."
Randstad construction recruiters Hill McGlynn and Beresford Blake Thomas (BBT) Technical & Professional have opened their new London office, following June’s merger to form Randstad Construction, Property & Engineering.
The existing Hill McGlynn team will be moving from their previous premises on the Strand to join BBT staff who are moving from their office in Victoria to the new Aldwych office.
Mark Bull, managing director of Hill McGlynn, says: “The new Aldwych office marks a real milestone in our two companies joining forces - this is a new beginning for us all...Our London office is our largest office in the UK and is the first to bring together both Hill McGlynn and BBT teams ,we will be integrating the remaining offices over the coming months as we begin working as one.”
Job posting software provider idibu (http://www.idibu.com/) is filing accounts demonstrating an 80% increase in sales. The accounts also show that the company has moved into profit for the first year since inception in February 2007.
Idibu’s end of year balance sheet shows profits of £28,000, while a further £36,000 investment of share capital is available to support business growth and development.
Managing Director Steve Walker commented: "We filed our accounts early to illustrate to the market how we have developed financially. Taking the business from a negative balance sheet in 2008 to profit in 2009 is a fantastic achievement in the current market. Our performance in this new financial year already shows continued growth which is down to the excellent work of the idibu team and our efficient business model."
