Business & Community Matters - Local, Regional, National and International News

On this page we hope to keep you up to speed on news and events which may have an impact on local businesses and communities; items of interest or developments which could provide a springboard for business and community ideas, new product or service innovation and of course simply to keep us informed of what is happening in the "Global Village".

We understand that a number or representations are being made to the Government to give Royal Mail and the network of Post Offices their own banking facilities.
 
In short a Post Office Bank!
 
Want to read a comment about this idea then click on the heading in the green box and it will take you to that specific page.

Be Safe On-Line!

Tuesday 26th August 08

Anti Virus

Hopefully there are not many of you out there who do not have some kind of level of anti-virus protection on you machines. However, if you are not sure why you need it or are not sure what you should have this article should help you.

Passwords

New that we are in the age of On-Line technology one of the biggest problems we all face is that of remembering all of the passwords we must now have for all of the on-line or plastic we use. So how can we protect ourselves? This short article should give you an insight on how to do that.

7th November 07 - Funding for Manufacturing Companies

We still have some funding for companies in the North West that want to create or improve an effective web presence.
 
To access the funding you have to be in an Objective 2 area (we can check your postcode for this) and you have to make or produce something.
 
Why not call us for a chat to see if you qualify?
 
Call 015395 31338 - if the line is busy leave a message and we will call you back.

12th Aug 07 - Foot and Mouth - Help for Farmers in Cumbria from Churches Together in Cumbria

Churches Together in Cumbria have some practical help and advice for farmers who may be concerned or suffering from the current rerstrictions brought in due to the outbreak of FMD in the south of England. Click the link above to find out more

27th June 07 - Veterans Day UK - Wednesday 27th June 07

Dozens of communities all over the UK will today be celebrating Veterans day with events.
 
Wednesday 27th June has been designated as Veterans day in the UK. Major cities in the UK will be holding events in honour of armed forces and certain civilian services who have over the years contributed to war effort and national security, many of whom will not in the past have been eligible for a Campaign Medal. To read more and find out if you qualify for a Veterans Badge Click the link at the top of this item.

27th June 07 - Veterans Day UK - Wednesday 27th June 07

Dozens of communities all over the UK will today be celebrating Veterans day with events.
 
Wednesday 27th June has been designated as Veterans day in the UK. Major cities in the UK will be holding events in honour of armed forces and certain civilian services who have over the years contributed to war effort and national security, many of whom will not in the past have been eligible for a Campaign Medal. To read more and find out if you qualify for a Veterans Badge Click the link at the top of this item.

15/06/07 - Whitehaven Maritime Festival

15/06/07 - Haverthwaite Summer Fair

This weekend sees the Whitehaven Maritime Festival get under way and the organisers have said that even though the weather foercast is not brilliant the festival will go ahead, with tall ships, a display by the Red Arrows and many other attractions.
 
The link above will take you to the website, which will open in a new page, note that we accept no responsibility for the content of a website once you leave our site.

The Summer Fair at Haverthwaite takes place on Sunday 17th June in aid of St Mary's Hospice Ulverston.
 
Loads of attractions are there not least of which will be a huge car boot sale, folk music, food and drink.
 
The fair is held annually on the St George's Playing Fields in Haverthwaite, the home of the Leven Valley Community Centre. It's in a good cause so all are welcome
 
See you there!

Wed 23rd May - Does your website and email messaging conform to current legislation?

Wed 23rd May 07 - EU eases costs of roaming on mobile calls but still threatens to increase costs of doing business abroad!

January 1st 07 brought with it some new legislation which website owners must conform to and this includes your corporate (business) email messages. You can read more by clicking on the heading above.

15th May 07 - National Home Working Day is Friday 18th May

15th May 07 - Reminder - 1st July starts now smoking!

8th May 07 - Expanding home based businesses

8th May 07 - Proactive Marketing - the future for Internet trading

One of the biggest problems facing the home worker is "How to expand the business" particularly if space and time are at a premium.
 
Home is now the most popular location for new start up businesses and believe it or not around 2000 of them are formed every week in the UK.
 
Working from home requires a little bit of lateral thinking as the business starts to grow, particularly if the space you have is limited. Click on the heading link above to read more about this story.

Thousands of website owners are wasting their money because they don't market their website and keep people up to date with what they are doing.
 
There are some 300 billion websites out there so if you want visitors to your website you need to do something to attract them. A website is also useful for keeping existing customers informed and up dated on all your goods and services, it's not just there to sell items to the casual browser.
 
What should you be doing?
 
To find out more click on the heading

10th April 07 - An introduction to the European Community

16th April 07 - PCI Data Security Standard comes into being on 30th June 2007

A recent survey highlighted the fact that a significant number of EU citizens did not know much about the workings of the European Community, so we have set out the structure for anyone interested to see, follow the link above to find out more.

There are fears that many small retailers will not be ready for the 30th June deadline on credit card processing legislation. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) will take effect then and if you use credit/debit card payment facilities in your outlet then you must make sure you comply.

20th February 07 - The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations (WEEE)

5th March 07 - Corporate Manslaughter and vehicles

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations (WEEE) came into force on 2nd January. The Regulation aims to reduce the quantity of waste from electrical and electronic equipment and to increase its re-use, recovery and recycling.

Do you run a fleet of cars, provide company cars or pay employees to do business mileage in their own cars? If the answer is yes to any of them then you must now ensure that any vehicle used for business is roadworthy. If you don't take steps to ensure certain risk assessments and roadworthness of vehicles (yours or theirs) you could be prosecuted in the event of injury or death whilst an employee was driving on business.

20th February 07 - Tough new penalties for illegal mobile phone use from 27 February 2007

20th February 07 - Energy Performance Certificates

Tough new penalties will be imposed on motorists using mobile devices like phones etc whilst driving.

From 1 June 2007 anyone buying a home will get a certificate giving clear advice on its energy efficiency and running costs for the first time.

20th February 07 - Government announces measures to encourage individuals to tackle climate change.

20th February 07 - Waste Awareness Training

Measures to help individuals tackle climate change and adopt greener lifestyles have been unveiled by the Government.

The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management have developed a Waste Awareness Certificate aimed specifically at employees who deal with waste in all kinds of situations on a daily basis.

Are the bans on food advertising to children a good idea or simply a bureaucratic nightmare when healthy foods are being banned in favour of un-healthy foods? How are we expected to do what's best for our kids if the governement keeps giving mixed messages? To read more about the new legislation that could be coming into force in the next month or so around food advertising click on the heading above.

If global warming is caused by human activity and the production of greenhouse gasses then why is east Antarctica getting colder?
 
Why is ice on the increase in the southern ocean while it decreases in the northern seas? Read the other side of the argement by clicking on the heading above.

The H5N1 Avian Flu virus has struck a Bernard Mathews farm in Suffolk and as a result movement restrictions are in place with exclusiion zones and some 160,000 birds are to be killed.

Millions of home owners could be paying too much in Council Tax and may be eligible for rebates. In 1991 when Council Tax Banding was first introduced only a cursory glance was given to a minimum number of properties and all others in an area were banded along with those without being visited and assessed.
 
You could be in for a rebate - to find out how to check if you are eligible click on the link above.

Scientists at the Met Office's Hadley Centre are warning us that we only have ten years left to reduce carbon emissions or it will be too late to do anything.

Click on the heading above to find out more and to check your own Carbon Footprint

• at Lowca - A Holiday Village  
• at Lillyhall - A Nuclear Academy  
• at Workington - A Focus Store  
• at Lillyhall - A factory for Cumberland Pencil  

1st February 07 - Microsoft Vista Launches

25th January 07 - Proposed EU New Law could "HIT" selling on the Internet!

Microsoft's latest operating system "Vista" has launched at long last. However, not all potential users will be able to take the new product on board as it has been estimiated that around 50% of windows users will not have the necessary computing power in their existing PC's to run the software effectively.

An outline of the new product and a review can be seen by clicking on the heading above.

Proposals due to be voted through the European Parliament in the next month could make sellers responsible for court action in the country of the buyer. This could cause major cost implications for small and large companies alike who seel across borders. Imagine selling a good or service to someone in Slovenia and then having to defend a claim in the Slovenian courts, costs and insurances could spiral and potentially trade between EU Members coudl be drastically reduced.

The seven authoriies in Cumbria have until the 25th January to table plans for unitary authorities. The Government considers that in a county the size of Cumbria there is too much waste of finance and resources by haveing the current two tier systems of County Council and District/Burough Councils.

The European Community's Research and Development programme known as Framework 7 is now underway. More details are available by clicking on the heading link above.

20th October 06 - NHS Changes in Cumbria

14th October 06 - Microsoft Patches for Interent Explorer

There have been some changes to NHS Services in South Cumbria. South Cumbria mental health services have merged with North Cumbria to form the Cumbria Partnership NHS Trust Cick on this link to find out more about the chage in NHS Trusts locally.

The Microsoft patches for Internet Explorer have been released, if you use IE and have not clicked on automatic updates you should visit the Microsoft website to download the security patches. To read more about the security patches click on this link

20th September 2006
Maryport, Cumbria appears to be the latest hot spot for speculative house purchases by outsiders. To read more about Maryport click on the above link.

16th September 06
Watch out for 1st October!
 
1st October this 2006 brings some considerable legislative impact for owner managers and Directors.

• Changes to the Minimum Wage 
• The Work and Families Act 
• Age Discrimination  
• Fire Safety 

The Minimum Wage
 
With effect from 1st October the following rates apply to the minimum wage.
 
For Adults the new rate is £5.35 p/hr an increase of 0.35 pence
For those aged 18 - 21 the new rate is £4.45 p/hr an increase of 20 pence, and
For those aged 16 - 17 the new rate is £3.30 p/hr an increase of 30 pence

Work & Families Act
The Work and Families Act extends women's rights to paid maternity and adoption leave from six to nine months from April 07. To find out more click on the link Work & Families Act
 
Age Discrimination
Major changes to practices in respect of recruitment, training, pensions and staff benefits. Clicking on the link above will take you to our page on the subject and to other useful links on the legislation.
 
Fire Safety
There is some concern that a number of firms could fall foul of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The regulations now make company bosses responsible for assessing risk at the place of work and for taking steps to prevent accidents. Owner managers and directors could be held liable in the event of a fire if they have not taken the appropriate actions.
 
Whilst there is probably no need to panic, steps should be taken to nominate or appoint someone in your firm who would then be responsible for the assessment, implementation, organisation and monitoring of safety measures such as, risk assessments, emergency planning, fire safety procedures, fire safety equipment, training and drills. Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue service offer a free PDF download at the following Link GM Fire Service Information

22nd August 06
Age Discrimination Legislation comes into force on 1st October 06
 
With effect form 1st October 2006 the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 come into force. Any failure to comply with the new legislation could result in your company being fined. It includes provisions relating to service related benefits and occupational pensions. Click here to read more about the new regulations.

14th August 06
New EU study shows that Finance departments hinder access to Research & Development funding form the European Commission.
 
Click here to read more about the R&D Funding Issue

14th August 06
Pay per Click fraud has increased
 
Pay per click advertising has been under increased attack from bogus clickers.
 
Click this link to read more about Fraudulent Pay per Click

Date 7th August 06
Calls continue for Governement to aid small firms looking for finance
 
The government's own Small Business Service estimates that around 83,000 businesses were unable to raise finance in 2005. And despite a number of initiatives the Government still has not got to grips with providing the right kind of help for Small and Micro Enterprises.....Cilck this link to read more about new ideas for small business finance

Dateline 4th August 06
Royal Mail brings in new charging structure
 
On the 21st of August the Royal Mail postal charges will change from one which has been based on weight to a new structure formulated on weight and size.....Cilck this link to read more about postal charges

30th July 06: The European Union's Framework Seven is moving closer to realisation.
 
Framework Programmes are the EU's vehicle for Research and Development in which businesses large and samll can particiipate. Hopefully the first call for projects will be late 2006 early 2007.
 

Dateline 30th July 06
Cumbria Digital Development Network
 
It is now almost two years since the North West Development Agency formed the Cumbria Digital Development Network and set aside £ 3 million to help develop the Digital and Media industries in the County.
 
When can we expect to see anything happening?

Dateline 17th July 06
WCDA have a new programme to help businesses with Internet and ICT Technologies
 
Expert helps is available for companies who want to rationalise and improve their ICT Strategies and their Internet Presence.
 
Click here to read more about the WCDA

Dateline 17th July 06
Furness Enterprise - here to help in south west lakes
 
Fe has a number of programmes for small businesses and larger organisations. Click here to read more about Furness Enterprise

Dateline 17th July 06
CREA revamps Distincly Cumbrian
 
CREA has just revamped its processes for suppliers to Distincly Cumbrian. Click here to read more about CREA

Dateline 5th July 06
Finnish EU Presidency must focus on innovation and R&D
 
The Federation of Small Businesses, the UK's largest business organisation, called on the incoming Finnish Presidency of the EU to step up efforts to boost innovation and research and development (R&D) in Europe's economy by putting small business at the centre of this effort. Click here to read more about the FSB's message to the EU on R&D

Dateline 5th July 06
Export Support emphasis changes from Micro and Small firms to Larger ones
 
Sources tell us that the present system of helping small and micro businesses to gain a foothold in overseas markets is being stopped in favour of supporting businesses which have an annual turnover of £12 million plus.
 
The DTI considers that the return from investments in micro and small businesses is taking to long to materialise and the powers that be believe the money could be better spent with more well established businesses. When the current crop of funding under Passport to Export runs out, and that should not be too long, the UK International Trade team will start to target larger businesses.

Dateline Monday 22nd May 06
Pensions Minister announces shake up on Pensions front
 
John Hutton MP the Pensions Minister has said that he wants to restore the link between pensions and earnings rather than the retail prices index as it is at the moment. However, there will be a price to pay for the restoration of the link to earnings and that is an increase in the age at which people will be able to retire and draw a state pension....click here to read more about Pensions

Dateline Sunday 14th May 06
More recipies from James Brown. James has provided some more mouth watering recipies click this link to view them

Dateline Wednesday 10th May 06
Colony Candles - up for sale
 
Colony Candles who are based at Lindal in Furness is on the market. The parent company is selling the UK based candle and gift company. We understand that the staff have been informed.

Dateline Wednesday 10th May 06
University of Cumbria will halt the Brain Drain
 
Council Leader Tim Stoddard (Cons) is reported as welcoming the news that the University of Cumbria would be a reality soon. Cllr Stoddard believes that the new univiersity will give opportunities for young Cumbrians to stay in Cumbria, and that it will play a vital part in bringing new people into the county and that it will become part of the regions economic "lifeblood".
 
What do you feel? To read our comments and to add your own click on this link to the University of Cumbria story

Dateline Wednesday 10th May 06
BAE SYSTEMS could become part of a "super-company"
 
It looks as though BAE SYSTEMS, VT Group and Babcock International have been looking into combining their naval shipbuilding interests.....we await further developments.

Dateline Sunday 30th April 06
Get Big Benefits from doing the right thing in business
 
Being self employed can be very rewarding, it can also be soul destroying for the unwary or the undisciplined, so how can you make sure that you do the right things to make your business grow and prosper.....Click here to read more about gaining benefits for your small business

Dateline Sunday 30th April 06
Finance Crisis hits Operations at FGH
 
At a recent meeting of the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust Board it was revealed that there had been increased pressure on ward staff, operational staff and bed managers. However, Kevin McGhee the Trust's Chief Operating Officer insisted that there was no evidence of clinical quality suffering....click this link to read more about the local NHS Finance crisis and localising the NHS

Dateline Saturday 29th April 06
Man contracts Brid Flu at infected Farm
 
It ahs been confirmed that a man workng at one of the farms which have the H7 strain of Bird Flu has been infected. The infection manifests itself as a mild eye infection an is no cause for concern.
 
The poultry stocks at these farms are to be slaughtered.

Dateline 28th April 06
Blair gives "OK" for Russion Gas Giant to by UK Gas
 
Tony Blair has given his agreement to allow the Russion Gas Giant Gazprom to buy up to 51% of the UK's largest gas company. Centrica which owns British Gas and is the UK's largest utility firm with more than 17 million electricity and gas customers could fall soon to Gazprom.

Dateline Thursday 27th April 06
Bird flu hits Poultry Farm in Norfolk
 
Preliminary tests have indicated that the avian influenza virus is present in samples from chickens found dead on a poultry farm near Dereham in Norfolk. The test results show that it is likely to be the H7 strain of avian influenza, and not H5N1. Further tests are in progress to determine the pathogenicity.

dateline Sunday 23 rd April 06
James Brown's latest recipies
 
For More recipes from James just click on this link

dateline 22nd April 06
British Water Company sold to Spaniards
 
Yet another Key Resource will fall into foreign hands if the bid (which has been accepted) for Bristol Water goes ahead. We are beignning to wonder if we in the UK will have any ownership of our "Life Critical" resources at all before long!
 
Water is key to life and once again we are seeing such resources lost to foreign owners in the name of open markets and shareholder profit. Wars have been fought over less.

dateline 22nd April 06
Car Drivers annoyed at DVLA Mistake
 
DVLA have been sending out Road Fund Tax reminders with the old "Pre Budget Rates" on them and drivers who have taken them to the post office or have been told that they have to pay more. Keep you eye open for yours if your road tax is due......

Dateline 22nd April 06
Bird Flu - Restrictions to be lifted
 
The bird flu restrictions, at Cellardyke in Fife have now been lifted. The restrictions were brought in after a dead swan tested positive for a strain of the H5N1 virus. Measures were brought in limiting the movement of poultry and eggs in parts of eastern Scotland, and these were introduced on 5 April. Since tests have established that no further cases have been found the 3km protection zone will now lapse, however, the 10km zone which brought in controls on the movement of poultry and captive birds will remain until 1st May. It is expected that the 10km restrictions will be lifted only when there are no further positive tests for the H5N1 virus.

Dateline 17th April 06:
Water will become the "New Oil"

It has been estimated that by the year 2025 some two thirds of the world's population will live in areas which are short of water. Now if you thought that Oil Shortages cause us problems and create wars and conflict - wait until water becomes the base for power! Are we looking at a Nightmare Scenario?
 
Click this link To read more about water shortages
 

Dateline 17th April 06
Cultural Business Ventures Cumbria - funding for creative industry sector
 
Rural Regeneration Cumbria still has some money available for helping Cultural Businesses grow. Click here to find out if you could be eligible for the creative industry sector funding

Dateline 16th April 06:
NWDA's Regional Economic Strategy 2006
 
NWDA has published its Regional Economic Strategy 06 (commonly known as the RES) is available for download.
 
Click here to view our comments on the RES

Dateline 15th April 06
Top Chef Joins Cumbria Business Portal (CBP) with articles, recipies and jobs
 
James Brown one of Cumbria's top chefs has joined CBP to provide us with some exciting ideas for recipies and with notices on recruitment/job vacances as they occur.
 
To read today's recipies from James click this link

Dateline 6th April 06
Defra Press Release
 
To View today's 17:16 hrs Defra Press Release on Bird Flu

Dateline 6th April 06
Swan in Scotland tests positive for H5N1
 
The swan we reported on yesterday in Fyfe Scotland did die from the H5N1 Virus.
 
A 3 km protection zone is in place to prevent poultry being moved within that zone. A wider 10 km surveillance zone has also been set up in which movement of poultry will be restricted or diverted around the area.
 
Vets have been carrying out checks on birds and poultry in the area, with movement restrictions on poultry, eggs and poultry products.
 
Farmers within the smaller protection zone have been advised to ensure their birds are isolated, if possible indoors, to prevent infection from wild birds.
 
Professor Hugh Pennington a Microbiologist from Aberdeen University said there is no cause for alarm for humans.
 
If you have poultry or are worried about Bird Flu go to Defra's pages on Bird Flu

Dateline 5th April
Bird Flu hits UK
 
The small community of Cellardyke in Fyfe today is the centre of attention due to a swan being found in the harbour which died from Avain Flu, commonly known as Bird Flu. It has died from the H5 Virus but tests are underway to establish if the virus was the partiularly virulent N1 stran of the H5 string of viruses.
 
Click to read a Q & A about Bird Flu
 
Click what Businesses are doing to reduce the impact of Brid Flu
 
Click on this link to go to the relevent Defra Pages on Bird flu

Dateline 4th April
Head of Cumbria Vision resigns
 
Chris Collier has resigned from her post as Head of Cumbria Vision, an £80,000 per year job. Cumbria Vision has spent the last two years trying to position itself within the "Hierarchy" of Cumbrian Business Support without, in our opinion, much success. The organisation was tasked with stopping the decline of Cumbria's economy, something which still remains to be achieved by all and any of the support network. Could it be turf wars again which stopped another initiative from getting to grips with our failing economy?

Dateline 28th March 06
North West Development Agency launches its Regional Economic Strategy on Thursday 30th March.
 
The NWDA will be launching its Regional Economic Strategy (RES) at the Reebok Stadium on Thurday 30th March. All agencies in the north west will be expected to contribute to the objectives of the RES. We await the document with interest and will keep you posted.

Dateline 28th March 06:
Federation of Small Businesses launches its bi-annual report on "Lifting the Barriers to Growth in UK small businesses".
 
The bi-annual report from the membership of the Federation of Small Businesses, the UK's largest small business organisation is now available....click here to find out more about the "FSB's Barriers Report"

Dateline 21st March 06
Business Link changes on the way
 
The North West Development Agency will be shaking up the Business Link operation which is at the moment delivered locally. To read more about this story click this link

Dateline 9th March 06:
DTI have issued a press release about Rural Post Offices. Post Office Limited has produced a report - The work was commissioned by the Government to report on the findings of their trials of new, innovative and cost-effective ways of delivering post office services to rural communities.....To read the full press release on the future of Rural Post Offices click this link and you will be taken to the appropriate page

Dateline 9th March 06:
Adam Crozier's comments on Post Ofice Report
 
Adam Crozier, Chief Executive of Royal Mail Group, said in a foreword to the report: "Everyone - Post Office Ltd, sub postmasters, customers - wants a sustainable and clear way forward for the rural network.....To read Adam Croziers comments on teh report click on this link and you will be taken to the appropriate page

Dateline 25th February 06:
Bird flu hits large poultry farm in France, over 1000 Turkey's culled in effort to halt virus spreading - To read more click this link and you will be taken to the appropriate page