Colors: Purple Color

Specialist graffiti clean-up teams have been ridding the railway of unsightly vandalism between Euston, the Midlands and the North West this Christmas. Network Rail staff in the North West and Central region spent the holiday working to improve the look and feel of the railway for passengers and those who live beside it.

It supports Transport Secretary Grant Shapps’ recent commitment to remove graffiti as part of an extra £1m provided by the Government to clean vandalism hotspots. One of the jobs this Christmas involved cleaning graffitied walls and railway equipment at Digbeth in Birmingham.

Tim Shoveller, managing director for Network Rail’s North West and Central region, said: “It’s very frustrating money has to be spent undoing damage done by railway vandals.

It’s money which could be being spent making the railway better and improving passengers’ journeys.

“Graffiti makes the place look messy for neighbours and passengers. We want the railway to be a clean, welcoming environment for people who travel on it and live and work near it.  That’s why we’re declaring a war on graffiti.

“There’s a safety aspect here too. Graffiti vandals risk their lives trespassing on the railway. It’s a seriously dangerous place to be. Our advice is to always stay off the tracks.” In recent weeks residents in Camden were sent postcards to show progress Network Rail teams there have made to clear graffiti on the approach to Euston station.

Trains leave Euston every three minutes powered by overhead wires carrying 25,000 volts of electricity making it a dangerous place to be for trespassers. This also makes it difficult to remove graffiti for Network Rail’s maintenance team, who can only access the track when trains aren’t running, mostly overnight.

Well over three million items of vital personal protective equipment (PPE) have now been distributed to frontline staff by the City of Wolverhampton Council since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Latest figures show 3,380,642 items of PPE have been allocated to local care providers, health workers and funeral directors as well as to council social care workers, bin crews, rapid testing teams and leisure, education, transport and housing staff so that they can continue delivering essential services. They include face masks, gloves, eyewear, aprons, gowns and gallons of hand sanitiser.

The council has purchased millions of items of PPE since the end of March, and it also received a wide range of donations from businesses and individuals who responded to a city-wide appeal in April. It is now being supplemented by fortnightly deliveries from the Government.

Councillor Linda Leach, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Services, said: “Despite a global shortage of personal protective equipment throughout this pandemic, we've been able to source millions of vital items of PPE.

“We’re continuing to work as quickly as we can to ensure we get the kit out to those frontline staff who need it, not just those working for the council but also for local care providers and other organisations who have found it hard to get PPE through their usual channels – and the fact that we’ve provided close to three and a half million items over the last nine months shows just how desperately needed it has been.

“The usual supply routes are still not back to normal, so while care homes can obtain stock direct from the Government, we are still able to top up and we are delighted to help. I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in this enormous undertaking.”

Following the agreement announced on Christmas Eve, after months of fraught talks on issues such as fishing rights and business rules, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's chief Brexit negotiator, Lord Frost, has said the new trade deal between the UK and the EU marks the beginning of a moment of national renewal.

He (Lord Frost) described the agreement as "one of the biggest and broadest" ever, with MPs voting on the deal in Parliament on December 30, as the UK prepares to exit existing trading rules on December 31. The European Parliament also needs to ratify it, while EU ambassadors received a Christmas Day briefing on the trade deal from EU negotiator Michel Barnier. A 1,246-page document, which has been published on the UK government's website, sets out the post-Brexit relationship with the EU and includes about 800 pages of annexes and footnotes.

When speaking to reporters, Lord Frost said: "There's no more role for the European Court of Justice, there's no direct effects of EU law, there's no alignment of any kind, and we're out of the single market and out of the customs union just as the manifesto said we would. "All choices are in our hands as a country and it's now up to us to decide how we use them and how we go forward in the future."

Senior members of the UK negotiating team added the deal allowed for a "managed divergence" from EU rules and standards. A free trade agreement usually rules out tariffs being applied to imported goods. Under the terms of this deal if either party acts in a way the other views as anti-competitive, they can go to an independent arbitrator. If that doesn't resolve the complaint, either party can impose tariffs.

The French Minister for Europe Clément Beaune said: "There is no country in the world that will be subject to as many export rules to us as the UK."

But the UK negotiators described the rules as "standard" for third party trade deals.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer - who campaigned against Brexit - said the deal did not provide adequate protections for jobs, manufacturing, financial services or workplace rights and was "not the deal the government promised". But with no time left to renegotiate, the only choice was between "this deal or no deal", he added.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described it as "fair" and "balanced", saying it was now "time to turn the page and look to the future".

Over-65s saw their property wealth increase by more than £9,200 each on average in the past year as the housing market benefited from strong demand partly driven by the temporary Stamp Duty holiday, analysis from UK’s leading independent equity release adviser Key shows. Total property wealth owned by over-65s who have paid off mortgages is valued at £1.224 trillion and has increased by £46.135 billion in the past year equivalent to a gain of £9,214 for homeowners, Key’s Pensioner Property Equity Index reveals.

Key’s data shows over the long-term their gains have been even more impressive. Since Key started analysing the mortgage-free property wealth of the over-65s in 2010 homeowners have seen growth of 57% - a total of more than £444 billion which is equivalent to £88,735 per household in the past decade. The biggest gains in the past year have come in London where over-65s homeowners are more than £21,000 better off over the year while pensioners in the South West have gained £15,618 and over-65s in the South East are more than £10,000 ahead.  The only region to see property values drop was Wales with losses of nearly £2,000 the year.

The South East accounts for a fifth of all property wealth held by the over-65s with the South West and East Anglia accounting for nearly a third. London, which has the wealthiest over-65s homeowners, only accounts for 10% due to lower numbers of over-65s owning homes outright. Will Hale, CEO at Key said: “The property market has performed strongly despite the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic with the Stamp Duty holiday on homes worth under £500,000 providing a material boost to demand. However, the Stamp Duty holiday is due to end on March 31and continued uncertainty around the economic environment may mean that the housing market is set for period of increased volatility.

“However, short or medium-term volatility in the housing market does not change the basic fact that millions of over-65s retain considerable property wealth which can transform their standard of living in retirement and enable them to address a wide range of needs and wants.  Equity release is one way that older customers can tap into their property wealth. Demand for later life lending products has remained strong throughout the coronavirus crisis and with an increasing number of options available it is vital that customers seek specialist advice in order to find the product that best fits their individual circumstances.”

A Solihull-based business is spreading some much-needed Christmas cheer for those who need it most after donating £500 worth of toys and goodies ahead of the festive season to two Birmingham-based charities, Birmingham City Mission and Birmingham Irish.

UVA UK is set to launch its new app-based ride hailing service in Birmingham in early 2021 and has committed to lending a helping hand to local charities and community groups across the areas it operates. As part of these plans, the company has pledged to donate 3% of its overall profits to charities in the UK. The delivery of the Christmas presents to Birmingham City Mission and Birmingham Irish marks the start of its long-term charitable commitments.

Each of the charities have received packages stuffed with Christmas presents from UVA, which includes toys, chocolates and clothes. Each set will also include an age-appropriate book to support the newly launched Marcus Rashford Book Club, which aims to give children from disadvantaged backgrounds the chance to embrace reading from a young age.

The curated packs, which have been tailored by gender and age range, will be gifted to children and families in the region who need them most and otherwise would not have gifts to open on Christmas morning. Alongside the toy donation, UVA UK has also donated £180 worth of food to Smethwick Foodbank to support BBC WM’s Adrian Goldberg’s pledge to donate for every West Bromwich Albion goal. This is to ensure no family goes hungry and can enjoy a hearty Christmas dinner together during the festive period.

Ayesha Rees, CEO of UVA UK, said: “No one should go without, especially over Christmas. In a challenging year, it’s vital to give back and support those in our community who need it most. We hope that the donations make the festive period a little brighter for families across Birmingham.

“As a start-up business, we knew from the beginning that charity and community would be put at the heart of our operations. Working with organisations such as Birmingham City Mission, Birmingham Irish, Smethwick Food Bank and the The Trussell Trust, who are all doing amazing work for families across the region, marks the start of a long term commitment at UVA UK of giving back to our society and creating a positive impact in our communities.”

Trudy McGroarty at Birmingham Irish Association said: “More families than ever are experiencing financial worries this year. We are extremely grateful to companies like  UVA who have donated to our toy appeal to make sure that every child has a new toy to open under their tree on Christmas Day this year.”

Negotiators from the UK and EU are to begin a new push to reach agreement on post-Brexit trade after both sides agreed "to go the extra mile". A UK source said the "process still has some legs" but Boris Johnson has warned no-deal is the "most likely" outcome. A deadline to finish talks had been set for Sunday, but the prime minister and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to an extension. They did not say how long these latest talks would continue, but the ultimate deadline is 31 December, when the UK is due to stop following EU trading rules.

Talks will continue and many, especially in financial services, will hope to reach a deal that will allow them to continue to do business with the EU. Even with a deal in place, there will be significant changes for firms to adapt to in almost every area of their firms. Back in October, the House of Lords' EU subcommittee published a report stating the UK’s accountants, lawyers, recruiters, architects and advertisers are under risk of losing contracts and jobs when Britain formally leaves the bloc in January. 

Despite this, there were reports that corporate lobby group insiders said that the discussions on Brexit preparations by professional services firms were constructive. A Brexit trade deal could run to 600 pages of legal text and must be rapidly translated into easily accessible and readable guidance for businesses, a source said after the meeting of the Government’s Brexit business taskforce.

Chris Biggs, Partner at Theta Global Advisors, commented on the role that professional services have in the Brexit process and what they could look like come January: "With businesses having to prepare for a new supranational trading environment in a matter of weeks, there is still a huge amount of speculation of what it could mean for a number of sectors that trade nationally and globally. In the professional services space, many clients will be impacted heavily by Brexit, so they are trying to understand their new working rules and regulations as quickly as possible. 

“Legal and consulting firms hold an important role in deciphering a deal if it comes, and the framework and intricacies that it entails, or what the rules will be around a no-deal and future trade. Many firms will have used this time to try and prepare the best they can for 2021, but when the new rules are in practice, many will call on the professional services market to ensure that there are adhering to both the UK and European rules of the future. One large area that is bound to be heavily impacted by Brexit is systems and data. Questions have already been asked about the adequacies of the UK's data laws, so firms may be looking to implement new systems to deal with both EU and UK law if a compromise isn't agreed.

“Therefore, consulting firms that can help businesses with this will be in demand in the coming weeks, and while the House of Lords' EU sub-committee raised potential concerns in the sectors, businesses will be relying on these firms to help them get through this period. If firms correctly pivot and provide support to their clients in a timely fashion, the sector could find itself in a new business arena, helping to secure the next generation of clients both at home and on the continent." 

City of Wolverhampton Council has confirmed details of how city businesses can gain access to the Tier 3 local restrictions support grant - and the Christmas Support Payment for wet-led pubs. Local Restrictions Support Grants for Tier 3 restrictions will be based on the rateable value and ratepayer of the property as it was on Wednesday, December 2.

The grant will be paid for the period from Wednesday, December 2 every 14 days while the restrictions remain in place. Businesses required to close by Government will receive the following amounts based on their rateable value as set out in the table below:

Rateable value

Grant sum paid every 14 days

£15,000 and below

£667

£15,001 to £50,999

£1,000

£51,000 and above

£1,500

Businesses that are not legally required to close but are severely impacted by the localised restrictions on socialising can also apply for the grant and could receive the following:

Rateable value

Grant sum paid every 14 days

£15,000 and below

£467

£15,001 to £50,999

£700

£51,000 and above

£1,050

The mandatory Christmas Support Payment for wet-led pubs is now also available and is applicable for the period December 2 to December 29, 2020, for pubs that derived under 50% of their income from food sales prior to March 11, 2020. These grants are in addition to the various Local Restrictions Support Grants and the Additional Restrictions Grant, which are already receiving applications.

Councillor Stephen Simkins, Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: “Varying Covid-19 restrictions have made it difficult for businesses to navigate through these difficult times and there are now further grants available. I am urging Wolverhampton businesses to head to the Wolves in Business website and find out what funding and support is available to them.

“As a council, we have ensured thousands of eligible businesses have had quick access to vital funding to help them through this most difficult time. We are ensuring these new grants are allocated swiftly and that no business is left behind as our city looks to recover from the financial impact of Covid-19.”

In coming weeks businesses are also being asked for their patience in waiting for their applications to be processed due to the break between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

British cyber technology company VST Enterprises (VSTE) has today launched the world’s first public ‘FIT TO FLY’ secure health passport designed for air travel. The cross border platform called V-Health Passport can already be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play by searching for ‘VPassport’ or by visiting www.v-healthpassport.co.uk. It is the world’s first publicly available secure digital health passport that the public can download and use alongside any form of Covid 19 testing and vaccination that does NOT use unsecure bar codes and QR code technology. Airlines and transport carriers can also download and use the system.

It comes at a time when security over the use of bar codes and QR codes in airline travel has come under intense scrutiny following the cyber-attack on the former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot. The former PM had his Qantas airline boarding pass hacked. Details including his passport, mobile phone and messages between Qantas staff about him were intercepted. The wider threats of fake Covid 19 test certificates have also been prevalent with an alarming rise in the sales of fake Covid 19 certificates booming in Russia and the Middle East.

VST Enterprises the Manchester based cyber security and technology is the first company in the world to have a fully functioning LIVE heath passport that can be used cross border and across all transport by air, land and sea.

The V-Health Passport is the world’s most secure health passport using next generation VCode code scanning cyber security technology. Using the most advanced closed loop technology with end to end encryption, V-Health Passport has 2.2 Quintillion collision free combination codes. These decode based on geo location, time & date, device type and user login… meaning it cannot be hacked.

It can provide airline passengers and airlines with a secure digital passport that validates the passengers’s identity, authenticates their Covid 19 test result and vaccination/immunisation details in one secure app. The V-Health Passport also uniquely provides airline passengers and airlines with a contact tracing technology which uses anonymised data. Unlike other health passports, V-Health Passport has been designed with a citizen’s privacy front and centre. The technology does not track your live location and provides all data in a secure GDPR compliant framework giving citizens a unique ‘self-sovereign identity’ style technology putting them in control of who when and how they share their data.

VSTE CEO and inventor of the VCode technology and V-Health Passport Louis-James Davis said; “We are the first technology company in the world to have developed a secure, multipurpose, cross corporate & cross government digital health passport that does not rely on using bar codes or QR codes as its authentication technology. Both bar codes and QR codes have huge potential security implications as they can be cloned and hacked with the latter being subject to a process called ‘Attagging’. Therefore any suggestion of using this type of technology in a health passport for air travel has very real security risks. Not only is a citizen’s personal information at risk, but their Covid test status, vaccination records and also their credit card information. All of this can lead to the very real potential of a massive data breach and a person’s personal information and data hacked and stolen. This is of particular concern when using a bar code or QR code technology designed for use to authenticate a person’s Covid 19 testing and/or vaccinations records.”

With the alarming increase and black market trade in fake Covid 19 test certificates this also puts a very real threat and risk to passenger safety on airline carriers with the potential to infect and contaminate other passengers on what would be a Covid safe bubble onboard an aircraft. It is well documented that bar codes and QR codes can be hacked so any airline who considers using a health passport for Covid 19 is testing and vaccination using this method of authentication risks a serious potential breach of its passenger data. In 2018 British Airways was fined a record £20M for a data breach on 400,000 of its customers which affected their personal and credit card data.

Louis-James Davis went on to state that both bar codes and QR codes - which represent first and second generation technology - are unsecure and vulnerable to hacking.

“QR codes were originally developed as a scanning technology for close proximity car parts tracking, a world away from identity and banking use cases and now digital health passports. It was then used to skip the input of websites in marketing and promotional purposes. They were never designed with security or privacy in mind… they are simply not fit for purpose and should not be used at all in any form for delivery of sensitive information, travel or event tickets or health passport.

“QR codes can be subject to a process called ‘Attagging’ or ‘cloning.’ The process of ‘Attagging’ is where a ‘genuine QR code’ is replaced by a ‘cloned QR code’ which then redirects the person scanning that code to a similar website where personal data can be intercepted and breached. The problem is that serious that in India alone there are over 1 BILLION fraudulent financial transactions each day using QR codes. As the scanning user journey is the same, it is only tech savvy individuals that may notice the domain name has changed.”

As reported by a recent Forbes Magazine investigation, it is predicted that over 11 Million households in the US alone will scan a QR code this year and the majority of them, some 71% of people who have interacted with a QR code will not know if it is the start of a malicious hack. It is envisaged that over 5.3 Billion QR codes will be redeemed this year making it one of the fastest growing tech scanning interactions and also posing one of the greatest cyber threats.

QR codes can be cloned and redirected to other information points or websites. Often criminals and hackers will exploit this by putting a fake QR code over a genuine QR code. So a QR code for example on scanning would link to the genuine website: www.similardomain.com but a fake QR code can be made up printed off and placed over the genuine code to redirect to: www.similar-domain.com at this point the member of the public is tricked into entering their personal information, private data and financial information. The rogue website looks and feels exactly like the genuine one and is made to mirror it precisely.

VCode which is the ultra-secure digital code which powers the V-Health Passport cannot be cloned. Even if it was printed off, or a photograph was taken and placed over a VCode or V-Health Passport it simply won’t scan as it works on a call and response system of information between the code and web platform to verify location of the code, user ID and time and date and much more.” He added; “We developed and built the V-Health Passport and health wallet to be the most secure technology on the planet that you could use as a health passport where you could combine your test status, vaccination record, boarding pass, airline ticket, music or sports ticket all in one app.

“With V-Health Passport we wanted to provide functionality and greater mobility to allow citizens to return to work, be fit to fly or return to the sports stadiums. But at the heart of the technology was the ability to protect and respect data privacy of the individual.

“The lack of engagement and interaction by the public with Government track and trace app/s over the pandemic was over privacy, security of data and the tracking of a person’s live location. This is why we have built a unique system in the vein of ‘Self Sovereign ID’ with the ethics of privacy & security by design. The V-Health Passport puts the citizen in control in a way which they share information with who, when and where.”

V-Health Passport™ will help employers safely return their employees back to their offices, factories and warehouses. It will facilitate airlines to allow their passengers to be fit to fly and avoid the need for quarantine restrictions. At the same time it will ensure their airline ticket or boarding pass is secure and won’t be hacked.

A citizen will be able to share their health pass and confirm their Covid test status, or present their vaccination record. They will also be able to show their credit score, work permit or visa, scan their travel or event pass. At the heart of each interaction they will have peace of mind that their data and information is highly secure and ultimately, they control who sees what, who scans what, where and when.

 

Following the success of the biggest jobs support trial of its kind in the world, the Black Country is getting more support to help people who have health conditions into work.

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has secured £1.1million from the Government to continue Thrive into Work which helps unemployed people who have have mental or physical health conditions get back into the workplace. Between June 2018 and October this year the WMCA led the research study which has helped more than 600 people back into work.

Working with primary and community health teams, jobs support and health services were integrated. Employment specialists based in GP surgeries and other health and community settings across the region provided intensive guidance to help individuals find and apply for jobs, and prepare for interviews. Due to the success of the trial Thrive into Work is now being extended to run till July 2021.

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands said: “Getting 600 people back into work is an outstanding achievement, creating positive health, social and economic benefits allowing residents to thrive. The pandemic has had a damaging effect on employment but schemes like Thrive into Work show that the targeted, hard work being put in by the WMCA is contributing to a fairer, healthier West Midlands.”

Research from the Centre for Mental Health on mental health at work shows that mental ill health is responsible for 72 million working days lost and costs £34.9 billion each year and is  strongly associated with social and economic circumstances, including living in povertylow-quality work and unemployment.

Father of two young children, Matt Wagg, is one of the people who benefitted from Thrive Into Work. In 2018 he had to leave his job as a delivery driver after osteoarthritis in his knees made it too painful to do his job. Being unemployed left the 47-year-old from Oldbury feeling he was on the scrapheap. However, after six months of support Matt gained a job as a school caretaker, playing an invaluable role in keeping the school operating during the coronavirus outbreak. He said: “I feel so much better compared to how I was before I enrolled on Thrive into Work, it provided me with someone to push me in the right direction and I’m like a different person to how I was then.”

The Thrive into Work trial was originally set up to test if support in primary care settings would help people with a health condition return to employment. It helped people with a variety of conditions including arthritis, cancer and depression. The Trial was based on a tried and tested model called Independent Placement Support (IPS) which traditionally supports people with severe and enduring mental health difficulties to find work. Thrive into Work is currently provided by Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to people living in Dudley and Walsall, and Prospects part of Shaw Trust deliver the service to people in Wolverhampton, Sandwell and West Birmingham.

WMCA Portfolio lead for health and wellbeing and leader of Warwickshire County Council, Izzi Seccombe, said: “Thrive into Work is important because it can help citizens regain confidence, independence and a sense of purpose.

“I am delighted it’s previous success will be built upon, helping to support people in our region rebuild their lives and get back into the workplace.”

Local contractor Willmott Dixon was the UK’s highest placed construction company in the Financial Time’s annual European leaders for workplace diversity and inclusion list – ranking at number 43 out of 850 organisations listed for their approach to inclusivity.  

This is the West Midlands-based construction firm’s second time on the Diversity Leaders list, and saw it once again score higher ratings than any other peer company for its approach to diversity following online responses from over 100,000 employees at 15,000 companies across 16 European countries.

The 15,000 companies were rated on employee feedback which, along with the opinions of human resources and recruitment experts to refine the analysis, enabled the number to be whittled down to the top 850 companies. Willmott Dixon was also one of only 13 UK companies that appeared in the Diversity Leaders 2021 top 50.

With more and more businesses working hard to demonstrate how their activities have a positive impact on society and within local communities, promoting an inclusive work environment is essential to meeting these aims.

The Financial Times list is the third major national accolade this year that recognises Willmott Dixon’s people-first approach – after the contractor was ranked 5th in the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies to Work for list and was also named in The Times Top 50 Employers for Women list.

Willmott Dixon has pledged to have 50/50 parity of gender across all management levels by 2030 and is rolling out a series of initiatives to support inclusivity. 

Rick Willmott, group chief executive, said: "Our inclusion in the latest Financial Times Diversity Leaders list again puts construction on the corporate map as an industry that is making huge strides in its approach to diversity and inclusion. This is important, as the industry is facing a skills shortage so broadening the talent pool available is fundamental to ensure a sustainable flow of future skills

"The Diversity Leaders 2021 list shines a welcome spotlight on the business’ imperative of workplace diversity, which will serve as an inspiration to us in how we continue as a company where our people feel valued and a key part of our growth. Successful companies are those that provide a diverse and inclusive environment where people feel challenged, contented and included within complementary teams. It is something that is embedded in our values.”

 

The latest data from the latest research from new build snagging experts, HouseScan, has revealed where the new build sector has made the most significant contribution to housing stock across the property market over the last year.

HouseScan analysed the recently released net additional dwellings data for 2019-2020 from the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, looking at where the delivery of new homes has provided the biggest boost to total dwellings stock when taking the wider context of the market into account. Not just the sheer volume of new homes delivered.

The research shows that across England, the 243,770 net homes delivered has brought a 1% boost to the total levels of dwelling stock across the market.

London has seen the largest boost regionally, with 41,718 new homes increasing dwellings stock by 1.16%.

The South East (1.04%) and East of England (1.03%) have also seen some of the largest increases in overall housing stock as a result of new build delivery over the last year.

When drilling into the regional figures, the new build sector has provided the biggest increase in the number of dwellings across the City of London. While just 297 new homes have been delivered, estimated housing stock levels sit at just 6,506 meaning the new build sector has increased housing availability by 4.57% in the City.

Tower Hamlets has also benefited from a notable boost due to the delivery of new homes. The borough has seen 4,564 new homes delivered, a 3.76% improvement to total housing stock.

Bracknell Forest (3.36%), Salford (3.24%), Newham (2.88%), South Derbyshire (2.83%), Greenwich (2.67%), Vale of White Horse (2.39%), South Oxfordshire (2.29%) and Wokingham (2.27%) also rank within the top 10 areas to have enjoyed the best boost to housing stock via new homes delivery.

At the opposite end of the scale, just 13 new builds have been delivered in Adur, helping to increase housing availability by only 0.05% in the area. Southend (0.12%) and Portsmouth (0.12%) also rank amongst the lowest areas where a new build housing boost is concerned.

Founder and Managing Director of HouseScan, Harry Yates, commented: “The successful delivery of new build housing delivery isn’t solely focussed around volume, and each area of the market will present its own challenges in terms of land availability and building restrictions.

“So while we desperately need more properties to address our appetite for homeownership, it’s important to analyse the delivery of new homes not just on total properties delivered but also within the wider context of a given area

“While the City of London has seen a very low volume of homes delivered, it has actually made the biggest difference in terms of the overall housing stock in the City and so in this respect, the area has seen the biggest contribution from the new build sector.”

Priti Patel has criticised Labour MPs and celebrities for invoking the Windrush scandal in their efforts to stop a flight deporting convicted criminals to Jamaica.

The plane containing 13 prisoners took off on Wednesday - 23 were left off it following legal challenges.

Campaigners said there was a risk people were being wrongly removed as had happened in the Windrush scandal.

The home secretary said their reference to Windrush was "deeply offensive".

She said that it was "misjudged and upsetting" for "ill-informed Labour politicians and do-gooding celebrities" to invoke it in their campaign.

The Windrush scandal, which emerged in 2018, saw people who came to the UK from Commonwealth countries wrongly told they were in the country illegally.

It was cited in an open letter last month, signed by 90 public figures, including model Naomi Campbell and actress Thandie Newton.

Warning that issues linked to Windrush have "not been resolved," they argued the planned deportation flight brought "credible risks of unlawful and wrongful deportations" and urged airlines to boycott it.

The campaigners warned the UK "frequently" seeks to deport people whose crimes are linked to forced labour, and processes for identifying victims of trafficking were in "disarray".

A separate letter last month signed by over 60 mostly Labour MPs and peers also called for the flight to be cancelled.

The MPs said some children would "forced apart" from their parents and the flight posed a Covid-19 risk, adding that the government had "so far failed to learn any lessons" from a March review into the Windrush scandal.

But during a Commons debate, Immigration Minister Chris Philp told MPs the flight was about "criminality, not nationality," and had "nothing to do" with the Windrush scandal.

He added that "not a single individual on the flight" had been found eligible for the government scheme set up to compensate victims of the scandal in March.

Downing Street said all of the people on the flight were "dangerous foreign criminals", who had been born in Jamaica, adding: "Each week we remove foreign criminals - this is no different."

 

Tony Hsieh, the former CEO of online shoe and clothing retailer Zappos.com, has died after a house fire in the US state of Connecticut.

The 46-year-old, who had been on a family visit at the time, only recently retired after 20 years leading Zappos, acquired by Amazon for more than $1bn. He also played a key part in the restoration of central Las Vegas.

Tributes poured in on social media. Zappos said that the world had "lost a tremendous visionary". Tony Hsieh also wrote the book Delivering Happiness, which set out his philosophy of focusing on both customer and employee care.

A statement from, DTP Companies, the company Mr Hsieh invested in to transform downtown Las Vegas, said he was with his family when he died on Friday. Details of his injuries and the cause of death have not been released.

"Tony's kindness and generosity touched the lives of everyone around him, and forever brightened the world," the statement said.

Zappos.com paid tribute on its Twitter feed:

Amazon acquired Zappos in 2009 but Tony Hsieh stayed on as boss, saying: "We think of Amazon as a giant consulting company that we can hire if we want."

Current Zappos chief executive officer, Kedar Deshpande, said Tony Hsieh's "spirit will forever be a part of Zappos".

His "Downtown Project" helped fund start-ups, restaurants and other ventures.

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said Mr Hsieh's death was "a tragic loss".

Bruce Castle Museum & Archive has received a grant of £40,000 from the Art Fund’s Respond and Reimagine programme to deliver a new project; #Unlocking the Castle: The Key to a Digital Future.

The project will use innovative approaches to bring Bruce Castle Museum and the wonderful heritage it holds about Haringey to new audiences online. Providing a new digital platform, for the first time the museum will be able to take digitally-curated collections to be explored not only locally, but beyond Haringey and around the world.

It will provide additional online resources to complement this and offer ‘tasters’ for visits to Bruce Castle itself, but would also support remote access to those local communities which have been especially vulnerable and isolated due to Covid-19.

Over the first six months of 2021, Bruce Castle will be working with different audiences and communities, offering opportunities to co-curate exhibitions and projects online using 3D-digital scanning of collections to develop fun and exciting interactive content for schools, families and life-long learning.

Councillor Mark Blake, Cabinet Member for Communities, said: “I’m delighted that Bruce Castle Museum has been awarded this grant. The Museum is a Haringey treasure and vital guardian of the borough’s history.

“This grant will allow even more people in Haringey and further afield to enjoy the museum’s fascinating collections and learn about our local heritage.”

Enterprising University of Birmingham student Harriet Noy is launching a smartphone app that helps fellow students reduce their carbon footprint by ‘shopping’ locally.

 

Harriet’ s already-successful zero waste online marketplace Hazaar enables students to be more sustainable and reduce their carbon footprint by buying and trading items from clothing and textbooks, to costumes and household items. Now, following a recent funding win, Harriet, a third year Economics student, from Northamptonshire, is launching an app to support Hazaar’s rapid expansion.

 

Hazaar users can buy items online that they hand over in person, which cuts out wasteful packaging and travel miles. It runs through Facebook Marketplace, but has more than 13,000 members and 37 different universities across the UK have a dedicated page.

 

Harriet said: “Hazaar grew out the society I founded, ‘Plastic-free UOB’ that aims to reduce single-use plastic on campus that opened my eyes to the issue of waste within student consumption habits.

 

“Our consumption is so immediate now and while it has many benefits, it also brings waste. For example, many students ‘Amazon Prime’ clothes and costumes to almost always use them only once, when a neighbour on a nearby street may already own those items. I knew I had to find a solution to this problem.”

 

A £20k funding win plus a further cash and equity deal with Niam Marketing are supporting the Hazaar community to grow by around 2,000 members every week. Each University’s Marketplace has its own ‘Head of Hazaar’ to help organise trading, community events and encourage a love of sustainable living.

 

Harriet also plans to expand Hazaar to other audiences and markets and said: “While supporting sustainable living is my primary objective, our success so far shows that there is a clear business case for investing in green initiatives. Further funding will support our ambition to scale to all UK universities by September 2021 before moving to European universities and eventually explore other market opportunities at a global level.

 

“While Hazaar is an online community, it greatly relies on like-minded people coming together to support the sustainability cause, and this is why our leaders at each new local branch are so important.”

 

The all new Hazaar app launches in January 2021 and updates will be shared across Hazaar’s social media channels. Followers also benefit from regular posts that challenge habitual student practices to prevent harm to the environment and inspire sustainable living.

Many Black businesses, who contribute enormously to Birmingham’s economy, have been severely hit because of COVID-19 and recent start-up businesses are at risk.

Financial support from the government is available. However, applications have been particularly low from the Black community due to lack of communication and trust, knowledge or access to community leaders.

Now, CJ Webley, a young playwright and theatre-maker from Birmingham, has founded The Black Pounds Project which, through its own fundraising, aims to be the conduit needed within the community to help black business owners access business and financial support.

CJ said: “The most important thing for us at The Black Pounds Project is to make it possible for black business owners, however small, to access the business and financial help that will help them to kick start their business.  

 

“We want to break down barriers, build up trust and confidence and work alongside them every step of the way at this unprecedented time.”

Since the initial Black Pounds Project fundraising page went live in June, CJ has dedicated his time to develop the project further so that Black businesses can not only apply for available funding but, if successful, will receive access to professional business mentors across a range of sectors who will provide quality advice including:

  • Professional development, coaching and mentorship
  • Funds to help with set up costs, business and digital strategies
  • Signpost Black owned SME's to local business networks
  • Training to support businesses in becoming legally and regulatory compliant across all areas

Paul Faulkner, Chief Executive at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce commented:  “It is imperative for us as business leaders and consumers to do all that we can to ensure the Black community have equal access to the support streams which will allow them to grow and sustain their businesses.

“I applaud CJ for creating this initiative and am delighted that they are actively engaging with our regional business community as a member of the Chamber. I very much look forward to seeing how it all develops.”

For successful applicants, The Black Pounds Project will support each business over a twelve-month period and, as the project develops, the team will compile a directory of high quality, professional Black owned businesses that everyone can benefit from.

Pam Sheemar, Entrepreneur Development Manager at the NatWest Accelerator commented “The Black Pounds Project is a fantastic initiative that will provide the lighting rod that businesses need to grow and access support.  Having a programme that is bespoke and aligned to Black business owners provides relatable role models and targeted support. The access to the wider eco-system partners ensures that we all collaborate to support diverse businesses and SME’s.”

Applications for The Black Pounds Project will open on Tuesday 1st December 2020 and will be eligible for Black business owners who are SME registered or a sole trader with a UTR number. Applicants must be residing in the West Midlands.  Applications can be made via the website: www.blackpoundsproject.org.

Councillor Sharon Thompson,  North Edgbaston Ward (Birmingham) added:  “I am delighted to be supporting The Black Pounds Project and would like to thank the team for keeping Black businesses at the forefront at this time of economic uncertainty.  This project will help to bring the community together.

 

“Therefore, I would strongly urge businesses to get involved as we take active steps towards a brighter more inclusive future.”

 

The Black Pounds Project initially launched its fundraising page in June and in order for the project to support as many Black businesses as possible during this time, further funding is desperately needed.

For those needing assistance with their application, email CJ Webley at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For individuals or businesses wishing to make a donation go to: www.blackpoundsproject.org