A live evacuation drill of a container vessel was carried out for the first time at the Port of Immingham as part of ongoing emergency testing at the Humber’s busiest port.
Associated British Ports and Humberside Fire and Rescue carried out the rescue on a vessel owned by port customer A2B in Immingham Container Terminal. The scenario was based on a fire in one of the bulk heads at the front of the container ship to test the effectiveness of procedures. They also carried out a search and rescue of a man down.
Simon Bird, Regional Director for the Humber said: “This is the first time we have undertaken this kind of training exercise and it’s important for us as a port operator to be confident that in extreme circumstances we have the expertise and knowledge of the emergency services.
“Giving them access to our plant, but also to our customers provides confidence in our operations team that we have all bases covered should anything concerning happen because it is where knowledge and skills are gained, to save lives if ever needed.”
Steven Smith of Immingham East Green Watch at Humberside Fire and Rescue Service said: “The scenario we completed is one of the biggest risks we face as a fire service, what we call a low frequency high risk event.
“This type of partnership and training, allows both of our organisations to test our procedure in a real-world environment, allowing our teams to appreciate the associated risk with fires on board cargo vessels.”
Arthur Groeneweg, Marine & Crewing Manager, A2B added: “For A2B-online Ship Management it is important to practice with fire departments and port authorities as in a simulated environment we can test our emergency preparedness.
“In the ports of our operations, the close involvement with the port authorities and partners is an added value, which allow us to excel and improve. Feedback and lessons learned will be shared and used to set our future goals, it is supporting our ambition. With renewed energy we are looking forward to the next cooperative drill.”
A former student from the University of Bradford is putting up £1.25m to launch a Dragons’ Den-style ‘enterprise ecosystem’ at the university to take business ideas from concept to market.
He’s Dr Murthy Venkata Renduchintala, who studied at the University from 1983-91, and his money will be matched by a similar sum from the University to create the Bradford-Renduchintala Enterprise Ecosystem. It’s objective will be to provide financial and mentoring support from business leaders to help young entrepreneurs. It will be open to students, staff and members of the community, who will be able to pitch ideas and bid for grants.
The former Qualcomm and Intel executive said: “What we are trying to do with BREE is to emulate what has been popular and prolific in many areas of the US and other parts of the world, where academic research ultimately leads towards ground-breaking transformations in real life.
“For example, if you look at many of the technologies that have come out of some very well-known academic institutions in the US and you go forward to today, they are helping create ground-breaking environments. For example, think of how Google or Facebook started.
“This was entrepreneurs in the making who were doing research and undergraduate projects who decided to take those ideas and make them into game-changing commercial entities. But they required a support environment and a gathering of advisers and well-wishers that could chaperone those plans, not just through the good idea phase, but how to create a business entity, and how to ultimately get that business entity developing products that ultimately consumers can see, touch and feel. And that’s what we are trying to do here.”
University Vice-Chancellor Professor Shirley Congdon said: “We are immensely grateful to Dr Renduchintala for his contributions to the university. BREE represents a fantastic opportunity for the University of Bradford to promote its entrepreneurial spirit and become a leading light for enterprise and innovation in the UK and beyond.
“This initiative will also expand our vision of a world of inclusion and equality, where people can make a difference. We want to be known as the place to be to make that difference. The whole idea behind BREE is that if you have an idea today, you can create a different future.”
Sole traders with sales of more than £50,000 will come under HMRC’s Making Tax Digital umbrella in April 2026 – and that means they’re going to have to maintain digital records using compatible online software.
Making Tax Digital is the HMRC toolbar managing taxes online rather than with self-assessment tax returns. VAT-registered businesses are already using it to maintain digital business records and submit VAT returns.
On April 6th 2026, MTD rules will be extended to income tax. Sole traders and landlords earning above £50,000 annually will need to sign up ahead of the deadline. Those with income above £30,000 must do so from April 2027.
The best advice is to talk to a qualified accountant, who will understand the rules and be able to guide you through them.
Lincolnshire-based commercial design and fit specialist APSS has completed a luxury private dining and games lounge as part of the final phase of a £3 million refurbishment to the main building at Bainland Lodge Retreats.
The rural retreat improvements included transforming an existing area into a private dining room and a snug, plus designing and installing a mezzanine floor to create additional space for a games lounge.
As part of ‘The Garden Room’ dining scheme the team created new walls, floors, a double-height ceiling and large glass exterior. The room features bespoke joinery to providing a little extra luxury for guests. This includes a new servery station with copper worktop, large 24-person dining table and credenza media unit. Acoustic partition walls were installed to ensure guests have privacy in the intimate dining area.
Refurbished games lounge at Bainland Lodge Retreats with a pool table
In the games lounge the ceilings, walls and floors were constructed with acoustics in mind. The space was fitted with a pool table and an interactive dart board.
In the snug they installed traditional Georgian style panelling, a media unit along with the client’s upholstered designer furniture.
All three new areas have ‘call for service’ buzzers installed.
The finalised snug featuring the Georgian panelling delivered by APSS
John Bysouth, Senior Project Manager, said: “The ability for guests to continue to enjoy their stay at the luxury lodges without being disturbed whilst work was carried out was crucial. APSS was able to install an acoustic wall to significantly reduce the noise of any works going on so that Bainland customers would hardly notice we were there.
“We have enjoyed working closely with Bainland Lodge Retreats to transform its space into a luxury dining and entertainment environment for their customers to create unforgettable experiences with friends and family.”
Nick Rouse, Finance and Operations Director from Bainland, said: “It has been a pleasure to work with the APSS team. We appreciate their friendly patient approach to undertaking the challenge of a build project on a fully operational holiday park. They provided expertise and sound advice on how to move the project forward and delivered a successful stunning final product.
“These guys are professionals – that’s why we have engaged them on other major projects at Bainland for completion in 2024.”
Elland-headquartered acceptcards® has become employee owned, with all shares transferring to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).
The business, founded by CEO Richard Bradley in 2005, is an independent payments broker providing bespoke advice and payment solutions working alongside some of the biggest names in financial services including Handelsbanken, Metro Bank, Square, Barclaycard, Clover, Lloyds Cardnet and WorldPay.
In a transaction understood to be the first of its kind in the UK payments sector, the EOT will see the 14 employees take ownership of the firm. Staff members David Mills, Jo Kava and Sheenah Bond will become trustee directors.
Richard Bradley, CEO of acceptcards®, will remain in his position and expects to do so for at least six further years. He said: “This is the natural next step for our business and a really exciting time in the history of acceptcards®. The business has secured continuous year-on-year growth, which has only been possible because of the hard work and dedication of everybody working here.
“Transferring to an EOT gives our team much-deserved recognition and autonomy after being pivotal to our success to date. I’m proud that we have a long established, settled team who have welcomed the opportunity to become an EOT with open arms.”
The EOT means that employees will acquire the business, which is held in trust, and will see them have direct involvement in strategy and benefit from future growth. EOTs were launched in 2014. As of June 2023, the total number of employee-owned businesses in the UK stood at 1,418 – a 37% growth in a 12 month period.
acceptcards® decision to become employee-owned comes seven years after the business launched a profit share scheme for its employees, enabling staff members to directly benefit from the success of the firm. Bradley added: “We’ve invested time and energy into making sure we have an amazing working culture at acceptcards®.
“It’s a brilliant feeling to pass on the stewardship to the team as a collective, as I know they embody our ethos of a business which prides itself on delivering the very best service while at the forefront of innovation for the payments sector.”
Advisors on the EOT transaction were Justin Smith of Kirk Newsholme and Ewan Hall of Baxendale Employee Ownership.
acceptcards® projects a three-fold increase in turnover in the next three years, and in that time expects to hire a further six people.
HDM Solar, which operates from sites in Sheffield and Hull, has won two business awards.
The Clean Energy Family Business of the Year award is said to be a testament to HDM Solar’s dedication to maintaining a strong family culture within the organisation. The company values its employees and customers as an extension of its family, and this has helped it create a loyal customer base.
The Sustainable Energy Startup of the Year award recognises the company’s innovative approach to renewable energy solutions that are making a positive impact on the environment and the success it has achieved over the past year.
MD Adam Firth said: “We are honoured to receive these awards. It is a testament to our team’s hard work and dedication towards creating a sustainable future. We will continue to lead the way towards a cleaner and greener environment and a more sustainable energy future as we provide our customers with more innovative products from across the world.”
People with experience of prison or probation are being helped to move on with their lives thanks to a pioneering scheme funded by the Mayor of West Yorkshire.
A pilot project saw a group of six work with ex-offender led charity, User Voice, to achieve a level one NCFE educational qualification.
They have also gained fixed term jobs as Peer Commissioners with User Voice.
User Voice and the Peer Commissioners will be an integral part of the Mayor’s upcoming work to re-commission a key victims’ service, restorative justice.
They will use their experience to ensure the service meets the complex needs of victims and engages offenders to help them reform.
Jay, who has lived experience of the criminal justice system, was struggling with confidence and self-belief before joining the project. In the future, he aims to continue helping other people from similar circumstances.
Jay said: “My confidence is developing each time I come. It’s been fantastic, I couldn’t have asked for a better group.
“After volunteering on the project I want to continue to help others through hard situations like I’ve experienced and open new doors for them and for myself.”
The group were awarded certificates by Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, and Alison Lowe OBE, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, at an event in Leeds.
West Yorkshire Mayor, Tracy Brabin, said: “I am on a mission to create a safer, fairer West Yorkshire and that includes supporting ex-offenders into employment and positive pathways.
“Whilst victims of crime remain at the heart of our work, it’s so important that we also support people leaving prison or probation and tackle underlying issues.
“We hope that the learning from this pilot will not only continue to help our communities locally but also be adopted nationally.”
Simon Boddis, CEO of User Voice, said: “This project brings people’s lived experience of the criminal justice system to the heart of systemic change. Over the past 14 years we have seen the positive effects that this can have not only on an individual’s life but also communities and the wider system.
“The peer commissioners trained as part of this project will now go on to ensure that services supporting people leaving prison in West Yorkshire are robust, effective and help prevent future victims.
“It is important that we do not stop there. We strongly urge that this pilot is adopted nationally to support more prison leavers and give them a voice to help drive positive change.”
The headline NatWest Yorkshire & Humber PMI® Business Activity Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors – rose for the third month in a row to 50.0, from 48.4 in November, signalling a stabilisation of the private sector economy in the region following four successive months of contraction in business activity.
That said, this compared with a moderate expansion in private sector output across the UK overall at the end of 2023.
Private sector companies in Yorkshire & Humber recorded another monthly fall in their new business intakes during December. Generally subdued demand conditions, in part due to a slowing UK economy, was noted by panellists.
While the rate of contraction was modest and the weakest since July, Yorkshire & Humber recorded the second-fastest decline in new orders of all 12 monitored UK regions. The UK as a whole saw growth for the first time in six months.
Although the Future Activity Index remained in firm optimistic territory, it fell further below its long-term average in December, signalling subdued expectations for growth in the year ahead. Predictions of sales growth and new product development underpinned confidence, although economic headwinds was cited as a reason to be downbeat towards the outlook.
After rising for the first time in three months in November, staffing levels across Yorkshire & Humber stagnated during the latest survey period. Efforts to raise productivity were noted by companies that expanded their workforces, although others opted to not extend temporary worker contracts or replace voluntary leavers due to weak demand.
Notably, Yorkshire & Humber was only one of four parts of the UK to not see a decline in employment in December.
Signs of spare capacity within Yorkshire & Humber’s private sector were seen through a tenth successive monthly reduction in the volume of work outstanding during December. Weak demand conditions reportedly facilitated the sustained completion of unfinished business. That said, while the rate of backlog depletion was strong, it was the softest since July.
Private sector companies in Yorkshire & Humber continued to face rising input prices during December. Where greater costs were registered, firms commented on general inflationary pressures across the economy, although some noted higher labour expenses. Overall, the rate of increase in operating costs was sharp and the steepest since July.
In response to higher input costs, private sector firms in Yorkshire & Humber raised prices charged for their own goods and services during December. The rate of inflation quickened to a five-month high, but remained below that seen for the UK as a whole.
Malcolm Buchanan, chair of the NatWest North Regional Board, said: “The stabilisation of Yorkshire & Humber’s private sector is a slice of good news as it ends a four-month period of contraction. That said, the region is still underperforming by comparison with the UK average, which showed a strengthening of growth at the end of 2023.
“Nevertheless, another month in which the slump in demand has eased suggests Yorkshire & Humber may be past the worst of its downturn, and we can begin to look towards some greenshoots in 2024. Indeed, anecdotally, we saw businesses cite sales growth as a reason to be optimistic for the year ahead, with new product launches and slowing inflation expected to boost demand.”
It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead. It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.Here we speak to Czajka Care Group’s Managing Director, Konrad Czajka.
We all know that sometime in 2024, and possibly as early as the Spring of 2024, there will be a general election.
Both major political parties are talking about cutting immigration numbers, which is causing concern amongst those in the care sector. Caps on care worker numbers, and a restriction on their dependents being allowed to come to the country too, or an increase in minimum salary threshold will have a major impact on the people who rely on these services. A reduction in the number of job vacancies in the care sector over the last year has been a result of foreign workers coming into this country, as opposed to the domestic workforce growing.
The plans to overhaul the adult social care system are stalling, and survival without fundamental changes will be dependent on pockets of funding to help plug the gaps. In 2024 central government investment is critical, alongside a long term workforce plan akin to that of the NHS, to ensure social care is a desirable sector to join and remain a part of.
The rise in the national living wage announced a day before the Autumn statement is welcomed by the social care sector but should be matched by more generous funding for local authorities, who can pass that money onto the providers they commission care from. If this does not happen then we will see providers who are currently on the brink, pushed over the edge by the increased cost. That will mean a further loss of care provision at a time when we need it most.
In 2024 we expect to see greater collaboration and communication between health and social care professionals. This will lead to more effective care planning, improved information sharing, and better outcomes for the individual. There will be a continued demand for social care services with an ageing population and increasing prevalence of chronic diseases. We will continue working hard to improve health outcomes, enhance the user experience, and reduce healthcare costs.
With a 27 place climb since they first entered The Lawyer publication’s prestigious UK200 rankings in 2019, Sills & Betteridge LLP are now in position 160 – with growth of 15% on the previous year placing the firm in the top 10 best performing firms in the country.
The report is seen as the benchmark for anyone with a serious interest in the business of law. It comprises months of detailed, impartial research into the firm’s financial performance, characteristics of its service delivery and analysis of its people – looking forensically at diversity, progression and development.
Chief Executive Martyn Hall said: “A combination of factors has led to these results, but they are principally due to organic growth, our acquisition of niche matrimonial practice Acclaimed Family Law of Sheffield, the recruitment of several senior fee earners across the firm and continuous efficiency initiatives across our working practices and operations.”
But it’s not just about financial performance, the firm is also recognised in the gender analysis section of the report with another top 10 position for a notable number of female partners (60%) and female lawyers (64%) working across the firm. Karen Bower-Brown now goes into her 3rd year as Senior Partner – the first female Senior Partner in the firm’s 265 year history.
Other highlights for Sills & Betteridge in 2023 included the Legal 500 Legal Directory results which saw the firm retain two prized accolades – Leading Law Firm and Top Tier Family Law Team, with a record 10 teams making the list and 30 individual lawyers. The firm also won the Solicitor Firm of the Year at the British Wills & Probate Awards and Children Team of the Year at the national Family Law Awards.
Plans for 2024 include the relocation of the firm’s Sleaford, Sheffield and Northampton operations, significant refurbishment of its Boston premises and continued investment in its people and delivery of excellent service.
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