Business confidence in Yorkshire and the Humber was the strongest of any UK region or nation in June, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking. While companies in Yorkshire and the Humber reported lower confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, down 17 points at 33%, their optimism in the economy climbed 23 points to 62%. When taken together, this gives a headline confidence reading of 48% (vs. 45% in May) – the highest of any UK region or nation in June. A net balance of 37% of businesses in the region also expect to increase staff levels over the next year, up eight points from May. Looking ahead to the next six months, the region’s businesses identified their top target areas for growth as investing in their team (50%), for example through training, evolving their offering, for example by introducing new products or services (40%) and investing in sustainability (35%). The Business Barometer, which surveys 1,200 businesses monthly, provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide. National picture Overall UK business confidence fell nine points in June to a net balance of 41%. However, this was consistent with levels seen during Q1 2024, before the sharp rise in May, and remained above the long-term average (28%). While businesses reported lower confidence in both their own trading prospects, down 10 points to 44%, and the economy, down seven points to 39%, both remained robust. The North East (47%) closely followed Yorkshire and the Humber as the second-most confident UK region or nation in June, along with the East Midlands (46%). Sector insights Results across the sectors were mixed in June as three of the four sectors saw a decline in trading prospects. Construction fell 16 points to 42% and there were other notable decreases in retail (down 14 points to 35%) and services (down 11 points to 46%). Manufacturing however, bucked this trend, increasing by two points to 51%. Martyn Kendrick, regional director for Yorkshire and the Humber at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “Yorkshire’s businesses are taking a range of steps to build resilience and position themselves for growth. It’s particularly encouraging to see sustainability as one of their key focus areas. “We’ll be by the side of the region’s businesses as they target new opportunities with our insight and support, including discounted lending for green purposes like new low carbon transport through our Clean Growth Financing Initiative.”

Two companies have been fined after a teenage worker was exposed to asbestos. The 16-year-old had been working for P Turnbull Joinery and Building Services Ltd on an outbuilding of a domestic property after the firm had been hired by Alt Berg Holding Limited to refurbish the property in Richmond, North Yorkshire. He had been breaking up cement sheets taken from the roof of the property and putting them into a skip on 7 June 2021. Asbestos was later found to be in the cement sheets, exposing the worker to asbestos fibres. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that Alt Berg Holdings Limited had failed to carry out an asbestos refurbishment and demolition survey of the property, which would have identified the asbestos. P Turnbull Joinery and Building Services Ltd had not properly assessed the work and failed to prevent the worker being exposed to asbestos. P Turnbull Joinery and Building Services Ltd, of Attwood Terrace, Wolsingham, Durham, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £500 in costs at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court on 20 June 2024. Alt Berg Holdings Limited, of Moor Road, Melsonby, Richmond, North Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(4) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The company was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £1,950 in costs at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court on 20 June 2024. HSE Principal Inspector Chris Tilley said: “A suitable and sufficient asbestos refurbishment and demolition survey of the building undertaken by the client and provided to the contractor before work started would have identified the presence of asbestos in the roofing materials. The contractor could have ensured that suitable controls were put in place and the asbestos removed safely before further work was undertaken. “This incident could so easily have been avoided by the provision of suitable and sufficient pre-construction information, effective communication between the parties and the use of correct control measures and safe working practices.” This prosecution was brought by HSE enforcement lawyer Chloe Ward and supported by HSE paralegal officer Rebecca Withell.

A woman whose crimes cost her employer hundreds of thousands of pounds has been jailed for more than three years, following a police investigation. Louise Chambers, 41, from Thirsk, worked as finance manager for a group of Knaresborough-based companies from March 2021 to November 2022, when she was dismissed. A review then identified fraudulent payments from company accounts to accounts linked to Chambers, including a current account, a credit card and a council tax account. North Yorkshire Police were called in, and a criminal investigation was launched. Chambers was arrested and interviewed. Police enquiries identified fraudulent transactions totalling more than £34,000. Further discrepancies were discovered in the accounts in relation to an invoice discounting facility which saw the company having to pay back over £300,000 due to Chambers’ actions. Chambers was charged with two counts of fraud by abuse of position. She pleaded guilty at York Crown Court in May 2024. On 25 June 2024 at the same court she was jailed for a total of three years and one month. After the hearing, DC Amy Webster Gonzalez, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “Chambers’ crimes caused significant financial damage to a local business with a good reputation, risked the livelihoods of other staff members, and put significant financial and emotional strain on company directors. “She abused her position for her own selfish gain. But her dishonesty was uncovered, and the investigation has ensured she has now faced justice for her actions.”

The team that is renovating the landmark Waterhouse Building at the Natural History Museum, one of London’s most iconic 19^th century buildings, will use historically accurate and sustainable linseed paint, made in North Yorkshire, to restore each of the structure’s hundreds of original cast iron windows as it undergoes the latest phase of a £20m restoration project. Yorkshire-based Brouns & Co, which manufactures traditional linseed paint in Sherburn in Elmet, from flax crops grown nearby, has been appointed to the project as part of a team of specialists led by London-based Avanti Architects, which was awarded the contract to manage the latest phase of works to repair the façade of the Natural History Museum’s grade 1-listed Waterhouse Building. The firm’s CEO, Michiel Brouns, is a conservation expert who gained expertise in restoring and renovating historic buildings in his native Netherlands before moving to the UK in 2006 and setting up Brouns & Co in Yorkshire. “In Scandinavia, which has a long tradition of using linseed paint, original coats of linseed paint have survived on houses that are more than 500 years old,” said Brouns. “Linseed oil paint is fully protective against the weather; unlike modern plastic-based paints, its wicking properties enable humidity to evaporate, instead of trapping moisture under an impermeable film, and it’s absolutely historically accurate to the period of this iconic building,” He added: “We are really excited to work on this important project to restore the Waterhouse Building with Avanti and the other conservation experts who are leading the field in this vital area of work.” Avanti Architects director Fiona Lamb said: “As specialists in the conservation and heritage sector, we work hard to ensure we specify the correct materials in the repair and care of historic buildings. Paint is so often key to protecting and extending the life of materials like timber and metal; using the wrong paint can be disastrous for the building and the environment. “Whereas modern paints are made from plastics, which are tinted with synthetic pigments and filled with drying agents, Brouns & Co’s linseed paint, which we are using on the original cast iron windows that were installed when the museum was built in 1881, is made in the traditional way by grinding powder pigments into boiled linseed oil. “The modern formulation has zinc oxide rather than lead as the mould inhibitor and with the right combination of zinc white and titanium dioxide, the paint has great efficacy and produces a paint that is safe for the environment, great to work with and enhances the protection of wood and metal.”