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WE'VE COME A
LONG WAY! SEFTON IN ON RECYCLE WEEK 10th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
A big 'thank you' to
the residents of Sefton. 10 years ago, only 9% of our rubbish was
recycled, now it is a whopping 40%. And this week, Sefton Council is
throwing its weight behind the 10th anniversary plans for Recycle
Week; the national annual event designed to encourage people to
recycle even more than ever before.
Cllr. Trish Hardy, Sefton Council's Cabinet Member Communities and
Environment, said:- "As a nation, we've come a long way since
we first began to take recycling seriously. In Sefton it is the same
story as the borough now boasts one of the best recycling rates in
Merseyside.
Not only is this good news for the environment as it means we're
sending less to landfill and making better use of natural resources,
it is also hugely important for our economy. The UK recycling sector
now generates more than £13 billion a year in sales, employs more
than 40,000 people and contributes around £3 billion-worth of
additional value each year to the UK economy."
Gail Ormston, Promotions Officer, and Palm Recycling, said:-
"However, one of the reasons that Recycle Week is still around is
that there's more we can all do to recycle more things, more often;–
to capture these valuable resources. An estimated £140m worth of
used clothing also ends up in landfill every year in the UK.
Aerosols and foil are the two materials that the greatest proportion
of people throw away due to lack of knowledge that they are included
in the kerbside recycling collection".
Residents can find out what they can recycle in Sefton by using the
postcode locator on:-
recyclenow.com or by
visiting
sefton.gov.uk/recycling.
Euro MPs call
for fundamental shake up of banks structures
IN a key vote in the European Parliament's
Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, Euro MPs backed fundamental
change to the structure of EU banks.
Vice Chair of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, Labour
Euro MP Arlene McCarthy and the Parliament's draftswoman on the
report said:- "Today's vote is a clear message in favour of
structural reform of the EU banking sector, by ensuring that banking
services that are essential to the real economy are separated from
the excessively risky activities of traders and investment bankers.
My report identifies key reform principles ensuring depositors and
consumers no longer pay for the excessive risks taken by banks with
their money.
People must be able to access their bank accounts and make payments
even when banks fail. In the case of Cyprus, if the essential
services had already been separated before the Cypriot banks failed,
then depositors would have had access to their bank accounts and
essential payment systems would have continued.
Real reform must ultimately ensure that the costs of risky trading
are not borne by retail customers and depositors. When banks are
booking high profits and paying out bonuses they should not benefit
from implicit guarantees or subsidies or tax payer bailouts.
According to Commission estimates the financial crisis cost EU
governments around 1.6 trillion Euros, which represents 13% of EU
GDP in state aid, through bailouts of the financial sector.
Ultimately when bankers behave badly they should be personally held
to account to ensure they pay for actions that have cost the public
dear. This vote gives a green light and a strong mandate to
the European Commission to come forward with a legislative proposal
introducing structural reform across all 27 EU member states in
September."
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FSB and
Liverpool Chamber to join forces hold 'Grow to Export – Export to
Grow' event at Accelerate 2013
POTENTIAL and pitfalls of
international trade explored following new figures showing increased
appetite for exporting among SMEs. The Federation of Small
Businesses and the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce are joining forces
for the first time to hold an event at which potential small
business exporters will receive guidance, information and advice
from seasoned experts.
The breakfast event, 'Grow to export – export to grow', will
take place at Jurys Inn, Liverpool, on Thursday, 27 June 2013, during
Accelerate 2013, the UK's first annual festival dedicated to high
growth businesses and driving business growth.
Featuring Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales as a keynote speaker,
Accelerate is the forerunner of next summer's International Festival
of Business (IFB) 2014, which will be the biggest showcase of UK
exporters for many years.
The joint FSB-Liverpool Chamber event is being run in conjunction
with Dave Parrish, author of 'T-Shirts and Suits: A Guide to the
Business of Creativity. Panelists will be the Export Network's Paul
Gilbert; Denis Sowler, Export Sales Executive at Tithebarn; David
Jones, Managing Director of Alphasonics; Arup's Paul Grover; Terry
Scott, Mast Group's International Business Manager and Ben Pinnington of Polaris Media Management Ltd.
Latest research on small business exporting
According to the FSB's latest 'Voice of Small Business Index'
survey, published on Monday, 17 June and covering the second quarter
of 2013, there are encouraging signs of export growth among small
businesses. In all, a net balance of 4.3% of firms reported rising
exports compared to the previous quarter. This is largest net
balance in a full year, but it remains below the balance of 6.9%
seen in Q2 2012.
In addition, the share of businesses reporting a decline in exports
has fallen to its lowest since Q1 2012, with 22.8% indicating a
decrease, down from the share of 24.2% reporting this in the same
quarter last year.
These latest findings are an encouraging sign among small exporting
businesses, coming at a time when overall UK exports continue to
fall back in real terms, contracting quarter-on-quarter in Q1 2013
by 0.8%.
Further, improved export growth performance is expected over the
coming three months. A net balance of 15% of small businesses
predict an increase in exports in the next quarter, with 10.4%
expecting rapid growth of over 5% and 23.6% projecting a slower
increase. More information and registration details for the
event can be found here Twitter: #Accelerate2013ExportEvent
Elaine Moore, Chairman of FSB Merseyside, said:- "The growth
potential of international trade for small businesses is huge and
yet far too few embrace export markets at present.
Ahead of next year's International Festival for Business we want
probe the barriers that exist to successful exporting, whether they
are financial or cultural, and to tap the expertise of seasoned
exporters in order to provide small businesses with strategies for
overcoming these obstacles and minimising risks. Small businesses
want to export but need the tools to allow them to do so
effectively. We look forward to working with the Liverpool Chamber
at Accelerate 2013 to help these firms on their way."
Jenny Stewart, Chief Executive of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce,
said:- "We play a central role in supporting businesses with
international trade. From connecting UK businesses with Chambers of
Commerce in overseas markets to creating the documentation needed to
get goods shipped.
Until recently many people still considered exports to be the
selling of manufactured goods but the increase in the service sector
offer such as insurance, consultancy, training and education has had
a significant impact on levels of export activity. There is
undoubtedly an appetite overseas for UK professional services
expertise, and the Chamber has access to expert advice on the
markets and territories you might target. We are delighted to
support this event and to encourage companies to explore
opportunities for International Trade."
Dave Parrish said:- "I'm looking forward to helping businesses
to grow and export, based on my experience as a management
consultant working internationally. I've learnt a lot from clients
in more than 30 countries around the world and am constantly
learning from the businesses I advise and my own experience as an
exporter. I'm delighted to be involved in this event and to be
associated with Accelerate 2013." |
