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Firms in bid for
millions of pounds of school construction work
MORE than 100 firms
attended an event to find out how they could bid for work as part of
the Mayor of Liverpool's multi million pound school rebuilding
programme.
The 'Getting Connected' event at Liverpool Town Hall earlier
this month enabled organisations to meet representatives from
construction firms Kier, Morgan Sindall, Willmott Dixon and Vinci to
talk about how they could become part of the supply chain. Of the
108 firms that attended, 48 were from Liverpool, 40 from Liverpool
City Region and the remainder from outside the area.
A total of 12 schools are being rebuilt under the Mayor's Investment
Plan for Secondary Schools; devised as a rescue package following
the scrapping of Wave 6 of Liverpool's Building Schools for the
Future (BSF) project.
The City Council is committed to making sure that as much of the
money as possible goes to local firms, to boost employment and
training opportunities for local people. Hundreds of apprenticeships
are being created.
At Notre Dame Catholic College; which opens in September 2013; 60% of
the subcontractor spending has been with Liverpool companies. This
includes A&B Engineering in Old Swan who won contracts totalling
almost £4 million for mechanical and engineering work.
Mayor Joe Anderson said:- "I am delighted we had such an
overwhelming response from local firms to our Getting Connected
event.
We're determined to make the most of every pound of spending on our
new schools by ensuring that it is not just pupils who benefit;
it's local firms and their workforce as well. These are tough times
for businesses and it is crucial that we make sure that money
secured by Liverpool is spent in Liverpool."
Also present were staff from 'Liverpool in Work' to provide
advice and guidance about recruitment, skills and training and the
local jobs market.
Councillor Nick Small, Cabinet member for enterprise, employment and
skills, said:- "This is boosting employment in Liverpool and
giving young people the chance to get vital skills and training."
Councillor Jane Corbett, Cabinet member for education, said:-
"This is part of our ambition to make sure that new schools are
closely tied to the City's regeneration and help build stronger
communities, so that they are literally made in Liverpool."
The event comes as work is about to get underway on the new £17
million Archbishop Beck Sports College in Fazakerley and the £18
million St John Bosco Catholic College in Croxteth.
Barry Roberts, area director for Morgan Sindall, said:-
"Ensuring that local businesses benefit from our construction
projects is a fundamental part of our supply chain philosophy.
Looking ahead, we are well positioned to take advantage of emerging
opportunities in the region which will, in turn, benefit the local
supply chain.
Morgan Sindall is committed to training and development and we
expect the same high standards from the businesses we work with.
This Getting Connected event enabled us to meet with local companies
to learn how we can work together to, not only deliver high quality
buildings for the region, but also to maximise the benefits to the
local communities in which we live."
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European funding
slashed by Government
EUROPEAN funding to
Liverpool City Region has been cut by 60% by the Government.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has
announced that over the next seven years, the area comprising
Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley and St Helen's will get 222
million Euros (£185 million).
It works out at 147 Euros (£128) per head of population; a drop of
more than half compared to the 380 Euros (£325) per person under the
2007 to 2013 programme.
The north east, which already has a higher GDP(gross domestic
product) than Liverpool City Region, will get 279 Euros (£238) per
person - almost twice as much.
Liverpool will also get less than the rest of the north west from
2014 - to 2020l; despite being officially classed as poorer than Greater
Manchester, Cheshire and Warrington, Lancashire and Cumbria.
The funding announcement follows the Government's decision to take
£650 million of European Union funding; which the European
Commission had awarded to England for 2014 to 2020; and reallocate
it to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It includes an estimated
£350 million which the European Commission had ring-fenced for
poorer areas (known as transition regions) such as Liverpool City
Region.
Mayor of Liverpool and Chair of Liverpool City Region Cabinet, Joe
Anderson, said:- "This is an absolute travesty and a
devastating blow for our area.
It is like Robin Hood in reverse; robbing from the poor to give to
those that are richer.
It can only serve to widen the gap between our area and other parts
of not just England, but also the North West.
I am completely baffled by the Government's logic, because it
appears there isn't any. Not only have they patently ignored the EU
funding formula, but we are now in the perverse situation where
areas better off than ours will receive more funding. I will
be making a strong and powerful case to Government that they now
need to find other ways to support us financially, either through
the Regional Growth Fund, or by looking again at our allocation
through City Deal 2."
Liverpool and Sheffield had argued that a safety net should be
applied to the new funding allocations to limit the reduction. This
is the rationale the Government used to transfer the money to
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
NO HOUSEHOLDS HAVE HAD ENERGY
EFFICIENCY MEASURES INSTALLED UNDER THE GREEN DEAL
INSTALLERS losing jobs
while billions to improve energy efficiency in homes goes unspent
and some of the poorest will struggle to heat their homes this
winter. GMB, the union for energy workers, commented on new
statistics published on the uptake of energy efficiency scheme under
the Green Deal part of Energy Company Obligation scheme (ECO).
Gary Smith GMB National Secretary for energy said:- "This
government scheme to make homes more energy-efficient has still not
resulted in any actual home improvements.
The Green Deal, which was launched 6 months ago, was designed to
provide measures such as home insulation.
Fewer than 250 households have taken up the Government's flagship
energy efficiency programme in the first 5 months of the scheme.
Just 4 homes have signed up to a "green deal" plan, covering
the upfront costs of measures such as insulation and new efficient
boilers with the money paid back through savings on bills, and 241
households are going ahead with the scheme but have yet to sign.
So far, no households have had energy efficiency measures installed
under the green deal and are being charged on their bills.
Green deal is a miserable failure as we predicted. Radical change is
needed both to the Government Energy Company Obligation scheme (ECO)
and Green Deal. It is shameful that we have insulation installers
idle and losing their jobs. This is while there is billions to be
spent on improving energy efficiency in homes going unspent and some
of the poorest will struggle to heat their homes this winter.
We have a gathering crisis in the energy sector and a government no
idea how to resolve it."
SECURITY ALERT - TOXTETH
MERSEYSIDE Police have
confirmed that a suspicious package was found by a member of a the
public at 9pm on Sunday, 30 June 2013. It was reported that the
package was a suitcase that had been left in the road by a Mosque.
As a result Mulgrave Street in Toxteth, South Liverpool was closed
and a number of homes evacuated until the suspicious package has
been examined and declared safe. Merseyside Police later confirmed
that a 22 year old man had been arrested on Monday, 1 July 2013, as
part of the investigation into a security alert at the Mosque. The
22 year old is said to have then been spoken to about his actions
and cautioned. No further Police action will be taken in relation to
this matter. |
