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Radical change
to skills funding to be showcased at FSB's Small Business Summit
LIVERPOOL City Region
Skills for Growth Bank puts employers in control of public grant for
skills training that businesses need.
Liverpool City Region's new Skills for Growth Bank, which uniquely
gives business owners control over the funding and design of skills
training, is to be showcased at the first Small Business Summit held
by the Federation of Small Businesses.
The Skills for Growth Bank is a new £32 million venture providing
investments of between £1,000 and £1 million for employers in the
Liverpool City Region to use alongside their own training budgets to
boost workforce skills and productivity.
Unlike traditional public funding for skills the new idea, backed by
the Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), places
local businesses in charge of the purse strings and enables them to
decide and buy what skills their employees, apprentices and even
jobseekers need.
It will give businesses full control to invest in the skills their
workplaces need to grow. In addition, it is intended that the bank
will help 6,000 local people into work and create as many as 4,000
apprenticeships.
The Skills for Growth Bank will be showcased during a skills funding
presentation at the FSB's Summit, which is being held at Liverpool
John Moores University's (LJMU's) John Lennon Art and Design
Building on Wednesday, 23 October 2013, from 8.30am to 5.30pm.
Elaine Moore, Chairman of FSB Merseyside, West Cheshire and Wigan,
said:- "In addition to addressing the barriers businesses face
the FSB's Small Business Summit has been designed to help
entrepreneurs find solutions to their problems. Business owners
often struggle to recruit staff with the specific skills sets they
need – Liverpool City Region' s Skills for Growth bank tackles this
challenge head-on, giving employers direct control over the funding
and design of training programmes in a unique way that compliments
their existing skills development work."
Asif Hamid, Chief Executive of The Contact Company, led on the
original proposal to Government. He said:- "As Vice-Chair of
the Local Enterprise Partnership, I meet employers all the time who
say that one of the big things holding back their growth potential
is being able to get the right set of skills into their businesses.
So we have created the Skills for Growth Bank so that they can take
charge of public skills funding and ensure that young people leaving
school, people looking for work and those already in their business
can have world-class skills training that helps their business
grow."
Other sessions under the event's 'finance and funding'
strand will include the psychology of money management by the
FSB's Liverpool branch Chairman Brian Sweeney, tax protection
courtesy of Steve Mullard of Abbey Legal Services and presenting to
banks and investors by Funding Store's Nick Montague.
The summit will also include a 'sales and marketing'
theme, with workshops and presentations such as LJMU's fundamentals
of marketing, PR and the news agenda delivered by the FSB's Head of
Media Liesl Smith and BBC Newsreader Maxine Mawhinney, support for
manufacturers from the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) and an
export markets panel chaired by Dave Parrish, author of
'T-Shirts and Suits.'
The final strand, 'Business Development,' will feature
a session on business growth courtesy of 'Be Your Own Guru'
author Olivia Stefanino and entrepreneur Noel Guilford,
lessons in innovation from Andy Fewtrell of the Up and Under Group,
business support from Andy Harrison of the Government's department
of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) - and a presentation on
graduate skills for growth and LJMU's World of Work programme from
the university's Terry Dray.
Mike Southon, author of the bestselling 'The Beermat
Entrepreneur', is to host the summit, which will feature
speakers including North West Business Insider Editor Chris Maguire
and the Federation's National Chairman John Allan, who lives in
Southport and remains Chairman of the FSB's Sefton and Ormskirk
branch.
During the afternoon there will be a 'question time'
session featuring panellists including Dan Atkinson, former
Economics Editor of the Mail on Sunday, the FSB's Trade and Industry
Chairman Clive Davenport and Gary Millar, Lord Mayor of Liverpool.
The summit is being held as part of the legacy of Accelerate 2013 in
Liverpool and will take place again during the International
Festival for Business (IFB) 2014 alongside the FSB's National
Council and Executive Board meetings. Max Steinberg, Chief Executive
of Liverpool Vision, will speak about the IFB during the summit.
Places are limited, but both FSB members and non-members are
welcome. More information and booking details are available
online.
Gary Barlow -
Since I Saw You Last - The Tour 2014
FOLLOWING the announcement
of the details of his 1st studio album in 14 years 'Since I
Saw You Last', Gary Barlow confirmed that he will be
embarking on a full solo tour in April 2014. Gary's new album
'Since I Saw you Last' will be released through
Polydor Records on 25 November 2013, with the 1st single 'Let
Me Go' being released the week before on 17 November 2013.
Gary toured as a solo artist last year to acclaim from fans and
critics alike, with demand being so great he could have sold it out
more than 6 times over. The Since I Saw You Last Tour 2014 will see
Gary play some of the biggest venues he has ever played as a solo
artist, and includes a date at Echo Arena Liverpool on Friday, 11
April 2014. With Take That Gary has released eight number one
albums that have collectively sold more than 30 million copies. He
has also been party to fifteen No.1 singles, sold seven million
concert tickets as well as being the proud recipient of 6 Ivor
Novello Awards. He was awarded an OBE for his contribution to
British music last year following the work he has done with BBC
Children In Need and the hugely successful Queen's Diamond Jubilee
Concert. Gary currently sits as a judge on the UK's No 1 show The X
Factor for the 3rd year running. Gary's headline tour is
preceded by BBC Children In Need Rocks 2013 where he will be
bringing some of the biggest names from the music industry together
in two concerts this November. The two concerts at London's Eventim
Apollo which will feature the likes of Robbie Williams, Dizzee
Rascal, Ellie Goulding, Little Mix and Rizzle Kicks will help to
change the lives of disadvantaged children and young people across
the UK. Please visit:-
bbc.co.uk/pudsey for full
details. Tickets go on sale on Friday, 11 October 2013, at
9:30am. To book tickets log on to:-
echoarena.com or call the Echo
Arena Box Office on:- 0844 8000 400.
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Your vote can
secure £3,000 for local children's charity
STICK 'n' Step, a
children's charity based in the Wirral, has been shortlisted by
Lloyds Bank for the chance to be awarded £3,000 from the Lloyds
Community Fund 2013. The decision of which charities, across the UK,
will receive the £3,000 grant for their area will be solely down to
a public vote.
Stick 'n' Step was established in 2002 by a group of parents of
children with cerebral palsy, who wanted to resolve the lack of
support and development facilities available. The parents roped in
the help of the whole community and together, they refurbished an
empty space at St John's Parish Centre to create the first lowkey
education centre. Nowadays, Stick 'n' Step resides in a purpose
built educational centre based in Wallasey, furbished with specially
designed equipment. It provides its service to over 70 children and
their families from across the North West and North Wales.
There are 4 'local good causes' in Wirral hoping to
receive the money assigned for this area, but the decision on who
receives the grant fund will be solely down to a public vote. The 2
causes with the most votes in each local area will be awarded £3,000
each.
There are a small amount of conductive education centres in the UK
but unlike many others, Stick 'n' Step prides itself on being able
to provide this life-changing support service to children and their
families for free. This would not be possible without the
fundraising efforts of its community and big grant funds like this
one.
Commented Sarah Smithson, Operations Manager at Stick 'n' Step:-
"People often ask me, 'what do you do at Stick 'n' Step?' At
Stick 'n' Step we teach children with cerebral palsy vital life
skills, giving them more independence and freeing up a carer's time.
Say for instance your arm doesn't move too well. Everyday tasks like
putting on your school tie become less straightforward and your
parent will normally have to do it for you. But when you still need
your parents' help for tasks such as this aged 15, it can be pretty
embarrassing! Doing a school tie, making a sandwich, or putting on
your socks; we cover it all."
If successful, the £3,000 grant will allow Stick 'n' Step to create
a mock-up home environment at the centre. The aim of this project is
for the children to go about their everyday life, shadowed by the
staff, to identify which areas they have most problems navigating.
The staff will then teach them tips and tricks to ensure that they
can still carry out the task themselves, regardless of each child's
differing disability. This one off purchase of household goods will
help all 70 children, aged 1 to 18 years, become more confident and
independent.
Voting will take place from 9am on Monday, 23 September to 11.59pm
on Friday, 1 November 2013, and is open to all of the UK public. You
do not have to bank with Lloyds to cast a vote. There are 3 ways to
vote; online, by txt or in person.
To vote for Stick 'n' Step, visit:-
lloydsbank.com/communityfund,
or txt Stick 'n' Step's unique voting code:- "VOTE CPXD",
to:- 61119, or simply register a paper vote in a ballot box at a
Lloyds branch. Stick 'n' Step will be promoted at the Bebington,
Birkenhead, Bromborough, Heswall, Liscard, Moreton, New Ferry,
Prenton, West Kirby and Hoylake and Wirral Upton Lloyds branches.
For further information about Stick 'n' Step visit:-
sticknstep.org or alternatively
contact the centre on:- 0151 6380888.
Law Society
warns Justice Select Committee that criminal legal aid fee changes
pose "significant risks"
ON 9 October 2013, the Law
Society has warned the House of Commons Justice Select Committee
about the damages that proposed changes to fees for criminal legal
aid may cause. The Society has told MPs that the Ministry of
Justice's proposed fee cuts pose a:- "significant risks"
to the stability of the criminal justice system.
The warning comes in a draft iteration of the Society's response to
the 'Transforming Legal Aid - Next Steps' consultation
paper, which the Society has shared with the Justice Select
Committee.
While noting that the Society and the Ministry are "in
agreement over the proposed structure for procuring criminal legal
aid in the future" the document makes clear that the Society
"opposes planned fee cuts and reiterates warnings about the
damage these may cause."
Law Society President Nicholas Fluck said:- "Following
discussion between the MoJ and the Law Society over the summer, the
Ministry put forward a fresh proposal for the tendering of criminal
legal aid contracts on 5 September 2013. That revised model will see
client choice retained, all firms able to undertake unlimited
own-client work and duty solicitor contracts allocated according to
capaCity and capability, not price and represents the best possible
tendering structure for criminal legal aid. However, the fee changes
proposed in the consultation are a cause for serious concern. Given
the fragility of the legal aid market, starkly set out in evidence
gathered by Otterburn Consulting for the Society as part of our
response to the first consultation, a cut of 17.5% poses a
significant risk to the future sustainability of the sector. Before
taking the risk of proceeding with fee cuts, the Ministry must be
very sure that the solicitors and their firms are on a robust enough
financial footing to withstand this."
Explaining the Society's concerns about the proposed restructuring
of fees, Nicholas Fluck added:- "We also set out in our draft
response our concerns about the imposition of single national fixed
fees and our deep unease at proposals to pay litigators the same fee
whether or not a case goes to trial. The impact of a single national
fixed fee will be vary considerably across different areas. This
disparity; ranging from a small increase to a 47% cut; introduces
new concerns about the viability of the cuts proposed, which will be
even more acute in some areas than previous anticipated. Flat fees
in the magistrates' court and the Crown Court - the same payment no
matter whether the defendant pleads guilty, the trial cracks or
there is a full trial - make us deeply uneasy. While solicitors
will, of course, follow their professional obligation to ensure that
a defendant is properly represented there is a serious risk that
clients may ignore sensible advice is they perceive that it is being
driven by financial considerations."
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