| Science Students 
			Pledge Their Support for Cancer Research Charity 
			 STUDENTS studying science 
			at Southport College have selected North West Cancer Research 
			incorporating Clatterbridge Cancer Research (NWCR), as their 
			nominated charity for the 2014 to 2015 academic year.
			All fundraising monies generated by science students during the year 
			will be donated to NWCR, the region's leading cancer research 
			charity. 
			The nomination signifies the start of a working partnership between 
			Southport College and NWCR, and will provide an opportunity for 
			Southport College students to take part in some valuable 
			extra curricular activities alongside their classroom based 
			learning. 
			9 of the students have already visited the charity's new North West 
			Cancer Research Centre at the University of Liverpool, which was 
			unveiled last month. The students were able to find out more about 
			some of the research projects being carried out at the centre, visit 
			the research labs and talk to some of the researchers who NWCR 
			currently supports.  Lynette Smith, curriculum leader for science at Southport College 
			said:- “I am thrilled the students have chosen to work with 
			NWCR and I'm looking forward to supporting their fundraising 
			activities. 
			As part of our partnership, NWCR is enhancing our students' learning 
			by arranging visits to their specialist cancer research labs. This 
			will provide real insight into the sorts of careers that our 
			students are preparing for.
			Students who study science at Southport College are not only 
			benefitting from our own brand new laboratory facilities, but from 
			being associated with NWCR's leading edge cancer research too. It's 
			an experience that will add real value to their learning, and one 
			that they just wouldn't get elsewhere.”  
			 Over the last 12 months grants totalling £2million have supported 
			research projects at the University of Liverpool as well as at 
			Lancaster University and the University of Bangor. 
			Bobby Magee, community development executive at NWCR, said:- 
			“We're really delighted that the science students at Southport 
			College have chosen to support us this year, and look forward to 
			working with them over the coming months.
			Research is vital to our understanding of cancer, how to detect it, 
			how to treat it and how to prevent it. Every penny raised for NWCR 
			helps to fund world-class research into understanding of what is 
			still the biggest cause of premature death in the North West of the 
			UK.”
 The first fundraising activity planned for this year is a candy cane 
			delivery around the college campus, as well as Christmas jumper and 
			onesie day. Further activities are planned throughout the academic 
			year.
 
			 |  | People trust 
			local businesses more than business generally PEOPLE in the North West 
			have a dramatically higher level of trust in businesses in their 
			area than they do in UK business as a whole. 
			The CBI's Great Business Debate (its campaign to increase public 
			trust in business) is publishing a YouGov survey of over four 
			thousand people, including 396 in the North West. It shows that, 
			when people's feelings about businesses are determined by their 
			direct experience, they are overwhelmingly positive but that this 
			often fails to translate into support for business generally.  
			
			 In the North West 81% of people trust 
			 'local businesses' 
			(firms in their vicinity, big or small, that they interact with) 
			compared with 51% who trust business overall. That matches a pattern 
			for the whole UK where the figures were 81% and 57%.
 The CBI is encouraging individuals to recognise that contradiction 
			and calling on businesses to go further in strengthening their 
			engagement with the areas where they operate. It is also calling on 
			businesses to tell the bigger story of their contribution to 
			communities, jobs and investment more convincingly.
 
 Damian Waters, CBI North West Director, said:- “Businesses 
			here have a job to do using the warmth felt for them at a local 
			level to improve feelings about UK business as a whole. 
			When people have direct experience of companies, for example as 
			customers or employees, it's overwhelmingly good and trust is high 
			as a result. But opinions about business generally seem to have less 
			solid roots. These views are more likely to be influenced by things 
			people read or hear second hand and are a lot less positive. 
			As part of the CBI's 'Trust In Business' campaign, The Great Business 
			Debate, we're challenging individuals to think about the 
			contradiction in how they perceive businesses locally and business 
			generally. We're also calling on firms in the North West to build on 
			the positive engagement they already have in the areas where they 
			operate and to tell more convincingly the story of their impact on 
			jobs, investment and taxes which is felt in communities all over the 
			country.”
 
 In the North West 68% of people agree they are more likely to trust 
			a business with a strong presence in their area while only 7% feel 
			local businesses don't have a positive impact on their locality.
 
 Other key findings for the region include:-
 
 ►
			55% agree local businesses often support other businesses in the 
			area by sourcing locally; only 9% disagree.
 
 ►
			54% agree businesses in my area are proud to be part of the 
			community; only 6% disagree.
 
 ►
			Creating and supporting local jobs is the main thing people in the 
			region say:- 'local businesses' (firms in their vicinity, big 
			or small, that they interact with) should be doing more of to build 
			trust (62%) followed by providing good customer service (56%)
 
 ►
			The trust building action they want more of from 'national 
			businesses' (firms big and small operating across the UK) is 
			jobs 66% and contributing to the national economy 65%.
 
 The CBI's Great Business Debate wants to hear the widest possible 
			range of views. Anyone can go to the 
			
			website to leave comments or follow on twitter:- @bizdebate.
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