With the goal of making Leicestershire a net zero carbon county by 2045, Leicestershire County Council has approved the blueprint for residents, businesses and other groups to work together on an updated Net Zero Strategy and Action Plan. After almost 1,400 people had their say during a consultation, the Net Zero Strategy and Action Plan sets out the approach to delivering the council’s ambitious desire to work with residents, partners and businesses to achieve net zero carbon emissions in Leicestershire by 2045 or before. The strategy is accompanied by an action plan which highlights the actions the council will lead on and those which it will ask and influence others to deliver on over the next five years. Some of the priority next steps for action to make the county-wide target a reality include:

• Delivering the Sustainable Warmth Programme to improve energy performance of homes, reducing emissions and fuel poverty
• Working with partners to develop a new programme of business support for carbon reduction
• Generating local renewable energy through the development of Quorn Solar Farm and successful rollout of Solar Together Leicestershire, to provide more than 1,000 households with solar panels
• Working with partners to reduce the carbon impact of food production, distribution and waste through the Sustainable Food Plan
• Bringing organisations, businesses and residents together to tackle climate change through the Leicestershire Climate and Nature Pact

The Net Zero Strategy & Action Plan is being launched with a six-week campaign that covers the six key action areas that are identified within the plan. The launch will be a showcase of net zero activities for residents to get involved with, from e-bike training to community carbon literacy training, tree giveaways to energy efficiency competitions. The launch will start with switch off, keep warm events at Market Harborough library and Coalville library on Wednesday 18 January. Councillor Blake Pain, cabinet member for the environment and green agenda, said: “The Net Zero Leicestershire launch will be a fantastic showcase of net zero activity, involving many teams across the council and external partners. “It highlights the fact that we can’t reach net zero on our own – we need a team effort. Hopefully by encouraging our residents, partners and businesses to get involved, we will help shape a greener future for the county, and for generations to come.”

Nottinghamshire-headquartered Wilko is set to close its toy departments, focusing instead on selling garden and household goods. The retailer informed suppliers of its intentions in a letter, according to reports from toyworld, stating the decision is part of its long term strategic direction. Wilko will apparently, however, offer seasonal/outdoor toys at the relevant time of year. The news comes after it was revealed that 95 Wilko staff in Worksop were at risk of being made redundant as the retailer looked to outsource its customer services, and follows the business agreeing a £40m two-year revolving credit facility with Hilco, to allow it to increase financial flexibility as it accelerates plans for turnaround. This backstop facility is in addition to the recently announced injection of £48m from the sale and leaseback of its Worksop distribution centre and ongoing re-gearing negotiation successes with landlords. Wilko’s year-end results showed a drop in sales, while the firm slipped to a pre-tax loss, as the pandemic continued to bite.

Councillors and transport experts will meet in Nottingham today for a transport summit, to share plans for improvements to the city’s transport network. The event organised by Midlands Connect in partnership with Nottingham City Council will see discussions of proposed improvements to rail links in and out of the city, and a presentation of innovative transport developments. The Nottingham Transport Summit will also focus on innovative transport in the city, with presentation and a panel from key figures in Nottingham City Council’s transport department. Nottingham is ahead of the game when it comes to innovative transport, with £11m of investment for electric buses being announced last year. The city has also invested in active travel such as e-bikes and e-scooters. Midlands Connect will present an update on its proposals for rail improvements to Nottingham. One of these is the Nottingham to Lincoln line, passing through Newark Castle. The sub-national transport body is working on plans which would improve safety measures and reduce journey time. Tawhida Yaacoub, senior rail programme manager at Midlands Connect, said: “It’s great to be here in Nottingham today sharing our plans to improve connectivity to the city. “Nottingham is such an important and key city in our patch so we want to showcase how we can help its residents keep moving.” Cllr Audra Wynter, portfolio holder for transport at Nottingham City Council, added: “Both Nottingham City Council and Midlands Connect have such exciting plans for enhancing transport options in Nottingham. It is fantastic to come together and share these ideas with members of the community.”

It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.  It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years. Here we speak to Andy Priestley, Managing Director of DSP (Interiors) Ltd Derby. A sense of normality finally started to emerge again in 2022 following a turbulent few years for business in the wake of the pandemic. But this sense of calm hasn’t lasted long and we are now faced with a cost of living crisis, rocketing energy bills and an impending recession. However, we have to stay positive and as we look towards 2023, there are a number of trends I predict will come to the fore, especially in industrial production and the emergence of factories of the future. There is significant demand for UK manufacturing to evolve in order to maintain international competitiveness and promote economic, social and environmental sustainability. Factories of the future are future-oriented manufacturing companies that embrace industry changes. In the coming year, we are set to see future-oriented manufacturing companies drive flexibility, customisation, and product innovation. The industry will have to become more efficient in response to fast-changing market demands to produce better results but will have to do it sustainably. Research from the World Economic Forum suggests that manufacturing represents 54% of the world’s energy consumption and is responsible for 20% of global emissions, meaning the industry must act fast to reduce its footprint. Sustainable manufacturing will continue to be an important topic into 2023, with trends towards optimum sizing of production equipment, reducing waste and material and energy use. More on this topic later. I predict there will be more automation and digital transformation heading into 2023 and beyond, with companies adopting a new culture of experimentation and innovation within their organisations. Companies that embrace automation and advanced manufacturing technology across their factories and supply chains will thrive in their respective sectors. This will involve employees working alongside new technology to ensure operations run smoothly, with staff re-training taking place where appropriate. Those companies that don’t adapt accordingly risk falling behind, with business growth slowing down. A key example of this early adaptation is SureScreen Diagnostics Ltd. The team at DSP Interiors have recently delivered phases 1-3 of a new state-of-the-art production facility at Sherwood Business Park in Nottingham for them. The flexible, agile nature of the facility allows SureScreen to quickly adapt their technology to address new challenges facing both the UK and abroad. This agility and adaption will also extend to contemporary workplaces. The pandemic has challenged the notion of the office, allowing staff to work more flexibly where required but also support a more collaborative workplace environment centred around the activity of the worker when they do visit the office. For example, areas for focused work, huddles for team meetings, informal areas for creative collaboration, ‘re-charge’ breakout zones and more. More precisely it has been a catalyst for design-led thinking that had started to garner momentum prior to COVID – biophilic agile offices that promote staff well-being, foster creativity and improve productivity through collaboration. I see workplace design in 2023 continuing to evolve this flexible offering with a heavy focus on user well-being, assisted by technology and incorporating biophilic elements.

The headline NatWest East Midlands PMI Business Activity Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors – posted 45.4 in December, down from 47.1 in November, to signal a strong fall in output across the East Midlands private sector. The decline in business activity was the second-fastest since January 2021 and quicker than the UK average. Of the 12 monitored UK regions, only Northern Ireland recorded a sharper decrease in output. Lower activity was linked to weak client demand and a further fall in new orders. East Midlands private sector firms signalled a marked decrease in new orders during December, with the pace of contraction accelerating for the third month running. The rate of decline was the sharpest since May 2020 and faster than the UK average. In fact, the pace of decrease was the second-quickest of the 12 monitored UK regions, slower than only Northern Ireland. The downturn in client demand was linked to economic uncertainty and the impact of inflation on customer spending. Business confidence across the East Midlands private sector dipped at the end of the year. The degree of optimism was below the series and UK averages. The region’s firms remained optimistic overall of an increase in output over the coming 12 months amid hopes of a pick up in client demand. That said, inflation and recession concerns weighed on output expectations. Workforce numbers across the East Midlands private sector fell for the second month running in December. The rate of job shedding quickened to the fastest since January 2021, albeit was only marginal overall. The decrease in employment was slightly faster than the UK average, as firms attributed lower staffing numbers to the non-replacement of voluntary leavers in an effort to cut costs. Private sector firms in the East Midlands registered a sharp decrease in the level of outstanding business during December. The fall in backlogs of work accelerated notably to the steepest since May 2020. The decline in incomplete business was linked to weak client demand which allowed firms to work through backlogs. The rate of contraction was the sharpest of the 12 monitored UK regions. East Midlands private sector firms registered a marked rise in input prices during December. Higher cost burdens were often linked to increased supplier prices. That said, the pace of cost inflation eased to the slowest since April 2021 as the prices of some key inputs fell. The rate of increase was the second-fastest of the 12 monitored UK regions, however, slower than only Northern Ireland. Private sector firms in the East Midlands signalled a further sharp increase in output charges at the end of the year. The rise in selling prices was attributed to the pass-through of higher costs to clients. In line with the trend for input prices, the pace of output charge inflation was stronger than the UK average. That said, the rate of inflation was the slowest since August 2021 as cost savings were also passed on to customers. Rashel Chowdhury, NatWest Midlands and East Regional Board, said: “East Midlands private sector companies signalled a dour end to 2022, as activity and new orders shrank at sharper rates. “Inflationary pressures and the impact on customer spending continued to be felt keenly, with new business contracting at the steepest pace since the initial pandemic lockdown period. As a result, backlogs of work dwindled and firms started to report that cost-cutting measures including the non-replacement of voluntary leavers drove job shedding. “On a more positive note, cost and price pressures eased. Emerging reports of lower prices for some inputs were reflected in less severe hikes in output charges. Nonetheless, 2023 is likely to prove another challenging year for East Midlands businesses as the cost-of-living crisis and economic uncertainty threaten to dampen customer demand further.”

Totally, a Derby-based provider of frontline healthcare services, corporate fitness and wellbeing services, has been awarded a new contract by NHS England to provide national NHS 111 contingency services. The contract, awarded to Vocare, part of Totally’s Urgent Care division, will run from 1 March 2023 at a value of c. £10 million per annum, initially for one year with the option to extend for a further year. NHS England has commissioned this support to provide additional call handling and clinical capacity to help to alleviate some of the pressures on local NHS 111 services, as required. NHS 111 provides an essential service to the UK population, offering support as wide-reaching as over-the-telephone healthcare advice, to access to urgent and emergency care. Vocare is a long-standing provider of regional NHS 111 services. This new contract provides additional flexible capacity, which can be precisely targeted where and when needed. Wendy Lawrence, CEO of Totally, said: “Totally has significant experience providing quality, resilient and responsive regional NHS 111 services. Our services have provided essential access to core healthcare services as demand has risen beyond the level anticipated by commissioners. “This new contract re-affirms Totally as a core partner in the delivery of NHS 111 services and moves to recognise the new normal in which healthcare providers are operating, providing essential additional capacity into the system.”