Derby is out of the running to become UK City of Culture 2025, but the council says it is not disheartened. As the Government announces its shortlist of four, the team behind Derby’s bid is now looking to the future, using all the support it has won over the past few months to set its sights on becoming UK City of Culture 2029. Arts Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said: “The UK City of Culture competition is a brilliant opportunity for places to increase people’s interest in the arts while benefiting their local economies. I offer huge congratulations to Derby for making it this far in the process and I hope that being part of the 2025 longlist will leave a rich cultural legacy for the local community.” What began as an expression of interest put together in just a few weeks quickly gathered momentum, uniting the arts and business sector, local authorities, environmental organisations, politicians and even Derby’s twin city of Toyota in Japan to get behind the ambition. Even before the initial bid was submitted, Derby’s culture and heritage was at the forefront of the city’s economy and recovery. From being the birthplace of the industrial revolution and home to Rolls-Royce, Alstom and Toyota, to the delivery of the new 3,500 capacity Becketwell venue, Derby’s bid was seen as a springboard for culture-led regeneration in the city. Using culture as the starting point to improve citizens’ wellbeing, opportunities and social mobility was also vital to the bid, and that ambition is set to continue. Adam Buss, interim director of Derby’s City of Culture bid, said: “This process has never been just about winning a competition. It’s been about recognising the role of culture in making our city a vibrant place to live and work. “Congratulations to those cities moving forward, and to those like us who did not make the final four. Everyone has worked so hard and the diverse group of places represented is testament to the competition and its potential to transform not only those places but the whole of the UK. “For Derby, it’s now time to reflect on how far we’ve come in such a short space of time, having won the support of the city’s sectors. Industry, the arts, education, sport, politics and the environment – all of Team Derby – will continue to be behind us as we move forward. “There is more understanding now of how important culture is to the city, not only in terms of regenerating buildings and public space, but also to the wellbeing and prospects of our citizens, and this work will continue. Being UK City of Culture 2025 would have opened up opportunities to make this happen more quickly, but our ambition remains as we set our sights on winning the status for 2029.” Councillor Chris Poulter, leader of Derby City Council, said: “There is no reason for us to be disappointed today. A huge amount of hard work went into Derby’s bid and it was a prime example of the city working together in partnership. We’ve built a foundation for the future and I’m very proud of Derby for getting this far in such a short space of time. “Putting culture at the heart of our plans for Derby’s regeneration was a priority even before we submitted our expression of interest. It’s about improving our city, making it a vibrant place to live and work, and setting the scene to make culture shine through. This will continue to remain our vision as we bid to become UK City of Culture 2029 and beyond.” Bradford, County Durham, Southampton and Wrexham County Borough have been unveiled as the four areas shortlisted to be UK City of Culture 2025.

Whatever you happen to be doing with your working day, it’s essential that you’re wearing the right shoes. Arguably more than any other item of clothing, the shoes we wear play a critical role in protecting us from the world and safeguarding our general well-being. After all, your shoes are there to not only cover your feet but support your entire body. The type of work you’re doing, and the environment in which you’re doing it, should both inform the type of footwear you wear. Here, we’re going to look at exactly how.

Safety Footwear

Wherever there’s a risk of injury to your feet, you should be wearing protective footwear. Shoes of this sort might incorporate metal caps around the toes, or the soles. If you injure your feet, then your ability to work will be severely impacted – especially if you’re doing an active job. Potential sources of injury might include slipping, standing on something sharp, or being splashed by chemical spillages. Research your options and invest in something that will provide the appropriate level of protection. It’s usually better to spend more if it means avoiding pain and a lengthy spell in recovery.

Electrical Hazards

Particularly worthy of consideration in some professions is the danger posed by electricity. If you’re dealing with high-voltage machinery, then you need to ensure that the shoes you’re wearing are non-conductive and resistant to electrical shock. This will help reduce the likelihood of you inadvertently completing a circuit and channelling thousands of volts into the Earth. While safety footwear won’t guarantee that you don’t get a shock, it can reduce both the likelihood and the impact of an injury. This is especially important if you’re working at a height, or in an environment where a shock might be compounded by other hazards.

Explosives

On the other hand, you might also wish to avoid building a static charge yourself. If you’re working with explosives, then you might inadvertently generate a spark, which might ignite the fuel source. This means conductive shoes with socks that don’t generate static electricity. While the risk of this kind of scenario unfolding is very small, the potential costs can be catastrophic. It’s therefore worth doing everything you possibly can to reduce the risk.

Blades

If you’re handling sharp objects, then there’s always the possibility that they’ll slip from your grasp and land on your toes. If you don’t have the right shoes on, then you might suffer a serious injury. This is where robust, steel-capped boots of the sort we’ve already talked about come in handy. In certain cases, you might look for boots that are specially designed to deal with special kinds of hazards, like chainsaws.

Free to attend, The Property & Business Investment Lincolnshire Expo will return on Wednesday 27 April 2022 at The Bentley Hotel, Lincoln, presenting an ideal opportunity to forge new contacts and reconnect with old ones. Business Link is a proud partner of the well targeted event aimed at the Construction, Property, Business, Investment, Finance, Professional Services and related B2B markets, which will include exhibitors such as Aspbury Planning Ltd, Belvoir, Business Lincolnshire, BSP Consulting, Delta Simons, the Federation of Small Businesses, J Tomlinson, NatWest, Willmott Dixon, and YMD Boon, to name a few. To see the full list of who is exhibiting click here. Opening at 9am, the expo will also host a seminar, and as the exhibition closes, it will roll directly into an informal, open buffet style network lunch – tickets are just £25 plus vat and can be ordered and paid for directly online. Spaces for the lunch are limited, so order as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. Tina King, of Business Shows Group, said: “It’s been a long time in the making thanks to the pandemic, but we are finally nearly there, The Property & Business Investment Lincolnshire Expo is gearing up to be one of the best to date!” To attend the event, register for free here. To generate opportunities by exhibiting at the event, click here. Purchase tickets to the networking lunch here. Meet more potential clients in one amazing cost effective day, than it would take months out on the road.

The Business Gateway for Leicester and Leicestershire is calling on suppliers of environmentally friendly products and services to make contact, so that it can showcase these to local businesses trying to become more sustainable. Rachel York, manager of the Business Gateway, explained: “We are consistently encouraging small local businesses to reduce waste, find a renewable supplier for their energy and make other changes to reduce their carbon footprint. “This will save them money and attract new customers, so it makes business sense. However, we are aware that it can be difficult to find suppliers of these green solutions and we wanted to make it easier for our small business clients.” The Business Gateway plans to include details of green suppliers in its Business Support Finder. This is a searchable directory of services which small business clients may find useful in supporting their growth. It is part of the website www.bizgateway.org.uk. Mrs York added: “Ideally we would like to prioritise suppliers who are based in Leicester or Leicestershire to retain the business locally but suppliers from outside the region are also welcome, particularly if they offer something that no one else does. “One thing we ask from suppliers is that, as well as being environmentally focussed, they try to meet some of the criteria from the Social Value Act that we follow. Being a publicly funded body, we can’t recommend these suppliers, of course, but we think it is valuable to make our clients aware of them.” Over the past year, the need for businesses to operate more sustainably has become a priority as the UK strives to reach Net Zero by 2050 and Leicester City Council aims to do the same by 2030. The Business Gateway has delivered two programmes of webinars on the theme of ‘Reducing Carbon Emissions in your Small Business’, both of which proved very popular. It has also worked with the LLEP to launch the Zellar carbon reduction scheme to nearly 100 small local businesses. This pilot scheme is the first of its kind in the Midlands region and only the second in the UK as a whole. Any business wishing to find out more should email peter.allen@bizgateway.org.uk and mark their message ‘green supplier’.   Image credit: Naja Bertolt Jensen on Unsplash

Derby City Council has submitted their expression of interest for the city to become the home of Great British Railways (GBR). The bid outlines why Derby would be a good fit for the new headquarters, as well as promoting its 180 years of rail history. Being based in the heart of the UK rail network means that over 11,000 workers are employed in Europe’s largest and most diverse rail cluster. Centred around Derby it covers every aspect of railway building, maintenance and operation. Uniquely, Derby is home to major players in the automotive and aviation industry including Rolls-Royce and Toyota, making it uniquely placed for GBR to benefit from cross-sector collaboration and a highly skilled workforce. Councillor Chris Poulter, leader of Derby City Council, said: “Rail is in the blood of many generations of people in Derby, who are naturally proud of our rich and deep-rooted rail heritage and that’s why I’m delighted to announce that we have submitted an expression of interest to become the home of GBR. “As a city we’re looking towards the future of the sector and this is where Derby can excel. We are the centre for rail excellence and innovation, with a strong supply chain to support a large, diverse rail cluster. “We believe we have a very strong and compelling case for Derby to be the home for the first national headquarters of Great British Railways, which we’ve outlined in our expression of interest to Government. “I would like to thank key partners from across the region for supporting us with our submission and for helping back our bid! The East Midlands makes us the best-placed region to meet GBR’s requirements and levelling up needs.” Just as Derby is a great opportunity for GBR, it’s also a great opportunity to level up the region. Derby currently has a low proportion of Government jobs, the lowest for a city of its size in the UK. Becoming the home of GBR would directly help level up the area by diversifying and strengthening the local economy. Government announced their commitment to move 22,000 civil service jobs out of London by the end of the decade. The relocations will be an opportunity to improve the capacity of the civil service, by helping to attract and retain talented staff across the whole of the UK and for decision-making to better reflect the whole population. The timeline for the GBR competition: Stage 1 – Expression of Interest deadline 16 March 2022 Stage 2 – Shortlist announced May 2022 Stage 3 – Ministerial visits to shortlisted places and a public vote May 2022 Stage 4 – Headquarters’ location announced Summer 2022 The bid has the backing of all three counties, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, as well as support from 22 East Midlands based MP’s. Amanda Solloway, Member of Parliament for Derby North, said: “I’m very proud to be backing Derby’s bid to be the new HQ for Great British Railways and I believe that our city has outstanding credentials for the role. With Derby’s rich heritage as the longstanding home to Midland Rail and prime location at the heart of the rail network, it is well placed to serve as the centre for the new organisation. “What truly makes our bid unique is the vital importance that our tremendously skilled workforce continues to play in underpinning our national industry. More than two thirds of the UK’s rolling stock is supported from the Litchurch Lane site in Derby alone, and Derby is home to the largest cluster of rail companies anywhere in the world. “Together with the significant work going on locally to explore the potential of AI and rail decarbonisation, Derby possesses an exceptional combination of representing the past, present and future of the rail network and our national rail industry.” Pauline Latham OBE, Member of Parliament for Mid Derbyshire, said: “I think the Government would be making a very good decision by bringing Great British Railways to Derby. “Derby has a fantastic rail heritage, is the centre of the UK’s rail network, and is the home of rail sector innovation for the future. There is no better place for public-private collaboration, with excellent connectivity around the country, and building on over 180 years of railway history.” Dame Margaret Beckett, Member of Parliament for Derby South, added: “The history of the rail industry is inextricably interwoven with the history of Derby but that is not why Derby would be the best possible place for the headquarters of GBR. “It is because the Derby of today and tomorrow is a transport hub steeped in contributing to the transport of the future, the home of the largest network of rail companies probably in the world – building operating and maintaining the transport of the future is part of Derby’s raison d’être. That is what makes it the right place for the new GBR to be headquartered.”

In its latest Business Support Update, Streets Chartered Accountants dives into Making Tax Digital, the opening of its new Birmingham office, cyber risk in light of the Ukraine conflict, year end tax planning, and more. Making Tax Digital applies to all VAT registered businesses from April 2022. Are you ready? Since April 2019 most VAT registered businesses with a turnover over £85,000 have been within Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT. This means that they have had to keep digital records and submit their tax returns via MTD compatible software. From April 2022 MTD for VAT is being extended to all VAT registered businesses. In practical terms this means that they will no longer be able to submit their VAT returns via the old HMRC portal. New Birmingham office sees Streets become a truly pan regional assurance and advisory firm Streets have opened a new office in Birmingham as part of its firm wide growth strategy. The new office, located at the Birmingham Business Park, along with well-established offices across the Midlands – including Lincoln, Luton and Northampton – mean Streets are now a pan regional player covering the East, West and South East Midlands. Streets appoint Martyn Shakespear as head of banking & finance Streets have announced the appointment of experienced banking and advisory specialist, Martyn Shakespear, as head of banking & finance. Martyn joins Streets with over 40 years’ experience of providing funding advice to SMEs and corporates. The Streets Sessions Podcast – Do businesses face an increased cyber risk in light of the Ukrainian conflict? In this session, cyber security specialists Rick Jones, CEO of DigitalXRaid, and Oliver Pinson-Roxborough, CEO of Bulletproof, discuss the heightened level of cyber threats faced by businesses in light of the Ukrainian conflict. In discussion they also provide practical guidance and advice to businesses about managing cyber threats and ensuring cyber security. What does 2022/23 look like for payroll? As we head into the final few weeks of the 2021/22 tax year, and following last year’s Autumn Budget announcements and the news of the National Insurance rise that preceded it, what do those charged with payroll need to know to start preparing for the new tax year on 6th April? Year End Tax Planning Guide 2021/22 With the end of the tax year fast approaching, now is a good time to review your business and personal finances to ensure that they are as tax-efficient as possible. As your accountants, Streets can work with you to make sure your business and personal finances are in a strong position to weather whatever lies ahead. This includes planning to make the most of the tax-saving opportunities available to you, particularly ahead of the tax year end.