Leeds is first city outside London to join Open Finance Coalition
Leeds has become the first city and local authority outside London to support a new coalition to open up financial data that, it’s claimed, will deliver better outcomes for SMEs and consumers.
Launched this week by the Centre for Finance, Innovation and technology, it’s said the new Open Finance Coalition will demonstrate the power of leveraging financial data to deliver better outcomes and financial awareness for SMEs.
The first coalition partners who have committed to progressing Open Finance in the UK have also been announced. Leeds is the first city and local authority outside of London to be involved with the project, working closely with others on the list including: the Association of British Insurers, Allen and Overy, Amazon Web Services, Experian, the City of London Corporation, EY, HSBC, IBM, Innovate Finance, iwoca, KPMG, Leeds City Council, Lloyds Banking Group, Mastercard, MBN Solutions, Monzo, Open Banking Limited, the Open Finance Association, Revolut, the Smart Data Foundry, and Zopa Bank; with the support of the FCA.
The main focus for the coalition will be demonstrating the power of financial data to deliver better financial awareness for consumers and SME financing, giving SMEs the ability to better manage their savings, cashflow, investments, pensions and insurance and in turn lead to a positive outcome for the nation’s financial health.
The idea comes from recommendations originally put forward as part of the Kalifa Review of UK Fintech, launched in Leeds earlier this year, which seeks to unblock barriers to growth for financial technology and position the United Kingdom as a global leader in financial innovation. Leeds was identified in the report as being part of one of the most established FinTech hubs in the UK.
Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council said: “The ethos and work to be done as part of this project feeds perfectly into our inclusive growth ambitions, and therefore we were keen to take this opportunity to further work within the city to increase financial awareness and knowledge in collaboration with our thriving Fintech community.”
Leeds is the UK’s second strongest financial and legal centre, with a flourishing FinTech sector and a GVA standing above £700m, having doubled in the last three years. The foundation for the flourishing FinTech sector is the region’s long-standing strength in financial services, combined with a vibrant and fast growing tech sector.
More than 60 established financial services organisations have bases in the region, with recent additions including the Financial Conduct Authority, UK Infrastructure Bank, and Bank of England. In tech, 17 of the 100 fastest-growing tech companies in the North of England are based in Leeds , which is also home to Leeds Digital Festival, one of the largest and highest profile digital events in the UK.
Doncaster company secured accreditations and qualifications
Doncaster-based Signum Facilities Management has passed its NICEIC assessment for the 11th year in a row and has also become the only accredited RPZ Valve Tester in Doncaster after securing WIAPS accreditation.
The latter is one of the largest six UK approved contractors schemes and administered by Water Regs UK on behalf of the 15 UK Water Undertakers.
Supporting the successful team accreditations are some important individual qualifications that have been achieved by Signum staff so far this year.
Matthew Johnson, lead engineer/supervisor, has passed the Site Management Safety Training Scheme, which is a Construction Industry Training Board qualification. The course is part of his development to taking on more responsibility with team supervision and project management.
Ryan Daines, engineer, has achieved the Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment which focusses on portable appliance testing and is part of a long term plan to develop Ryan’s skills and expertise as a multi skilled engineer.
John Booth, senior electrical engineer and qualified supervisor, has also completed the NICEIC Electric vehicle charging installation course which means he is now qualified to complete installation and servicing of vehicle charge points.
Steve Egbury, operations manager, has gained the NEBOSH General Certificate.
MD Jill Wood said: “2023 has been an incredibly busy year for Signum as we look to continue to grow the business and develop our client base which now stretches across the country.
“The commitment our team has made to our health and safety standards has been fantastic and we are all really pleased to have achieved the national accreditations we have as well as support our team members with their own qualifications as they look to develop their careers.
“It really is an exciting time for Signum and the hard work of everyone involved has played a massive part in this success.”
Government increases pay for NHS doctors and dentists, and cranks up Immigration Health Surcharge
Most eligible dentists and doctors will receive at least a 6% pay rise, the Government has announced, which will see pay for junior doctors up by an average of around 8.8% backdated to April this year.
Acceptance of the independent pay review bodies in full mean about 130,000 full-time equivalent doctors and dentists, including junior doctors and consultants, will see their pay rise in line with the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration’s (DDRB) recommendations.
Pay for junior doctors will be increased by 8.8% on average. The agreement means pay for a first year junior doctor will increase by 10.3%. Pay for the most experienced junior doctors will increase by 8.1%. For consultants, this means a rise of 6%.
As recommended by the DDRB, most dentists and doctors will receive at least a 6% pay rise. Junior doctor pay will be increased by 6% plus £1,250.
Average basic pay for a first year junior doctor will increase from £29,300 to £32,300 and for a junior doctor in core training with 3 years’ experience it will increase from £40,200 to £43,900. For consultants and SAS doctors on pre-2021 contracts, this is on top of the 4.5% pay rise they received last year. Some staff will also benefit from performance pay, overtime, pay progression and pay rises from promotion, alongside the pay uplift.
The government says it has been clear about the need for pay awards to recognise the hard work of the public sector whilst meeting the Prime Minister’s priority to halve inflation and managing public spending effectively.
The government plans to increase the main rate of the Immigration Health Surcharge – to ensure it covers the full healthcare costs of those who pay it to at least £1,035, and the discounted rate for students, their dependents, those on Youth Mobility Schemes and under-18s to £776. The government will fund this pay award through prioritisation within existing departmental budgets, with front line services being protected.
Last month a million NHS staff, including nurses and paramedics, received a 5% pay rise worth at least £1,065 to full-time staff as well as two one off payments worth at least £1,655.
The pay announcement comes weeks after the NHS published its first ever NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by over £2.4 billion government funding, will deliver the biggest training expansion in NHS history and recruit and retain hundreds of thousands more staff over the next 15 years.
Auctioneer Pugh appoints residential valuations specialist for Leeds office
Residential valuations specialist Chris Jackson has joined property auctioneer Pugh as associate director and will be based in the firm’s Leeds office.
With a decade’s experience in the Yorkshire property auctions market, Chris will take on a lead role in growing the auction business in the region.
Pugh MD Paul Thompson said: “We are really pleased to welcome Chris on board and his appointment is a great strategic hire for us in Yorkshire.
“We are seeing growing demand for auction services in Yorkshire as rising interest rates cool the market and increasing numbers of homebuyers and sellers look to auctions for a secure sale. Chris brings a wealth of experience as well as a great network of contacts across the region.”
Chris Jackson said: “This is an exciting time to be joining Pugh, which is a dominant force in the northern auctions market and has a well-earned reputation for customer service matched with strategic market insight and impressive geographic reach. I am looking forward to bringing my experience of the Yorkshire market to expand Pugh’s customer base in the region still further.”
Yorkshire Water to give £235,000 to Wildlife Trust after pollution incident
Yorkshire Water has agreed to give £235,000 to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust after polluting a Harrogate watercourse, following an investigation by the Environment Agency.
The company breached its environmental permit with an unauthorised sewage discharge from Stray Road combined sewer overflow, which polluted Hookstone Beck.
It submitted an Enforcement Undertaking to the Environment Agency, which has now been accepted. An Enforcement Undertaking is a voluntary offer made by companies and individuals to make amends for their offending, and usually includes a donation to a wildlife charity to carry out environmental improvements in the local area.
Stray Road combined sewer overflow has an environmental permit which allows a discharge into the beck when the storm sewage facility is full due to rainfall or snow melt. On 27 August 2015, it discharged illegally during dry weather and sewage fungus was evident on the bed of Hookstone Beck.
As part of the Enforcement Undertaking requirements Yorkshire Water has upgraded its telemetry to allow continuous monitoring of the storm overflow.
Claire Barrow, Environment Agency Area Environment Manager, said: “Sewage pollution can be devastating to human health, local biodiversity and out environment. Storm overflows must only be used under strict permitted conditions that control their environmental impact.
“We are holding the water industry to account like never before and while we will always take forward prosecutions in the most serious cases, Enforcement Undertakings are an effective enforcement tool to allow companies to put things right and contribute to environmental improvements. They allow polluters to correct and restore the harm caused to the environment and prevent repeat incidents by improving their procedures, helping ensure future compliance with environmental requirements.”
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust will use the donation on environmental improvements in North Yorkshire including native crayfish conservation and reed bed management at Ripon City Wetlands.
Anti-scam squad to be formed to crack down on online fraud
A Joint Fraud Taskforce is discussing the development of an online fraud charter with the tech sector to respond to the growing volume of fraud originating on social media platforms.
The charter will ensure that tech firms take action to block scams, make it easier to report frauds and ensure that fraudulent content is removed swiftly. The Security Minister has also called on tech firms to implement stronger measures to tackle fraud on their platforms ahead of the introduction of the Online Safety Bill.
The latest meeting of the Taskforce is the first since the publication of the government’s Fraud Strategy which set out a whole system response to tackling these crimes in the light of how they have evolved through modern technology.
This included the creation of a new National Fraud Squad to overhaul how these crimes are investigated by taking a proactive, intelligence-led approach, backed by 400 new specialist investigators, working with local forces, international partners and the UK intelligence community to shut down fraud cells.
Other measures in the strategy include:
- banning cold calls on all financial products such as types of insurance or sham crypto currency schemes
- working with Ofcom to use new technology to further clamp down on number ‘spoofing’, so fraudsters cannot impersonate legitimate UK phone numbers
- banning the use of so-called ‘SIM farms’ commonly harnessed by scammers to reach thousands of people at once
- reviewing the use of mass texting services
- rolling out tailored support to victims at a local level across the whole of England and Wales through the National Economic Crime Victim Care Unit
- launching an independent review of the challenges in investigating and prosecuting fraud to speed up the justice process, punishing more scammers and ensuring sentences match the severity of the impact on victims
- deploying the UK intelligence community to identify and disrupt more fraudsters overseas
- publishing regular data on the volume of fraudulent content hosted on different websites and platforms to incentivise companies to root these out and better protect users.
“I will continue this conversation with tech sector bosses to ensure they are doing everything in their power to disrupt the callous fraudsters operating online and better protect their users.
“Previous Joint Fraud Taskforce meetings have overseen the development and agreement of charters covering sectors such as retail banking and telecoms. The telecommunications charter has already resulted in massive action by the operators, with over 600 million scam texts blocked and vast numbers of scam calls filtered out before they can reach the public.” Representatives also discussed the development of a cross-government anti-fraud public awareness campaign to streamline and simplify messaging to the public. The Security Minister encouraged partners to collaborate with government on the preparation and delivery of the campaign.Village to lose historic footbridge during refurbishment work
North Nottinghamshire-based Universal Coatings UK is to carry out refurbishment work on Saxilby footbridge near Lincoln.
The company has a range of experience in bridge refurbishment working for the rail network and for the canal and rivers trust and we are pleased to have secured their services on this project.
MD Philip Bingham said: “Even though we’ve been involved in some truly iconic projects in the past, nothing beats working locally and being able to say “we did that” every time you pass.”
Also working in partnership with the Council is John Peberdy Partnership, Quantity Surveying; Emprocom, Health and Safety Consultants; and Peter Cole Consultants, Structural Engineers.
Saxilby footbridge, which crosses the Fossdyke will be removed from its location in the picturesque village to undergo much-needed refurbishment.
West Lindsey District Council has notified residents and businesses in the village that the refurbishment works it has commissioned will take place Tuesday 25 July 2023.
The steel footbridge, given to the village by British Rail in 1986, will need to be lifted by crane and taken to a workshop for the work to be carried out. The refurbishment work includes shot blasting; rust treatment; steel repairs and bolt replacement; and re-painting with a railway grade paint system to ensure a long life and minimise the length of time between maintenance.
Sheffield businesses taught how to handle begging in the city
A new guide will help Sheffield’s city centre businesses to address begging, engage with people who are begging and share information about how enforcement is tackling anti-social behaviour in Sheffield.
Developed by the Community Safety Team, the Sheffield City Centre Business and Retail guide aims to empower businesses to take the best action when faced with anti-social behaviour or begging on their premises. It informs businesses of the support available to them and to people who are begging and explains how businesses can report anti-social behaviour to the police through a dedicated crime portal.
The guide is part of a series of interventions that aim to reduce anti- social behaviour in the city centre. It was launched at a special event for businesses in the Winter Garden with the Safer Sheffield Partnership. Business representatives met with council officers, South Yorkshire Police, charities including the Archer Project and Ben’s Centre, and Sheffield’s Business Improvement District.
The guide includes advice for businesses on what they can do if they are affected by anti-social behaviour, particularly begging. Advice includes:
- Show compassion: treat people on the streets as humans and speak to them without judgement
- Spread awareness: let people know about the Help Us Help campaign and the guidance it provides to businesses and the public
- Direct to services: the Help Us Help website has lots of information that can help people living on the streets, including where to find support services. Make sure you signpost them to helpful information.
- Report anti-social behaviour: businesses can report anti social behaviour and crime through a dedicated business portal.
Hull technology company acquires training provider
Hull technology company Connexin has acquired Encompass Training, one of UK’s largest training providers.
The acquisition will see Encompass Training merge with Connexin Academy – Connexin’s training and development arm, as 30 additional staff join the team to accelerate employment opportunities for over 600 learners each year.
Connexin Academy was launched in 2021, with the aim to boost digital skills and enhance employability for the community.
Founded in 2009, Encompass is a Centre of Excellence with The Leadership Pipeline Institute (LPI). Several FORTUNE 500 companies, including Wren Kitchens, Stonegate Group, Eurocell and Diageo, have all chosen Encompass and LPI as the leadership model for selecting and growing leaders across all levels.
Adam Rhodes, director of commercial operations at Encompass, said: “At Encompass, we are immensely proud of our achievements so far, in training thousands of learners and working with some of the biggest companies in the region. Encompass and Connexin share their roots in the city of Hull and our equally strong commitment in upskilling the country’s workforce.
“Digital skills are absolutely vital in today’s economy and keep our businesses thriving. Uniting with the Connexin Academy is the next big step of many more to come.”
Encompass’ legal advice was provided by a multi-disciplinary team at Andrew Jackson Solicitors LLP, led by corporate partner, Philip Ashworth, who was supported by Nicole Waldron (corporate), Fiona Phillips (tax) and Nick Wilson (employment).
Philip said: “We are delighted to have advised the shareholders and board at Encompass on this complex transaction and we have every confidence that the business has a bright future ahead as part of Connexin.”
Heidi Greaves, Managing Director of Connexin Academy, said: “We are absolutely delighted that Encompass and its brilliant team will become part of the Connexin family. Encompass is a fantastic business and one that has received a number of great accolades.
“Connexin Academy shares the same values as Encompass for transforming lives through learning. This alignment in ethos and culture will bring huge benefits, not just to learners, but to employers across the region.
“Through this acquisition, we’re able to expand our offering with a range of extra courses, bootcamps and apprenticeships. We are thrilled to further cement our position as a leading digital skills and training provider.”
Hornsea Project Four offshore wind farm gains development consent
Development consent has been granted by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero for the Hornsea Project Four offshore wind farm, approximately 69km off Flamborough Head on the Yorkshire Coast.
The application was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for consideration by Orsted Hornsea Project Four Limited on 29 September 2021 and accepted for Examination on 27 October 2021.
Following an Examination during which the public, Statutory Consultees and Interested Parties were given the opportunity to give evidence to the Examining Authority, recommendations were made to the Secretary of State on 22 November 2022.
Orsted is planning to create a 180 turbine wind farm, which, if built out to full capacity, could provide enough power to meet the average daily need of over 1 million UK homes, producing up to 2.6GW of electricity.
The decision on the site was initially expected in February.
Hornsea Four is Ørsted’s fourth project in the Hornsea Zone. It will be located to the west of Hornsea One (now fully operational), Hornsea Two (now fully operational), and Hornsea Three (granted development consent).
The Planning Inspectorate’s Chief Executive, Paul Morrison said: “The Planning Inspectorate has now examined more than 100 nationally significant infrastructure projects since the Planning Act 2008 process was introduced, ensuring local communities have had the opportunity of being involved in the examination of projects that may affect them.
“Local communities continue to be given the opportunity of being involved in the examination of projects that may affect them. Local people, the local authority and other Interested Parties were able to participate in this six-month Examination.
“The Examining Authority listened and gave full consideration to all local views and the evidence gathered during the Examination before making its recommendation to the Secretary of State.”
