People with experience of prison or probation are being helped to move on with their lives thanks to a pioneering scheme funded by the Mayor of West Yorkshire. A pilot project saw a group of six work with ex-offender led charity, User Voice, to achieve a level one NCFE educational qualification. They have also gained fixed term jobs as Peer Commissioners with User Voice. User Voice and the Peer Commissioners will be an integral part of the Mayor’s upcoming work to re-commission a key victims’ service, restorative justice. They will use their experience to ensure the service meets the complex needs of victims and engages offenders to help them reform. Jay, who has lived experience of the criminal justice system, was struggling with confidence and self-belief before joining the project. In the future, he aims to continue helping other people from similar circumstances. Jay said: “My confidence is developing each time I come. It’s been fantastic, I couldn’t have asked for a better group. “After volunteering on the project I want to continue to help others through hard situations like I’ve experienced and open new doors for them and for myself.” The group were awarded certificates by Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, and Alison Lowe OBE, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, at an event in Leeds. West Yorkshire Mayor, Tracy Brabin, said: “I am on a mission to create a safer, fairer West Yorkshire and that includes supporting ex-offenders into employment and positive pathways. “Whilst victims of crime remain at the heart of our work, it’s so important that we also support people leaving prison or probation and tackle underlying issues. “We hope that the learning from this pilot will not only continue to help our communities locally but also be adopted nationally.” Simon Boddis, CEO of User Voice, said: “This project brings people’s lived experience of the criminal justice system to the heart of systemic change. Over the past 14 years we have seen the positive effects that this can have not only on an individual’s life but also communities and the wider system. “The peer commissioners trained as part of this project will now go on to ensure that services supporting people leaving prison in West Yorkshire are robust, effective and help prevent future victims. “It is important that we do not stop there. We strongly urge that this pilot is adopted nationally to support more prison leavers and give them a voice to help drive positive change.”

The headline NatWest Yorkshire & Humber 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 – rose for the third month in a row to 50.0, from 48.4 in November, signalling a stabilisation of the private sector economy in the region following four successive months of contraction in business activity.

That said, this compared with a moderate expansion in private sector output across the UK overall at the end of 2023.

Private sector companies in Yorkshire & Humber recorded another monthly fall in their new business intakes during December. Generally subdued demand conditions, in part due to a slowing UK economy, was noted by panellists.

While the rate of contraction was modest and the weakest since July, Yorkshire & Humber recorded the second-fastest decline in new orders of all 12 monitored UK regions. The UK as a whole saw growth for the first time in six months.

Although the Future Activity Index remained in firm optimistic territory, it fell further below its long-term average in December, signalling subdued expectations for growth in the year ahead. Predictions of sales growth and new product development underpinned confidence, although economic headwinds was cited as a reason to be downbeat towards the outlook.

After rising for the first time in three months in November, staffing levels across Yorkshire & Humber stagnated during the latest survey period. Efforts to raise productivity were noted by companies that expanded their workforces, although others opted to not extend temporary worker contracts or replace voluntary leavers due to weak demand.

Notably, Yorkshire & Humber was only one of four parts of the UK to not see a decline in employment in December.

Signs of spare capacity within Yorkshire & Humber’s private sector were seen through a tenth successive monthly reduction in the volume of work outstanding during December. Weak demand conditions reportedly facilitated the sustained completion of unfinished business. That said, while the rate of backlog depletion was strong, it was the softest since July.

Private sector companies in Yorkshire & Humber continued to face rising input prices during December. Where greater costs were registered, firms commented on general inflationary pressures across the economy, although some noted higher labour expenses. Overall, the rate of increase in operating costs was sharp and the steepest since July.

In response to higher input costs, private sector firms in Yorkshire & Humber raised prices charged for their own goods and services during December. The rate of inflation quickened to a five-month high, but remained below that seen for the UK as a whole.

Malcolm Buchanan, chair of the NatWest North Regional Board, said: “The stabilisation of Yorkshire & Humber’s private sector is a slice of good news as it ends a four-month period of contraction. That said, the region is still underperforming by comparison with the UK average, which showed a strengthening of growth at the end of 2023.

“Nevertheless, another month in which the slump in demand has eased suggests Yorkshire & Humber may be past the worst of its downturn, and we can begin to look towards some greenshoots in 2024. Indeed, anecdotally, we saw businesses cite sales growth as a reason to be optimistic for the year ahead, with new product launches and slowing inflation expected to boost demand.”

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 Czajka Care Group’s Managing Director, Konrad Czajka. We all know that sometime in 2024, and possibly as early as the Spring of 2024, there will be a general election. Both major political parties are talking about cutting immigration numbers, which is causing concern amongst those in the care sector. Caps on care worker numbers, and a restriction on their dependents being allowed to come to the country too, or an increase in minimum salary threshold will have a major impact on the people who rely on these services. A reduction in the number of job vacancies in the care sector over the last year has been a result of foreign workers coming into this country, as opposed to the domestic workforce growing. The plans to overhaul the adult social care system are stalling, and survival without fundamental changes will be dependent on pockets of funding to help plug the gaps. In 2024 central government investment is critical, alongside a long term workforce plan akin to that of the NHS, to ensure social care is a desirable sector to join and remain a part of. The rise in the national living wage announced a day before the Autumn statement is welcomed by the social care sector but should be matched by more generous funding for local authorities, who can pass that money onto the providers they commission care from. If this does not happen then we will see providers who are currently on the brink, pushed over the edge by the increased cost. That will mean a further loss of care provision at a time when we need it most. In 2024 we expect to see greater collaboration and communication between health and social care professionals. This will lead to more effective care planning, improved information sharing, and better outcomes for the individual. There will be a continued demand for social care services with an ageing population and increasing prevalence of chronic diseases. We will continue working hard to improve health outcomes, enhance the user experience, and reduce healthcare costs.

With a 27 place climb since they first entered The Lawyer publication’s prestigious UK200 rankings in 2019, Sills & Betteridge LLP are now in position 160 – with growth of 15% on the previous year placing the firm in the top 10 best performing firms in the country. The report is seen as the benchmark for anyone with a serious interest in the business of law. It comprises months of detailed, impartial research into the firm’s financial performance, characteristics of its service delivery and analysis of its people – looking forensically at diversity, progression and development. Chief Executive Martyn Hall said: “A combination of factors has led to these results, but they are principally due to organic growth, our acquisition of niche matrimonial practice Acclaimed Family Law of Sheffield, the recruitment of several senior fee earners across the firm and continuous efficiency initiatives across our working practices and operations.” But it’s not just about financial performance, the firm is also recognised in the gender analysis section of the report with another top 10 position for a notable number of female partners (60%) and female lawyers (64%) working across the firm. Karen Bower-Brown now goes into her 3rd year as Senior Partner – the first female Senior Partner in the firm’s 265 year history. Other highlights for Sills & Betteridge in 2023 included the Legal 500 Legal Directory results which saw the firm retain two prized accolades – Leading Law Firm and Top Tier Family Law Team, with a record 10 teams making the list and 30 individual lawyers. The firm also won the Solicitor Firm of the Year at the British Wills & Probate Awards and Children Team of the Year at the national Family Law Awards. Plans for 2024 include the relocation of the firm’s Sleaford, Sheffield and Northampton operations, significant refurbishment of its Boston premises and continued investment in its people and delivery of excellent service.

Yorkshire Water is investing £2m to replace almost three kilometres of pipes in Thorne and will start the work today. The company is working with contract partners United Living and Geraghty’s who will be carrying out this work, as the pipework in the area is old and prone to bursting, so the investment into the new pipework will reduce the risk of this happening in future. One main pipe will also be upsized, to relieve pressure issues and ensure the network can cope with any future infrastructure in the area. The first phase of the ten-month project  is set to start on Plantation Road from Monday 15 January, and the second phase on Fair Tree Walk will commence from 12 February. Traffic management and road closures will be in place throughout the duration of the scheme. Steph Horgan, project manager for the scheme at Yorkshire Water said: “This is a fantastic upgrade to the water system in Thorne and I know it will come as welcome news to our customers in the area. “We’ve worked closely with Doncaster Council and our contract partners to ensure that the work will be carried out in phases to complete the project with as little disruption as possible to our customers, and we thank you in advance for your patience during this time. “This work will ensure that our customers will benefit from a more resilient network and allow us to continue providing the high standard of drinking water our customers are used to.”

The labour market remains tight for most firms according to the latest Quarterly Recruitment Outlook survey of almost 5,000 UK firms by the British Chambers of Commerce Insights Unit. Jane Gratton, Deputy Director Public Policy at the BCC said: “The recruitment crisis continues to loom large for many businesses across the UK. “Too many firms are still struggling to hire and retain staff. The situation in the hospitality sector is especially concerning.  At the start of an election year, and with a budget just weeks away, it’s vital that politicians start outlining how we can plug these gaps and support more people into work. “The Chancellor announced several welcome measures on apprenticeships in the Autumn Statement, but more action is needed.  For example, increasing flexibility in the apprenticeship levy would help more people get the workplace training they need. “And we need to ensure that local training provision meets the needs of employers and learners. Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), many of them led by local Chambers, are now shifting the dial on this by planning for skills needs, now and in the years ahead. But this transformation won’t happen overnight, and LSIPs need long-term funding and commitment from politicians. “We’ll be looking closely at tomorrow’s labour market statistics from the ONS. While the number of vacancies has continued to decline in recent months, the prospects going forward remain challenging. Our latest Quarterly Economic Forecast predicts unemployment is expected to stay higher for longer, hitting 4.8% by the end of 2025 “Businesses urgently need to see a long-term strategy on skills and training from politicians. We need to properly resolve the ongoing recruitment crisis and ultimately boost economic growth.” Fourth quarter results for 2023 show a slight rise in the number of companies facing hiring difficulties, from 73% in Q3 to 76% in Q4. That’s six percent down from the historical high of 82% at the end of 2022, but has remained at or above 70% since the economy reopened  after the pandemic. Attempted recruitment in Q4 was virtually unchanged from the previous quarter, with 59% of responding firms looking to find staff (61% in Q3). The hospitality sector continues to suffer disproportionately from the recruitment difficulties in the economy, with 82% of firms reporting hiring challenges in Q4 (compared with 79% in Q3). This is closely followed by the transport and logistics sector where 81% of businesses attempting to recruit, reported difficulties in finding staff. Meanwhile 79% of construction firms, 77% of manufacturing companies and 66% of retailers, said they had experienced recruitment issues. Of the hospitality firms reporting problems, 62% faced difficulties in finding semi/unskilled workers, 41% skilled manual/technical staff. As firms continue to navigate a series of economic pressures, many are struggling to increase investment in workplace training. For the second quarter in succession, just over a quarter of firms reported an increase in investment plans for staff training (26% compared to 27% in Q3) with 14% reporting a drop (13% in Q3) Labour costs are cited by most firms as a source of cost pressure, with 68% citing this (compared to 66% in Q3). 55% of firms say they’re concerned about energy costs.  

Work has started at a depot to bring the first fleet of zero emission electric buses to South Yorkshire as part of a partnership between Stagecoach and SYMCA. Electrification work costing about £2.5m has begun at the Rawmarsh depot ahead of the arrival of the first fleet of 23 zero emission electric buses to arrive in the region. The brand-new electric Yutong buses will be introduced on the region’s bus network in the spring and will feature on the 22x and 221 routes which connect the Dearne Valley across Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster. Stagecoach Yorkshire MD Matt Kitchin said: “This development marks a huge step towards the future of sustainable travel in South Yorkshire as we await the arrival of the new buses. “Sustainable forms of public transport are key to reducing congestion and improving air quality across the region and we look forward to these state-of-the-art vehicles encouraging more people to make the switch to bus travel as well as making local air cleaner for all our futures.” DfT contributed about £8,351,000 to which SYMCA added £2,683,000 of its City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement. Contractor EO will install the 23 output chargers as well as two mobile workshop chargers at the depot which will facilitate the running of the zero-emission fleet. South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard, said: “We think around 200,000 people in South Yorkshire live in areas vulnerable to air pollution, and 1 in 20 deaths here are related to poor air quality. That’s a challenge we simply have to address, and why we need to get cleaner, greener vehicles of all sorts on our roads. “To meet that goal we’ve funded electric bus projects that are underway across the region as part of the Zebra1 project and we also have a second bid for ‘Zebra 2’ funding submitted to the Department for Transport with Stagecoach and First. “Not only will they help improve public transport in South Yorkshire, they’ll make a real contribution to us hitting our net zero goals, and making South Yorkshire’s air cleaner.“