Employers are being encouraged to take up Occupational Health offers to help employees access vital mental and physical health support at work, particularly for those working in SMEs.
The move comes in a joint consultation published today by the Department for Work and Pensions and Department of Health and Social Care on ways to increase uptake of Occupational Health provision.
These proposals include introducing a national “health at work” standard for all employers to provide a baseline for quality Occupational Health provision, which includes guidance, an option to pursue accreditation, and additional government support services – for example outreach workers to support SMEs to meet the standards.
It also seeks views on developing longer-term workforce capacity to help meet any increased demand for Occupational Health services in the future by:
Encouraging NHS leavers or those who are considering a career change to pivot towards the Occupational Health specialism
Developing a longer-term, multi-disciplinary workforce to provide Occupational Health services
The consultation will also ask employers to share their examples of good Occupational Health provision to help inform other businesses and encourage them to provide the same.
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride MP, said: “This Government is investing billions in getting people back to work and growing the economy. We need employers to keep playing their part too. Healthy businesses need healthy workers – employers will benefit from higher retention rates, more productive workers, and fewer work days lost due to sickness. Improving health in the workplace is a vital piece of the puzzle in our drive to increase employment.”
Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, Tom Pursglove, said: “Long-term sickness is a huge contributor to economic inactivity, and while of course some people are unable to work, better accommodation of health problems in the workplace will open up a wider workforce to employers and support employees with a range of needs.
“Many small and medium-sized business owners already invest significantly in the health and wellbeing of their workforce, but this will be a gamechanger in identifying and removing obstacles to people with health conditions starting, staying and succeeding in work.”
To also help keep people in work, the government will today also publish a separate consultation looking at options to increase investment in Occupational Health services by UK wide employers through the tax system. This follows its announcement at the Spring Budget where it committed to consult on incentivising greater provision of Occupational Health through the tax system.
The government wants to explore the case for providing additional tax relief to businesses on their Occupational Health costs. In particular, the consultation asks respondents for their experiences of providing Occupational Health, including what services they provide and any barriers they experience. It also asks for evidence on the effectiveness of existing tax incentives and asks respondents for their views on the merits of expanding the existing Benefit-in-Kind relief, and thoughts on any alternative tax incentives.
Tax reliefs on Benefits-in-Kind are already available for certain occupational health services. This consultation will test if expanding these reliefs or introducing new ones could be an effective lever to achieve greater Occupational Health provision, as well as thoughts on any alternative tax incentives. The consultation will determine if expanding tax incentives is an appropriate measure to boost Occupational Health provision.
This is all a key component of the measures in the 2023 Spring Budget to grow labour market participation, reduce economic inactivity and get more people into work. The Department is helping millions to return to work with inactivity falling by 360,000 since the peak of the pandemic.
Long-term sickness is currently the main reason people of working-age give for being economically inactive, but just under half of workers have access to Occupational Health services. Over 90% of large employers offer Occupational Health support, compared to under a fifth of small ones.
Sheffield-based Mechan, experts in the design, manufacture and delivery of handling equipment for rail depots and workshops, has won a major contract with the public transport arm of the Welsh government.
The business will be designing, building and installing a bespoke bogie drop at the Canton rail depot in Cardiff, on behalf of Transport for Wales (TfWRL).
The custom-made unit enables bogies to be changed without decoupling trains, saving valuable maintenance time. It will be used to remove underframe equipment, including bogies, wheelsets, transformers and cooling units, from the diesel and tri-mode class 231/756 Stadler Flirt vehicles that are being introduced on South Wales Metro services. It will also accommodate all of TfWRL’s existing rolling stock.
Sales director, Lindsey Mills, said: “We are really pleased our tender was acceptable and we are now seeing our design come alive during the manufacturing process. Installing a bogie drop in an operational depot environment is a mammoth undertaking and we will be working closely with TfWRL to ensure we deliver the project efficiently and with minimum disruption.”
The Canton bogie drop will enable underfloor units to be changed at track level, whilst allowing traffic to move freely when it is not in use. It has a rollover capacity of 60 tonnes and incorporates mini jacks that act as car body supports, to accommodate Stadler’s articulated bogies.
Daniel Harper, TfWRL infrastructure project manager, said: “We look forward to working with Mechan on the installation of this vital equipment, as we continue to upgrade our Canton depot.
“We’re investing more than £800 million in new trains for the Wales and Borders network and the Stadler-built class 231s are a key part of the transformation of our fleet. This equipment will allow us to maintain our full fleet more efficiently, helping to keep trains in service for our customers.”
Union Chain Bridge linking England and Scotland over the River Tweed has been recognised for its historical engineering significance, months after Spencer Group finished its complete restoration.
Image: Friends of the Union Chain Bridge
Heritage bridge works specialist Spencer Group has refurbished and rebuilt the bridge, crossing the Tweed from Horncliffe in Northumberland to Fishwick in Berwickshire, has a single span of 449 feet, and was the longest wrought iron suspension bridge in the world when it opened in 1820.
It is both a Grade I listed building in England and a Grade A listed building in Scotland, and is credited with being a catalyst for bridge innovation. It influenced the design of many other famous structures and remains the world’s oldest suspension bridge still carrying traffic.
The bridge has now been named as an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. Engineers from across the world bestowed the honour on the bridge, which joins the likes of the Eiffel Tower, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge.
A delegation of leading engineers visited the bridge to unveil a special plaque on the Scottish side of the structure. The sponsors of the prestigious accolade are the Institution of Civil Engineers (UK), the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Japanese Society of Civil Engineers, together with the Patron of the Friends of the Union Chain Bridge community group, Professor Dr Roland Paxton.
Joe DiMauro, Engineering Director for Spencer Bridge Engineering, said: “It has been an honour and a privilege to deliver the complete restoration of this historic bridge. Union Chain Bridge is an iconic, much-loved structure, further evidenced by this international recognition.”
More than 40 businesses have received technical support in the DMC MakerLab, in Barnsley’s County Way, to help grow their businesses with solutions, new products and business efficiencies through the Digital Innovation for Growth Project.
With access to both technical expertise in the DMC MakerLab and academic research support through Sheffield Hallam University, businesses have been able to use digital technology to improve products and services, maximise efficiency and adopt new ways of working with no charge to the business.
With 44 SMEs using the 12 hours of dedicated available technical support time in the DMC MakerLab, businesses such as Sheffield Tribology Services have prototyped ideas, changed ways of working, and eight brand new products have been launched by the time the project ended at the end of June. In total, over 100 businesses engaged with the programme through a variety of interventions, events and workshops.
Ben White, Co-founder of Sheffield Tribology Services, said: “For our product, which detects friction on the railway lines to warn of potential damages, the support we’ve had has been essential – we’ve been able to take design risks, and in return, we have a better quality product.
“The DMC and access to support through the programme has provided access to equipment such as laser cutters and 3D printers to prototype our new device and turn it into an innovative business, ready to reduce damage and improve safety on the railway.”
Cllr Robert Frost, Spokesperson for Regeneration and Culture, said: “We’re sad to see the Digital Innovation for Growth project come to an end. It’s been a great collaboration between the MakerLab at the DMC and Sheffield Hallam University to the benefit of many businesses in our region.
“Many businesses in Barnsley have fantastic ideas and being able to run a space which provides them the space, technical knowledge and most importantly equipment to support the ideas to allow them to grow really is a benefit to everybody in our borough.”
Yorkshire Water has signed 15-year agreements with SGN Commercial Services and Centrica Energy Trading that will see biomethane gas to grid plants introduced at its Knostrop and Blackburn Meadows wastewater treatment works.
Biogas is produced as a by-product of Yorkshire Water’s sewage wastewater treatment processes and can be upgraded to separate methane from the other component gases. This upgraded biogas is called ‘biomethane’ or ‘renewable natural gas’.
As part of the deal, biomethane gas to grid plants will be designed, developed and operated at the two sites. The biomethane will then be injected into the local gas network via underground pipelines and used as a renewable fuel, either in vehicles, homes or industry.
Once operational, the plants shall produce roughly 125GWh of biomethane annually, enough to heat more than 10,000 homes.
Tom Hall, head of bioresources at Yorkshire Water, said: “We’re excited to be working alongside SGN Commercial Services and Centrica Energy Trading to make best use of the biogas Yorkshire Water produces through sewage treatment.
“We already benefit from biogas-fuelled renewable energy generation, but this project demonstrates our commitment to using markets to improve our operational efficiency, reduce customer bills and facilitate carbon emissions reductions in the wider economy.”
It is hoped the biomethane gas to grid plants will be operational at Knostrop and Blackburn Meadows in early 2025.
SGN’s business development director Marcus Hunt said: “SGN is committed to delivering a greener gas grid and continuing to be at the forefront of providing heat to UK homes and businesses.
“We’re delighted to announce this partnership with Yorkshire Water – it adds to our ambition to increase biomethane injection into the gas network to provide local customers with green gas and support decarbonisation plans.”
Kristian Gjerløv-Juel, director for renewable energy trading and optimisation at Centrica Energy Trading, said: “This agreement marks an important milestone for Centrica’s biomethane activities in the UK.
“Having recently expanded our capabilities to handle trading, nomination, and transportation of green gas in the UK market, we’re working to accelerate biomethane production across Europe and using our capabilities to help businesses deliver on their green procurement strategies and reduce emissions.”
The Eventus Business Centre at Market Deeping in Lincolnshire has had a refresh and now offers local businesses more options than ever for offices, meeting space and facilities.
Work has taken place to reconfigure the building, in response to the needs of start-ups and established, growing businesses.
Eventus, situated on the Northfields Industrial Estate, has new meeting areas and work pods, designed to give smaller businesses the use of top quality space on a flexible basis. Electric vehicle charging provision is also soon to be upgraded at the site, which has over 40 offices ranging from 15 square metres to 141 square metres. Smart TVs and meeting ‘owl’ cameras have been added to meeting rooms.
Cllr Tom Dyer, executive support councillor for economy and place at the county council explained: “We’ve invested in Eventus in response to the changing needs of businesses and I’m delighted that we can now support even more small enterprises in the area. We now have greater options available for permanent office space, but also facilities for occasional use.”
Businesses have the choice of new work pods to use – all with free high speed wifi. This includes single self-contained desk spaces as a quiet place to work, and partially enclosed pods that allow users to work together but in a private space.
Cllr Dyer continued: “The pods are available to existing tenants who may have fluctuating staff numbers or work patterns, but also to the wider business community such as sole traders, start-ups and Virtual Tenants, who may need occasional hot desking space.”
“As with all our business centres, tenants benefit from support from industry specialists and easy in/out lease options. We really are determined to support our small businesses in Lincolnshire – they are the backbone of our economy.”
Gateley, the professional services group, has acquired Richard Julian and Associates Limited, trading as RJA Consultants, in a deal worth up to £6 million.
The deal includes, subject to certain revenue targets being achieved, an earn out based on the EBITDA achieved in each twelve-month period expiring 31 March 2024 and 31 March 2025.
Established by founder and Managing Director, Richard Julian, RJA is a chartered surveying practice, providing quantity surveying and project management services across a variety of construction sectors. It specialises in the provision of these services to organisations that deliver affordable housing, a resilient sector which is underpinned by high levels of grants to support delivery of the Government’s housing targets.
Richard Julian and directors Steven Collin, Liza Julian, Hardeep Kooner and Chris Clubb, will continue to work as part of the RJA management team post acquisition.
The company employs approximately 50 staff based in Nottingham and Leicester.
In the financial year ended 31 March 2023, RJA generated revenue of c.£3.9 million, corporatised profit before tax of c.£0.8 million and organic revenue growth of 65% against the prior year.
Rod Waldie, Chief Executive Officer of Gateley, said: “I am delighted to welcome the team from RJA, who are already well known by our colleagues in Gateley Smithers Purslow.
“There are common threads between the two teams and across our Property Platform, bringing opportunities to increase market share, as well as target new markets and workstreams. They have considerable expertise in the construction market and specifically in resilient sectors such as affordable housing and insurance services.
“RJA has a strong track record of growth, excellent relationships with clients, a dedicated and positive culture and an ambitious management team, qualities which closely match Gateley’s business and culture.”
AEW UK REIT has bought a freehold, mixed-use asset in York city centre for more than £10m.
The 99,769 sq ft asset is multi-let to five tenants. 75% of the income is received from National Car Parks Ltd (NCP), who have occupied the 297-space car park since 2005 and have a further nine years remaining on their lease.
NCP is one of the UK’s largest car park operators with an estate of approximately 189,000 spaces over 642 sites. The company is owned by Park24, a Japanese based multi-national parking operator, and the Development Bank of Japan.
Another four tenants occupy the ground and first floor retail and office accommodation fronting onto George Hudson Street.
The site totals 0.8 acres and is located inside the York City Wall, bordering the historic centre of the city, within the Micklegate Quarter. It is situated in a prominent corner position on George Hudson Street and Tanner Row, within a 10-minute walk of key visitor attractions, including York Minster, the Yorkshire Museum and the York Dungeon.
York’s key retail provisions at Coppergate Shopping Centre, Coney Street, Davygate and Parliament Street are all within a 7-minute walk.
Laura Elkin, portfolio manager of AEW UK REIT, said: “We are pleased to have purchased this very well-located mixed-use asset at a day one yield that will be accretive to the company’s earnings. Our due diligence has shown that NCP trades well from the location and we expect this to continue given the popularity of York as a destination.
“Completion of the acquisition marks the strategic reinvestment into higher yielding assets of capital generated from recent sales. We continue to analyse an interesting pipeline of potential acquisitions and expect to make further purchase announcements in due course, which will bring us closer to our short-term target of full deployment of capital.”
UK inflation fell to 7.9% in June, according to the latest ONS figures, down from 8.7% in May and coming in below expectations.
With hopes that this means a turning point for stubbornly high inflation, reduced motor fuel and food prices drove the decrease – the lowest inflation has been since March 2022.
Core inflation, meanwhile, which takes out energy, food, alcohol and tobacco to give a clear picture of underlying trends, was down from 7.1% to 6.9%.
Commenting on June’s inflation figures, Editorial and Research Fellow at the free market think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs, Professor Len Shackleton, said: “If last month’s 8.7 per cent annual increase in the CPI was unexpectedly high, this month’s 7.9 per cent is a shade lower than expected. This is mirrored in other indicators such as CPIH and core CPI.
“Since these figures were tallied, Russia has ended a deal to allow grain exports from Ukraine, which will likely push up global and UK food prices. Mortgage rates have also gone up. Nevertheless, since the extraordinary increases in the money supply that ultimately fuel inflation have ended, inflation is set to fall further.
“Rishi Sunak’s pledge to halve inflation by the end of the year may still be optimistic, but at least there are no grounds for the Bank of England to raise interest rates further. Nor are there any grounds for panic measures to hold down prices artificially, such as Grant Shapps’ silly initiative to curb supermarket petrol prices.”
A new campaign in West Lindsey is urging businesses to work with communities to support, protect and enhance the environment.
Our Small Steps – Big Impact campaign launched by the District council aims to encourage and support local people to take some simple, easy steps including anything from leaving the car at home in favour of using public transport more, cycling or walking more, or doing more recycling and wasting less.
Whatever people decide to do, the council hopes to share some top tips and advice to get people thinking. Says Cllr Stephen Bunney, Chair of the Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change working group: “If everyone in West Lindsey commits to doing something, together these changes will help us work towards plans to become net zero by 2030.
“Making changes to reduce our impact on the environment is a significant challenge not only for us as a council, but for everyone who lives in and enjoys the environment of West Lindsey. Urgent actions is needed, but we know by working together, these challenges can be met head-on and with each small step we move towards making big changes.
“Science tells us we need to act now and on our own that may feel like one giant leap. We believe that together the small steps we all take lead to a contributing big impact and by working together we can make a real difference.
“We know many people across the district are already doing a lot in this area, and we’d like to hear more about what you’ve been doing so that we can spread the word to others.
“So, to help us all make little changes, we will be sharing some top tips, facts, stories, and ways people of all ages and businesses can get involved to help our environment.”
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