30 September 2016 | Jamie Harris Outsourcing firm Capita has announced that its full year pre-tax profits for 2016 are expected to be between £59 million and £79 million lower than originally estimated. Despite good profit growth for the first half of the year, Capita has said that its H2 2016 performance has been below expectations due to a number of factors, including “continued delays in client decision making”, and less activity following the EU referendum in June. In particular, Capita says it has been impacted by a slow-down in its IT Enterprise Services and Workplace Services divisions; the expected full-year profits from these divisions have been reduced by £30 million. The group’s underlying profit before tax is now expected to be between £535 million and £555 million for the full year to December 2015. As a result, Capita is taking steps to reduce the cost base within its underperforming businesses. Excluding exceptional one-off costs, Capita says it remains confident in the strength of its business model, and aims to return to profit growth in 2017. City commentators are noting that the trading update was the outsourcer’s first ever profit warning, and yesterday Capita’s shares dropped 28 percentage points as a result. The news follows FM services competitor Mitie, which also predicted a fall in operating profit, due to “significant economic pressures”. Both Serco and G4S also saw their shares fall on Thursday morning after Capita’s announcement. Source link

Third of UK solar jobs lost, study finds Published:  25 July, 2016 A third of solar jobs have been lost in the past year and a further 30% of solar businesses expect to cut staff in the next 12 months, according to new analysis published by the Solar Trade Association (STA) and PwC on 25 July. The 238 solar industry firms surveyed said they collectively employed 3,665 people now compared to 5,362 a year ago, a fall of 32%. Respondents indicated that four in 10 firms are being forced to either exit the solar market entirely or diversify into other markets to keep their heads above water. Extrapolating the survey findings across the UK solar industry, the figure for job losses over the past year could exceed 12,500 – around one third of previous total employment in the solar industry, the Solar Trade Association found. Solar deployment this year is expected to fall from an average of 1GW of past 5 years, to less than 300MW this year, a 75% drop. The STA has long been concerned by the lack of an industrial strategy for the UK solar industry despite solar increasingly dominating global energy investments. The UK government is today allocating only 1% of new renewable energy project expenditure to solar power under the Feed-in Tariff. The new Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy therefore represents a very welcome opportunity to take a strategic approach to a winning and relatively cheap technology, says the association. Leonie Greene, head of external affairs at the STA said: “The survey shows very regrettable damage to the fabric of the British solar industry and the need for prompt government action. Shockingly, since we undertook the survey, business investors in solar are set to be hit with a six to eight fold rise in business rates.” “We urge new ministers, rather than increase the tax burden of going solar, please reward investment with sensible solar tax breaks consistent with action on climate change. International experience of tax breaks is solid, and the industry is clearly behind this.” “There are many good economic reasons to back the British solar including minimising the cost of decarbonising our power supply to retain competitiveness, while creating exceptionally large numbers of jobs. Our economy faces a major challenge post Brexit; if we want to prosper in future we must strengthen the UK stake in booming global markets – they don’t come bigger than solar.” John Dashwood, PwC head of renewables, assurance said: “These survey results show there will be a structural shift in the market and solar players need to consider alternative products, services and markets. Our report highlights the kind of innovation that can secure a positive future for solar energy in the UK.  “The solar industry undoubtedly faces some serious challenges, but it has already proved resilient and adaptable.” Nearly half of the respondents see newbuild as a key sub market this year. Moves by the Scottish government to improve newbuild standards are creating opportunities and it appears that the new London Mayor will also move to support solar deployment across the capital. One in eight respondents are also looking to take their skills overseas to secure business opportunities, with Africa and North America the key markets they are looking to expand into. The solar industry has had a tumultuous year. Deployment in domestic solar has dropped 80% for domestic solar under the Feed-in Tariff compared to this time last year. Commercial solar roofs deployment under Feed-in Tariffs is capped at just 15MW per quarter and there is uncertainty about the extent to which Corporate Social Responsibility concerns will sustain investment in the short term. The Renewables Obligation was in effect closed to solar in July 2015. No future auction rounds under Contracts-for-Difference for Solar are anticipated. Source link

Dates and locations 26 April 2016, ETC Venues, Marble Arch, Garfield House, 86 Edgware Road, London W2 2EA Event overview This event provides an introduction to this new role and is aimed at designers, clients, contractors and/or individuals who may take on, or want to understand the PD function, particularly for small to medium size projects. The course will be delivered by an ex-HSE Principal Construction Inspector with almost 40 years’ experience. It will include: An introduction and overview to CDM 2015 and the duties of the Principal Designer The role of the construction client The Principal Designer’s role in supporting the client Obtaining and using pre-construction information Appointment of designers and contractors The Principal Designer’s role in ensuring designers comply with their duties Exploring through case study discussion the key health and safety risks construction workers can face during construction and maintenance Coordinating the flow of health and safety information The role of the Principal Contractor and liaison with the PD Preparing the health and safety file By the end of the course, delegates will: Understand the changes introduced by CDM 2015, the policy objectives behind them, and how the Regulations enable proportionate compliance dependent on project complexity Know the role and duties of the Client, Principal Designer, designers, Principal Contractor, and contractors and the relationships and interfaces with the Principal Designer Know the key health and safety risks faced by construction workers and those maintaining a structure Understand the importance of pre-construction information, its limitations and the need for interpretation and further investigation in some circumstances Understand the importance of achieving the effective communication of and use of design information Understand how effective management, coordination and monitoring during the pre-construction phase can help to eliminate or reduce risks during the construction and life of the structure As PDs, be better placed to make decisions on the relevancy of pre-construction and design information they should provide to PCs for construction phase health & safety plans, and relevant information for health and safety file Who should attend? This training is aimed at individuals and employees of organisations who meet the definition of designer and could be appointed as PD to be in control of the pre-construction phase of a project, and those who want to understand the duties of a Principal Designer as defined in CDM 2015. This course is intended to provide an introduction and overview only to this new role and help delegates understand the actions that need to be taken to discharge the Principal Designer’s duties. It is not aimed at those involved in major projects or designed to establish or evaluate competence. Information and booking For the London event, a full programme and online booking form can be found on the HSL/HSE CDM 2015 Training (London) event page. Alternatively, you can email HSL Training or call 01298 218806. Source link