Thursday, 01 September 2016 Thousands of private sector tenants in Scotland have failed to collect their deposit when they moved out of their home, it has been discovered. Staff at tenancy deposit scheme SafeDeposits Scotland have calculated that money due to tenants amounts to more than £500,000. Tenancy deposit schemes were introduced in July 2012 and since then more than 156,000 deposits have been repaid by SafeDeposits Scotland. While millions of pounds have been returned to tenants at the end of their leases, a small proportion of people don’t claim back the money that is due to them. It is those people who SafeDeposits Scotland are trying to track down. A large proportion of missing tenants are students, according to the firm. With the start of the academic year, September is the busiest time for deposits being paid both in and out. The busiest day sees almost 90% more deposits being paid in than the average day through the year. Just over 2,000 tenants have ended their leases without claiming back the money due them, totalling more than £500,000. The clock is ticking and if deposits aren’t claimed back within six years, unclaimed funds go to the Crown, a process which will start in 2018. SafeDeposits Scotland’s finance team do everything they can to reunite former tenants with their money including sending letters to forwarding addresses, emailing, calling and texting. While successful in the majority of cases, some people are more elusive. Money cannot be paid directly back into accounts as this isn’t information that tenancy deposit schemes have been given. The Scottish Government introduced the tenancy deposit scheme in 2012 to make deposits safe for tenants. When landlords and agents take a deposit from a tenant they’re required by law to lodge the money with one of three approved schemes who ring fence the money until the end of the lease. SafeDeposits Scotland is the largest of these three approved schemes in the UK, holds an estimated 60% of all private rental deposits and the only scheme to be based in Scotland. ‘It’s extremely surprising that people can leave their rented property and forget to ask for their deposit back. The vast majority of tenants remember to claim their money but there’s a small minority who don’t,’ said Jennifer Paice, chief executive of SafeDeposits Scotland. ‘Our finance team do a great job in tracking most of them down but there are a significant number they can’t get hold of. We don’t think it’s right that people lose out on what’s due to them so we do everything we can to try and get people the money they are owed,’ she added. Source link

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today (18 May) announced a welcoming call for entries for the 2015 RIBA President’s Awards for Research. This year will also see the award of the inaugural RIBA President’s Research Medal, presented for the best judged research from across all four categories. The deadline for submissions is Monday 8 June 2015 at 5pm. The four categories for the Awards are: • University and Professional Research Organisation• Practice (including practices with professional research divisions)• PhD• Master’s – each academic school can submit up to 2 Master’s dissertations per year. The Master’s course should be a research degree (e.g. an MA or MSc) and not a professional qualification (i.e. it cannot be a course that is validated, or is eligible to be validated, for RIBA Part 2). RIBA President Stephen Hodder said: “I’m delighted to announce the opening of the 2015 RIBA President’s Awards for Research. I am particularly pleased with the inauguration of the President’s Medal for Research; this award will help to give recognition to the ever increasing importance of research to architecture and our industry.” Anne Dye, RIBA Head of Technical Research, said: “These Awards promote research and researchers that contribute new knowledge and understanding to architecture. They highlight the need for knowledge and insight that nurtures innovation, quality, value and strategic thinking. “This year we have widened the eligibility to include research from across the built environment and beyond, better reflecting the diverse interdisciplinary nature of architectural research.” To enter: http://www.architecture.com/RIBA/Professionalsupport/Researchandinnovation/RIBAPresidentsAwardsForResearch/RIBAPresidentsAwardsforResearch.aspx – Ends – Notes 1. For further press information contact Gagandeep Bedi, RIBA Press Office 020 7307 3814 gagandeep.bedi@riba.org 2. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) champions better buildings, communities and the environment through architecture and our members www.architecture.com 3. For the 2015 awards, the eligibility period for entries has been extended in all categories to research completed between May 2013 and May 2015. Due to the extended eligibility period, work submitted to the 2014 Awards may be submitted again in 2015. 4. All those conducting architectural and built environment research related to architecture and the practice of architecture are eligible to enter the RIBA President’s Awards for Research. These include, but are not limited to: RIBA Members, RIBA Chartered Practices, architects at non-RIBA practices, professionals from other built environment disciplines, students and academics at RIBA validated or non-validated schools of architecture, students and academics from non-architectural academic schools, professional research organisations. 5. Follow us on Twitter for regular RIBA updates www.twitter.com/RIBA Posted on Monday 18th May 2015 Source link

Construction and utility sector specialist Develop Training Limited (DTL) is running a seminar highlighting the risks of working in confined spaces, and giving managers and operatives the skills to do so safely. Health and safety experts estimate between 15 and 30 people die each year in the UK as a result of workplace incidents in confined spaces. The event, at DTL’s York training centre on Wednesday September 13, features the company’s state-of-the-art mobile confined spaces training unit. It follows successful outings at some of the company’s other locations around the UK. Steve Braund, DTL marketing manager, said: “It’s vital that training managers and everyone responsible for staff learning and development know about the danger of work in confined spaces, the legislation and how to ensure compliant, safe practice. No-one should be expected to enter such an environment without the proper safeguards in place and having received the appropriate training. This seminar will address all of those issues.” Confined spaces in work environments are more common than most people would assume. They can be found in a variety of industries, from manufacturing to agriculture. Last month, an autopsy in the US ruled on the case of a man who suffocated while working in an Indiana sewer pit. Closer to home, an incident in Pembrokeshire in 2016 saw a worker seriously injured while unblocking a silo at a wheat and barley blending plant. For managers and businesses, the risks of failing to address the issue include reputational damage and prosecution. In 2009, Scottish Sea Farms was fined £600,000 after two of its workers suffocated trying to rescue a colleague. The seminar will cover Confined spaces legislation Identification with confined spaces Interactive workshop Mobile confined spaces training unit demonstration The event is approved under the City & Guilds Frontline Skills Framework 5831 scheme and can include City & Guilds certification. Managers and delegates can book places on the seminar online at http://resources.developtraining.co.uk/confined-spaces-awareness-seminar-in-york DTL has produced a white paper on the subject of compliance and training for working in confined spaces, which is free to download at http://resources.developtraining.co.uk/confined-spaces-whitepaper) www.developtraining.co.uk

When the Natural History Museum decided to replace its famous ‘Dippy’ the diplodocus exhibit with a new star exhibit- a real-life skeleton of a blue whale- design & engineering expertise from Lancashire provided a solution to balance all the elements. Consulting engineers for the refurbishment of the 150 years-old Grade 1 listed Hintze Hall, SVM, aimed to revive, as far as possible, the original ventilation for the iconic, lofty hall, whilst taking advantage of technological developments to deliver the optimum internal environment for exhibits, the building fabric, and visitors. Thus, SVM utilised the expertise of Britain’s leading air movement specialist, Gilberts. Based on CFD (computational fluid dynamic) modelling, Gilberts manufactured and supplied 24no of a bespoke version of its Mistrale Model A natural ventilation units, with a further 42no standard WHF50 high performance louvres to provide the required levels of fresh air intake and exhaust. Each of the bespoke units was purpose-designed, using a combination of Gilberts’ WHF50 cassette with its VN75 ultra low leakage air volume control damper, to fit within existing window apertures and frames, and bolt together into specially-designed subframes, to avoid any need to fix into the existing terracotta surrounds. The units also had to provide the appropriate flow of fresh air into Hintze Hall, without allowing any natural light to permeate through, and still look aesthetically pleasing; Gilberts thus devised a bespoke combination of internal K40 fixed bar grilles and non vision cores mounted on the rear of the units. In a separate high level atrium, the original glass in the window frames could be removed; there, the glazing was replaced with Gilberts’ WHF50 louvres to provide high level exhaust of the ’used’ internal air. SVM Director Paul Rushmer elaborated, “The project involved refurbishing the existing hall, and redesigning the space to incorporate additional galleries at ground, first and second floor levels. From the original design, natural ventilation openings were in place, to an extent, but needed restoring, and new building services had to be integrated alongside to deliver a balanced internal temperature all year round, regardless of summer peaks and winter lows. “Conditions in Hintze Hall are crucial to the exhibits, and of course important to the visitors. We had to find a non-invasive solution for the historic space, which stabilised the temperature and humidity. The original building drawings used passive solutions. We have past experience of working with Gilberts, and felt its dampers were particularly appropriate to helping develop a bespoke, sympathetic solution.” Gilberts’ core Mistrale 50 Model A cassette is deliberately lightweight and slimline, to be beaded discreetly into window or wall. The insulated motorised volume control damper is a unique design that offers automatic, accurate and stable airflow, with one of the lowest air leakage rates (<5m3/hr/m2) and U values (<1W/m2/K) on the market. The WHF50 louvres are part of Gilberts’ high performance louvre range, whose patented design offers a simple single bank louvre assembly with 99% weather protection. The blade is a unique profile, proven to deliver a good free area ratio with minimal pressure resistance. Gilberts is the UK’s leading independent air movement specialist. Alongside its comprehensive range of grilles, louvres and diffusers, it has the ability, in-house, to design, manufacture, and test bespoke solutions to meet specific project requirements. It also has one of the most technically-advanced in-house test centres in the country- which it designed and built using internal resources- at its 90,000sq ft Blackpool headquarters.