the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched a new nationwide competition to consider the future of flood defences for the UK. Entrants have been given access to river catchment data, published as part of Defra’s open data programme, to consider how best to tackle flooding in Cumbria. The competition is focused on practical solutions and bold innovation. Government will consider how any of the creative ideas could be applied to real world flood management. Defra chief scientist Ian Boyd said: “We have now published more than 10,000 datasets in just one year with our Open Data programme. This competition is a fantastic opportunity for some of the best and brightest talent around the UK to use this vast resource to help us keep communities, families and homes safer from flooding. It will also help improve our understanding of the nation’s natural environment.” At the launch event, held at Defra’s Nobel House in London, sessions were held on river modelling research, the power of open data and latest technologies. Interest is expected from academic experts, insurance companies, water companies, technology and consultancy companies, as well as environmental NGOs. The competition follows the creation of the Cumbria Floods Partnership, and work on the government’s National Flood Resilience Review, which will highlight new ways to better protect the country from floods. A version of this story first appeared on wwtonline Source link

Infrastructure new work has now hit its second-lowest level since December 2014 and was down by 5.8 per cent year on year, according to the ONS. Construction Products Association economics director Noble Francis said the downturn in work across the sector “reflects the impact of poor weather at the start of the year”, adding that skills shortages were continuing to hamper growth. Show Fullscreen Infrastructure output Jan 2015-Jan 2016_ONS Source: ONS However, some senior economists have raised doubts whether the ONS’s infrastructure data is truly reflective of the sector. There have been claims that the data has overstated certain infrastructure projects, particularly energy and electricity, which have overinflated output figures for the sector. Source link

Hong Kong-based Circle Group, represented by Savills, has let 409 Oxford Street in London to Polish cosmetics retailer Inglot.  At £1,113 Zone A, the deal has set a new record rent for Oxford Street. Inglot has agreed a new 10-year lease for the 600 sq ft (58 sq m) unit at a total annual rent of £625,000.  The store will be its third in the UK following successful openings at Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City. This deal continues the trend of international brands establishing a presence in the West End, with 10 new global retailers opening their first store in London to so far this year including APM Monaco, Ron Dorff and GH Bass.  A further 13 international retailers are expected to open their first store in the capital by the end of 2016, including Philip Plein, Ellie Saab and Maiyet Sam Foyle, Oxford Street specialist at Savills, comments: “We are pleased to have secured another hugely successful global brand for Oxford Street.  Competition among retailers for the best locations remains aggressive, as reflected by the record rent agreed with Inglot.” Anthony Selwyn, head of Central London retail at Savills, adds: “Oxford Street continues to act as a strong magnet‎ for new brands coming to London.  Given Crossrail’s influence and discussions about the potential pedestrianisation of Oxford Street, we expect to see a surge of new entrants focusing on the street over the next 12 to 24 months.” Inglot was represented by BC Retail. Savills also secured the previous record rent for Oxford Street with a letting to Swatch Group Ltd at £1,010 Zone A in July 2015.  Source link

Select, a campaigning trade body for the electrotechnical industry in Scotland, has told its 1200 members it is for them alone to make their decision on whether to vote either to stay or leave the EU at the referendum to be held on 23 of June this year.   Select’s members who account for around 90% of all electrical installation work carried out in Scotland, have a collective turnover of around £1bn and provide employment for some 15,000 people. Newell McGuiness, Select’s managing director, said: “Just as in the Scottish independence referendum in September 2014, our view is that the question of whether the UK remains in, or leaves, the EU is entirely a matter for our individual members. “I expect that, just as in the rest of the country, there is a range of opinions on the subject amongst our members and, as a representative organisation we would not presume to offer an opinion on the issue.” Source link

The concept cost is the most important consideration in business took a sharp knock following a survey of its members by Select, the electrical sector’s campaigning trade body, which showed quality and service are the overriding factors.     Newell McGuiness, Select MD, unveiled the results of the survey at the Regional Business Forum of the Electrical Distributors’ Association, which represents the electrical wholesale distribution industry within the UK.   The event, at the Glynhill Hotel in Renfrew last month (19 May), highlighted Select’s survey and the message the electrical industry is more concerned with getting things right than doing them cheaply.   Newell McGuiness said: “It is quite revelatory that hard-pressed businesses, who are under pressure to cut costs wherever they can, are still insisting on quality as the primary consideration in major purchases – in the interests of their own customers.”   The survey showed, when choosing a particular manufacturer, 65% of respondents based their decisions on quality, compared to only 19% who decided on price.   Availability also scored highly at nearly 51%, indicating that respondents were keen to deliver promptly and efficiently to their customers. After sales service was also seen as being particularly important.   Electricians were also more likely to buy a product if it had been manufactured in the UK, indicating not only a propensity for quality goods but also an inclination to support other locally-based manufacturers.   Quality of service and availability also featured strongly, at 50% and 41%, when respondents were asked what they based their purchase decisions on when they were selecting a distributor.   Most purchases were made at a trade counter, with phone, email and web purchases following in descending order. It was also very clear, at 75%, that purchasers expected the distributor to ensure that products were compliant with British and EU standards.   Alan Wilson, head of membership and communications at Select, who was also at the EDA Forum, said: “The survey makes it clear that quality products are sought by properly qualified electricians and poor installations and poor products can impact on the reputation of manufacturers and distributors.” Source link

A company in Derbyshire has been fined after a worker fell thirteen metres down a service riser shaft. Leicester Magistrates’ Court heard how a 36-year-old worker, who was from Romania, was dismantling falsework (a form of temporary structure) in a building that was under construction at Fletcher Development, De Montfort University, Leicester. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) into the incident which occurred on 15 June 2015 found that there was an unsafe system of work and inadequate supervision of workers. David Ashley Construction Limited, of Lydford Road, Alfreton, Derbyshire pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, and was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,776. For further information on Work at Height visit: http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/safetytopics/workingatheight.htm Notes to Editors: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/  and guidance at HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk Journalists should approach HSE press office with any queries on regional press releases. Source link

Torbay plumber and the company who contracted him prosecuted after illegal and dangerous gaswork Published:  11 July, 2016 An illegal gas fitter and the company that hired him have both been prosecuted after work was left in a dangerous condition at a home in Torquay. Director of 1st Maintenance, Marc Robertson, contracted Mark Baker, an unregistered plumber, to fit a gas boiler at a property on Coker Avenue where his company was carrying out home improvement work, Exeter Crown Court heard on 1 July. After Mr Baker had installed the gas boiler at the property he told the homeowner that he had commissioned the boiler but left them with no paperwork and did not register the gas boiler with the Local Authority, both of which are legal requirements. The homeowner had a number of problems with the gas boiler and came to a head when another properly qualified engineer visited her property on an unrelated matter. They raised concerns about the gas boiler installation and the homeowner contacted Gas Safe Register. A Gas Safe Register Inspector found significant failings in the work carried out by Mr Baker and classed the boiler as ‘At Risk’, which indicates a potential risk to life. Mark Baker, of Daison Crescent, Torquay pleaded guilty to two breaches of gas safety regulations and was given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, was ordered to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £4,197.28 in costs. 1st Maintenance Ltd of Grange Road, Allacombe, Torquay pleaded guilty to a single breach of gas safety regulations and was fined £16,000 and ordered to pay £640 in costs. HSE inspector Simon Jones said: “Mr Baker put lives at risk by undertaking gaswork which he was neither qualified nor registered to undertake, work which put the homeowner’s life at risk. “1st Maintenance Ltd also risked the life of its customer by failing to check if Mr Baker was on the Gas Safe Register by asking to see his register membership card, checking the installer page on the register website or calling Gas Safe Register.” Source link

©Reuters Swiss business marks two important anniversaries this month. On July 1 last year, Tidjane Thiam, the high-flying boss of the UK’s Prudential, became chief executive of Credit Suisse, a bank struggling to find a sense of strategic direction. Ten days later, Holcim formally merged with France’s Lafarge. New chief Eric Olsen, a French-speaking American, began integrating two very different companies into the world’s largest cement group. A year on, neither Credit Suisse nor LafargeHolcim has convinced investors that their ambitious plans will work. The companies’ share prices are down 60 per cent and 40 per cent. Both bosses are under pressure. More On this topic Inside Business Less obvious, however, are the behind-the-scenes strains on the two companies’ chairmen. Given the importance of a company’s titular head in Switzerland’s system of corporate governance, they could prove as relevant — if not more so. At Credit Suisse, Urs Rohner, a former chief operating officer, has been chairman since 2011. As the bank’s woes have mounted, so have the questions: did he wait too long before bringing in Mr Thiam to revamp the bank? Has he chosen the right person? At LafargeHolcim, Beat Hess, a veteran Swiss corporate lawyer, will have much to explain to shareholders if the merger fails. He was appointed in February after predecessor Wolfgang Reitzle quit to become chairman of Linde, in his native Germany, after apparently deciding he could not commit the time needed to streamline a sprawling portfolio of underperforming cement operations. As Mr Reitzle discovered, Swiss chairmen have much larger workloads and shoulder more responsibility than in other European countries or the US. They take charge of strategy, risk management, executive compensation, budgets and emergency plans — as well as relations with shareholders. In fact, “chairman” is a mistranslation if it suggests a neutral or control function. When speaking German or French, the Swiss use “president”, which better reflects the leadership role. There are rewards: Swiss chairmen are paid a lot more than counterparts in other countries — including the US, the country with the highest-paid chief executives. The median salary of large Swiss company chairmen was €1.2m last year. In the US it was just €448,000, according to HCM International, a corporate governance and compensation consultancy. The responsibilities of Swiss chairmen have increased in recent years. Under anti “fat cat” measures approved in a referendum three years ago, they face re-election every year at shareholder meetings — so they need to show regularly that they have a grip on strategy and that the right people are in top management posts. Chairmen frequently call the shots at Switzerland’s biggest companies. That looks likely to be the case, for instance, at Nestlé, the world’s largest food and drink company, which last week announced that Paul Bulcke, its chief executive since 2008, would take over as chairman from next April after a minimum “cooling off” period. Breaking 94 years of tradition, Nestlé chose an outsider as its new chief executive. Ulf Mark Schneider impressed analysts with his performance at Fresenius, the German healthcare company. But at Nestlé he will be part of the “Nestlé system” and under the tutelage of a company veteran. LafargeHolcim has a similarly demanding chairman. Mr Hess was a top lawyer at ABB in 2002 when the Swiss engineering group came close to bankruptcy as a result of US asbestos claims. He then was at Royal Dutch Shell from 2004 when the Anglo-Dutch oil group was embroiled in a costly scandal over the overstatement of oil and gas reserves. Now Mr Hess is pressuring LafargeHolcim’s top managers to speed up cost-cutting and centralisation programmes. At Credit Suisse, much will depend on the success of Mr Thiam’s plans to push into fast-growing Asian markets and to downsize Credit Suisse’s investment bank. If he hits his targets, the pressure would also ease on his chairman. The Swiss system works when the chairman and chief executive have common interests and form an effective team. The dangers are of personality clashes, of chairmen interfering, and of responsibilities being shirked. When things go badly, there is more than one head that can roll. ralph.atkins@ft.com Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Source link

The government must make a prompt decision on its support for the Hinkley Point C nuclear project or risk putting off infrastructure investors from the UK. NIA chief executive Tom Greatrex Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) chief executive Tom Greatrex has warned that a delay beyond early autumn, as set out by the government, could harm the UK’s wider infrastructure ambitions. Speaking to Utility Week, Greatrex said: “The danger is if the delay is prolonged, it is not just this project that is undermined, but everything in terms of infrastructure.” Within hours of EDF giving the 3.2GW nuclear power plant the go-ahead, business and energy secretary Greg Clark issued a statement saying the government needs to “consider carefully all the component parts of this project” and will make a final decision in the autumn. While the NIA chief is eager for the decision to be promptly made, he is not concerned about the future of the project. “Don’t underestimate the importance of the decision by EDF. The commitment has been made for EDF to go ahead with it, and as far as they are concerned they have signed the contract. “Greg Clark reiterated the government’s support for new nuclear, and it is understandable that the new team in place will want to take their time with the deal.” The Energy and Climate Change committee chair and SNP MP Angus MacNeil also praised the government for postponing the signing-off of the Hinkley Point C deal, commending it as “a sensible move”. However, he slammed the agreement between the government and EDF, which will see EDF received £92.50/MWh when Hinkley is operational, as a “bad energy deal” and one “people would get out of if they could”. Shadow energy secretary Barry Gardiner also attacked the government’s handling of the deal, saying it is in “chaos”. “Delaying the decision on Hinkley at the eleventh hour shows a disregard for 25,000 British jobs that depend on it and it sends out a disastrous message to the investor community that this government is incapable of managing large-scale infrastructure projects.” Source link