Drax has signed a contract to provide ancillary services to National Grid from one of the coal-fired units at its Yorkshire plant. The year-long contract commenced at the start of this month. Drax chief executive Dorothy Thompson said: “We are pleased to have agreed this contract with National Grid. At a time when many power stations are closing, this contract recognises the supportive role Drax continues to play in providing secure and dependable electricity to the UK.” The group said it expects the profits from the contract, as well as lower fuel prices, to push its EBITDA for 2016 towards the upper end of current market forecasts of £132 million to £161 million. However, analysts at Citigroup said the announcement was likely to have a “limited impact” on their estimate. They said their target price for the group’s shares remained 271p. Yesterday (31 March) SSE announced it was not closing three of the four units at its Fiddler’s Ferry coal-fired plant as previously planned, after it was awarded a contract to provide ancillary services to National Grid. Source link

Staffing levels in the first quarter of 2015 are 6% higher than the 2014 equivalent Medium-sized practices are the most optimistic about future staffing However, practices expect a decline in both public and community sector workloads The RIBA Future Trends Workload Index was unchanged in April 2015, remaining at +35. Practices in London and the South of England are still the most confident about medium-term workloads; workload forecasts remain positive throughout the UK. Small practices (1–10 staff) are still positive about the outlook for future workloads (balance figure of +29); medium-sized practices (11–50 staff) and large-sized practices (51+ staff) continue to be even more optimistic about future growth (+74 and +75 respectively).  In terms of different work sectors, the private housing sector workload forecast increased this month (rising to +38) and remains the best performing of the sector forecasts. The commercial sector workload forecast fell slightly to +15, eliminating the previous month’s rise. The public sector forecast also decreased this month, down to +3. The community sector forecast experienced a significant decline, down to -3 in April 2015 from +9 in March 2015, entering negative territory for the first time since April 2013. The RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index continued its recent upward trend, rising to +18. Only 1% of participating practices anticipate that they will be employing fewer permanent staff in three months’ time. Following a period in which larger practices have been the most positive about future staffing levels, in April 2015, medium-sized practices emerged as the most confident (balance figure +48). For large practices, the balance figure stands at +25, while small practices remain more circumspect at +14. Each quarter, practices are asked about their permanent staffing levels. Current staffing levels are 6% higher than in the equivalent quarter in 2014. 13% of our respondents reported that they had personally been under-employed in the last month. RIBA Director of Practice Adrian Dobson said: ‘The overall picture is still one in which confidence levels amongst architects about future workloads are high. The rising Future Trends Staffing Index indicates a strong feeling that the current market for architectural services is stable or growing for the vast majority of practices. ‘However, there remains widespread reporting of intense fee competition in many sectors, along with tight profit margins. The decline in the community sector forecast is somewhat disappointing, while the fall in the public sector forecast may reflect on-going uncertainty about future public sector capital spending.’ ENDS Notes to editors: 1. For further press information contact Callum Reilly in the RIBA Press Office: 020 7307 3757 callum.reilly@riba.org 2. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) champions better buildings, communities and the environment through architecture and our members. 3. Completed by a mix of small, medium and large firms based on a geographically representative sample, the RIBA Future Trends Survey was launched in January 2009 to monitor business and employment trends affecting the architects’ profession. 4. The Future Trends Survey is carried out by the RIBA in partnership with the Fees Bureau. Results of the survey, including a full graphical analysis, are published each month at: http://www.architecture.com/RIBA/Professionalsupport/FutureTrendsSurvey.aspx 5. To participate in the RIBA Future Trends Survey, please contact the RIBA Practice Department on 020 7307 3749 or email practice@riba.org. The survey takes approximately five minutes to complete each month, and all returns are independently processed in strict confidence 6. The definition for the workload balance figure is the difference between those expecting more work and those expecting less. A negative figure means more respondents expect less work than those expecting more work. This figure is used to represent the RIBA Future Trends Workload Index, which for April 2015 was +35 7. The definition for the staffing balance figure is the difference between those expecting to employ more permanent staff in the next three months and those expecting to employ fewer. A negative figure means more respondents expect to employ fewer permanent staff. This figure is used to represent the RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index, which for April 2015 was +18   Posted on Thursday 28th May 2015 Source link

Ofgem has handed National Grid an extra £12.39 million to fund black start contracts, weeks after the system operator signed two contracts for Fiddler’s Ferry and Drax power stations. A National Grid spokesperson said the contracts awarded to the plants fell outside its target spend for black start contracts. Grid asked Ofgem to up its £22.35 million target for 2016/17 by £23.88 million last December. Ofgem responded in a letter published this week, agreeing a maximum increase of £12.39 million, short of the full amount Grid asked for. The regulator turned down National Grid’s request for a £28 million increase to the amount available for warming payments, instead offering it an extra £16.51 million. The firm receives payments for going under the target and penalties for going over. The company came under fire in the media for the timing of black start contracts for Fiddler’s Ferry and Drax, with unnamed critics suggesting National Grid had awarded them in a “panicked” bid to keep the coal stations open and avoid a capacity crunch this winter. National Grid denied the claims. The contract was a key factor in SSE’s decision to keep Fiddler’s Ferry open for at least another year beyond its scheduled closure last month. Tempus Energy has since called for Ofgem to investigate the contracts signed with SSE and Drax, saying the “behind closed doors transaction” had harmed other participants in the energy market. National Grid defended them on the basis they were awarded in a “competitive process”. Source link

Book Course HSL is to run a 1 day course on HSE Inspectors’ Guide to Improvement and Prohibition Notices. 15 September 2016 This workshop will be delivered by a senior HSE inspector with more than 25 years of experience and is a rare opportunity to understand your regulator by seeing the world through an inspector’s eyes. You will learn why, when and how HSE takes formal enforcement action, how to influence formal HSE decisions and how to respond to receipt of a notice. The legal basis for HSE taking formal enforcement action and the basic format of the Improvement and Prohibition Notice. How HSE inspectors form their judgement about whether to serve formal notices – the factors that are taken into account and how an inspector forms their opinion. An insight into how businesses can legitimately influence an inspector in their enforcement decision. Options for both formal and informal actions that are available to a business receiving a notice. Health and Safety Professionals responsible for managing or advising on the interface between businesses and the HSE.  Business owners or senior managers responsible for managing and controlling risks.  Anyone who might have a formal notice put in their hands by an HSE inspector. The course will be run at the HSL laboratory in the spa town of Buxton. Buxton is in the heart of the Peak District and has good links to mainline train stations and Manchester International Airport. Details of hotels in the Buxton area can be found at www.visitbuxton.co.uk The cost of this course is £495 per person (includes course notes, lunch and refreshments). Book Course     Please note the invoice option is not available within 4 weeks of the course date, or for overseas customers.  If you are selecting the invoice option for payment, it will be mandatory to input a purchase order/reference number as we are unable to process booking forms without this. For further dates and additional information email: training@hsl.gsi.gov.uk or contact the Training & Conferences Unitat HSL directly on +44 (0)1298 218806. Back to Health & Safety Training Courses Back to the top Source link

New home lending in Australia saw a healthy rise during June, up 2.3% and up 6.3% compared to the same month in 2015, the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows. The Reserve Bank of Australia cut its interest rate at the beginning of May so June’s housing finance results are the first month’s data to fully capture the effect of cheaper mortgage costs. According to Shane Garrett, Housing Industry Association (HIA) senior economist, prospective home buyers seem to have taken advantage of the lower interest rate environment. ‘June was also dominated by the close federal election campaign which was the source of some uncertainty across the economy. This data indicates that the benefits of lower interest rates trumped any reluctance by buyers to enter the market during the tight election race. It’s therefore likely that the interest rate cut will help bolster activity on the new home building side,’ he explained. A breakdown of the figures shows that the strongest growth in new home lending over the year to June 2016 was in Victoria with an uptick of 19.1%, followed by New South Wales with growth of 10.8% while there was a more measured increase in Queensland of 4.3%. Over the same period, there were substantial reductions in other states, most notably a fall of 20.7% in Western Australian, a fall of 17.7% in the Northern Territory and a more modest fall of 3.5% in Tasmania. New home lending to owner occupiers in South Australia and the ACT during June 2016 was comparable with the level a year ago. Meanwhile, the HIA’s New Home Sales Report, a survey of Australia’s largest volume builders, shows that total new home sales ended 2015/2016 on a higher note. The overall trend is still one of modest decline for new home sales but a bounce of 8.2% in June 2016 highlights the resilience of the national new home building sector, according to HIA chief economist, Harley Dale. ‘The overall profile of HIA new home sales is signalling an orderly correction to national new home construction in the short term, as are other leading housing indicators. Below the national surface, the large geographical divergences between state housing markets have been a prominent feature of the current cycle and that will continue,’ he explained. Comparing the second quarter of 2016 with the same period last year shows that detached house sales were down sharply in South Australia by 21.4%, in Western Australia by 27.5% and in down by 7.3% in New South Wales but up by 17% in Victoria and by 7.1% in Queensland. Overall the sale of detached houses bounced back by 7.2% month on month in June 2016 while multi-unit’ sales continued their recent recovery, up by 11.5% after a lift of 4.9% in May. In the month of June 2016 detached house sales increased in all five mainland states with the largest increase in Queensland at 14.9% and up by 9.1% in Western Australia. Detached house sales increased by 7.5% in New South Wales, by 3.7% in South Australia and by 2.2% in Victoria. Source link

The UK home mortgage industry has welcomed a decision by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to remove the need for an affordability assessment on home owners taking out hybrid lifetime mortgage products. The FCA said it has made the modification because it does not consider that an affordability assessment is required where there is no risk of arrears and repossession in the event of missed payments. ‘The modification works by dis-applying the requirement to carry out an affordability assessment where interest payments are anticipated or required, providing that the specific lifetime mortgage allows the consumer to exercise at any time an option to convert the product to interest roll-up,’ the FCA said. Lifetime mortgage contracts that give consumers the option to pay interest for a period became subject to affordability rules based on the requirements of providers following the Mortgage Market Review in 2014. But the Equity Release Council has been campaigning for the FCA to review its affordability assessment of these products and said it is pleased the argument has been taken on board. ‘This has the potential to help more consumers make use of options already offered by equity release providers in later life and encourage further innovation within the market,’ said Nigel Waterson, chairman of the Equity Release Council. ‘The optional payment of interest within a lifetime mortgage is different to that of a residential mortgage with the opportunity for consumers to switch to roll-up when they wish,’ he explained. ‘This change highlights the growing recognition that equity release has an important part to play in the planning of funding for later life and we look forward to continuing to work with the FCA in the future,’ he added. The Council of Mortgage Lenders also welcomed the decision. ‘This may look like a small change, but it is a really significant one that should allow the lifetime mortgage market to develop in a far more sensible and consumer friendly way. It removes one barrier to the provision of sensible, safe and worthwhile lifetime mortgage products,’ said Paul Smee, CML director general. Alice Watson, product and communications manager at Retirement Advantage Equity Release, said she believed that the affordability assessments were an unintended consequence of the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) and added an extra and unnecessary step to the application process. ‘The FCA’s decision is yet further recognition that the equity release market continues to grow and is a serious option for increasing numbers of over 55s across the country. The good news is that ultimately it is consumers who will benefit from this change, which will make access to lifetime mortgages more straightforward for more people and should allow providers to develop even more innovative solutions,’ she pointed out. BOOKMARK THIS PAGE (What is this?)      Source link