Building work has started this week on Vitalia House to redesign the property into a fully functioning training facility for the National Demolition Training Group. Vitalia House is located next to Resurgam House (NFDC HQ) and was purchased this year to keep up with the high demands of training that
Scottish Land & Estates has welcomed plans to simplify residential tenancies in new legislation introduced today – but warned that more needs to be done to maintain supply and attract new investment to the private rented sector in Scotland. The comments were made in response to the Scottish Government’s
The CITB has been dragged into a legal case against the Government over its levy raising powers. Stephen Radley, Director of Policy & Strategic Planning at CITB said: “A claim for a judicial review against the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills with CITB as an Interested Party was served
The National Energy Foundation launches its Energy Envoys volunteering opportunity to 300,000 young people as part of the world-famous Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE). The Energy Envoys scheme, created by the National Energy Foundation and supported and endorsed by the UK’s leading professional engineering institutions, is a major new environmental
The gas distribution networks (GDNs) will be given an additional £17.6 million expenditure allowance to deliver 18 per cent more fuel-poor connections during the current price control. Ofgem said it will allow the companies the additional expenditure, but as the scheme is self-financing, insisted this will have a neutral impact
The UK’s energy system loses over half of its generated power from source to end user at a cost of £9.5 billion a year, making it one of the least efficient grids in Europe. The new findings come amid growing calls for the government to address the UK’s ‘energy productivity’
SeaPlanner has been selected by E.ON to help manage the operations and maintenance (O&M) phase of the Humber Gateway offshore wind farm through its software system. The SeaPlanner software has been used on the project since April 2013, providing personnel and operations management during the construction phase. This first-hand experience
Energy companies will be forced to wait a further six months for the findings of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) probe after the regulator said it needs to refine its analysis of the energy market. The CMA said on Monday that it will delay the deadline for the investigation
Scottish Water has started tunnelling work on a £7 million project to improve the water quality of the River Clyde and reduce the number of flooding issues in Glasgow. The construction of a new half mile-long sewer in the Yorker area of Glasgow has just begun following the delivery of
The number of train journeys made each year has more than doubled since the late 1990s, according to a new report. About 1.65bn passenger rail journeys were made in the past 12 months, compared with 801m in 1997. The figures come from analysis by the Rail Delivery Group, which represents
Building work has started this week on Vitalia House to redesign the property into a fully functioning training facility for the National Demolition Training Group. Vitalia House is located next to Resurgam House (NFDC HQ) and was purchased this year to keep up with the high demands of training that is required for the industry. This expansion means more courses can be held throughout the year and the demolition plant simulator will have a permanent home allowing better access to practical training for this equipment. For more information on the National Demolition Training Group, please click here to visit their website.
Scottish Land & Estates has welcomed plans to simplify residential tenancies in new legislation introduced today – but warned that more needs to be done to maintain supply and attract new investment to the private rented sector in Scotland. The comments were made in response to the Scottish Government’s introduction of the Private Tenancy Bill earlier today. Members of Scottish Land & Estates are at the forefront of supplying rural housing across the country, many at affordable rents. The organisation said there were many positive elements to the Bill but that certain elements could impact on rural housing supply. Katy Dickson, Policy Officer (Business & Property) at Scottish Land & Estates, said: “We welcome the degree of clarity that the introduction of the Bill has provided and we can see that there are many positive elements to the government’s proposals. “The simplification of the tenancy regime is something that we have long argued for and it is pleasing that the Scottish Government has made a concerted effort to address the need for reform. “The introduction of a single notice to leave system, with robust and reasonable grounds on which to end a tenancy, is to be welcomed, and increased notice periods will hopefully address many of the concerns regarding security and certainty raised during the consultation. “As we have pointed out throughout the consultation process, the removal of the ‘no-fault’ ground for repossession would leave a significant gap where landlords may struggle to deal to remove tenants, especially where there are issues of anti-social behaviour that affect both the landlord and neighbouring properties. We hope the new system will address these concerns but we will need to study the Bill in more detail over the coming days. In particular we hope that the progressive repossession grounds for rent arrears cases will actually deliver an effective measure for the many landlords who routinely face this issue. “With our members providing much of the rented rural housing stock across the country, we also want to see a new regime that delivers for these areas, so are disappointed that the ground to recover possession because the property is required for an agricultural worker is not included “The Scottish rental sector has long faced issues with high demand, low supply and problems enforcing the current legislation. We hope the current legislation will not reduce supply or exacerbate the lack of investment in the sector.
The CITB has been dragged into a legal case against the Government over its levy raising powers. Stephen Radley, Director of Policy & Strategic Planning at CITB said: “A claim for a judicial review against the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills with CITB as an Interested Party was served in June 2015, regarding the Levy Order. “To avoid prejudicing the outcome of the legal process, we are unable to comment further. “While the review proceeds, the Levy and Grant system will continue to operate as usual.” The department for Business Innovation and Skills declined to comment while the case was ongoing. The CITB is facing an uncertain future following Government plans to revamp the way employers pay for training. A planned levy on all large employers to fund training from April 2017 could spell the end for the current CITB system and the proposals are currently out to consultation with the industry. The CITB’s annual report also revealed that staff numbers are still rising at the training body with 1,457 people employed at the organisation in 2014 compared to 1,438 the previous year. The CITB is currently spending £5m of levy cash on a construction careers campaign fronted by fashion designer Wayne Hemingway.
The National Energy Foundation launches its Energy Envoys volunteering opportunity to 300,000 young people as part of the world-famous Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE). The Energy Envoys scheme, created by the National Energy Foundation and supported and endorsed by the UK’s leading professional engineering institutions, is a major new environmental volunteering scheme for young people to help schools and communities use energy more wisely, save money and reduce carbon emissions. Young people across the UK who are working towards their Bronze, Silver or Gold DofE now have the opportunity to volunteer as an Energy Envoy to complete the Volunteering section of their Award. In its first year, the National Energy Foundation expects to support up to 1,000 Energy Envoys delivering between 13,000 and 78,000 hours of volunteering nationwide. Eventually, with a rolling registration of more than 300,000 participants and operating through more than 12,700 centres across the UK, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award provides huge potential for developing a nationwide network of Energy Envoys. The official launch of the Energy Envoys scheme was held at Denbigh School in Milton Keynes on Wednesday 30 September, before an audience of local dignitaries, energy efficiency leaders, sponsors and supporters of the project, as well as students, parents and teachers from the school. The audience included the Mayor of Milton Keynes (Cllr Keith McLean), Iain Stewart MP and representatives from The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Andrew Wordsworth, the recently-announced ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ at the Business Green Leaders 2015 Awards, gave a motivational speech, as did Francesca Skelton, the High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, who urged students to get involved in this innovative community energy action scheme. Dr Kerry Mashford, Chief Executive of the National Energy Foundation, commented: “The Energy Envoys scheme is designed to inspire young people across the UK to learn more about energy, to channel their enthusiasm into valuable contributions to society, and to use the experience to develop their own personal skills and prospects. It’s a real honour to have this programme approved by the world-famous Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. “The first Energy Envoys are true environmental pioneers, and will deliver tangible benefits in their communities – saving energy, money and carbon emissions – whilst improving the comfort of homes and community buildings. “The scheme will also introduce young people to the many interesting and diverse opportunities for careers in the built environment and energy efficiency sectors. We also believe it will help to create a more energy literate society for the future, as the young people carry a better understanding of energy efficiency and energy use into their adult lives, whatever career path they choose. “I’m sure Energy Envoys will be a great success and we’re looking forward to helping the volunteers make a significant impact within their communities.” Andy Squires, Headteacher at Denbigh School, added: “As an outstanding school, we constantly seek opportunities to expand pupils’ learning and widen their experiences both inside and outside the classroom. We are very proud to have been chosen as the school to launch this nationwide scheme and to be working with the National Energy Foundation in partnership with The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. “The Energy Envoys scheme provides an exciting challenge for our young learners to develop their passion and understanding for changing the way we view and use energy, as well as ideally placing our pupils to inspire others to learn more about energy.” Young people who volunteer as Energy Envoys will receive an initial energy tutorial and information and advice on setting up energy-related projects via a dedicated website developed by the National Energy Foundation. Volunteers will also be supported by experts from the Foundation as they carry out their projects, and they will be encouraged to share their learning and stories with their communities. In addition, the Foundation will provide opportunities for participants to share their successes and learning through the website, events and the wider media, as well as adding to a body of learning and experiences for future years’ participants to access. Young people can sign up to participate in the Energy Envoys scheme at the Energy Envoys website. For further information on this press release, please contact: David Dean, Communications Manager david.dean@nef.org.uk 01908 256919 The National Energy Foundation is an independent, national charity which has been at the forefront of improving the use of energy in buildings for more than 25 years. We aim to give individuals, organisations, communities and government the knowledge, support and inspiration they need to understand and improve the use of energy in buildings. We do this through: Delivering practical projects – using our experience and technical expertise. Inspiring action – providing building owners and occupiers with the encouragement, advice and real-life examples to achieve better performing buildings. Advancing knowledge – supporting collaboration to drive forward the frontiers of knowledge, innovation and practice. Identifying and addressing market failures using evidence, analysis and ideas. Everything we do, we do to achieve this aim.
The gas distribution networks (GDNs) will be given an additional £17.6 million expenditure allowance to deliver 18 per cent more fuel-poor connections during the current price control. Ofgem said it will allow the companies the additional expenditure, but as the scheme is self-financing, insisted this will have a neutral impact on wider customer bills. GDNs will now connect more than 90,000 fuel-poor customers to the gas grid by 2021 during RIIO-GD1, the regulator said. The changes to the fuel-poor network extension scheme follow a 13-month review by the regulator, which included a request that the GDNs resubmit their business plans for fuel-poor, and identify ways of increasing the number of households that could be connected. The scheme helps fuel poor and vulnerable households to switch to natural gas by helping towards the cost of connecting to the gas network, where this is the best solution for the eligible household. The companies collectively identified 13,753 eligible households on top of the 77,450 target connections identified in their original business plans at the outset of the current price control. Ofgem senior partner Maxine Frerk said the regulator wants network companies to continue to work more closely with suppliers and fuel poverty groups on improvements works, such as new boilers, radiators and internal pipework, to “ensure consumers get the full benefit from the new connections provided by the scheme”.
The UK’s energy system loses over half of its generated power from source to end user at a cost of £9.5 billion a year, making it one of the least efficient grids in Europe. The new findings come amid growing calls for the government to address the UK’s ‘energy productivity’ as a more cost-effective way of tackling the energy trilemma of supply, cost and decarbonisation. Although some energy waste is inevitable, the research – led by the Association for Decentralised Energy (ADE) – found that £3 billion of energy could be saved if action is taken, which could cut consumer electricity bills by £116 per year. ADE chief executive Tim Rotheray has urged the government to focus on how it can support investment in cutting energy waste, saying the unnecessary impact on consumer bills is a “national embarrassment”. “Wasted energy reduces our productivity, undermines efforts to create a competitive economy on a global level and causes unnecessary emissions. It does not have to be this way,” he said. Addressing energy waste would require a fresh approach to power generation, transmission and distribution, and energy efficiency in homes and businesses, according to the report. Recovering heat from power stations could save £2 billion a year alone, but currently only 10 per cent of power plants do so. And in terms of network efficiency the UK lags behind competing European economies including Germany and Denmark. While the UK loses almost 8 per cent of its energy through transmission and distribution Denmark loses just over 7 per cent and Germany loses just 3.9 per cent. “If UK transmission and distribution losses were equivalent to those in Germany, the best in Europe, energy users would save £605 million a year, the equivalent of £23 per household,” the report said. The UK’s regulated networks are required to reduce losses by Ofgem which can reward network companies by up to £32 million over the next five years. But the report notes that the UK’s capacity market is funded by almost £1 billion, dwarfing the government’s efforts to tackle energy waste. The government should also show greater ambition in driving energy efficiency in business. Only a third of spending targets business despite government’s own estimates showing that policy support for business and public sector energy use could be cost effectively reduced by 9TWh annually between 2012 and 2020, saving these customers more than £570 million in energy costs, in addition to carbon and competitiveness benefits. Manufacturing association EEF policy director Paul Raynes said “the sinful waste of energy” is laying an unfair surcharge on British firms and consumer. “We should prioritise opportunities to cut carbon emissions in ways that don’t hurt consumers or competitiveness,” he said.
SeaPlanner has been selected by E.ON to help manage the operations and maintenance (O&M) phase of the Humber Gateway offshore wind farm through its software system. The SeaPlanner software has been used on the project since April 2013, providing personnel and operations management during the construction phase. This first-hand experience of the Humber Gateway project, combined with SeaPlanner’s extensive industry knowledge that has built up over 8 years in offshore renewables, provided E.ON with the ideal solution for managing the operations and maintenance of the project located off the Holderness coast. SeaPlanner will be providing E.ON’s O&M team with a complete management and monitoring solution, which includes personnel and vessel tracking, certification management and also the latest feature of the software, Induction Manager – which helps minimise cost and administration time for inducting personnel and contractors. Katie Wright, Maintenance Coordinator at E.ON’s Humber Gateway Wind Farm, commented: “SeaPlanner has helped us maintain both safety and efficiency. We’ve been impressed with its capabilities and believe it to be a cost-effective solution, making it the preferred choice for the generation phase of Humber Gateway.” This new contract extends SeaPlanner’s presence on E.ON’s sites, having previously been successful under a framework for Humber construction, Amrumbank and Arkona offshore wind farms, E.ON is also currently using the SeaPlanner Spatial database and SeaRoc GIS services at its Robin Rigg and Scroby Sands offshore wind farms – monitoring seabed movements and facilitating data management with the sites OFTOs. Humber Gateway adds to SeaPlanner’s extensive portfolio of O&M projects which include Thanet, Kentish Flats, Teesside and Dan Tysk offshore wind farms.
Energy companies will be forced to wait a further six months for the findings of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) probe after the regulator said it needs to refine its analysis of the energy market. The CMA said on Monday that it will delay the deadline for the investigation from 25 December to June 2016 to give itself time to take into account the industry’s responses, but it expects to deliver its final remedies to the energy market by April. Currently UK suppliers face the possibility of partial price regulation under the CMA’s proposed fixes, after the authority accused suppliers of taking advantage of disengaged customers. But these assumptions have been consistently called into question, and may now have prompted the inquiry group to reconsider its analysis. “We now need to refine our analysis in the light of the many responses we have received, to design potential measures that are effective and proportionate to remedy each possible issue, and then to consult widely on those potential measures. “This is a huge programme of work and we have concluded that we could not complete it by the original statutory deadline,” the CMA said. The CMA’s early findings revealed concerns about customer engagement, the role that regulation has played in shaping the market, and the level of profit made by the incumbent energy suppliers. But the big six have consistently raised questions over the calculations used by the CMA. Centrica said in its latest submission to the CMA investigation that it has “serious concerns” about the validity of the assumptions which drive its provisional findings, branding them “inconsistent with commercial reality” and claiming that they would fail to stand up to rigorous peer review. “We do not believe that the analysis of profitability and margins in the [provisional findings] is sufficiently robust to support a conclusion that excessive profits are being earned in retail markets,” Centrica said. The CMA said it wants to make sure that it has time to take into account the many detailed responses received from suppliers, consumer groups, government and regulators to its findings and admitted that this will lead to a change in its analysis. “[T]his is a once in a generation opportunity to shape the future of this market for the better. It’s important that we get it right,” said the CMA’s chairman of the energy investigation Roger Witcomb.
Scottish Water has started tunnelling work on a £7 million project to improve the water quality of the River Clyde and reduce the number of flooding issues in Glasgow. The construction of a new half mile-long sewer in the Yorker area of Glasgow has just begun following the delivery of a new tunnel boring machine (TBM). The scheme will result in the development of a new combined sewer overflow (CSO) with powered screens at the site of the former Blawarthill Hospital. The new CSO will spill waste in storm conditions to the new sewer, which will then discharge the waste water into the Clyde, as permitted by the Scottish National Protection Agency. This will help relieve flooding issues that have affected a nearby commercial property. Scottish Water regional communities team manager Joanna Peebles said: “The project, which will benefit the environment for years to come, is on schedule and we expect to continue to make good progress as the TBM works its way along the tunnel route below ground over the coming weeks and months.” Contractor George Leslie, working for Scottish Water, is expected to complete the work next summer, depending on weather conditions. The improvement work in Yorker is part of Scottish Water’s £250 million investment in the Greater Glasgow area’s waste water network.
The number of train journeys made each year has more than doubled since the late 1990s, according to a new report. About 1.65bn passenger rail journeys were made in the past 12 months, compared with 801m in 1997. The figures come from analysis by the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators and Network Rail, and is based on data from the auditors KPMG. The study found that people make an average of 24.7 train journeys each a year, a 60% increase from 1998, when private operators took over running UK train services from British Rail. The growth in journeys is faster than in France at 25%, Germany at 23% and the Netherlands at 10% over the same period. Union leaders point out, however, that many journeys are made on overcrowded services that users are unhappy with and at considerable expense to the taxpayer for government-funded maintenance and expansion of infrastructure. The Rail Delivery Group found that fares income covers the £9.5bn annual cost of train services, with government support being used to fund infrastructure. The average price paid per passenger mile has increased by 6.7%, adjusted for inflation since the mid-1990s, and the profit made by operators has fallen from 3.6% of revenue in 1997 to 2.3% last year. The country’s busiest rail terminals, London’s Waterloo and Victoria stations, have more arrivals per platform at morning peak times than European stations such as Zurich, Frankfurt and the Gare du Nord in Paris. Edward Welsh, a spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, said the rail network was better able to serve passengers and businesses because of its transformation over the past two decades into what he called a great British success story. He said: “Crucial to this success has been the partnership between the private and public sectors, working together to deliver better value to passengers, freight customers and the nation. “There is much more we need to do to improve services for our customers. Our greatest challenge is to plan and build for the ever growing demand for rail by increasing capacity cost effectively and generating revenue to support investment in more and better services.” The demand for better services has been growing, with rail passengers consistently complaining about annual price rises and overcrowding. Earlier this month, official government figures revealed that the 4.22am Glasgow Central to Manchester airport train, which topped the list of most overcrowded train journeys, counted 355 standard-class passengers on a four-coach train, 86% above its official capacity of 191. In London’s morning peak time, 139,000 people or 22% of passengers stood during the busiest legs of their journeys. A total of 563,000 passengers arrived in the city, more than a quarter of trains were over capacity and nearly three-fifths had standing passengers . Mick Whelan, the general secretary of Aslef, the train drivers’ union, said: “The railways cost the public purse about £1bn a year under British Rail. That figure has since soared to £4bn a year. That’s the real cost to the taxpayer of privatisation. “When John Major privatised the railway, he promised three things – competition, innovation and investment. He said competition would drive innovation and investment, but there is no competition. “With the model we’ve got, the privatised train operating companies all have protected routes, private monopolies. There is precious little innovation. The privatised train companies were against the introduction of Oyster cards and all the investment in the industry comes from central government. “Fares have gone up, not down. We now have the highest rail fares in Europe, while trains have got more and more crowded to the point where passengers, even those commuters in the south-east of England who usually vote Conservative, are calling for a return of the railways to public ownership.” Whelan said millions of pounds was “leaking every day from the industry and the country”, money that could be used to bring down fares, ploughed back in investment, or returned – like the £1bn in five years from the east coast mainline – to the Treasury to pay for schools or hospitals or housing. “There is an enormous public appetite for public ownership in Britain now because we have seen, with the east coast, just how successful a publicly-owned, publicly-run and publicly-accountable railway can be,” he said. The report comes as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has committed to renationalising the UK’s railways if he becomes the prime minister. “Like a majority of the population and a majority of even Tory voters, I want the railways back in public ownership,” Corbyn has said. “But public control should mean just that, so we should have passengers, rail workers and government too cooperatively running the railways … in our interests and not for private profit.”