Member News

The RedCat Partnership have won the prestiguous CIEH Health and Safety best training centre and tutor for 2011

The team are really proud as they won the same accolade last year; the award has only been running for 3 years!

The Level 4 Award in Managing Health and Safety in the Workplaceis a 5 day course- so not for the faint hearted- which is assessed by both a controlled assignment and a written examination

The course is ideal for those in a managerial or supervisory position that requires the knowledge & understanding of the Health and Safety issues involved

The successful student whoc scored the highest mark (a Distinction) was Sarah Moss of Norwich Samaritans – Sarah has found the course invaluable to her work at the local charity

The team are heading down to the House of Commons in July to pick up their awards!

The next course begins on the 14th November and further details can be found at www.redcat.gb.com The Course is accredited with both CIEH & OFQUAL so internationally recognised

It can also be used by persons wishing to deliver the CIEH’s Level 2 suite of courses

Leathes Prior Velo Club (LPVC) upped the ante this year with each rider completing the Norwich 100 Cycle in aid of the British Heart Foundation.

The route starts in the Close in Norwich and heads North out of the city to Reepham and then up to the coast at Morston before turning East onto the “Hills of Doom” running along the coast to Cromer. From there the cyclists continue round the coast to Horsey before turning Eastwards via Wroxham and back to Norwich.

LPVC’s Peloton Romeo (Mike Barlow, Aidan Tidnam and Ed Savory) blasted round in just under 6 hours with Peloton Juliet (Catherine Hepworth and Polly Langford) completing in 6 and a half hours.

The firm’s heroic triathlete, Paula Lawn (a Norwich 100 miler last year), opted for the Norwich 50 followed by an 8 mile run.

After the cycle Mike Barlow, the firm’s Managing Partner, commented: “I have fought some tough litigious battles in my time. The ride was harder but just as satisfying. The real difference is that I don’t tend to waddle out of court!”

The grant of an injunction by the Irish High Court against a former Yoga Therapy franchisee serves as a stark reminder of the advantage of having professionally drafted post termination non compete restrictive covenants within a franchise agreement.

Yoga Therapy claimed that after terminating the franchise agreement (which contained non-compete provisions) in October 2011, its former franchisee, Ms Henkel Murphy, had been poaching its students by using confidential information which gave her an unfair competitive advantage which was damaging the franchisor’s business. The franchisor also claimed Ms Murphy was using source material belonging to the yoga centre to teach her students.

Under the terms of the court order, Ms Murphy is prohibited from operating yoga training courses in respect of students enrolled by her during the operation of the franchise agreement.

Monday 28th May 2012 – Isle of Man now within easy reach from your local airport.

Flybe’s franchise carrier Loganair and Norwich International Airport officially marked the inaugural flight to the Isle of Man on Saturday.

The flights will operate once a week on a Saturday during the summer 2012 season and will finish on 22nd September 2012. Flybe and its franchise partner Loganair will also offer a choice of convenient connections between Norwich and the Isle of Man on other days via Manchester to enable passengers to find flights to suit their travel plans.

This is East Anglia’s first non-stop service to the Isle of Man and is designed to offer an easy and convenient link for those holidaying, visiting Friends or relatives.

The flights have proven to be extremely popular and with flights on several dates throughout the summer fully booked the airline responded to this demand and extended the summer timetable earlier this year.

Andrew Bell, Chief Executive of Norwich International Airport, said “It is fantastic to be able to offer the Isle of Man for the first time from Norwich International and we are delighted that the destination is proving popular with both the local holidaymakers and business travelers of East Anglia.”

I am proud to announce that the RedCat Partnership Ltd has won the prestigous Best CIEH Health & Safety Training Centre Award for 2011 (We also won the award in 2010 so are mighty pleased)

We will be off to the House of Commons in July to receive this very special honour.

The award is granted to the highest scoring Student in the Level 4 Examinations too- this was our candidate!

The RedCat Partnership Ltd delivers a suit of CIEH Charterered Environmental Health courses

The Level 4 Health and Safety Course is for Owners & Managers of Businesses. The course takes place over 5 days and each hazard / section revolves around a syndicate case study and past paper questions; the sixth day is the exam and controlled assessment day

The Course covers Risk Assessment of the major Health and Safety Hazards, establishing and monitoring controls, staff training, accidents & investigation, the management cycle; Health and Safety Culture & a sprinkling of law

The next course takes place on Nov 14th, 15th, 21st, 22nd and 28th Dec, with the exam day on 12th Dec

The course (unlike IOSH Managing Safely) is OFQUAL accredited

With the first quarter of 2012 behind us we look into how the insolvency market has performed based on the statistics recently released by corporate research specialists Hardman & Co.

Corporate Insolvency

The increase in corporate insolvencies for the first quarter of 2012 (512 more cases (+8.8%) than during the last quarter of 2011) was to be expected and reflects the normal seasonal upturn in the post Christmas period. However, the 6,316 new corporate insolvencies in the first quarter of 2012 was also a 4.2% increase on a year-on-year basis and follows three quarters in which numbers reduced quarter-on-quarter.

It is the fifth successive quarter that there has been an increase in corporate insolvencies on a year-on-year basis. However, the rate of growth has decreased in each of the last two quarters. The Insolvency Insights report released by Hardman & Co suggests this may be due to a “benign enforcement environment” which they believe may see the number of corporate insolvencies remain depressed.

Conclusion

It would seem that despite Britain’s slipping back into recession in the first quarter of this year, what Hardman & Co describe as a benign enforcement environment combined with low interest rates may enable many companies to survive in the near future, suppressing growth in the number of corporate insolvencies. However, the future is very uncertain and should interest rates increase or creditor support wain the industry could see a sharp rise in the number of corporate insolvencies.

We would urge the management of any company struggling to meet its liabilities to seek advice. The eventual failure of a business that has traded on in spite of insolvency can have repurcussions for the personal wealth and liberties of those involved in the management of them. Leathes Prior are non-appointment taking insolvency and restructuring specialists who offer advice to the management of struggling businesses with a view to protecting them against the pitfalls of trading in difficult circumstances.

To ensureGreat Yarmouth Borough Councilprovide the best support, the Economic Development Unit and enterpriseGY team would like to know how your company is performing to ensure that we are better placed to support businesses in the Borough.

If you could take the time to complete the short questionnaire below it would be very helpful. All responses will be confidential and used only to measure the current business climate in the Borough, to improve the services that we offer and to identify gaps and opportunities.

The survey has now closed – thank you for all your responses. A short summary will be posted soon.

Thank you

A monthly round-up of news and analysis of the Norwich economy and labour market

A renewable technology evaluation considering a wind turbine and solar PV system has been completed on behalf of a West Norfolk farm. A 50 kW solar system and 11 kW wind turbine were evaluated in terms of suitability and financial viability with a return on investment identified of 8.8% for the solar PV and 10.9% for the turbine. The return on investment reflects the changes to the Feed in Tariff scheme which will come into effect from July and October respectively.

If you want to achieve an excellent return on investment, contact us to find out how more.

Land owners and farm estates have a lot to gain from impartial and independent advice and Clean Energy is pleased to join the CLA to provide services to its members. Impartiality and careful thought is the key to ensuring renewables are integrated into the countryside and that the financial and carbon saving benefits are realistic. With comprehensive experience in this area, Clean Energy looks forward to working with CLA members to ensure their renewable energy needs are met.

Contact us if you are a farm or estate and we will be pleased to help you.

We take great pleasure in welcoming Kevin Cooper as our new Business Telecoms Manager. Kevin joins us with 16 years’ experience in telecoms. It’s great to welcome someone into the team with such a vast background inthis fieldand who will be able to take our business telecommunications division from strength to strength.

Kevin says ‘This is an exciting opportunity to help Breakwater IT expand their telecoms business to both their existing client base and to new local businesses. After 16 years’ experience in the industry I am looking forward to be able to offer transparent and cost effective solutions that meet clients’ current business needs.

My experience is across the whole portfolio of Business Telecommunications including both traditional services such as fixed calls and lines to cutting edge unified communication solutions. The need for ever increasing bandwidth to support our voice and data applications is a major issue in a “rural” community and it is important to know if broadband, EFM or Leased line is the right product at the right cost for your business.

I believe Telecoms really do not need to be complicated. The basic principles should apply;

• Simple cost effective tariff • Transparent agreements with no hidden surprises • Clear and concise billing with ability to offer useful reports for your business • Quick and local response to enquiries • Streamline fault reporting with regular updates with quickest fix • Solutions tailored to your business’

“Breakwater is a dynamic and growing business and I am delighted to be heading up its expansion into Business Telecoms. It is a very exciting time both for me and for the company as a whole”

University of East Anglia: Doctorate in Education (EdD)

Application Deadline: 17 August 2012

Do you want to investigate educational, social, professional or organisational issues?

Would you like to acquire skills as an independent researcher, to conduct and design your own research?

Would you like to better understand issues related to your everyday work experience and context?

Is there a work problem or puzzle to research?

The University of East Anglia offers the four year, part-time Doctorate in Education (EdD) programme. The EdD is designed to provide an education in applied research – meeting the needs of professionals working in areas related to education, training and development who can draw on their everyday practice.

For further information and to apply, please visit: www.uea.ac.uk/edu/pg/dredu, or telephone: 01603 591515.