This survey is being carried out to help Norfolk County Council understand the needs of local businesses and to help inform the development of its emerging investment strategy.
This strategy is intended to achieve a “step change in pay, productivity and skills, to drive sustainable growth in the county over the medium to long term”. It identifies four challenges which need to be overcome in order to achieve this ambition. These challenges include:
· Grand Challenge 1: Opportunities for residents
· Grand challenge 2: Efficient public services
· Grand Challenge 3: Future–proof business clusters
· Grand Challenge 4: Protect from climate change
In completing this survey, we are keen to understand the appetite of businesses across Norfolk in relation to their future financing needs. We welcome your thoughts and views on the current funding landscape.
The survey should only take 10 minutes. Your views are key to helping the council to identify gaps in funding and investment for local businesses and social enterprises across Norfolk and different sectors and business stages.
Norwich High School for Girls GDST on Newmarket Road in Norwich has been awarded The Sunday Times East Anglian Independent Secondary School Of The Year in the 2023 Parent Power League released on Friday 9th December 2022.Parent Power 2023 identifies the highest-achieving schools in the UK. The definitive school rankings use the most recent moderated public examination results from the state and independent sectors.
The Sunday Times commended the school for jumping 141 places since 2019 in the national ranking to 88=, and also referenced the school winning the TES Independent School Awards Wellbeing Initiative of the Year in 2021. Helen Davies, Parent Power Editor at The Sunday Times, referenced how the pandemic allowed the school to stop and look at what they were doing and why.
Overall, girls have triumphed in the Parent Power League with girls-only schools appearing to have coped better with the effects of the pandemic in both the private and state sectors.
Cheryl Giovannoni, Chief Executive, GDST, said: “A huge congratulations to all our students and staff at Norwich High School for Girls. This impressive leap by more than 100 places on the Sunday Times Parent Power List since 2019 is a testament to the commitment and hard work of the Head, Alison Sefton and all the staff who have worked tirelessly through some challenging times.”
Peter Harrup, Partner and Head of East Anglia at BDO LLP, said: “Businesses were hoping for a roadmap to reduce corporation tax rates. Instead, the Chancellor said that companies could offset 100% of investment in IT, equipment, plant, and machinery in the UK against taxable profits, stating that it’s the most generous capital allowance scheme of any advanced economy. That said, there are practical barriers as businesses still grapple with supply chain challenges. As a result, people may struggle to get hold of the kit they want to invest in.
“All year round, businesses tell us that access to skills is their biggest challenge. Hopefully, new initiatives and incentives will open up a deeper talent pool by attracting returners and working parents back to work. Support with childcare costs will also be well received by business leaders as a way of helping employees with the cost-of-living crisis. As part of our bi-monthly survey of 500 mid-sized businesses, one-in-six East Anglia businesses stated that they have already been trying to plug this gap, by providing other workplace benefits such as support with childcare costs for employees.”
People Puzzles are strengthening our regional team with the addition of Sarah Ironside as its new Regional Director for the East of England.
The company, which matches part-time HR experts with ambitious businesses to create high-performing teams and achieve their business goals, has supported more than 124 businesses in this region over the past ten years.
Sarah is no stranger to working with growing businesses – a marketing specialist with years of experience at large organisations such as GSK and Camelot, she joined People Puzzles eight years ago to create and lead its marketing function. Since then, the business has grown from £2m turnover per annum to £8m, with its headcount quadrupling to more than 100.
Her years of experience at People Puzzles has brought a deep understanding of the people challenges that growing businesses can face. ‘The journey that we’ve been on as a business is exactly the kind of journey, we can help our clients go on,’ she says. ‘We understand the growing pains that sometimes accompany success and can help clients create a bespoke people plan that aligns with and supports their ambitious business plans.’
Sarah is currently working with businesses across Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk. If you’re curious to know how a people strategy can help your business achieve its goals, contact People Puzzles on 0203 633 6830 to book a free consultation with Sarah.
Visiting Dutch students have been praised for their work ethos and people skills after sparing time to volunteer in two leading charity shops.
Thirsa Voets, Emma Klijn, Joanna Bel, Emma Van Willigen and Anna Mourik helped at the East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) stores in Plumstead Road and Aylsham Road, both in Norwich.
The 14 and 15-year-olds, from the Gomarus Scholengemeenschap School, in Gorinchem, visited as part of a student internship and spent a week serving customers, sorting donations and making displays, including helping dress the shop windows.
It is the third time students from their school volunteered as part of the exchange programme and, having made such a positive impression, they have already been given the chance to return next Spring.
Sally Rix, EACH’s North East Relief and Cluster Manager, said: “I first got involved after being asked to accommodate some Dutch youngsters before Covid, when I was manager of our shop in Unthank Road.
“It went fantastically well and I found their work ethos and people skills amazing, so agreed to a second year.
“The girls were even more amazing this time around and their respect for each other and their teacher shone through.
“They worked hard and were very adaptable to different tasks.
“It was a pleasure to work with them and I’ve already agreed to having more next year, and possibly another school later in the year.”
Attleborough-based renewable heating expert Finn Geotherm, has won two prestigious awards in the Energy Efficiency Awards 2023 for the East of England. The awards recognise businesses and organisations who are making strides in cutting carbon emissions and increasing energy efficiency.
Finn Geotherm was awarded Large Scale Project of the Year for its air source heat pump installation at Alive Lynnsport – the largest dry leisure centre in East Anglia. The company specified and installed three colossal 210kW Panasonic air source heat pumps – some of the first to be installed anywhere in Europe – to provide all the heating and hot water. The system is expected to deliver savings of more than 500 tonnes of CO2 annually.
Finn Geotherm was also awarded Renewable Heating Installer & Contractor for its expertise in heat pump system design, specification and installation, which has seen the company completing some of Panasonic’s largest air source heat pumps installations in Europe over the past 18 months. In addition, Finn Geotherm was highly commended in the Small Scale Project of the Year for its ground source heat pump installation at West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village in Suffolk.
Guy Ransom, commercial director at Finn Geotherm, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won these two Energy Efficiency Awards for the East of England. The installation at Alive Lynnsport was a highly significant project, which saw us installing some of the first 210kW Panasonic air source units anywhere in Europe. The project demonstrates the vast opportunity for air source in commercial applications, particularly in areas where ground source heat pumps aren’t an option due to space limitations. To also win the award for Renewable Heating Installer & Contractor is testament to the immense hard work of the entire team at Finn Geotherm who work so hard to deliver outstanding installations such as Alive Lynnsport and West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village among many others.”
The awards were also a great success for housing association Flagship Group who were nominated by Finn Geotherm and won Housing Association/Landlord of the Year. The award recognised Flagship’s commitment to decarbonisation, including three district heating systems installed by Finn Geotherm to replace electric storage heaters and gas boilers in some of its housing stock.
For more information on ground and air source heat pumps and details on Finn Geotherm, visit www.finn-geotherm.co.uk.
Norfolk County Council has received funding from The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to run an E-Cargo Bike project within the Air Quality Management Zone in Norwich.
Electric Cargo bikes also known as E-Cargo bikes are electric bicycles designed and constructed specifically for transporting loads (e.g food items, hardware, consumer parcels).
They also boast considerably lower operating cost than vans and are nimble enough to provide a practical solution for small / medium local freight, including last mile delivery.
The project will allow businesses to try E-Cargo bikes for a fixed term, at no cost, businesses will receive support on all elements of how they can implement e-cargo bikes into their work.
This survey will help shape an e-cargo bike library for businesses in Norwich city centre and we hope that you make use of the E-Cargo Bike library when it is operational. The E-Cargo bikes will be available from July 2023 and the pilot will run at least until March 2025.
The survey is accessible through the link below and closes on 23.59 on Sunday 7th May
This week’s episode is based around a quote from the business icon that is, Dolly Parton “Find out who you are, and do it on purpose”. Becky makes the argument that attaching your personal values to your work, makes for clearer messaging within your business, from your reputation through to recruitment. Her and Mark debate the idea of not leaving business to chance, and how living and working consciously is important, and not having your core values as part of your business plan can be detrimental to its success.
GET IN TOUCH! We would love to hear your thoughts on today’s episode, email us at [email protected]
We would also love it if you could rate us 5 STARS on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, this really helps people find us!
Thank you to our sponsors Larking Gowen, Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors – check out their website to see how they could help your business www.larking-gowen.co.uk
Canary Konect (Route 35) provides the only direct link between The Nest and Carrow Road Stadium, serving Norwich Airport and Norwich Rail Station on the way.
Canary Konect runs up to every 60 minutes, 7 days a week.
Above: Greater Anglia train. Credit: Greater Anglia
Train operator, Greater Anglia, has upgraded its website to enable visitors to access online content and services more easily, in a way that best suits their needs.
As part of the company’s accessibility strategy, website visitors are now able to access a wide range of accessibility and language support tools to customise their digital experience through Recite Me assistive technology.
Being able to offer an inclusive experience is essential to support over 20% of the population who may encounter barriers online due to having a disability, learning difficulty, visual impartment or if they speak English as a second language.
The new Recite Me assistive toolbar on Greater Anglia’s website includes screen reading functionality, multiple reading aids, customisable styling options, and an on-demand live translation feature that offers over 100 languages, including 65 text to speech and styling options.
James Bonehill, Greater Anglia’s Accessibility & Inclusion Manager commented, “Accessibility is extremely important to us and we are committed to ensuring that all of our customers can access information and services in a way that best meets their individual needs.
“Therefore, we are incredibly proud to be able to provide Recite Me’s innovative assistive technology across our website.”
The internet can be an incredibly intimidating place for those with access barriers, and those lacking the tools they need to adequately understand or communicate are at a significant disadvantage, hence the importance of trying to make online information more user-friendly.
Ross Linnett Recite Me’s Founder and CEO, commented, “It is important to provide an inclusive online experience, where everyone can use our digital world in a way in which best suits their needs. As more organisations provide accessibility tools online, those who face online barriers can access information and services hassle-free. The digital world must be accessible for all.”
To explore using the Recite Me accessibility support tool, anyone can visit the Greater Anglia website and click the ‘Accessibility Tools’ link at the top right corner of the website.
