Business News

Following a significant increase in demand for planning services in the West Midlands, Marrons Planning is growing its presence with the appointment of senior planner Lucy Bartley.

With more than five years’ experience as a town planner, Lucy joins the consultancy from Wood PLC where she worked her way up from assistant town planning consultant to senior consultant.

Wolverhampton has been invited to apply to join a national programme that will provide more funding to help parents, children and young people in the city.

The City of Wolverhampton Council has pioneered the use of Strengthening Families Hubs over the last few years, with a network of eight hubs providing multi-agency support to young families.

The average cost to put right shoddy plumbing work is £285, according to a new survey by WaterSafe, the UK’s register of approved contractors working with drinking water.

The survey, which questioned 2,000 UK consumers, also revealed more than a quarter of people have employed a plumber who did not carry out the task properly. In most cases, they had to employ another plumber to fix the poor work.

If the world's leading companies were a country, it would be the globe's largest emitter of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to new ESG Book analysis.

Its research shows the total emissions of both the 100 largest disclosing and non-disclosing companies is equivalent to over 11 billion tonnes of CO2 annually, or more than double the annual emissions output of the United States.

Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine and the consequent energy crisis has tested the resilience of the West Midlands economy – but “significant opportunities” lie ahead for the region’s business sector. The annual Birmingham Economic Review produced by Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and the University of Birmingham City Region Economic and Development Institute (City-REDI) reveals that the region is well placed to counter ‘once in a generation’ events such as the energy crisis and make Birmingham the best location for business ambitions.

The West Midlands has announced its formal submission to Government for a package of Investment Zones capable of accelerating economic growth and delivering tens of thousands of new homes and jobs. If accepted by Government, the zones have the potential to boost the regional economy by more than £4.7bn a year, creating 65,128 new jobs, 18,616 new homes and 3.1m sqm of commercial space.

A recent report led by the NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) on local NHS healthcare spend during the COVID-19 pandemic has identified that good practice across NHS procurement saved millions of pounds during this unprecedented and challenging time.

The PEA (Post Event Assurance) exercise found that despite the mounting, varied and complex operational pressures, most NHS organisations maintained good levels of financial governance, assurance, transparency, and fraud risk management.

On Friday (October 14) the government announced that Corporation Tax will increase to 25% from April 2023 as already legislated for, raising around £18 billion a year and acting as a down payment on its full Medium-Term Fiscal Plan.

The decision has been taken in recognition of the need to ensure the UK’s economic stability and reassure markets of its commitment to fiscal discipline, after elements of September’s Growth Plan went further and faster than markets were expecting.

West Bromwich-based charity, the Kaleidoscope Plus Group is set to provide a cost-of-living support payment to employees. The support, totalling a one-off payment of £650 for each employee, will be paid in October.

The move comes as energy prices increase and cost-of-living increases for all. The Kaleidoscope Plus Group charity helps thousands of people across the UK each year and offers a range of services for people in need of support. 

National law firm Mills & Reeve has appointed six new trainees in its Birmingham office as part of a nationwide programme to prepare and train the next generation of lawyers - including four being graduates of the University of Birmingham. The new trainees will gain experience across various departments including health and care, technology and sport before eventually choosing a speciality to move forward with.

The UK’s largest event for the built environment, UK Construction Week (UKCW) Birmingham, made a welcome return to the NEC last week, with visitor numbers up 19% from last year. The show drew over 23,900 visitors from as far afield as Turkey, Brazil, Australia and Canada, and included a host of high-profile names including West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, Channel 4 presenter George Clarke, and BBC journalist and presenter Simon Jack.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has responded to the latest labour market statistics, below.

The Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarten, said: “Countries around the world are facing economic challenges, but today’s statistics remind us that the fundamentals of the UK economy remain resilient, with unemployment at its lowest point for almost 50 years.

Five percent of iPhone 14 production is expected to shift to the country this year, much sooner than analysts had anticipated. By 2025, a quarter of all iPhones the company makes could be produced in India, say analysts at investment bank JP Morgan.

West Midlands-based Thatch and Stone, an interior accessories company, is among 12 small businesses to be selected as champions of UK start-ups by Start Up Loans, part of the British Business Bank. The announcement comes as the programme celebrates its 10-year anniversary, having delivered more than 8,000 loans worth more than £73m to new business owners in the West Midlands since 2012.

MOT and vehicle servicing company Motorserv UK has been named the Solihull Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year. The business was crowned at the Solihull Chamber’s annual dinner and awards ceremony at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole, with 400 guests attending.

The awards night was sponsored by Solihull College & University Centre, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, and the Hilton Birmingham Metropole.

Ahead of Birmingham Tech Week, a fast-growing Solihull technology company is set to play a key role in the proceedings with a focus on diversity and inclusion.

Wise, located in Solihull town centre, will be playing a key role in Birmingham Tech Week, which is the UK’s largest regional technology festival.