Business News

More than one in five English local authorities expects to become part of a new combined authority, governed by an elected mayor, by 2020, according to a new report from PwC.  That figure has soared since before the general election when a mere 12% of local authority chief executives and leaders told PwC they expected to integrate into a new combined authority.

With the school summer holidays drawing closer, employers and parents are being reminded of the rules regarding the employment of children who are still of compulsory school age. Many children will be looking for ‘something to do’ during the summer break, while at the same time earning some extra money – but there are regulations which exist to safeguard the health and well-being of children while they are at work, and to make their first taste of work pleasant and rewarding.

Six new tech start-ups have enrolled on Innovation Birmingham’s Entrepreneurs for the Future  programme. Since the launch of the programme in November 2009, 111 start-ups have been created, with over £7.8 million of investment secured during initial funding rounds.

Wolverhampton City Council has begun plans for a Goodyear taskforce to help employees who are expected to lose their jobs after the iconic city employer announced plans to close its plant. Goodyear revealed it intended to shut its Stafford Road site and end its 88-year association with Wolverhampton.

Conservative MEPs, including Consumer Spokesman and Internal Market Coordinator Daniel Dalton, have launched a campaign "The Digital Single Market - What's In It For Britain" to promote the UK's digital economy. The digital and tech sectors already support almost one and a half million jobs in the UK, and the e-commerce market in the UK is valued at over €100bn, the largest in the EU.

The first housing developer on the Bilston Urban Village site has been confirmed – and advanced works on the multi-million pound regeneration project are well underway.  Kier will begin work on 78 homes between Dudley Street and Carder Crescent in January as Wolverhampton City Council set about helping to deliver up to 500 homes on land south of the town centre and Black Country Route.

Black Country Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that the majority of table stands have been taken up for the next Showcase event planned for the 2^nd July at West Bromwich Albion FC.

More than 25,000 small and medium businesses (SMEs) across the UK have now benefitted from the Government’s Broadband Connection voucher scheme, latest figures published today show. The scheme, which helps SMEs get connected to superfast broadband has seen a huge surge in demand in recent months.

At The Caribbean Tourism Organization’s (CTO)  silver anniversary ball, Simon Reeve UK’s best-selling author and TV personality, presented the Telegraph Caribbean Travel Awards at The Millennium Hotel, Mayfair.

Responding to recent press articles about the combined authority, Mike Dell, Managing Director of BC Barton Ltd and Chair of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce Devolution Group, said: “I agree with Andy Street, Chair of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP.

The government backed British Business Bank hosted an event in Birmingham to discuss the variety of funding options available for smaller businesses in the Midlands.  The British Business Bank’s goal is to make finance markets work better for smaller businesses, allowing them to prosper, grow and support the economy throughout the UK.

Qatar Airways completed a successful week at the Paris Air Show, one of the world’s leading aviation events, where it made history by being the first airline to ever display five aircraft on static display at the show. The airline brought its A380, A350, A320, A319 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Le Bourget.

New research placing Wolverhampton in the top 10 of the fastest-growing areas of the UK has been welcomed by the leader of the city council. Councillor Roger Lawrence was reacting to the UHY Hacker Young study which ranks the city as eighth for gross value added (GVA) - the value of goods and services it produces - between 2009 and 2013.

The British Safety Council has formally launched its prestigious 2015 Sword of Honour and Globe of Honour awards, designed to recognise and celebrate exemplary management of health, safety and environmental risks by businesses around the world.

As part of Victorian Arcade Shopping Centre’s on-going commitment to the local community, the centre is challenging budding young Walsall writers to follow in the footsteps of Arthur Conan Doyle himself and write a Sherlock Holmes story for the chance to win a hamper filled with £50 worth of prizes.

Saint Lucia joins the rest of the Caribbean in celebrating phenomenal increases in visitor arrivals in 2015.  The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) announced that visitor arrivals to the region was up 6% at the end of the first quarter, whilst Saint Lucia alone, recorded a 6.4% growth over the same period last year.