Community News

Exceptional employers have been celebrated today as Working Families, the UK’s national charity for working parents and carers, announced the winners of the 2023 Best Practice Awards. The annual awards, taking place at Vintners’ Hall in London, give deserved recognition to pioneering employers whose standout cultures and working practices are blazing a trail for flexible and employee-friendly workplaces.

King Charles IIIs first Birthday Honours List 2023 saw 1,171 people across the UK have been recognised for their contributions to UK society.

Of those recognised, half are women, 11% come from a Minority Ethnic background, 13% are disabled or have a long-term health condition, and 23% consider themselves to come from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds.

Speaking about the Birthday Honours, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said: “This year’s honours list is a testament to ordinary people who have demonstrated extraordinary community spirit, and I pay tribute to all those who have been recognised.

A £30 million project to restore rail services to Aldridge for the first time in almost 60 years have taken a major step forward after securing Government backing. The Department for Transport has given conditional approval to start work on an outline business case to build and open a station on the Sutton Park line to provide direct passenger services to Walsall.

This means that funding can now be drawn down to take the project, which is being led by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) and the West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE), to the next more detailed design, and development phase.

On Wednesday 21 June, schools across the UK will get active in a day linking exercise with climate action. 

Let’s Go Zero – a campaign now supported by over 2,000 schools, colleges and nurseries in the UK teaching more than 1 million students – is supporting National Schools Action Day, which will promote a range of climate themed-challenges and activities. It will be a great opportunity for students to get moving and explore their passion for sustainability.   

British adventurer Bear Grylls hosted a unique fitness class at the Battersea Power Station in London, in collaboration with Tusk and Be Military Fit (BMF), to raise awareness for wildlife rangers across Africa.

The event marked the first time it was hosted by the global adventurer, who serves as an ambassador to Tusk and is a Co-Founder of BMF. Tusk and BMF joined forces to offer participants a one-of-a-kind workout experience in support of the Wildlife Ranger Challenge, a global campaign aimed at raising funds for rangers across the African continent.

An opportunity to hear from one of the leading cyber security experts in the UK is available to businesses at a free event next week.

Jon Hope, senior technology evangelist for Sophos, a British-based security software and hardware company, draws a crowd at major events thanks to his in-depth knowledge and expert advice from 20 years of experience in cyber security. Jon, who recently spoke to packed-out audiences at DTX Tech Week in Manchester, will be speaking at Integrity IT’s ‘Future-proofing your Business’ event at The Crown Hotel at Wetheral, near Carlisle on Thursday, June 22.

The executive director of Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) Anne Shaw has been recognised with an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours list. She has been honoured for her key role in spearheading the successful transport planning and operations during last summer’s Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

It involved bringing together multiple authorities and transport operators to deliver a complex travel package.

REPT BATTERO, a leading energy storage solution provider, participated in the industry-leading event, Th the European Smart Energy Exhibition, which took place from June 14th to 16th. The company showcased its latest innovation, the Wending battery series, at booth C3-220 during the event, known commonly as The Smarter E Europe.

The main objective of REPT BATTERO's participation was to introduce and promote its Wending battery 320Ah and 340Ah products.

At June’s meeting of full council, Birmingham City Council became the first local authority to vote for a roll-out of Bleed Control Packs across the city, ensuring that there was a kit within 3 minutes of every local area centre.

The motion, put forward by Birmingham Local Conservatives, also called for education on the use and availability of “bleed kits” to be produced, and for formal recognition of the work of the Daniel Baird Foundation. The Daniel Baird Foundation was set up by Lynne Baird, whose son Daniel tragically died after suffering a stab wound, but who – professionals told Lynne – could have survived if a basic bleed control kit had been available to the public.

A Jamaican National from Elderslie, St Elizabeth, Jamaica, Dr Neslyn Watson-Druée, CBE has been awarded the honour of  Dame Commander of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE)  by King Charles III of The United Kingdom and Commonwealth in the 2023 Birthday Honours.

Dr Neslyn has made significant contributions in the fields of leadership, personal and career development for staff in the public, private and third sectors through voluntary organisations, local government, banking and commerce. She has been selfless in supporting young people in the black community to move away from the influence of gangs and crime and she has donated from her own savings to provide employment and to establish Colourful Radio (a community radio station intended to help young black people).

Community, arts and heritage groups across Birmingham have been awarded £62,465 in grants to fund a range of events to mark the 75th anniversary of Empire Windrush’s arrival to Britain.

On 22 June 1948, the first passengers disembarked at Tilbury, in Essex, all of whom would play their own part in helping to rebuild after the Second World War and help shape modern Britain. Community groups, projects and organisations were invited to apply for grants of between £750 and £2,000 earlier this year – and the 35 successful bids were announced during an event held at Soho House, in Handsworth.

A new report released by the University of Wolverhampton shows that young people’s participation with heritage can build strong cohesive communities, promote social inclusion, and cultivate a sense of civic pride and belonging.  

The Young People’s Engagements with Heritage: Tackling Inequality & Other Opportunities for Public Policy report has also shown that engagement with heritage can support the goals of government policy in terms of its ‘Levelling Up’ agenda. 

Young entrepreneurs are taking part in a London borough’s first ever Young Traders Market as residents aged between 17 and 30 who have crafts, clothes, food and drink, jewellery or other business ideas will be part of its first Young Traders Market.

Organised by Camden’s markets team, the event is part of the National Young Traders Market campaign aimed at supporting young traders to get into the markets industry. Participants will get their own pitch and stall at one of two popular market destinations in Camden, including Leather Lane Market and Inverness Street Market.

Hotel industry sees gradual return to normality, but over half of top 50 hotel brands remain below pre-pandemic values. After two years of global travel restrictions and economic uncertainty, the past year has witnessed an increasing return to pre-pandemic travel patterns.

However, hospitality sector analysts find that the hotel industry is slow to recover from the pandemic’s long-lasting effects, as 27 out of 50 hotel brands (54%) remain below their pre-pandemic values. Hilton delivers exceptional service as the reigning champion of hotel brands, valued at US$11.7 billion

It’s the most important public vote of the year - it’s time to name the Commonwealth Games bull before it comes to its new home at Birmingham New Street station.

Nearly 2,000 people submitted name suggestions during the first stage of a competition launched by Network Rail and the West Midlands Combined Authority which ended last week. Since then judges have poured through the entries and shortlisted them to just four names in the final cut. Now they’re being put to a public vote which opened on Tuesday 13 June so the famous bull can be named once and for all - so it’s time to make your vote count!

Residents will be empowered to take direct action to improve air quality in their local area as part of a West Midlands-wide campaign to tackle pollution.

To coincide with Clean Air Day 2023 today, the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is announcing plans to go into communities to improve their knowledge and understanding of the main sources of pollution and the impact on their health. The results of a survey by the WMCA to gauge public awareness and attitudes to air pollution show that while most residents are concerned about air quality they are also unsure about where it comes from and what they can do to improve it.