The Government has announced that the National Living Wage will go up, from £7.20 per hour, to £7.50 with the current National Minimum Wage (NMW) for those under the age of 25 still applies.

Introduced in 2016, the rate, which changes every April, is:

• £7.50 per hour - 25 yrs old and over
• £7.05 per hour - 21-24 yrs old
• £5.60 per hour - 18-20 yrs old
• £4.05 per hour - 16-17 yrs old
• £3.50 for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over who are in the first year of apprenticeship.

For example:

If the Pay Reference Period starts on the 19 March - 19 April- the pay between the 1 April - 18 April will be based on the NMW rates- The allocated pay from the 19 April - 19 May would be at the new NLW rate because this is the first full pay reference period after the 1 April.

The same rules apply when a monthly paid employee reaches the age of 25. For example if the employees birthday falls on the 25 May and the next pay reference period starts on 10 June, the employee is entitled to receive the NLW pay rate on the 10 June and not their birthday.

There are a number of people who are not entitled to the NMW/NLW.

• Self-employed people.
• Volunteers or voluntary workers.
• Company directors.
• Family members, or people who live in the family home of the employer who undertake household tasks.

Severn Trent has launched a new volunteering programme for all its employees which aims to make a real difference to the communities in which it operates.

The Community Champions project aims to clean up to 40 kilometres of rivers in the Severn Trent region, which stretches across the Midlands and into mid-Wales.

Working alongside its partner charities, The Canals & River Trust, Waterside Care, the Severn Rivers Trust and the Trent Rivers Trust volunteers have already been out and about cutting back vegetation and helping clear debris from rivers.

Paul Evans, community communications lead, says: “Employees are given two annual volunteering days of their choice to help out in their local communities, with more than 800 people signing up in the first month, meaning we can send teams out where they’re really needed.

“Our people are clearly passionate about volunteering and supporting local communities. Not only does this programme allow our employees to do this, but it’s also key to building great relationships with key partners and delivering very real environmental and business benefits.”

This month saw Severn Trent, which is currently carrying out a £60 million waste and water improvement scheme in Newark, team up with BNMAlliance to clear a stretch of the River Trent in the town.

Wayne Ball, volunteer development coordinator for the Canal and River Trust, said: “The volunteers did a fantastic job and we’re really grateful for all their hard work. As a charity, the support they’ve given us is invaluable and really helps in our efforts to make the river a more attractive, welcoming place for the local community.”

In addition to the general maintenance work, the Community Champions will be helping with tasks such as water quality testing, invertebrate surveys, and vegetation management and erosion control.

As well as the new programme, Severn Trent also supports WaterAid and Comic Relief. This year, volunteers from the company took donation calls for Red Nose Day helping raise record breaking amounts for the charity.

WV Living has unveiled exciting designs of its first houses to be built in the City of Wolverhampton.

The seven types of homes – The Pelham, The Bantock, The Moseley, The Wightwick, The Newbolt, The Hayward and The Leveson – have been named after popular landmarks and famous people associated with the city.

They will be showcased at the City Housing Fair, at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Lichfield Street, WV1 1DU, on Sunday, April 2, between 11am and 3.30pm.

Work on the first phase of WV Living homes is set to start this summer, with planning permission now granted for 52 units, including 13 affordable homes, on the site of the former Danesmore School.

Planning applications have also been submitted for 34 units on the former Ettingshall School site; ten affordable homes on the nearby Sweetbriar Road site; and 40 units, including ten affordable homes, on the former Prouds Lane Leisure Centre site.

The names of the new developments have been chosen to reflect connections to the local area.

The former Danesmore School site will be called ‘Danesmore Pastures’, the former Ettingshall School site will be branded ‘Sweet Briary’, and the Prouds Lane former Leisure Centre site will be called ‘Peascroft’.

A mixture of 4-bedroom, 3-bedroom and 2-bedroom houses, and 2-bedroom flats will be built across the sites.

Councillor Peter Bilson, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for City Housing and Assets, said: “WV Living has never been needed more – and these are tremendously exciting times.

“The designs that have been created will provide top quality homes for the city and developments with strong local links, which residents can be proud of.

“There is a strong belief that a council-owned housing company is both viable and offers the best outcomes for the council in terms of both strategic housing and income generation.

“WV Living has plans for almost 400 homes to be built in the next two years. This will support the overall house building programme in the City of Wolverhampton and we hope people will love their WV Living homes.”

Ready, steady ...grow! Gardeners and would-be gardeners are being invited to kick-start their gardening year with fun green-fingered gardening activities at the Big Dig Food Growing Event (on national Big Dig Day), at Martineau Gardens on Saturday 22 April, from 2pm – 4pm. The Community Garden in Edgbaston, Birmingham  is hosting the free event to encourage people to grow their own food, no matter how big or small their grow space is or how much or how little experience they have.

Caroline Hutton, Director of Martineau Gardens, explains why the charity is hosting the event: “We want to inspire people to make a move towards a more sustainable lifestyle. Growing your own food is a step in the right direction. It’s great fun, low cost and you get to eat delicious food.”

Martineau Gardens, just two miles from Birmingham city centre, is a green oasis teeming with wildlife and is looked after by volunteers, many of whom have mental health issues and learning disabilities. Hundreds of school children visit the Gardens to learn about science and environmental issues. Every year Birmingham people visit the gardens to explore its woodland, glass houses, formal garden, orchard, demonstration food growing areas, wildflower meadow, pond and wildlife area with SLINC status.

Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce have launched a new ‘Mayoral toolkit’ – providing businesses with guidance and resources for engaging their workforce with the West Midlands Mayor election.

‘West Midlands Mayor: Your Toolkit’ contains easy to use content, images, posters and ideas for how businesses can raise awareness of the election among their staff. It also includes a simple Q&A on common questions about the West Midlands Mayor.

The toolkit is non-partisan and is aimed at raising awareness and encouraging people to vote in this important election, which takes place on Thursday 4 May. The toolkit can be found here.

Paul Faulkner, chief executive of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce said: “The West Midlands Mayor will be a high-profile voice that will shout loudly for the region on a local, national and international level.

“However, for them to be effective, local citizens need to know this election is taking place and have their say on who best represents them by actually turning out to vote.

“The Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce has nearly 2,700 members employing over 175,000 people. We want to play our part in spreading the word about this crucial election.

“Many of the steps suggested in this toolkit are really simple but effective: for instance, sending calendar invitations to all employees to remind them to register to vote and take part on the day.

“I would urge everyone reading this article to take up this call to action and become a champion for raising awareness of this election among your colleagues. Take a look, download the toolkit today and take part.”

Blenheim Palace has been voted Attraction of the Year by the leading UK travel trade association.

The Oxfordshire stately home, which celebrates its 30th anniversary as a UNESCO World Heritage Site this year, was awarded the title by UKinbound, which represents 370 of the country's tourism businesses.

The awards ceremony took place during the association's 40th anniversary Annual Convention at the Plymouth Guildhall.

The winners were chosen by an independent panel of industry experts consisting of David Cianfarani, former chairman of UKinbound, Michael Hirst, chairman of the Business Visits and Events Partnership, and Terri Scriven, head of travel at Google.

“It's a great honour to have been presented with this award by an association which represents the UK's leading tourism businesses,” said Blenheim Palace's Chief Executive Dominic Hare.

“The overseas tourism sector is a rapidly growing and developing market and we recognise its importance, not just to us but more importantly to the economy of both our local area and of the UK as a whole.

“We believe there are still many untapped markets beyond our shores and we will be working with other tourism groups and the government to try and ensure we are able to welcome them,” he added.

UKinbound is one of the leading trade associations and the only one which focuses solely on the interests of the UK's inbound tourism sector.

Deirdre Wells OBE, CEO UKinbound, commented: “Our awards recognise the ongoing commitment and contribution of our members to the UK inbound tourism sector.

“In spite of the challenges faced in 2016, our members continue to excel in every field of the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors, and we are delighted to acknowledge a number of their outstanding performances.”

Built in the early 18th century to celebrate Britain's victory over the French in the War of the Spanish Succession, Blenheim Palace is the ancestral home of the Dukes of Marlborough and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.