Pocket Box, a new mobile app for motorists, takes away the irritating headaches of car ownership. The free app securely stores and organises all of the paperwork associated with your car and also gives helpful reminders of key dates such as MOT and Tax expiry.

Pocket Box is simple to use. Documents can either be uploaded digitally or scanned in with the camera on your mobile phone. Once uploaded, all data is fully encrypted and stored with security protocols on par with online banking systems. It can be accessed as and when required – without having to dig through the cupboards and drawers to locate documents!

Pocket Box works for any vehicle and can also help to stay on top of key dates.

As well as MOT and tax renewal, it also includes insurance, warranty, and service reminders. For households with multiple vehicles Pocket Box brings peace of mind and ease of management. In the future event of permitted European travel Pocket Box will assist drivers to remain legal by having all of their vehicle documentation to hand at any time.

Founded by Newry tech entrepreneur Jim Finnegan, the innovative solution has already attracted several business innovation awards. “It’s one of those problems that you don’t even think about until the moment that you need a document or miss a date – and then it’s an issue.

“Where did you ‘file’ that particular piece of info or vehicle document?

“We’ve all done it, says Finnegan. “Pocket Box is designed to keep everything nice and handy, and secure. These days we use our phones for absolutely everything, so adding in the ability to manage all of the dates and documents for your vehicle seems like an easy step. You can use your smartphone’s camera to scan in your driving licence and other documents and the app will set up a list of tasks to ensure you stay roadworthy and legal”.

Pocket Box is already heading towards 10,000 downloads and is in talks with leading brands in the automotive world. Pocket Box is free to download and available on both Google and Apple App stores. Alternatively, you can visit pocketbox.co.uk to download the app.

Businesses with vehicles that may be subject to the daily charge when Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone launches on 1 June 2021 can join a demonstration of the payment service.

On Thursday, April 15, the Government’s Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) will host a free webinar with Birmingham City Council to guide businesses through the process of checking and paying for multiple vehicles using the online service. The webinar will provide an opportunity for businesses to view a step-by-step demonstration of how to check and pay for multiple vehicles, with an opportunity to ask any questions.

Stephen Arnold, Head of Clean Air Zone at Birmingham City Council, said: “There are less than 10 weeks to go until the launch of the Clean Air Zone.  And as we get closer to the 1 June go-live date, we’re encouraging businesses to get ready.

“The business account will enable fleet operators to check and pay for any UK registered vehicles that may be subject to the daily charge in Birmingham and the other Clean Air Zones around England, which are due to be introduced over the next few years.  The webinar will be hosted by JAQU so will provide a great opportunity to better understand how the payment service works and what steps businesses need to take now to get themselves ready for June 1.”

The demonstration will take place via Teams and run for an hour from 10am – 11am. It is free to attend and open to all businesses with commercial vehicles that are registered in the UK. JAQU representatives will demonstrate how businesses can create an account; manage vehicles and view charges; add team members to help manage the account and how to pay for charges.

Head of Policy at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, Raj Kandola, said: “As we approach June 1, it’s vitally important that businesses are familiar with the payment process and how it will function before the Clean Air Zone goes live. With the Clean Air Zone in Bath starting earlier this month, it’s essential that businesses in our city are fully up to scratch with the process and use this session to iron out any concerns or queries they may around the process.”

Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone will go live on June 1 and charge owners of the most polluting vehicles to drive within the A4540 Middleway (but not the Middleway itself). Businesses can check multiple vehicles and whether they will charged using the Government vehicle checker  and sign up to the payment demonstration via the Brum Breathes website.

Three years’ worth of work to upgrade drainage, track and signalling equipment over a seven-mile stretch of railway in North London has been completed in just eleven days by Network Rail.

From April 1 a more reliable railway reopened for passengers after the rapid renewals on the West Coast main line. The upgrades have included:

Drainage improvements in the Victorian-built Kensal Green Tunnel to prevent delays from flooding during bad weather

Major track renewals between Primrose Hill and Willesden Junction

Installation of new signalling equipment Removal of graffiti and scrap metal from beside the railway

Network Rail teamed up with train operators to close two out of four lines on the West Coast main line while fewer passengers were travelling. This amount of work would normally have taken three years of consecutive overnight weekend shifts to complete at a cost of around £19.8m.

The super-fast approach over 11 days brought costs down to £6m - saving the taxpayer approximately £13.8m.

James Dean, Network Rail’s West Coast South route director, said: “I’d like to thank our passengers and lineside neighbours for their patience whilst we completed this work on the economically important West Coast main line.

“I’d also like to pay a huge credit to our train operators and industry colleagues for enabling us to carry out this work at short notice and get the railway in the best possible shape for passengers when they return. This is all part of our commitment to build back better as the country emerges from the pandemic.”

Executive director of operations and safety at Avanti West Coast, Gus Dunster, said: “We are pleased to have been able to play our part to facilitate Network Rail’s upgrade works on the approach to London Euston. These upgrades usually have to be completed one project at a time, but as a result of the collaborative efforts of industry colleagues we were able to complete multiple projects, while operating our services for our customers who needed to travel.

"We would like to thank everyone who travelled with us during this time for their patience. The work will help to make journeys more reliable for our customers when we look forward to welcoming them back in the near future.”

Lawrence Bowman, customer experience director for London Northwestern Railway, said: “This intense period of improvement work will improve the reliability of this crucial part of our rail network and reduce the likelihood of disruption as more people begin travelling again.

“I would like to thank our customers for their patience during the work and urge returning passengers to double-check their train times as some departure times may have changed.”

Meanwhile, people are being advised of work now taking place to improve future journeys between London and Scotland. Work is taking place until Tuesday April 6. Passengers are advised to check information to find out how the work will impact their journeys.

A new survey from digital payments expert, PayPoint, confirms that today’s consumers are ready and waiting for immediate, transparent and flexible payment tools to help them manage their financial commitments. Email and SMS as a means of communication far outweigh the traditional ‘letter in the post’ or a phone call – and importantly, a regular, timely digital nudge from finance providers would be welcomed by the majority to ensure they keep on top of payments and avoid arrears.

76% of the 500 people surveyed by PayPoint said they would welcome an email reminder about upcoming payments and 61% for overdue payments.  Similarly, SMS reminders would be positively embraced by 70% of those surveyed for upcoming payments and 60% for arrears. 1 in 3 of those who call for regular email and SMS reminders claim it would prompt them to make an immediate payment. Traditional letters and unexpected telephone calls from providers are not in favour, with 64% saying “no thanks” to a call and 54% to a letter in the post.

Danny Vant, Client Services Director, PayPoint, comments: “Events of the last 12 months have accelerated the digital revolution in so many ways, across so many markets, from retail toutility payments, medical care to social interaction. In turn, this has created a new normal in terms of how people expect to be engaged with, and this includes their financial partners.

“Using mobile technology to manage their finances from the palm of their hand or the comfort of their sofa, crucially at a time that is convenient to them, is key. Our survey results confirm that those employing digital solutions to engage with people are likely to stimulate a positive response, with 35% of consumers surveyed saying they would be more likely to make an immediate payment as a result.”

Therefore, delivering the tools to help people assess their real-time financial situation and the ability to make an informed payment is crucial. 43% of people surveyed by PayPoint would welcome a digital platform that brings together all credit commitments in one place for easy review and financial decision making. Perhaps not surprisingly, 48% of survey respondents said they would embrace an App if it were available from their creditors, suggesting a shift away from websites and mobile enabled websites by adopters of the latest innovations.

Established to help support children and young people through workshops based entrepreneurship, creativity and mentoring, F2D-ITC is celebrated for providing proven qualified mentors and business owners to impart their knowledge and expertise to ensure that tomorrow’s high-flying decision-makers the relevant tools so that they stay ahead of what is an ever-changing world. As qualified mentors and business owners, we would like to pass on our knowledge, experience and expertise to the next generation, with a view to assisting them to succeed and navigate life with a positive mind-set.

Created and founded by Marcus Isaac, Daniel Gardiner and Gary Thompson, in Birmingham, together they have a clothing line F2D and is a pastor and mentor and decided to merge the two and teach children about entrepreneurships. Established to help support children and young people through workshops based on entrepreneurship, care, creativity and mentoring, the book came when we were looking for something that was a perfect and permanent memory of our workshops.

Workshops take place at schools and colleges – including Newman University and we’ve just developed a partnership with South and City College Birmingham - throughout Birmingham city a we set out to pass on our knowledge, experience and expertise to the next generation, with a view to assisting them to succeed and navigate life with a positive mind-set.

“I like clothes”, Marcus said, “and I thought it would be a great thing to have our own clothing line. And, that’s where the idea of F2D came to fruition.

“We thought of the idea of opening a clothing shop, then we decided to take it one step further and start a clothing line. People like Miley Cyrus, Soulja Boy, Ed Sheeran, Zendaya, Dizzee Rascal, people off Love Island have taken up on our clothing line.”

Daniel, who works at Starbanks School, in his home city, explains the book: “We decided to do the book – which covers all angles on how to be an entrepreneur and how to set-up businesses from a young age; like how to start a business, marketing and branding.

“But, as well as that, we care about the pastoral side and wellbeing of children and young people. We teach them how to believe in themselves. We teach and encourage children to create and make their own T-shirts and how to showcase their creations.

“It’s not all about ‘being rich’, or making quick money. Being rich isn’t the be-all-and-end-all. Their mental wellbeing is more important than making money. It’s important to learn about entrepreneurship – especially in today’s world market.

“Believe to achieve!” Instilling a sense of self-sufficiency in the next generation is paramount in the ethos of F2D. “We want to inspire children – especially those in the inner-city areas similar to where we come from,” Marcus said. “We want young people to be proud of themselves and what they have achieved.”

F2D-ITC started two years ago and now, but, despite the inset of the coronavirus pandemic, their book; ‘Entrepreneurship: A Young Person’s Guide’ – which also features a QR code on each page, that when scanned via a phone or tablet, leads the reader to a video covering each chapter of the book, using animation and narration by a member of the team – is set to be stocked in Birmingham Central Library.

“We don’t want to sell the bool. We want the book to be free for children and easy to be picked-up”, Daniel insists. We wrote the book with a view to inspiring and encouraging young people to become the entrepreneurs of tomorrow….. or maybe even today.”  The book now is gaining massive interest in the USA.

Now based in 5 schools in Birmingham, F2D-ITC is really gaining momentum. “This is not about making money,” Marcus says, “it’s about giving back to a community of which I am very much part of. It’s about enlightening the next generation.” Pupils are fully engaged.

Inundated with testimonials from teachers, lecturers and children worldwide the freedom to dream has never been relevant.

‘Entrepreneurship: A Young Persons Guide’ is just another arm in a fast growing F2D-ITC portfolio as they continue to encourage children to be Free 2 Dream!

Demonstrating its ambition to be a better, responsible retailer, Wilko announced in March 2020 that its wipes would be plastic free and manufactured using viscose, a renewable plant fibre from a sustainable source.  What’s more, it was the first retailer to switch 100% of its Wilko brand wipes to plastic free, from antibacterial and cleansing wipes to car care. 

The retailer is planning on sharing its 1-year anniversary milestone of removing 1500 tonnes (47 trucks worth*) of plastic from the environment with an in-store customer campaign that celebrates their smart choices and highlights the impact they’ve help achieve.

Wilko CEO Jerome Saint-Marc said; ‘We’ve been focused on meeting our environmental ambitions for some time and proud to have been the first high-street retailer to offer plastic-free wipes across all our own brand options.  All 22 of them!

“We’re a family-owned retailer and understand the importance of making little changes for the better and, our responsibility to future generations. Our customers tell us that plastic reduction is important to them, that’s why we signed up to the UK Plastics Pact and, why we’re celebrating our 1500 tonnes milestone with them.”

Importantly, Wilko customers were able to make this ethical choice without having to pay more, as every pack of wipes sold remained at their everyday value price and offered the same levels of performance.

Wilko recently outlined ambitions to reduce its plastic use.  Elements of the Wilko Plastic Plan launched in June 2020 include; ensuring there is a minimum of 30 percent average recycled content across all plastic packaging by April 2022, eliminating all problematic plastics and reducing unnecessary plastic in all products by 2025 and making 100 percent of all plastic packaging and products reusable, recyclable or compostable.

Other sustainability initiatives from the retailer have included eliminating micro beads from Wilko products, replacing plastic stem ear buds and removing single use carrier bags from its 415 stores nationwide, replacing them with reusable bags for life made from 100 percent recycled plastic. Wilko is also already making improvements to the eco-credentials of its home collections and has signed up to the BRC net carbon road map in November 2020.

*based on 32-tonne articulated lorries