North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Latest Chamber News 2008

2008 ICT Excellence Awards – top prize of £2,000 Added: 07-08-2008
Innovative high-tech companies in the West Midlands are being urged by industry leaders
to step forward and take part in the prestigious 2008 ICT Excellence Awards, sponsored
by the Regional Development Agency, Advantage West Midlands ICT Cluster.The free to
enter awards are designed to recognise the talents and achievements of the growing
ICT...
Continue Reading >>

Retail Price Index Added: 29-07-2008
MONTH  RPI (1987)
BASEINFLATION2007July206.13.8%August207.34.1%September208.03.9%October208.94.2%November2
09.74.3%December210.94.0%2008January209.84.1%February211.44.1%March212.13.8%April214.04.
2%May215.14.3%June216.84.6%
Continue Reading >>

Employment Law Update Added: 29-07-2008
In conjunction with Qdos, the Chamber's official partner for Chamber
HRwww.chamberhr.co.ukImplementing PoliciesIt is remarkable the number of businesses that
have dust covered handbooks which have been professionally prepared but are rarely
referred to. As a result many employee abuses go unchecked or line managers feel that
they cannot take...
Continue Reading >>

SaBRE Added: 29-07-2008
In recent years over 17,000 members of the Reserve Forces have served in Iraq
and Afghanistan; the support of their civilian employees is fundamental to these
Reservists' vital role in the Armed Forces. BCC are working with
SaBRE, a Ministry of Defence campaign, which aims to provide support and
advice to employers of Reservists, and in...
Continue Reading >>

Warnings Added: 29-07-2008
European City GuidesSome members have recently received draft agreements for
insertions in the European City Guide. If signed and returned, this agreement
could commit a company to a fee of 987eur per annum, recurring each year
thereafter for a minimum of 3 years. Our advices is to warn staff not sign these
documents - throw them in the bin. If,...
Continue Reading >>

FREE Jobs Fairs at Staffordshire University! Added: 29-07-2008
The University is offering free places at their Jobs Fairs, to enable local
businesses to come on campus and recruit students for part time and Christmas
staff. The event is being run by the University Job Shop and the Students Union
and coincides with National Student Employment Week.The Fairs run from 11.00 to
15.00 on the following dates:Stoke...
Continue Reading >>

Minimum wage changes ahead Added: 29-07-2008
It has been announced that the new National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates from 1
October 2008 will be as followsWorkers aged 22 and over£5.75 (£5.52)
per hourWorkers aged 18-21 £4.77 (£4.60) per hourWorkers aged
16-17£3.53 (£3.40) per hour
Continue Reading >>

London Olympics 2012 - Getting Business Added: 29-07-2008
A reminder to members that the London Olympics has already started to generate
opportunities for business. During June, for example, tenders were requested
for:- A catering team for the Aquatics Centre- 20 x short films- Ecological
consultancy services- 300 promotional mugsIt strikes us that all these goods or
services could have been supplied by...
Continue Reading >>

Economic Slowdown - Dealing with the after effects of redundancy Added: 29-07-2008
This last six months has seen the start of a serious slowdown in the economy and
the arrival of the 'credit crunch'. That reality check to the high
spending consumer has been mirrored by a number of large scale redundancies
which, figures from the Chamber HR advice line provided by Qdos Consulting, show
this is being followed by similar...
Continue Reading >>

North Staffs Chamber - Chamber Awards Entry Added: 28-07-2008
The North Staffs Chamber has excelled in many areas and things have come
together so well that the Board has decided to enter the BCC Chamber of the Year
Competition in 2008.Extracts from the Chamber's entry form can be viewed
here.It will give the reader a sample of the wide variety and the quality of
activity that the Chamber undertakes...
Continue Reading >>

Annual General Meeting and Accounts Added: 18-07-2008
The Chamber's AGM will be held at the Moat House Hotel at 11.30am, Friday 26
September 2008. Members will shortly recieve an invitation to the AGM, together
with a report and review of our activities during the past 12 months.In order to
save both paper and postage the annual accounts will not be distributed to
members but can be found by...
Continue Reading >>

Are water bills draining your company’s profits? Added: 19-06-2008
Businesses must manage their water bills carefully - or watch their
profitability leak away, according to water management experts at Chamber
UtilitiesTMUtility Auditing, part of Ener-g plc, which is your Chamber
UtilitiesTM services provider, can help you manage your water and waste water
services.   Utility Auditing has for several years...
Continue Reading >>

Chief Constable works with the Chamber to tackle crime against business Added: 12-06-2008
Chris Sims, the Chief Constable of Staffordshire, met with Chamber members last
month (May 08) to discuss how the Force is planning to improve its service to
Staffordshire's business community.Staffordshire Police is the 16th largest
force of 43 nationally, with 4,500 staff and, according to Chris Sims, is just
large enough to acheive critical...
Continue Reading >>

Extension of EU Emissions Trading Scheme Added: 05-06-2008
The Government is consulting on the EU Commission's proposals to amend the
EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) from 2013 onwards.  The newly proposed
revisions aim to strengthen, expand and improve the functioning of the ETS
based on the lessons learned from previous experience. A number of new
industries (e.g. aluminium and amonia...
Continue Reading >>

Promote Yourself to the Premier League Added: 05-06-2008
Premier Membership offers a unique opportunity to raise member's profile and
position your business as one of the Premier organisations in North
Staffordshire.Benefits:Free use of our conference facilities to hold an eventTwo
free places at  our 7 annual Spotlight networking lunchesTwo tickets to
Annual Lunch in SeptemberTwo free places on...
Continue Reading >>

Government's six week £505 million fuel tax windfall makes October's 2p fuel duty rise unjustifiable Added: 16-05-2008
From the start of the tax year on April 1 to today (Friday May 16) the
Government has had a windfall of £505 million in tax due to the rising
price of oil - the same as what will be raised by the proposed 2p fuel duty rise
in October during this tax year.The findings have come from the British Chambers
of Commerce fuel duty model which takes...
Continue Reading >>

How to cope with Energy highs Added: 13-05-2008
Energy markets are again in turmoil with record highs being posted on gas and
electricity base load prices. Wholesale Gas prices have risen by approximately
110% since February 2007 and electricity prices have risen by around 135% over
this time. “The markets are being driven by high coal and oil prices along
with the economic growth...
Continue Reading >>

Environmental Policy and Your Business Added: 11-04-2008
The Chamber is setting up an environmental forum to alert members to new
legislation and to provide a voice for business on emerging policy issues at a
local, regional, national and European level.If you would like to become
involved, or for further information, conctact Jane Cook on 01782 202222.
Continue Reading >>

Eight Year Vision of Business Leaders Helps to Chart Future Growth for Stafford Borough Added: 08-04-2008
A long-tem plan to stimulate business growth and help shape the future economic
development of Stafford Borough has been unveiled by Stafford Chamber of
Commerce & Industry.Their Business Manifesto 2008-2016 sets out clearly and
concisely what needs to be done over the next eight years if businesses in the
area are to prosper and grow - and the...
Continue Reading >>

Letter to the Chancellor outlines hauliers' concerns over another rise in fuel duty Added: 24-01-2008
Businesses in North Staffordshire have joined road hauliers and other business
members from around the country to write an open letter to the Chancellor,
urging him to scrap the proposed increase in fuel duty, scheduled for April.The
Government has controversially planned an increase of 2p per litre on fuel duty,
which hauliers and road dependent...
Continue Reading >>

North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce Leads Campaign to Drive Forward Vital City Centre Improvemen Added: 09-01-2008
North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce is calling on regeneration chiefs to
drive forward much-needed city centre improvements over the next 12 months.The
business support organisation is campaigning for urgent action at the heart of
Stoke-on-Trent to boost visitor numbers and to enhance the general appeal of the
area as a retail and leisure and...
Continue Reading >>

Chambers unite to produce regional business manifesto Added: 19-12-2007
Businesses across the West Midlands have united to produce a groundbreaking
manifesto that spells out their priorities on four key issues.The document was
launched on 13 December by the Confederation of West Midlands Chambers of
Commerce at the West Bromwich Albion football ground in the presence of the
Minister for the West Midlands, Liam...
Continue Reading >>

Business Information - can we help? Added: 10-12-2007
Formerly delivered by Business Link the Chamber now offers a full service for
the following:Generic, business and consumer database listings - helping you to
research your specific target marketCredit reports - reports on UK companies and
directorsGeneral Information - Advice on legislation, information from the HSE,
Dti, Data Protection Agency...
Continue Reading >>

National accolade recognises Chamber's tenacious campaign Added: 04-12-2007
A 17-year campaign to get traffic-clogged roundabouts on the A500 replaced with
flyovers - releasing major opportunities for local business development - has
seen North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce land a prestige national
award.Years of dogged determination were praised when the Chamber received the
BT-sponsored award for Most Effective...
Continue Reading >>

Are you in Focus? Added: 16-10-2007
Focus is the member magazine for North & Southern Staffordshire Chambers of
Commerce. It is a platform for members to tell other members their good news.You
may have secured a large contract, won an award, relocated or appointed new
personnel. Whatever it is, let everyone else know by sending your news to
Production Editor Sam Al-Hamdani email...
Continue Reading >>