Scott Bader are delighted to announce that they have been awarded Gold by Investors in People.Investors in People is an international organisation that encourages businesses to value their people above all else. It offers accreditations including ‘We invest in people’ to organisations which can show they’re actively making their workplaces better for their employees. By receiving Gold, this shows that Scott Bader are meeting these high standards in developing and rewarding colleagues, living by their values and focusing on building sustainable success.The accreditation is recognised in 66 countries, making it the global benchmark for people management.Scott Bader received advanced for Encouraging...

28 November, 2022

Wellingborough Town Council continues to be committed to making the town a better place to live, work and relax. The Town Council have created a list of aspirations that they are looking to provide for the community over the next five years. To help them, they are asking that you read through the corporate plan booklet and complete their simple questionnaire about the services they plan to offer.The Town Council are keen to hear your views and suggestions, and this questionnaire is to establish whether these aspirations meet with the communities needs and whether there is support to fund these...

28 November, 2022

Two much-needed pedestrian bridges have been formally opened today and are now fully in use – re-connecting communities in the north of Northamptonshire for the first time since an arson attack forced the former wooden bridges to be closed and deemed unsafe to cross.The new steel structures, opened to the public in October, were formally unveiled by North Northamptonshire Council (who oversee Chester House Estate) and partners on 25 November. The bridges, which cross the main River Nene and a backwater and link Wellingborough, Irchester and Rushden with Chester House Estate, have been completed and installed after more than a...

26 November, 2022

HGV parking and driver welfare scheme provides match funding to support industry operators to improve HGV facilities.Lorry drivers will benefit from improved and safer rest areas and roadside facilities thanks to up to £100 million investment from industry and government, the Roads Minister Richard Holden has announced today (24 November 2022).From today, truck-stop and road service operators can bid for a share of the £32.5 million match-funding pot from the government. This is in addition to the £20 million match-funding launched earlier this year from National Highways to improve roadside facilities and security for lorry drivers.Minister Holden will launch the funding...

24 November, 2022

Northamptonshire’s top 100 businesses continued to bounce back from the challenges of COVID-19 in 2022 to achieve a 14.5% year-on-year increase in turnover, according to new data from Grant Thornton UK LLP.The leading business and financial adviser’s annual Northamptonshire Limited report found that the top 100 companies* in the county achieved a combined turnover of £9.1 billion this year.The growth is in stark contrast to the 2021 report which saw a decrease of 2.5% in turnover on the previous year, as the impact of COVID continued to present trading challenges.Profits were also up across the county’s top businesses in 2022,...

23 November, 2022

Businesses in the UK are being urged to share the challenges they expect to face over the next 12 months in the third annual SME Business Survey.The study, originally launched by award winning human resources experts HR Solutions in the midst of the pandemic in 2020, is live now for 2022 and is open to all small and medium sized enterprises and focuses on key issues such as the impact of rising costs, and employee retention.This is the third year that HR Solutions have run the survey, which they use to gain a deeper understanding of the year ahead and...

23 November, 2022

A new suicide prevention campaign is hoping to cause a stir in pubs and bars across Northamptonshire this Christmas, and for good reason.Wellingborough based suicide and mental health prevention charity, We Mind & Kelly Matters will be launching their beer mat campaign at the start of December, with the hope of spreading suicide awareness this Christmas, all the while offering lifelines to those who may need them.Sherry Adams, CEO of the charity explained: ‘Why do we always say, ‘don’t bottle it up’? To put it simply, it’s because talking helps. Sharing our troubles with others has been shown to reduce...

23 November, 2022

We know times are tough at the moment, and getting out and about and immersed in local days out and experiences is a real tonic. Here’s a round-up of our top ten quality experiences for the winter weeks where entrance or participation is free.Northampton Bike Park – https://northamptonbikepark.org/ A former golf course in Northampton has been brilliantly transformed into a new award-winning 40-acre specialist mountain bike park, welcoming cyclists from Northamptonshire and beyond. The park has a range of trails and tracks for everyone; whether families beginning cycling adventures on balance bikes, or skilled mountain bikers, and everything in between.Treewilder at Barnwell...

22 November, 2022

Government launches new innovation programme to support the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in reducing the UK’s carbon emissions.Today (Tuesday 22 November) the government has launched a new innovation programme which will support the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions.The AI for Decarbonisation Programme, backed by £1.5 million in funding, forms part of the government’s £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, and comprises separate streams of grant funding to be launched in 2 initial stages.Stream 1, worth up to £500,000, will be made available to co-fund a virtual centre of excellence on AI innovation and decarbonisation through...

22 November, 2022

On the back of a sobering Autumn Statement last week, the CBI is arguing that while a deeper recession was averted, more needs to be done to improve the long-term growth potential of the UK. Tony Danker, CBI Director-General, will argue that while fiscal credibility looks to have been restored, there are three imperatives to get the economy growing: Government must now become the great unlocker of private investment; Government must change economic rules to overcome political barriers and businesses must show even greater ingenuity than during Covid. In the opening speech of the CBI Annual Conference 2022 in Birmingham – sponsored...

21 November, 2022

The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will play an essential role in helping deliver the commitments made by the Chancellor in yesterday’s Autumn Statement.Yesterday (Thursday 17 November), the Chancellor delivered his Autumn Statement to the House of Commons, announcing a raft of measures aimed at ensuring the UK’s economic stability, continuing growth, and providing support to the most vulnerable.The Chancellor highlighted how the government’s priority is to tackle inflation and prevent it eating into the paycheques and savings of people across the country, while eliminating disruption to business growth plans.Among the key measures that BEIS will be charged with delivering is...

18 November, 2022