Search Results for: government

August 2, 2016

London firms paint a mixed picture in their post Brexit reaction ⁰

by Sara Bean • Cities, Facilities management, News, Workplace

Investment and hiring intentions remain relatively robust among London’s leading firms, despite the Brexit vote, claims a new analysis by the CBI and CBRE. Over two fifths (41 percent) of the 186 firms surveyed after the Referendum said that they planned to maintain their investment plans, with one in ten (9 percent) planning on actually increasing their plans. The demand for property from occupiers and investors also appears to remain strong. However, 16 percent of firms said they will freeze investment plans, whilst a fifth (21 percent) think they will reduce them. Half of businesses (50 percent) plan to continue to hire after the Referendum, with less than a third (29 percent) not planning to do so and 12 percent planning on reducing staff numbers. Many firms though are still considering their response to the Referendum and will be looking for a clear plan from the Government and City Hall to maintain the openness of London’s economy.

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August 1, 2016

Smart cities will play essential role in meeting future energy demand ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, Environment, News, Property, Technology

The changing energy demands of British cities are revealed in a new report published by Smart Energy GB and the Centre for Economics and Business Research. The report’s central claim is that urbanisation, economic growth and new technology will drive cities to meet their energy demands with the greater use of sustainable and renewable sources. The authors claim that this is the first time that predictions about increases in energy demand in the UK have been analysed and published on a city level. The Powering Future Cities report suggests that this growing demand will primarily be driven by urban population growth, economic growth and a predicted surge in use of new technology, including electric vehicles. The report coincides with an announcement that the World Green Building Council has created a new partnership with the World Resources Institute-led Building Efficiency Accelerator (BEA) to fast-track improvements to energy efficiency within buildings.

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July 29, 2016

The gig economy must be harnessed to address skill shortages and uncertainty ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Workplace

The legal status of people working in the gig economy must be clarified so that businesses and individuals can thrive, according to a new report from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC). Gig economy – The Uberisation of Work (registration needed) explores the impact of digital work platforms such as Upwork, Task Rabbit and Freelancer.com, which act as ‘marketplaces matching freelancers with a wide range of project-based work’. The report suggests that almost a third of all UK employers will use these kinds of digital work platforms by 2021. The REC has called on policy-makers to ensure that the gig economy is fair to self-employed workers and businesses, and to secure benefits for the UK wider economy. The report claims that this will become increasingly important as the gig economy becomes more mainstream, adding £45 billion to the UK economy and creating work for 766,000 people.

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July 29, 2016

Still inequalities, despite more over 50s in work than ever before ⁰

by Sara Bean • Flexible working, Legal news, News, Workplace

Employers that focus only on keeping a generation of younger workers happy are ignoring the fact that an increasing proportion of the UK working population is getting older. The latest Government figures reveal that there are now more people aged 50 to 74 in work than ever before. According to Labour Force Survey statistics there are now 9.4 million people in work aged 50 to 74, with 3.7 million more in this age bracket than there were 20 years ago. The figures also show the unemployment rate for people aged over 50 has dropped to 3.3 percent, the lowest level since 2009, and there are over 1.1 million people working beyond age 65. Legislation to end the retirement age and allow more flexible contracts, have, argues the Government contributed to a more positive attitude towards older workers. However, according to the Centre for Ageing Better, many over 50s are still being forced out of work or offered fewer working hours than they’d requested.

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July 28, 2016

Growing number of people past retirement age still work to boost income ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Legal news, News, Wellbeing

For all that everybody bangs on about Millennials, it’s increasingly apparent that the workforce in most nations is actually getting older and that it’s not just Governments who are keen to keep older staff in work, but also people themselves. A new study from MetLife based on Government data claims that nearly one in seven over-65s in the UK are boosting their retirement income by working, earning around £296 in addition per week. The data suggests that the numbers of over-65s working has increased from just 8 percent of the pensioner population to 13 percent in the last ten years, the equivalent of 1.1 million people. Median earnings from working are £296 a week adding up to annual pay of nearly £15,400. The need to keep working is underlined by the continuing squeeze on saving and investment income, which generates just £312 a year for pensioners on average. The proportion of pensioners earning money from investments has dropped from 72 percent in 2004/05 to around 64 percent now. Around 72 percent of all pensioners have private or company pensions compared with 66 percent a decade ago.

July 25, 2016

China raises retirement age as workforce set to fall by a quarter by 2050 ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News, Property, Workplace

A rapidly ageing workforce is not just a challenge for Western economies. The government of China, the world’s second largest economy, has announced that it expects its workforce to decline by nearly a quarter (23 percent) between now and 2050 as the population ages and more and more jobs are automated. The Government is now considering raising the retirement age from 59 to 65 ahead of an anticipated sharp decline in the numbers of people of working age after 2030, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. A spokesman for the ministry forecast a fall of 211 million people of working age to 700 million by 2050. China’s demographic challenge is mirrored in many countries but has its own characteristics thanks to its strict and controversial decades-long ‘one child’ policy‘ which it lifted last year. The country now has 220 million people over the age of 60, accounting for over 16 percent of its total population at the same time that its previously stellar economic growth has shown signs of slowing.

July 20, 2016

Public health body calls for vaping rooms and extra breaks for e-cigarette users ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Legal news, Wellbeing, Workplace, Workplace design

For those who recall the endless arguments about the rights of smokers and non-smokers that took place both before and after the ban on smoking in public places, the news that Public Health England has advised employers to set up vaping rooms for e-cigarette users will have a familiar feel. The governmental body claims that employers should make it comparatively easier for people to vape in an effort to persuade more smokers to kick their tobacco habit in favour of vaping, which it claims is 95 percent safer. While it acknowledges that smokers are commonly obliged to huddle outside buildings to indulge their habit, the advice suggests that being forced to vape outdoors as well only serves to “undermine their ability to quit smoking”. The advice suggests that of the 2.8 million people who now vape in the UK, the overwhelming majority are former smokers. However, although their habit is less harmful than tobacco smoking, employers treat both groups in the same way.

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July 15, 2016

ICE makes the case for infrastructure ahead of Brexit negotiations ⁰

by Neil Franklin • Cities, News, Property, Public Sector

In a new report Brexit – The Case for Infrastructure, the Institution of Civil Engineers has set out the business case for the valuable contribution which infrastructure makes to the economy and argues that the UK should not lose sight of this as it begins negotiations for Brexit as it leaves the European Union. The report claims that high quality, high performing infrastructure is vital for economic growth and improved quality of life. It points to transport, communications, energy and housing as being central to spreading opportunity across the whole country. It also makes the case that infrastructure acts as a catalyst for social and economic inclusion, encouraging greater participation in society from people of all walks of life. In particular, during uncertain or volatile economic times, continued investment in UK infrastructure can help provide economic stability, facilitate inward investment and drive economic growth.

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July 15, 2016

Substantial growth in 21st Century self employment in the UK ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Flexible working, News

The 21st Century has seen an explosion of self employment in the UK, and most people who have become self employed have done so for positive reasons, claims a new report from the UK Government’s Office for National Statistics. According to the Trends in Self Employment Report, there are now more than 4.7 million people classified as self employed, around 15 percent of the workforce. There has been a marked upturn since the 2008 recession, an increase of 730,000 over that period. The trend to self employment has been evident since the turn of the Millennium when around 3.2 million people were classified as self employed. Between 2001 and 2015, part time self employment grew by 88 percent, compared to 25 percent for full time work, partly because of the growing number of workers choosing part time self employment before retirement. The report describes the changes as structural, which suggests that the growth will continue.

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July 12, 2016

Major European telecoms firms to drive roll out of 5G across continent ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Cities, Legal news, News, Technology

A coalition of twenty major European telecommunications firms has come together to drive the rapid creation of a continent wide 5G network and warn national Governments and the EU of the dangers of over-regulation. The seven page document entitled the 5G Manifesto for timely deployment of 5G in Europe, is backed by firms such as Vodafone, Telenor, Orange, Nokia, BT, Ericsson, Telefonica, Deutsche Telekom, and Hutchison. Its core aim is to showcase the technology on a large scale by 2018 and launch a commercial network capability in at least one city in every EU nation by 2020. The document outlines the features and benefits of the technology but also sets out the potential risks posed by over-regulation, including the possible threat to net neutrality, the principle that Internet service providers should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favouring or blocking particular products or websites

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July 12, 2016

Skyscrapers in London will be hardest hit by new business rates ⁰

by Sara Bean • Architecture, Cities, Facilities management, News, Property

As we reported yesterday there are plans afoot to surround the ‘Walkie Talkie’ winner of last year’s Carbuncle Cup with other tall building. However for organisations interested in occupying a London skyscraper it’s worth noting that according to Colliers, businesses in London’s twenty tallest skyscrapers can expect to pay an extra £50 million under forthcoming major changes to business rates. In a data analysis published recently, Colliers has assessed the likely effects of forthcoming business rates changes – floor-by-floor – on the occupiers of London’s twenty tallest buildings. Overall, firms will need to cough up an extra £50m as business rates bills go from £194m to £243m over the next three years. And the infamous ‘Walkie Talkie’ at 20 Fenchurch Street, and now fully occupied – will see the largest increase with office occupiers and luxury rooftop restaurants faced with a business rates bill of over £19m by 2019, an increase of £5.1m compared with current levels.

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July 11, 2016

Momentum grows to make BIM standard for global construction industry ⁰

by Mark Eltringham • Architecture, Facilities management, Knowledge, Technology, Workplace design

According to a new survey from research firm Timetric’s Construction Intelligence Center (CIC), momentum is growing towards the universal implementation of Building Information Modelling across the construction industry worldwide, with the highest percentage of respondents claiming that it will be the future of the industry. In related news, the UK BIM Alliance will be launched in October and will take over from the UK BIM Task Group as the emphasis is now on making Building Information Modelling the standard approach to construction. The industry alliance has been set up to respond to the UK Government’s challenges in meeting Level 2 requirements. The group will be branded the UK BIM Alliance, and is planned to be officially launched this October. The challenge now faced is to transform from industry mobilisation for Level 2 to make BIM, the standard approach to construction for the entire UK Construction Industry.