Totally awarded £10m contract supporting NHS
Totally, a Derby-based provider of frontline healthcare services, corporate fitness and wellbeing services, has been awarded a new contract by NHS England to provide national NHS 111 contingency services.
The contract, awarded to Vocare, part of Totally’s Urgent Care division, will run from 1 March 2023 at a value of c. £10 million per annum, initially for one year with the option to extend for a further year.
NHS England has commissioned this support to provide additional call handling and clinical capacity to help to alleviate some of the pressures on local NHS 111 services, as required. NHS 111 provides an essential service to the UK population, offering support as wide-reaching as over-the-telephone healthcare advice, to access to urgent and emergency care.
Vocare is a long-standing provider of regional NHS 111 services. This new contract provides additional flexible capacity, which can be precisely targeted where and when needed.
Wendy Lawrence, CEO of Totally, said: “Totally has significant experience providing quality, resilient and responsive regional NHS 111 services. Our services have provided essential access to core healthcare services as demand has risen beyond the level anticipated by commissioners.
“This new contract re-affirms Totally as a core partner in the delivery of NHS 111 services and moves to recognise the new normal in which healthcare providers are operating, providing essential additional capacity into the system.”
National design competition launched for major housing scheme in Mansfield
A major design competition has been launched inviting architects to design a significant new social housing scheme on a derelict site close to Mansfield town centre.
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is managing the competition to find an outstanding design for Mansfield’s White Hart Street area on behalf of Mansfield District Council.
Executive Mayor of Mansfield Andy Abrahams said: “We are delighted to be working with RIBA to help find a designer for this flagship redevelopment scheme.
“White Hart Street is an important area close to the town centre which has been crying out to be resurrected into something that combines the old with the new and which will breathe new life into an area which has been run-down and largely derelict for many years.
“We want to find an architect who is sensitive about the area’s heritage and excited about designing new housing that will stand the test of time, addressing the challenges of climate change, and providing affordable high quality homes that people of all ages enjoy and feel proud to live in.”
Applications are invited from architects across the world in accordance with the requirements set out in the briefing document and selection questionnaire on the RIBA website.
Teresa Borsuk, Pollard Thomas Edwards’ and RIBA Architect Adviser for the competition said: “This is an important and exciting opportunity to transform White Hart Street in Mansfield by providing new homes and an identity that will help secure its future.”
The deadline for submission of the selection questionnaires is 12noon (GMT) on Wednesday 15 February 2023.
The land to be redeveloped is located within the Bridge Street conservation area which contains buildings of historic and architectural merit.
Full Council approved a £16.5m budget to build new council homes on this brownfield site in 2019. Architects entering the competition currently have a £14m budget for the scheme although this may increase subject to a successful bid for grant funding.
The properties are expected to be a mix of housing types, including family houses and apartments for older people, and built to the Future Homes Standard to save energy for residents, in line with the council’s Climate Emergency Action Plan. They would be added to the council’s stock of affordable homes.
The area has stood derelict for over a decade. It previously had planning permission for a mixed retail and residential scheme in 2008, but market conditions meant this scheme was never taken forward. It subsequently became blighted and has, as a consequence, become a magnet for anti-social behaviour.
The council purchased land in this area last year (2022) in order to facilitate its regeneration. Redevelopment of this area would strongly align with the council’s Growth, Aspiration, Wellbeing and Place priorities.
The Mayor added: “One of the key principles of the masterplan is for our town centre to be a place where people want to live.
“This will increase footfall for retailers as well as improve the appearance of the centre, and these, in turn, should act as a catalyst for external investment.”
The firm winning the competition will progress the design for planning permission – subject to approval by the Full Council of the business case expected in January 2024.
If approved, a planning application could be submitted in the same month and if that is approved, demolition work could start around October 2024 and building work in February 2025.
One of England’s highest dispensing bricks and mortar pharmacies sold in group deal
Stagedale Limited, the operator of two high-dispensing volume pharmacies in Lincolnshire, has been sold.
The sale comprised West Elloe Pharmacy, which sits adjacent to a busy health centre in Spalding, and Knight Street Pharmacy, which occupies a prominent high street location in Pinchbeck. On average, West Elloe Pharmacy dispenses a huge 53,000 items per month – making it one of England’s highest dispensing bricks and mortar pharmacies – and Knight Street Pharmacy dispenses over 9,000 items per month.
Innovation and technology have been core principles of the business, as they have adapted over the years to implement automated dispensing services and to allow patients to collect prescriptions 24 hours a day – a service that has developed strongly as a result of the pandemic.
Stagedale Limited, which owned and operated these pharmacies for over a quarter of a century, was put up for sale following the impending retirement of some of its shareholders.
Through a confidential sales process managed by Carl Steer and Tony Evans at Christie & Co, it has been sold to BMP Healthcare Limited, a Leicester-based, eight-strong pharmacy group.
Ryszard Cygan, Managing Director of Stagedale Limited, says: “We are delighted to have sold the business to BMP Healthcare, a young and exciting group which shares the same ethos and principles we have had at the core of our business for the last 25 years. We are confident that Rahul and team will continue to develop the services the pharmacies offer, further enhancing their profile with patients across the Spalding area.”
Rahul Patel, Managing Director of BMP Healthcare Limited, says: “We are delighted to have acquired such a prestigious pharmacy business which has been at the heart of community pharmacy in the Spalding area for over a quarter of a century. Working alongside our existing eight pharmacies, we are looking forward to delivering not only the strong service the pharmacies already offer but also to introducing additional services to further enhance the delivery of care to our patients.”
Carl Steer, director – Medical at Christie & Co, says: “The sale of Stagedale Limited demonstrates the appetite and confidence some operators have in the marketplace. Knowing Rahul’s existing pharmacy estate, the purchase of Stagedale Limited’s pharmacies will complement this further to the benefit of patients and the communities the pharmacies serve.”
Stagedale Limited operating West Elloe Pharmacy and Knight Street Pharmacy was sold for an undisclosed price.
Leicestershire foundation funds sanitary pad manufacturing plant that will improve the lives of 50,000 Ugandan girls and women
Up to 50,000 Ugandan lives will be significantly improved after the Ugandan Red Cross Society partnered with a Leicestershire charitable foundation to build a manufacturing plant for re-usable sanitary pads.
Thanks to significant grant funding from the Randal Charitable Foundation the plant in Namakwa, Mukono district of Uganda, will also create employment opportunities for over 200 vulnerable girls and women who will be trained to make and market the pads.
Once fully established the plant will manufacture 200,000 re-usable pads per year, which is an equivalent of 50,000 4-pad packs. Around 20 percent of the pads will be given to 10,000 vulnerable girls in-school free of charge. The remaining 80 percent will be commercialised to 40,000 girls and women in the wider community at a subsidised price, which will ensure the long-term sustainability of the manufacturing facility.
Dr Nik Kotecha OBE DL, founder and chair of trustees of the Randal Charitable Foundation, said: “Our mission is to directly save and significantly improve the lives of the most vulnerable in society in the UK and globally.
“This project is so beneficial to the community because without access to high quality sanitary pads and toilets, or washrooms for changing, many girls and women are not able to go far from their homes.
“The consequence of this is that they often cannot attend school, and in many cases become trapped in their homes unable to earn a living to support their families.
“We are delighted with our partnership with the Ugandan Red Cross Society because the manufacturing facility will have the dual benefits of ensuring girls are able to stay in school to gain a good education, and in many cases a future free of extreme poverty. It will also deliver sustainable skilled employment to the women and girls involved in the production and sale of the pads.”
The grant funding will support the setting up of the manufacturing facility to produce re-usable sanitary pads and the training and up-skilling of selected girls and women to make them. It will then fund capacity building to involve more girls and women in specific skills, such as record keeping and marketing, as well as support supervision and monitoring.
After acquiring the required production skills, each female trainee is targeted to produce 50 reusable pads per day, which equates to 1,000 per year. Once the first group of 20 trainees have mastered the skills to produce the reusable pads, they will then recruit another group of 20 to expand their labour force.
The project is part of a collaboration between the Uganda Red Cross Society and the Ministry of Education & Sports and partners, which in 2019 launched a countrywide initiative named Keep a Girl in School. The main aim of this project is to improve Menstrual Health Management among Primary and Secondary School going adolescents in vulnerable communities.
During the implementation of the project, URCS is partnering with She for She, which is an indigenous organisation whose goal is to ensure that every menstruator can attend school by improving access to pads and providing comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights education.
She for She has experience in training community groups to sew pads and partnering with established local organisations to provide education and dialogue on menstruation and related Menstrual Hygiene Management. While the first set of materials will be imported, the Society will advocate for in-country factories to start producing the materials locally.
Robert Kwesiga, Secretary General of the Uganda Red Cross Society, said: “I would like to thank the Randal Charitable Foundation for their significant support for the humanitarian cause to keep more girls in school through manufacturing, good sanitation, and provision of pads.
“As a result of a lack of access to hygienic sanitary wear, girls and women in the community often resort to using inappropriate materials such as rugs torn from their old clothes, papers, pieces of old mattress foam and leaves.
“And in some cases, in rural communities, they become house bound, and forced to sit over a hole dug in the middle of their mud floors until the menstrual flow ends. School going girls who get blood on their clothes are also often teased by teachers, boys, or other girls, and this has been reported as a significant cause of school dropouts for girls.”
Keep Girl in School is also part of the Uganda Red Cross Society Health and Social Service Agenda under Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Interventions – which plays a crucial role around key issues such as health, education, protection and security of women and adolescent girls, both in emergency and in the development context.
Green light recommended to convert former Midland Railway Institute building in Derby
Plans to convert the former Midland Railway Institute building in Derby, which is now the Waterfall Public House, for residential use (while retaining the pub in a reduced form) have been recommended for approval.
The building is a non-listed heritage asset, which has historic association with the railway industry in Derby.
The building is a two storey, high ceiling, late 19th Century, ornate red brick building, which was originally an education and recreational facility for rail workers and now comprises a public house and associated function rooms and pool room, kitchen and toilet facilities. The building also houses a former concert hall, which is currently vacant and in poor repair.
Permission is sought to retain the public house, to the ground floor and southern end of the building, and convert of the rest of the building to residential use, to form 31 one and two bedroom apartments over two floors and through the subdivision of the principal rooms and formation of mezzanine levels to some of those rooms to form additional accommodation.
The proposal involves some demolition of some 20th Century extensions which are on the rear of the building and include a two storey toilet extension and external staircase. A single storey outbuilding to the north west boundary of the site, is proposed to be renovated and altered to form cycle and bin store for the use of residents.
The existing rear yard is also proposed to be landscaped to form a private amenity space for residents of the building.
Apartment plans for Derby hotel tipped for approval
The demolition of a Derby hotel, to make way for new apartments, has been recommended for approval.
The plans from Elgie Properties would see the La Gondola hotel on Osmaston Road replaced with 42 flats in two blocks.
The proposals for the closed two-storey hotel, which comprised of 20 bedrooms, a restaurant, function rooms and associated parking, follow the refusal of a larger scheme.
The new application sees the scale of the development reduced and also looks to address concerns over bat activity.
Plans in for Leicestershire battery site
Following a period of public consultation and planning assessment, Exagen has submitted plans for Normanton Energy Reserve, a 500 MW / 1 GWh grid-scale battery site on land to the northeast of Earl Shilton, Leicestershire.
With plans for further consultation with the local community, the site is a blueprint for co-locating energy with community green spaces and boosting biodiversity.
Once built, the battery will be one of the largest in the UK and capable of powering 235,000 homes for two hours, the same number of homes as in Sheffield, or 80% of the homes in Leicestershire, the county in which it is situated.
The £350 million battery site, which is around ten times larger than the majority of battery projects currently providing storage for the grid, will connect directly to the transmission network, playing a vital role in managing natural fluctuations in intermittent renewable energy. Sites like this are essential in helping the UK to transition to net zero and securing our home-grown energy supply, easing our reliance on foreign fossil fuels, and addressing fuel poverty.
Exagen, a UK developer of renewable energy, is committed to a community-based approach, with plans to use approximately 45% of the 19 acres of land to improve biodiversity. This will include extending Normanton Millennium Wood with construction of a new permissive path open to the public, as well as the option of wildflower meadows, providing land for beekeeping and new hedgerows and tree planting. The project will deliver a more than 44% net gain for biodiversity habitat units, compared with the existing baseline habitats.
The company will also establish a dedicated community fund to spend on improvements in the local area, such as sponsoring education courses for the skills the UK will need to develop renewable projects in the future. In order to decide how the land and fund is used, the company will consult with local communities, inviting citizens in the area to have their say.
The project will be energised and connected to the grid in 2028 with much of the construction being in the year before this, however earthworks and landscaping would be implemented in advance to allow time for the planting to establish and begin to mature before the main development is constructed. Exagen will look to partner with local businesses on the project, inviting local contractors to get involved.
Mark Rowcroft, development director at Exagen, said: “We’re committed to transforming energy for good, bringing batteries onto the grid to ensure we can store energy and keep the lights on when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow. That’s why we’re excited to work with local communities and businesses to ensure the project is not only bringing clean, home-grown energy onto our grid, but that the site is also benefitting the local area.
“Over the next few months, we’ll be announcing a variety of opportunities for individuals and businesses to get involved. We look forward to hearing from those in Thurlaston, Earl Shilton and the surrounding area about how we can make this site best work for them long-term.”
Rising prices add almost 20% to minimum cost of retirement
The amount of money needed to retire at a minimum living standard has increased by almost 20% over the last year, according to new analysis.
This substantial increase highlights the need for pension reform to help more people achieve an adequate income in retirement, says the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), who funded the research.
This increase in what is needed for a Minimum Retirement Living Standard is in part a result of the higher proportion of a minimum budget going towards the things that have risen the most in price: food and energy.
Based on independent research by Loughborough’s Centre for Research into Social Policy (CRSP), the Retirement Living Standards (RLS) are rooted in detailed discussions with groups of members of the public, who consider what are realistic and relevant expectations for retirement living.
These expectations are described through three different baskets of goods and services needed to reach a minimum, moderate and comfortable standard of living in retirement. These baskets comprise six categories: household bills, food and drink, transport, holidays and leisure, clothing and social and cultural participation.
The RLS are regularly reviewed to ensure they keep up with changes in the public’s expectations of what retired households need as well as the changes in prices on the shelves to remain relevant to real world retirement spending.
The RLS are being used across the pensions and savings industry in the UK, helping savers to understand what they’ll need in retirement and how this compares to projected pensions income. Through the communications of more than 100 pension schemes and organisations, including some of the largest and best-known brands, the Standards are reaching up to 35 million savers.
The annual increase in what is needed to reach each living standard over the last year is by far the largest since the RLS were first established in 2019. Across all of the RLS, the increase in the price of domestic fuel has been the most significant factor in increasing what is needed overall.
Between 2021 and 2022, the weekly cost of domestic fuel rose by around 130%. The increase in the weekly cost of domestic fuel accounts for between 30-40% of the increases in the overall budgets for a minimum, moderate and comfortable living standard in retirement between 2021 and 2022.
Increases in the costs associated with motoring at the Moderate and Comfortable RLS over the past year – driven by increases in the cost of second-hand cars and in the cost of petrol/diesel – have resulted in this element of the budgets increasing by 16%.
Between 2021 and 2022, the cost of a Minimum RLS increased from £10,900 to £12,800 – or 18% – for a single person and from £16,700 to £19,900 – or 19% – for a couple.
The Minimum Retirement Living Standard is the same as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s Minimum Income Standard (MIS) and reflects what members of the public think is required to cover a retiree’s needs, not just to survive but to live with dignity – including social and cultural participation.
It includes £96 for a couple’s weekly food shop, a week’s holiday in the UK, eating out about once a month and some affordable leisure activities about twice a week. It does not include budget to run a car.
Rising food and fuel prices have contributed significantly to the increase in the Minimum standard. The update also saw the amount of food included within the budget increasing to bring it into line with the up-to-date nutritional research on a healthy diet.
The disproportionate increase in the cost of retirement at the Minimum RLS means the government’s commitment to the state pension triple lock, announced in the most recent Autumn Statement, is especially important. Rising by a record 10.1% to £10,600 per year, a couple who are each in receipt of a full new state pension would reach the Minimum Retirement Living Standard.
The Moderate RLS increased 12% to £23,300 for a single retiree and by 11% to £34,000 for a couple. The Moderate Retirement Living Standard provides more financial security and flexibility than the minimum.
This moderate level includes £127 for the weekly food shop for a retired couple, a two-week holiday in Europe and the cost of eating out a few times a month.
At the Comfortable RLS, retirees can expect to have more luxuries like regular beauty treatments, theatre trips and three weeks holiday in Europe a year. A couple could spend £238 per week on food shopping. At this level, the cost of living increased 11% to £37,300 for one person and 10% to £54,500 for a two-person household.
Matt Padley, co-director of CRSP, who led this research, said: “This latest analysis shows the impact of increases in the cost of essentials – such as food and fuel – on what is needed to be able to live with dignity in retirement.
“The Minimum Retirement Living Standard sets out what the public think we should all able to have and do in retirement – this isn’t about luxuries, it’s about meeting your basic material needs and being able to take part in the world around you. The reality is that many are not able to do this and face impossible decisions about what to prioritise. As a society we need to work to ensure that everyone is able to reach this minimum in retirement.”
Nigel Peaple, director policy & advocacy, PLSA, said: “The past year has been an enormously challenging one for many households in the UK.
“Inflation has risen to its highest rate in 40 years with the cost of essentials and domestic fuel soaring, putting substantial pressure on incomes for working age and retired households, particularly for those on low incomes.
“These figures underline why the Government was right to increase the State Pension in line with the Triple Lock in the Autumn Statement.
“The jump in the Retirement Living Standards underscores the need for the Government to adopt the PLSA’s recommendations on pensions set down in our recent report, Five Steps to Better Pensions.
“These include the need for the Government to adopt clear national objectives for retirement income, to ensure the state pension protects everyone from poverty and, later this decade once the cost-of-living crisis has passed, to increase the scope and level of automatic enrolment pension contributions.”
2023 Business Predictions: Ed Tripp, consultancy director at East Midlands Environmental Consultants (EMEC)
It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.
It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.
Here we speak to Ed Tripp, consultancy director at East Midlands Environmental Consultants (EMEC).
There is no doubt 2023 is going to be year of change for the construction and planning sector. Under the Environment Act 2021, all planning permissions granted in England (with a few exemptions) have to deliver at least 10% biodiversity net gain from an as yet unconfirmed date, expected to be in November 2023.
Now more than ever sustainability has become a key focal point for residential and commercial developers. Our role as the consultant ecologist is as much about protecting habitats as it is about offering added value advice to developers so that the communities they create incorporate diversity. I predict the role of the environmental consultant will become even more important as new biodiversity legislation is implemented.
The cost of living crisis and rising inflation rates are also going to have a major impact on Government funding which under normal circumstances would be utilised for further conservations efforts. This lack of funding could also cause a skills gaps within the sector. Finding the right candidates, with the right technical expertise is becoming increasingly difficult.
Despite it being a challenging year, the more we support nature, the more it supports us.
2023 Business Predictions: Andrew Macmillan, partner and office head of Gateley Nottingham
It’s that time of year, when Business Link Magazine invites the region’s business leaders to offer up their predictions for the year ahead.
It has become something of a tradition, given that we’ve been doing this now for over 30 years.
Here we speak to Andrew Macmillan, partner and office head of Gateley Nottingham.
The predicted decline in the UK economy for 2023/2024 will mean minimal growth. This will lead to companies restructuring to ensure they remain cost effective, while many may enter administration, leading to redundancies.
If instability continues it will become harder for businesses to make decisions on investments and they will hold off until the economy improves.
Unless a solution is reached in Ukraine, fuel and energy costs will unlikely improve. This will place many businesses, particularly those in hospitality and retail, under pressure and unable to survive, leading to job losses and having to close. Many retailers are moving completely online, which is more bad news for the high street.
Remote working is continuing post-pandemic. Employees have got used to the flexibility hybrid working brings and some businesses may consider a purely remote workforce, removing the need for expensive office space rent, rates and utilities. This is not good news for town and city centres.
Another knock-on effect is technology developments and an increase in usage of AI. Many businesses will develop solutions to enable automation of manual and routine workloads. Additionally, businesses would be advised to ensure they are familiar with the latest GDPR regulations and that they have good protection against cyber-attacks.
Last but not least, the UK labour market is likely to remain very tight, resulting in low employment and rising job losses. Many companies are implementing freezes on recruitment and the minimum wage increase will impact on the potential for pay rises and bonuses for employees.
