Liverpool City Council is proposing to upgrade and update this significant area in the City Centre.

As you will already be aware work is underway on Lord Street and Church Street and there has been some consultation on the proposed package of works for Whitechapel and Stanley Street.

There will be a public exhibition:

• Date: Wednesday 9 August 2006
• Time: 09.00 hrs - 19.00 hrs
• Venue: The 08 Place, Whitechapel

The works programme will affect:

• Pedestrians:
• Loading/Servicing
• Taxis
• Disabled parking

Construction is planned to start in early 2007 after the busy Christmas shopping period and to be completed in early summer 2007.

You are invited to attend the exhibition and to have your say.

Last Wednesday saw Trident Training hold its annual Achievers Awards. This year the event took place at Anfield Stadium.

The awards are for learners and their employers. All learners who have been through the Trident Training programme were eligible. Awards went to the best individual in each of the following five categories:

• business administration
• accountancy
• customer service
• international trade
• horse care

There are also awards for apprentice of the year and life-long learners of the year, one of which was won by the Chamber’s own Muneera Abdullah.

Pictured above are some of this years well-deserved winners with the Chamber’s chief exec, Jack Stopforth. Well done to our achievers, and proud we are of all of them!

You can access the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) online Pensions survey via www.merseyeconomy.org.uk

The Government published its Pension White Paper at the end of May and is in active consultation with Key Stakeholders. David Frost and the BCC are in active consultation with the DWP and James Purnell the Pensions Minister has indicated as part of their wish to achieve a lasting consensus on the introduction of the National Pensions Savings Scheme (NPSS), and the changes to the state pension system, the Government is interested in the views of the Business Community and in particular small Businesses.

In this context the BCC is working on its response in time for the consultation deadline. The BCC is aware that Businesses need the minimum disruption of employees and processes and any change should ideally have no initial or ongoing administrative cost to business. As part of this process the BCC will be looking to set up a small working party to test its proposals, and have produced the first (of perhaps a series) of web based survey questionnaire to provide input into the BCC policy response.

Members of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce and Industry are urged to take part in this survey. Closing date 11th August 2006.

The Bristish Chambers of Commerce has published its Benchmarking Survey for 2006. This document looks at all the Chambers of Commerce across the UK and compares their performance against each other and pre-set standards.

Liverpool Chamber has performed exceptionally well in the past year, coming in the top 20 in most areas (out of 56 chambers), and doing particularly well in the following activities:

• 2nd highest number of inward international trade missions
• 5th highest membership penetration for all businesses in the area, including SMEs
• 6th highest number of participants at chamber events (5,537), from the 17th highest number of events available (81)
• 8th highest number of members and affiliate members (2,309)
• 13th nationally in terms of website page impressions (862,000)

These figures reflect Liverpool Chamber’s dedication to providing excellent services and opportunities for our members, and our commitment to being one of the best chambers not just regionally, but nationally.

Today the Chamber is hosting a seminar on trading with South Africa. Speakers will include Joanne Jones, Head of the South Africa Market Desk, UKIT in London, Tumelo Nkonne, Minister of Economics at the South African High Commission. This is in preparation for the market visit that the chamber is running to to Johannesburg and Cape Town 18-25 November 2006 for companies interested in exploring the opportunities available.

The Chambers of Commerce in the North West are undertaking a Business Skills Survey. The aim of this survey is to determine the extent to which this issue is affecting your business. Liverpool Chamber of Commerce and Industry urge you to take part in this survey which is available online at www.merseyeconomy.org.uk. Closing date 8th August 2006.

LiverpoolABC.com, the inter-trading platform for Chamber members, is now online. Please visit www.liverpoolabc.com and request your quotations today.

Technical problems have forced the fast ferry service between the Isle of Man and Liverpool to be cancelled today.

Passengers can still cross on the conventional ferry service.

You can check out the latest travel news and timetable on the Steam Packet Company website, or call 08705 523523.

Due to the extensive roadworks now taking place on Hanover Street, several buses now have alternative routes or terminals in the city centre.

A full list of the changes can be seen on the Merseytravel website (link goes to a PDF document). Leaflets are also available from the usual travel information outlets.

Liverpool was today revealed as the mobile phone capital of the country. Research by the London School of Economics, and reported in the Daily Post, shows that Liverpool residents make more calls than anyone else and are the second biggets texters in the country.

One in ten has also suffered the theft of a mobile phone, compared to the national average of 9%.

Read the Post article here, and see the LSE’s findings here.