Incoming laws covering age discrimination and minimum wage payments could work together to give businesses a legislative headache.

As we’ve already mentioned, from October 1 new laws come into place banning discrimination in the workplace. However, these could be used to challange the current system of minimum wage payments. As it stands, younger workers are payed less than those over 21. If this is seen as discrimination, it could discourage employers from taking on younger staff.

Find out more about this, and the British Chambers of Commerce’s views on the matter, in this BBC article.

Also, if you think this will affect your business or you have an opinion on the issue, leave a comment and let Liverpool Chamber hear your views.

As part of our Corporate Social Responsibility agenda this year Liverpool Chamber are sponsoring a new award in the Groundwork Environmental Awards 2007. Our award is called the ‘Responsible Business Award’.

Visit the Merseyside Business Environment Network for more details and an application form

The award is also open to groups of businesses who may be tackling an issue together and the closing date is the 10th November 2006.

The awards themselves will take place on the 8th Feb 2007 at the Crown Plaza Hotel.

So if you are, or know of, a company that’s doing its bit to be environmentally responsible, fill in a form and let us know all about it.

The British Chambers of Commerce continued its work of championing the voice of British business at this year’s Labour Party Conference by hosting a lively debate on the challenges and opportunities facing British businesses today.

• Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MBE MP, Minister for Industry and the Regions, outlined the opportunity for British businesses. She highlighted macroeconomic stability, growth, employment and investment in R&D, but questioned the ability of business to raise finance and whether the UK had the right skills for business needs.

• Following her recent trip to China she noted that engineering graduates in China were not of that high a standard as the UK’s.

• When questioned on whether British business pays a fair level of tax, Margaret Hodge conceded that the balance of tax against our European counterparts may now have shifted.

• David Frost, Director General, British Chambers of Commerce, said that businesses definitely want a DTI and Margaret Hodge agreed but also acknowledged that the voice of business in government is crucial and must be strengthened.

• David Frost expressed businesses concern about at the continuing increases of the Minimum Wage and Margaret Hodge accepted our thinking on this. However, Margaret Hodge said that the UK has to marry the competing interest of social as well as economic pressures. She believed better paid workers equals better producers.

• On skills, a topic both David Frost and members of the audience questioned her closely on, the Minister said that pulling up standards of those leaving school with poor qualifications is an enormous struggle and takes a long time. We have not had long enough to see the transition. She called on businesses, who she believed complain all the time about skills, to get involved earlier on when young people are 12 or 13 years old.

Latest British Chambers of Commerce updates from the Labour Party Conference 2006

Barry Gardiner MP - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Barry is keen to hear the views of rural businesses on the issues that affect them, and he will be attending a BCC dinner in the autumn where rural businesses people will have an opportunity to express their views to him in person.

In the mean time if you have any issues or would be interested in attending please contact Kieran O’Keeffe on k.okeeffe@britishchambers.org.uk.

Dr Stephen Ladyman MP - Minister of State, Department for Transport
BCC met with Dr Ladyman to discuss a number of transport issues, particularly road pricing, the minister assured us that road pricing will not be an additional form of revenue raising but would form part of the £42bn currently spent on transport annually. He stressed that local authorities need to pilot road pricing now so that a national system can be introduced no later than 2014.

He was interested to receive the report of the transport working group (to be released Wednesday 27th September) and agreed with all the conclusions.

On planning he acknowledged that it is slow progress because current consultation methods take time. He wants to see a system where Parliament vote on proposed schemes followed by public consultation on where and how the scheme is implemented not the scheme in principle.

Dr Ladyman responded positively to BCC’s request for a business breakfast, to take place in the autumn which will be a major part of the Network’s transport campaign.

Greater Manchester Chamber
Held an excellent fringe event on City Regions and Economic Development. Speakers included Sir Michael Lyons and the Rt Hon Ruth Kelly MP - Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Black Country Chamber
Held a number of events at Conference including a very well attended reception on Sunday evening, at which the Prime Minister was present

The Greater Merseyside Digital Development Agency (GMDDA) has launched a new e-newsletter service to help spread the word on the latest advances in digital technologies.

The newsletter will arrive in subscribers’ inboxes once a month, featuring articles of both regional and national significance. Focussing on ICT issues that impact on businesses from every industry sector, it aims to help the North West take advantage of the new technologies available today.

The first edition featured a range of stories, including the ICT Investment Fund, the latest communication infrastructures from BT and the environmental issues surrounding computer usage.

Visit the GMDDA website to subscribe to the newsletter.

An article on the BBC website highlights the lack of awareness that surrounds the changes to ‘ageism’ laws that come into place on October 1.

Many employees and employers, it seems,  don’t know that ageism in the workplace will be outlawed, and employers will no longer be able to impose compulsory retirement before the age of 65.

Is your business up to speed on this issue?

Read an informative Q&A on the BBC site.

Visit the Employers Forum on Age website for more details. 

Does your business have a website? I bet it does. But is that site as accessible to everyone as it could be?

A recent report by Nomensa has highlighted the fact that nearly all retail-focused sites are failing to cater for disabled online visitors. Even if you don’t sell products or services on the web, websites are increasingly becoming the first point of contact many people have with a company. Can you afford to put people off at the first hurdle?

Making your site accessible doesn’t have to break the bank either. By following a few simple guidelines, set up by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), you can go a long way to letting everyone make the most of your site. Some of these guidelines include:

• Simple, easy to read copy
• Re-sizable text
• Good contrast between text and background
• Meaningful alt-tags for images
• Minimal use of Flash-based technology or time-specific elements (such as scrolling text)
• Access keys to allow your site to be navigated without a mouse
• Hyperlink text that makes sense when read out of context (instead of the dreaded ‘click here’)
• Transcripts for any audio or video content
• Small image files to cater for those with slower machines

These, of course, are just basic tips. You can learn a lot more by reading the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. And don’t worry, you don’t need to be a teccy to understand it.

You wouldn’t turn your disabled customers away from your bricks and mortar premises, so make sure you’re not doing it online.

Read more on this story on the BBC website. 

Yes, after only four months, we have figured out how to include a link to the main Chamber site on this blog’s front page. Check it out to the right of this post. Not too shabby, eh?

Here are a few more road closures coming up in the next few weeks. There are a lot of night works going on, so hopefully disruption to normal traffic should be minimal. Good luck!

Mon 25^th Sept: Nightworks Only

Note: Roads Closed at 1900hrs and S’Bound Lane Closure installed at 1845hrs - 0600hrs(lane switches during night)

Closure of Water St and Brunswick St City Side:Resurface Water St/Planeout Brunswick St

Southbound Closures. Single lane running only:Resurfacing lanes 1,2,3./Roadmarkings

Tunnel closed 2100hrs: Burn of Hatching / install Road markings

Tue 26th Sept Nightworks Only

Note: Roads Closed at 1900hrs and S’Bound Lane Closure installed at 1845hrs - 0600hrs (Lane switches during night)

Closure of Water St and Brunswick St City Side:Resurface Brunswick St/Cut loops Water St.

Southbound Closures. Single lane running only: Antiskid Southbound lanes 1&2

Northbound Closures Single lane running only: Resurface lanes 1&2/Roadmarkings

Tunnel closed 2100hrs:

Wed 27 Sept: Nightworks Only

Note: Roads Closed at 1900hrs and S’Bound Lane Closure installed at 1845hrs - 0600hrs (Lane switches during night)

Closure of Water St and Brunswick St City Side: Cut loops Brunswick St

Southbound Closures. Single lane running only:Antiskid lanes 3&4 / cut loops RH turn lane

Tunnel closed 2100hrs: Cut Loops tunnel entrance

Wed 27 Sept: Nightworks Only

Note: Roads Closed at 1900hrs and S’Bound Lane Closure installed at 1845hrs - 0600hrs (lane switches during the night)

Closure of Water St and Brunswick River Side:

Northbound Closures. Single lane running only: Resurface lanes 3&4/Roadmarkings

Thur 28 Sept: Nightworks Only

Note: Roads Closed at 1900hrs and S’Bound Lane Closure installed at 1845hrs - 0600hrs (lane switches during the night)

Closure of Water St and Brunswick St City Side:

Southbound Closures.Single lane running only:Cut 4nr loops & Antiskid approach to tunnel exit

Thurs 28 Sept: Nightworks Only

Roads Closed at 1900hrs and S’Bound Lane Closure installed at 1830hrs - 0600hrs (lane switches during the night)

Closure of Water St and Brunswick River Side: Resurface Water St

Northbound Closures.Single lane running only

Fri 29 Sept: Nightworks Only Roads Closed at 1900hrs and S’Bound Lane Closure installed at 1830hrs - 0600hrs

Closure of Water St and Brunswick St City Side:Anti skid both side roads.

Sun 1 Oct: Daytime Works

Roads Closed at 0700hrs and N’Bound Lane Closures installed at 0700hrs - 1700hrs approx (1 switch from lanes 1&2 to 3&4)

Northbound Lane Closures: Cut loops

Closure of Water St and Brunswick River Side: Cut oops Water St

Mon 2 to Fri 6 Oct Nightworks Only - Anti Skid Works

Closure of Water St and Brunswick St City Side for works in Lane 1&2 only

Northbound Closures. Single lane running only: Antiskid lanes 1,2,3,4

Liverpool Chamber’s latest business breakfast held at the Piazza, Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral addressed Britain’s relationship with Europe. Over “the full English”, 50 guests heard John Whittaker, MEP for the UK Independence Party, outline his views on the level of taxation and regulatory red tape borne by the business community. He also talked about the need for the UK to grow a strong and competitive private sector.

Pictured above is Chamber Chief Executive, Jack Stopforth with John Whittaker, MEP