Financial support from
Co-operative and Community Finance (C&CF) is helping an award-winning
community media company in South London to
secure its future and provide better facilities for young people.  C&CF is
providing a loan to Eclectic Productions to enable it to purchase and refurbish
its offices in New Cross.  This is part of a joint lending package with Triodos
Bank.

Eclectic
Productions was formed in 2002 after winning an ‘Awards for All’
grant for a small community media project, and it has now grown into a
successful social enterprise dedicated to improving the lives of young people.  In
the last year it has won awards for its contribution to the community and for
creativity.

There are now three
strands to the company, including the running of South City Radio (formerly
Radio Peckham) in which over 200 local residents and 100 local organisations
are involved in broadcasting the station full-time over the Internet.  It also
uses radio technology to help speakers of other languages learn English, and it
runs the Representz programme – a multimedia channel for young people to make
and discuss radio, video and internet content about issues that affect them.

Paul Kilty,
Financial Director at Eclectic Productions believes that in the current
economic climate, purchasing the building is the right step to securing its
future.  He said: “The loan from C&CF has been a great boost to us,
and we are looking forward to starting the refurbishment.  Our plans are to
purchase our offices, and turn the basement into a training facility, radio
studio and conference room.  Having ownership of our office will be a major
asset to the company, and it will enable us to continue to run programmes such
as the teenage pregnancy project, peer research and Representz for the
foreseeable future.”

Speaking about the
investment, Ian Rothwell of Co-operative and Community Finance said:
“Eclectic Productions is a democratic and accountable social enterprise
that has shown dedication to young people and its local community for many
years.  This loan will give its premises a new lease of life and C&CF
believes that the new facilities will encourage more people to become involved
with the worthwhile projects on offer.”

Bristol Credit Union
is well equipped to take advantage of the expected changes in credit union
legislation thanks to a subordinated loan from The Co-operative Loan Fund.

The Legislative Reform Order due to
be laid before Parliament in October will give credit unions the flexibility to
accept local community groups, companies and social enterprises into membership
and to extend membership to new groups of people, such as housing association
tenants and employees of nationwide companies. This will allow large numbers of
people to benefit from credit union services for the first time.

Bristol Credit Union is using the
loan from The Co-operative Loan Fund as resource capital that will be used to provide
members with greater lending opportunities and investment capital over the
coming years. The loan is the final part of The Co-operative Loan Fund’s
2004 initiative, in which over £200,000 was allocated to help support credit
unions in the UK.

Bristol Credit Union was developed in
2005 and 2006 through a partnership of smaller community credit unions, and it
is now proud to offer financial support to the city of Bristol and its surrounding area. The members
of the credit union share a common bond of living in and around Bristol and this
has resulted in the city becoming more inclusive, and benefitting from greater
economic activity and a lower risk of financial exclusion. There are now over 4,500
members in Bristol Credit Union, plus local organisations, landlords and advice
agencies who work alongside the credit union to benefit its savers and
borrowers.

In addition to the wide range of
savings accounts on offer, Bristol Credit Union also welcomes loan applications
from its members, who are safe in the knowledge that by law, their interest
rates will be lower than two percent per month on the reducing balance of the
loan. It is credit union policy to meet the borrowing requirements of as many
members as possible, depending on the available funds, and the loan from The
Co-operative Loan Fund will ensure Bristol Credit Union have sufficient money
to meet the needs of its investors for the foreseeable future.

Speaking about the loan, Bristol
Credit Union Chief Executive James Berry said: “Bristol Credit Union is
delighted to receive this loan from The Co-operative Loan Fund, as it
represents a vote of confidence in us and our future development plans. The
loan enables us to maintain a comfortable capital to assets ratio through an
expected period of fast growth, and helps us to develop further services for
our members, many of whom are financially excluded. Bristol Credit Union has
over 4,500 members across Bristol,
working together for mutual financial benefit. By building a strong capital
base we can help members by encouraging further saving deposits, and
investigate mortgage lending too. It is great to work with an organisation that
understands credit unions and co-operatives.”

The loan is very unusual in the sense
that it is subordinated, which means that in the unfortunate event that credit
union suffers severe financial problems, The Co-operative Loan Fund ranks below
the credit union savers on the creditors list. In addition, the credit union
only needs to make interest-only payments for 10 years and then repay the lump
sum, which relieves a lot of pressure for Bristol Credit Union.

Ian Taylor
at The Co-operative Loan Fund added: “This is the third subordinated loan
we have made to credit unions, and in the current financial climate we believe
it has come at a crucial time. The money will be used to ensure Bristol Credit
Union can support its members and help them overcome the difficult financial
times ahead. We are pleased to be able to offer our support to an organisation
such as Bristol Credit Union, which puts its member’s interests first and
promotes a strong community ethos.”

Celebrate with Ethical.TV the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People!

“The world’s indigenous peoples – 370 million in 70 countries — are the custodians of some of the most biologically diverse areas on earth. They speak a majority of the world’s languages, and their traditional knowledge, cultural diversity and sustainable ways of life make an invaluable contribution to the world’s common heritage.”

                                      Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General

How much do you know about Indigenous People?
The United
Nations General Assembly decided that the International Day of the
World’s Indigenous People shall be observed on 9 August every year.

Find out more and watch some good stories about indigenous people:

Connectivity of the Indigenous People in the Americas (click here)

In Latin America there are around 50 million indigenous people.

History’s B-Sides (Lado B de la historia) (click here)
History’s B-Sides explores past events whose effects continue to resonate in the present.

Ecuador: A model of Green Enterprise (click here)

How to balance development and conservation in Ecuador.

Visit Ethical.TV to watch more films related with this issue.
    How much do you know about Indigenous People?

The International Day of the Co-operatives (4th July)

This
year the theme focuses on the fact that co-operatives are enterprises
that can effectively contribute to global economic recovery, but also
that these enterprises will do so in respect of the co-operative values
and principles which guide their operations.

Burma Video Journalists (click here)

The Co-op is bringing to life the award-winning film Burma VJ.

The Story of the Fenwik Weavers Co-operative (click here)
Local Fenwick weaver Thomas Barr meets a stranger in the Kings Arms one cold winter’s night in 1763.

Empowerment for Women (click here)
Kuapa Kokoo involves women in all decision making.
    The International Day of the Co-operatives (4th July)

What’s new on Ethical.TV?

Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries (click here)
European Union supports those who want to start a business.

Help Connect the World Through Music (click here)
This is an introduction to the Playing For Change Foundation.

Just Coffee (click here)
A look at the biggest fair trade certification labels on the market.

A Commitment to Health in a Borrowed Land (click here)
“Sex Education and STI and HIV prevention” project in the Saharan refugees camps of Tindouf.
    What’s new on Ethical.TV?

Do you have any new ideas or comments about Ethical.TV?

Get
involved and let us know what do you think about Ethical.TV. What kind
of films and features would you like to enjoy on Ethical.TV? Send us
your ideas, suggestions and comments to: info@ethical.tv !

Send us films and news of your organisation.

Do
you want to create your organisation’s own channel on Ethical.TV?
Ethical.TV will work with you from concept through delivery to create
your own.

Your organisation has a film to be made?
Ethical.TV can help by providing you with industry filming experts from
camera, editing to final delivery.
    Do you have any new ideas or comments about Ethical.TV?

Contact us:

Tania Pramschufer

tania@ethical.tv – (0044) 131 226 2674 / 07914 254 334

Katie Williamson

katie@ethical.tv – (0044) 131 226 2689 / 07712 647 664

For more information about Hand Up Media click here

Thank you,

www.ethical.tv

Wakispeepee.co.uk
is a new greetings card, posters, wallpaper and wrapping paper outfit.
Designs printed on 100% recycled card using vegetable based inks, even
the clear bags are compostable. Cards can be bought in any quantity
online. Shipping is free in the UK. Click here to shop at wakispeepee.co.uk

To view the whole newsletter click here

Two years after the last shop closed, the 1,000 residents of two small villages near Bath now have a purpose-built, community-owned shop and café, developed with financial support from Co-operative & Community Finance and the Village CORE Programme.  The brand new Galleries Shop & Café, owned by the Freshford and Limpley Stoke Community Association, will open for business on Tuesday 4 August 2009.

The closure of the two village shops, in 2004 and 2007, meant that the residents of Freshford and Limpley Stoke had to travel over three miles to reach the nearest small shop and five miles to the nearest supermarket, and so in 2006 they took it upon themselves to develop and execute a plan to open a new community shop and café, which would soon become the hub of the community of two villages. 

After much deliberation about location, it was agreed that a
new timber-framed building would be constructed immediately adjacent to
Freshford Village Hall which is centrally located for both villages, to
ensure easy access on foot, or by bus, also benefitting from ample
parking.  At the request of the villagers, the new store was designed
to incorporate a range of energy-saving features.  As well as a small
indoor café and outdoor patio area, the building will house a
comprehensive village shop stocking a wide-range of goods, with
emphasis on local sources, healthy living, and minimising waste.  It
will also offer services including dry-cleaning, key-cutting and a
two-mornings-a-week Post Office.

Speaking about the impact the
new village store project has had on the community, Gitte Dawson, Chair
and Secretary of the community association says: “Even before opening,
our shop-to-be has re-vitalised the community and we are sure that the
Galleries Shop and Café will soon be a key social focal point for our
villages.  It offers a support network for those unable to travel to
remote shops or even leave their homes, and promises to unite residents
in one common purpose.  Many have donated generously to the project or
helped in practical ways with shelf-building and DIY.  Over 50
residents have agreed to volunteer in the shop and 100 families have
committed to a certain amount of spending per month.”

The
Galleries Shop & Café is one of over 200 community-owned shops in
the UK, about a quarter of which have been supported by the Village
CORE Programme – a partnership by Co-operative & Community Finance,
the Plunkett Foundation and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.  The main
goal of the Village CORE Programme is to provide financial start-up
packages and advice for communities, and help them to establish
community co-operatives to prevent the closure of their local shops or
set up new ones to offer vital services to the community.

The
loan finance for the new village shop came from the Avon & Bristol
Community Finance (ABCF) fund which is managed by Co-operative &
Community Finance.  ABCF’s primary objective is to support
co-operatives in Bristol, Bath, North Somerset and South
Gloucestershire by financing business start-ups, new ventures and
offering ethical loans.  Co-operative & Community Finance is
responsible for managing several community development funds throughout
the UK including the Co-operative Loan Fund.  It believes that offering
accessible loan finance to co-operatives gives them a financial boost
which ultimately allows them to make their project a reality.

Ian
Rothwell of Co-operative & Community Finance says: “This is an
excellent example of a community coming together to open a new shop and
café to not only provide vital services for local people, but also a
place to meet up, socialise and help create cohesion among the two
village communities.  It’s great that the local community felt it was
important to have an energy efficient building and Co-operative &
Community Finance is pleased that we have been able to support this
through the ABCF fund that we manage.”

Appearing
this month on the shelves in WH Smith and Borders nationwide, new eco-living
directory BOOK OF GREEN is the most comprehensive guide for everybody to
genuinely and easily green their lifestyles.

With
the general public currently becoming more receptive to living a more
eco-friendly life, this completely free guide points the consumer in the right
direction – it includes hundreds of approved ethical providers in a wide range
of sectors including business services, health and beauty, home and garden,
green energy, travel, parenting and food & drink.  All the companies
in the directory are in some way mostly or completely environmentally friendly,
sustainable, fair trade, organic,  ethical and socially responsible.

Book
of Green is intended to show everybody how to easily reduce their carbon
footprint, live a healthy lifestyle and make  a personal positive 
impact on the environment by integrating truly ethical products and services
into their daily home and family lives.

With
an initial print run of 30,000, the guide comes in a handy A5 format and is
printed in vegetable inks on 100% recycled paper.  An online flip magazine
version is also available at www.bookofgreen.com 
 Book of Green will be available in WH Smiths this July, attached to the
front of Permaculture Magazine as well as distributed across the UK in high
street eco stores, online eco stores, and at events during the summer as well
as at the Eden Project and the Kent Eco Village, the Kent Show by The
Ecologist, July 17-19.

Book
of Green is co-founded by Sue Jueno (founder of Allthingseco) and Katie Keegan
(founder of One Green Earth),
 whose combined experience of 6 years in the eco/ethical business arena
has given them the experience, knowledge and contacts to create a guide for
green living which everybody can trust.

“Being
green is more than reducing the threat of climate change, it’s also about
ethical trading and personal health.  The companies found within Book of
Green provide solutions across all sectors through their products &
services to help build a positive foundation for your family’s future
generations,”  says Katie Keegan.

“With
credit crunch in mind and a passion for promoting green shoot businesses we
have made Book of Green extremely affordable to advertisers and free to the
public to show off exceptional companies that are solving environmental
problems and that will be leading us into the future,” says Sue Jueno.

A month or so ago EJ helped sponsor Jane Thurnell-Read of Health and Goodness to do a cycle ride from Lands End to John O’Groats.  Jane raised £2,400 for Village Water in the process.  Read on for Jane’s account of the journey…

About 970 miles in 12 days
- Land’s End in the extreme SW of England to John O’Groats in
the extreme NE of Scotland. I came back tired but proud I’d
completed the trip and also in the process managed to raise over
£2400 for Village Water….

The first day was Lands
End to Liskeard, a mere 73 miles. The route took us past my house,
which was a very strange experience. John, my partner, rode with us
till lunch. I rode with 2 men, Tom and Steve, (as well as John) and
was delighted to discover that I was in the fast group at the front.
There were 12 other riders and 2 support crew with two vans.

The second day was
Liskeard to Sampford Peverell, 72 miles. It was raining when we left
Liskeard but eventually the sun did come out. Once again I rode with
Tom and Steve, enjoying being at the front again. I know it’s not a
race, but it still feels good to know I’m faster than so many
people who are a lot younger than me. We have two support crew and
one of them,Kenny, asked me my age in the evening. He nearly fell off
his bar stool when I told him!

3^rd
day once again I rode with the two “boys” Today it was Sampford
Peverell to Tintern and a longer day at 86 miles. There was a last
sweeping descent to Tintern itself and a sudden magnificent view of
the ruined abbey there – worth the hardship of the day for that
view. Rain in the evening, although it had been fine during the day.

Tintern to Shrewsbury for
the fourth day. 88 miles. Rode some of this on my own as I was tired
from the fast pace of the first three days, but I was still faster
than most people. Got lost round the one-way system in Shrewsbury
town centre but eventually found the hotel.

Shrewsbury to Preston (77
miles) was dire with riding on the A49 (especially the bit through
Warrington) being fairly challenging. Every traffic light seemed to
be against us, and then it started raining. I had a rain jacket with
me but even so I got wet and cold – glad to reach the end of the
day.

The 6^th
day brought Shrewsbury to Carlisle and Shap Hill. We were told how
bad this was, but I was second up and a bit surprised it hadn’t
been steeper. The weather started to come in, so Tom and I had a
quick lunch at the top of Shap Hill (provided as always by the
support people) and set off again. About a minute into this part of
the ride the heavens opened. A passing car aqua-planed on the road
but fortunately it had pulled right over to the other side to pass me
so I was not in any danger. Very quickly I left Tom behind and cycled
on feeling strong. Soon the rain stopped and the sun came out and I
enjoyed going fast and feeling good.

Day 7 was Carlisle to
Kilmarnock in Scotland. In theory 96 miles today, but Jason, the
other support guy, told me an alternative route to get to the hotel
and added 9 extra miles to my ride by mistake! A long day and I rode
most of it on my own, meeting up with some of the others at the 3
roadside breaks (mid-morning, lunch and mid-afternoon). At last we
were in Scotland I was beginning to appreciate just how far we’d
cycled.

Day 8 Kilmarnock to
Inverary was the day we travelled about 78 miles and used a ferry to
cross to Dunoon. A magical day with the sun shining and the route
taking us round the sides of some beautiful Scottish lochs. A slight
head wind for some of it but nothing like what was to come. (Looking
back after day 12 I wondered why I had complained about the head wind
on this day – it seemed like a gentle breeze by comparison.)

Day 9 was Inverary to
Invergarry – a longer day of 95 miles. I think it was on this day
that I walked up part of one very steep hill – the only time I did
it – but my legs felt very tired and I decided not to push myself.
Am I learning sense at last? More Scottish lochs and great scenery.

Day 10 Invergarry to Bonar
Bridge. 76 miles. I was really beginning to feel tired, but still
managing to enjoy the riding even so. That night three of us stayed
in a separate B&B as the hotel had not had room for us all. It
was a truly sumptuous place – I felt a bit nervous about my dirty
sweaty clothes. Next morning a great breakfast but we had to be on
the road so we couldn’t really relax and enjoy it to the full.

Day 11 Bonar Bridge to
Bettyhill. 55 miles – that now constitutes a short day! Some pretty
scenery and some rugged bare mountain wilderness. The east wind is
really beginning to blow. The second half of the afternoon we turned
into this cold head wind and it was time to grit the teeth and just
keep going. This was actually one of my favourite days. I love the
experience of cycling (when I’m really fit) and pitting myself
against the elements. Everyone else hated the day. When we got to the
hotel we were told the forecast had been for a 25 mile an hour wind.
“What about tomorrow?” we asked. “Oh worse – 25 mile an hour
winds, gusting to 40 miles an hour and a high chance of rain.”
Other cyclists laughed and asked me if I was going to enjoy the next
day as well!

Day 12 Bettyhill to John
O’Groats. Well, this was the toughest day of all even though it was
‘only’ 52 miles. The weather forecast was correct. The wind was
still in the east. We were going mainly east and occasionally turning
north. The wind was truly horrendous – you’d have to describe it
as a gail-force wind. My average speed on the other days had been
around 13.5 miles an hour with one day averaging over 15 miles an
hour. On this final day it was 9.1 miles an hour. The ride demanded
total concentration: if you stopped pedalling when you had the east
wind, the bike felt like it was about to go backwards. If you stopped
pedalling when riding north, the cross wind would almost blow you and
the bike across the road. The rain lashed at my face stinging it and
making it difficult to see. I enjoyed the first 20 miles but after
that it became a hard grind. About 2 miles from the destination I
eased up on the riding and spent a few minutes reflecting on the trip
and what I’d achieved.

The plan had been to have
a big celebration at John O’Groats, take photos and sign the
official end-to-enders book. Because of the weather conditions, we
didn’t do any of these so the only proof I have that I got there is
a certificate from the company who organised the trip.

Now I’m back at home,
resting a bit, catching up with work and friends and reminding myself
to eat less!

Thank you to all of you
for supporting me through donations to Village Water
(http://www.villagewater.org) and through your cards and good wishes.
If you’d like to do a similar trip, then contact the organisers
Discover Adventure (http://www.discoveradventure.com).

You can see my online
fund-raising progress here: http://www.justgiving.com/janebiking

Thanks

Jane Thurnell-Read

The more I read the news the more apoplectic I become. Basically it comes down to two core truths: Big Business Sucks; Big Politics sucks. The former has sucked everything and everybody dry, robbed us of all life. The latter has sucked up to the former and greased the wheels of legislation for a greased palm or two. The only realsitic way to stop this is to stop playing their game their way like a bunch of wet sheep on morphine.

OK, we’re all in this together – I’m guessing we have certain wish-list items in common. For example: we all want a world in which it’s safe for us to breathe, eat and drink; we’d like our children and grandchildren to have the same gorgeous natural surroundings we have been privileged to enjoy. We’d like to see less warfare and fear, more peace and laughter. We sometimes feel there’s little we can do to help. WRONG. Research shows there are 250 million of us – people who want a just and sustainable future (I’ll come back to this in future postings). Do the sums, we can make a HUGE difference, starting with where we shop and what we choose to buy. And better still, where and what we DON’T choose to buy.

FatWest, General Bloaters and Gainsburys don’t give a toss about us or our wellbeing. Why would we give them all the cash earned with our blood, sweat and tears? It’s like cooking lunch for someone who’s just mugged you.

Time to rebel. Be revolting – you have nothing to lose except your shackles…

Rob Weston, Schmeditor

Picks from the Market

EcoOutlet have a great range of ethical goodies. This fruit, vegetable and wheatgrass juicer not only requires no electricity, it actually produces higher-nutrient juices than the carbon-villain variety…

Well Cultivated – these guys are the real thing. They check everything, they really care about making a difference and they have seriously cool stuff. 

Natural Home Products are very rare – they have 20 years of specialist experience in seriously high-integrity bedding products, yet they make no self-important claims. They just take good care of their customers and provide superb products, again and again and again. Here, to prove the point, are two organic summer duvets to keep you cool at night:

Teramo Summer Organic Merino LambsWool Duvet
Firenze Summer Organic Cotton Duvet

Cool Green Attitude is a company founded by mums for kids and their families who want great clothes that look and feel wonderful and do no harm to others. If you are going to have attitude, this is the kind we want… have a look at their cool green t-shirts!

Picks from the Pulse

New Social enterprise round up from the Social Enterprise Coalition

Antartic Ice Shelf Destabilised

Ethical Junction gets on Twitter!  @ethicaljunction

The Environmental Transport Association slate the “car scrappage scheme”!

Produced daily by the Social Enterprise Coalition

CICs should get tax
relief

Hundreds of miles
of ice drop from Antarctic shelf

 Blears: ‘Recession
could cause civil unrest and fracture communities’

Continue reading for lots more…

National

CICs should get tax
relief

Gemma Hampson,
Social Enterprise Magazine

Community interest
companies (CICs) should be entitled to an equivalent of Gift Aid,
according to the law firm behind the legal structure. Abbie Rumbold,
a partner with Bates Wells and Braithwaite, which helped set up the
CIC structure four years ago, is working with the Social Enterprise
Coalition to push for tax relief for the 2,600 registered CICs. She
said the success of the CIC structure showed it was seen as a
valuable legal structure and that tax incentives would see it grow
even further.

http://www.socialenterprisemag.co.uk/sem/news/detail/index.asp?id=950

Learning from
others is a key to success

Social Enterprise
Magazine

John Pepin is
consultancy firm JPA’s Europe partner and has over 15 years as a
CEO of a variety of charities and social enterprises. He also has a
wealth of consultancy experience in many areas from strategic and
business planning, to collaboration, sales and mentoring.  Here,
he talks about his latest experience at a master class for social
entrepreneurs in Indonesia.  On 23-24 March in Jakarta, 18
social entrepreneurs gathered for a master class entitled Skills for
Social Entrepreneurs, Achieving Your Dreams: Growing Your Enterprise
Profitability, Enhancing Your Financial and Social Return.

http://www.socialenterprisemag.co.uk/sem/tradingplace/detail/index.asp?id=949

Filling the gap

Joanna Lyall, The
Guardian

As the government
looks for savings from public services, a small building in a
Derbyshire mining village could reshape the way we receive NHS dental
care. Here in South Normanton, Genesis Dental Care opened its first
practice as a social enterprise, welcoming NHS patients just months
after new contractual arrangement in April 2006 led to more than
1,000 dentists fleeing the NHS. “The nation seemed deprived of
dental solutions, and the new contract was going to make the needs
even more acute,” says former banker Steve Holmes, chief
executive of Genesis Social Enterprises.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/29/dentists-shortage-nhs

Reluctant role
model

Mary O’Hara, The
Guardian

As one idea after
another pours from Mark Brown, he comes across like the enthused
young editor of any start-up magazine – and with its playful design
and headlines like “Eat yourself fitter”, the magazine he
edits looks and feels like any lifestyle publication. But it isn’t.

….Brown recalls how,
sitting in a greasy spoon cafe in Camden, north London, a couple of
years ago, he and a few colleagues from the social enterprise Social
Spider, where he is a director, “knocked the idea around”
for a magazine that could plug the “information gap” for
people with mental illness.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/apr/29/one-in-four-mental-health

Blears: ‘Recession
could cause civil unrest and fracture communities’

Jon Land, 24dash

The recession could
tip Britain towards riots and civil disorder unless voluntary
organisations are handed extra resources, Communities Secretary Hazel
Blears will warn today. Promising to come up with sustainable sources
of funds by the summer, Ms Blears will say the economic downturn
could either drive communities apart or bring them closer
together.
….”Not ‘on your bike’ like previous recessions,
but how can we help you open a bike repair workshop, start a social
enterprise to encourage cycling, start a bike-share scheme in your
neighbourhood.

http://www.24dash.com/news/Local_Government/2009-04-29-Blears-Recession-could-cause-civil-unrest-and-fracture-communities

Barnardo’s to
deliver training contract to Doha charity

Charity Finance

Barnardo’s has
secured a six-figure contract to deliver training and professional
development to a children’s disability charity in Qatar.

In the first phase of
the partnership, the Shafallah Center for Children with Special Needs
in Doha will be visited by Barnardo’s staff who will conduct a
needs analysis and decide what kind of training the Qatari employees
could best benefit from.
….The contract will be delivered by
Barnardo’s training social enterprise, tlc, which earns the charity
more than £700,000 a year.

http://www.charityfinance.co.uk/home/content.php?id=2775&pg=15&cat=58

Nunn to leave
Futurebuilders in restructuring

Futurebuilders
England’s director of market development, Gill Nunn, is to leave
the organisation at the end of June as part of a “proposed
restructure” at the government funder. She will have been in the
post for nine months. According to Futurebuilders’ interim head of
press, Jo White, Nunn (pictured) has taken voluntary redundancy as
part of a proposed restructuring of the organisation.  White
said the restructure had been prompted by the winning of the contract
to deliver the Department of Health’s £100m Social Enterprise
Investment Fund. “The organisation needs to change to accommodate
that,” she said.

http://www.charityfinance.co.uk/home/content.php?id=2772&pg=15&cat=58

Scottish SMEs
’should capitalise on public contracts’

Small Business

Public bodies in
Scotland are being encouraged to give small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) access to their contracts. Finance minister John
Swinney outlines a range of measures which can be taken to increase
the number of small firms, charities and social enterprises winning
public sector contracts. He suggests small businesses would benefit
from more promotion of the free Public Contracts Scotland online
portal which highlights opportunities. In addition, outcome-based
tenders which encourage innovation and payment terms that ensure
settlement within 30 days could make public sector contracts more
attractive.

http://www.smallbusiness.co.uk/channels/sales-and-marketing/news/1021111/scottish-smes-should-capitalise-on-public-contracts.thtml

Local

Business Diary

North West Evening
Mail

A CUMBRIAN-based
organisation is behind a major social enterprise summit underlying
the sector’s key role in driving the North West out of
recession.NEW luxury hotel, Eden Lodge, owned by a German
businessman, opens at Bardsea. The event has been launched as new
figures reveal that the Third Sector is generating £2bn for the
region’s economy, employs 50,000 people and utilises the resources
of 30,000 volunteers. Kevin Brennan, Minister for the Third Sector,
will deliver the keynote speech at the event being put together by
Social Enterprise North West and Cumbria’s Social Enterprise
Partnership.

http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/business_2_3069/business_diary_1_547339?referrerPath=raiders

Commissioner visit
to see EU funds helping economic development and regeneration

East Midlands
Development Agency

Danuta Hübner,
European Commissioner for Regional Policy, today visited the East
Midlands to witness first hand how European money is being used to
increase levels of innovation, productivity and enterprise. This
visit comes one year on from emda’s official launch of the region’s
new European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Competitiveness
Programme for the period 2007 – 2013
….ERDF is a valuable
source of funding for Local Authorities, universities, business
support intermediaries, entrepreneurs, social enterprises and
community organisations.

http://www.emda.org.uk/news/newsreturn.asp?fileno=3612

New grant unveiled
for Peak District Businesses

Staffordshire
Moorlands District Council

FARMERS and small
businesses in the Peak District have been urged to apply for a new
grant starting at £3,500. The plea was made this week by
Staffordshire Moorlands District Council after the European Union and
the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs agreed to
plough £1.9m into a Leader programme established for the Peak
District Rural Action Zone.

….The Leader
initiative is intended to improve productivity and quality of life in
the Peak District by funding projects drawn up by micro businesses
and social enterprises that are too small to qualify for the main
RDPE programme.

http://www.staffsmoorlands.gov.uk/site/scripts/news_article.php?newsID=768

Helping disabled in
the workplace

Isle of Man Today

A COMBINATION of
corporate goodwill and one of the world’s largest auction websites is
set to become the launch pad for helping people with disabilities in
the Isle of Man into full time work. Friends Provident International,
one of the Isle of Man’s leading life and pension companies, has
helped fund start-up costs for a new office project in Douglas to be
run by the Crossroads charity.
….Now they have come up with the
novel idea of starting a Social Enterprise initiative, employing
people with disabilities to work in office premises above the main
shop, marketing and selling some of these donated products on eBay.

http://www.iomtoday.co.im/isle-of-man-business/Helping-disabled-in-the-workplace.5202929.jp

Battle to reopen
Albion Leisure Centre

This is Nottingham

PROTESTERS who want to
reopen an Ilkeston leisure centre have been given new hope. They
gathered in Ilkeston ahead of an extraordinary meeting of Erewash
Borough Council yesterday. It was called to discuss the Albion
Leisure Centre which the council closed last year. Members of the
public formed the Friends of Albion Leisure Centre (FALC) and applied
to reopen the building as a social enterprise, but their bid was
rejected. Yesterday evening, around 50 people – many of whom were
children – gathered to protest about the rejection of the bid and
called for the council to reopen negotiations over the centre’s
future.

http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/homenews/Hope-leisure-centre-campaigners/article-945413-detail/article.html

Of general interest

Politics:

Back expenses
changes, urges PM

BBC News Online

Gordon Brown has urged
MPs to back his planned expenses reforms in Thursday’s vote, despite
having dropped the main proposal for a daily allowance. He has faced
calls to delay any changes until after an independent inquiry but
says interim action must be taken now.

Tory MP Bill Cash
jibed Mr Brown about his “comedy turn on YouTube” – a
reference to the internet broadcast in which he outlined his original
plan. He told MPs he would keep using YouTube as an important
information tool.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8024433.stm

Business:

‘Talks to end
working time opt out fail’
Bob
Sherwood and Stanley Pignal, Financial Times

British employers
breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday after attempts to abolish the
UK’s right to opt out of European Union rules limiting a working
week to 48 hours finally disintegrated. The failure of marathon
negotiations between the European parliament and EU governments to
break the deadlock on the issue means UK companies will continue to
be able to offer staff the opportunity to work longer hours.  The
CBI employers’ organisation hailed the retention of the opt-out as
a “victory for common sense”. Pat McFadden, employment relations
minister, said the government had “refused to be pushed into a bad
deal for Britain”.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e7bd1924-33c3-11de-83af-00144feabdc0.html

Environment:

Hundreds of miles
of ice drop from Antarctic shelf

David Rising, The
Independent

New satellite images
from the European Space Agency show massive amounts of ice are
breaking away from a shelf on the western side of the Antarctic
Peninsula, researchers said today. The Wilkins Ice Shelf had been
stable for most of the last century, but began retreating in the
1990s. Researchers believe it was held in place by an ice bridge
linking Charcot Island to the Antarctic mainland.

But the
127-square-mile (330-square-kilometer) bridge lost two large chunks
last year and then shattered completely on 5 April.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/hundreds-of-miles-of-ice-drop-from-antarctic-shelf-1676149.html

Only a week ago I thought it wouldn’t be long before the word “trillion” got too small to describe the global financial crisis and wondered what would be next… well, last night the moment came on ITV news when they proudly reported that the US national debt calculator had run out of spare digits and was soon to be replaced. I think this mythical figure is here to stay, if only for the near future!

Interestingly, the name “Google” originated from a misspelling of “googol”,which refers to the number represented by a 1 followed by one-hundred zeros. We will probably get there by 2012 if we are lucky.

US national debt clock runs out of digits

http://profit.ndtv.com/2008/10/09190800/US-national-debt-clock-runs-ou.html

Thursday,
October 09, 2008 (New York)

Such is the surge in America’s debt that even technology is finding it difficult to measure its level as a clock earmarked for keeping a tab on country’s national debt has run out of digits!

The operator of the National Debt Clock, installed at Times Square in New York, has now dropped the dollar sign in the total figure to accommodate a ten trillion dollar figure. A replacement for the clock with two additional digits that would be able to account for up to quadrillion* dollars of debt is expected only by the next year.

The existing clock can accommodate up to 9,999,999,999,999 dollars (just one dollar short of $ 10-trillion) of debt with a dollar sign ($)preceding it, but the clock has started showing the figure without the dollar sign after the debt level recently reached the 10-trillion dollar level.

*For those of you who want a definition…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadrillion