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December 2010

With so many changes this year not only on the Isle of Wight but to the whole of the UK with major cutbacks affecting us all with work and contracts and with many job losses this has affected the whole economy in one way or another.

With the change in government we have seen savage cutbacks in services and staff right across the board with the emphasis now on businesses, companies and consortiums and charitable organisations encouraged to take on the contracts and services with a loss of expertise and skills from those whom have many years experience.

We have a massive growing unemployment problem with a lack of jobs or opportunities and growing exploitation that has come with the unemployment problem.

The island needs to prosper and grow and develop for it to survive the recession that has put us all in a unemployment hotspot our trades and skills need to be preserved and our people need paid jobs whilst voluntary work is good, it is now taking the place of paid jobs with the impact of the growing unemployment problem its now called work experience and people who have skills or trades need real paid jobs!

Shops, businesses, hotels and tradespeople have gone this year along with lots of other services we all need to think about this as paid staff will be substituted by voluntary or low paid staffing with the higher management earning the money.

August 2010

Have the government cutbacks gone too far with more cuts to come it is now affecting everyone except the Government Ministers should they be made to be self employed, paid on performance and should we cut back on these? the government has cut back in all other areas Law, Councils, Police, Fire, Home Office, Advisors, Funding. 

So where do we go from here we need to get our industries back working for example our call centres, insurance companies, banking, telecommunications instead of outsourcing we need to support our own country and people with jobs as the savings made in these areas has resulted in a loss of industry in the uk and resulted in no jobs in our own country, with government departments now being hit and redundancies being made who is going to do this work some Councils are transferring the work over to Contractors so the jobs are still available but being side tracked is this due to cheaper labour or ?

Our economy cannot possibly grow with the lack of investment and scope of cuts with more cuts planned for October with the sell off of public buildings 'our heritage'

July 2010

We are now looking at whats happening on the Island with a lack of real growth and a stagnant housing market with many temporary and seasonal employment opportunities clouding the real impact on the statistics so what can be done? Work real work opportunities could be offered to the unemployed with a decent wage they can live on and a future with prospects not voluntary work or free labour as this sometimes exploites the very people it should be helping and stops others including the unemployed being offered work when others can get 'free labour' under government incentives called job training and this sometimes substitutes 'employed staff' who can be disposed of in favour of the free-bees, David Cameron got this one wrong, some businesses use these schemes and abuse our unemployed whom need our support due to the lack of work or opportunities at a time when they are vulnerable its time we stand together and move forward together as an Island and use each others trades and services on the island so we can offer real decent paid employment opportunities.

We want to know whats happening with the contracts on the island can you access them, is there enough work, are you getting sub-contract work on the island, are the main contractors on the island using island based contractors?

You can send us the info as it is important to us all to maintain work opportunities on the island and not enough is being done 'brick walls need to be demolished' We are listening and we know whats happening!

For example some of our Council contracts could be broken down into smaller contracts, and government funding on the island could be used by island businesses and use island based people as with our churches and english heritage that exists to promote and protect our heritage and future, all should use our own resourses here on the island where possible we are encouraging companies to the island with funding offers, but what about our own people yes charity begins at home so support our island people and businesses. 

June 2010

With big cuts in government departments and cuts in building schools for the future the impact on the unemployment situation will continue to rise with cuts in government spending also impacting on businesses.

The news is Asda will be coming to Newport Football Ground and a new retail development will also be considered this will provide much needed work for the island.

Barratts have started work on the Pan Estate we are aware of the contract terms to employ island labour and use island contractors this must be done to protect jobs on the island to safeguard the island community.

With so many contracts now going off the island it is important for us to monitor what is happening and if island businesses or people living on the island get the work it is also important to the islands growth with increasing unemployment levels and a lack of opportunities.

Planning with changes in legislation, garden land is going to be more difficult to build on whilst most of it has already been built on, it is now not the time to put these restraints in place when the building trade is already hit with a lack of work its too late for that one.

Government cuts in all directions will increase unemployment and people will not have the money to spend resulting in a lack of real investment and we will see more businesses closing and with increases in VAT this will  hit everyone.

These government cuts will affect us all and we will be monitoring the impact on the island, we will be looking at the cuts to schools on the island and if the investment is now going to happen, with all these changes that are now planned by the government.

One thing we know is any growth or investment we can get on the island is much needed let us know what you think!

May 2010

Isle of Wight Council state Highways PFI  will be hugely important to the Island and the cornerstone of the Councils regeneration strategy not just about roads it will create Highways Industry, Local Industries are also to gain from this investment competing commercially, Highways PFI Partner is to help achieve this.

The Council is encouraging Island based industries to become part of the supply chain and creating a Highways based industry on the island creating opportunities.

One of the Councils priorities is to increase job opportunities on the Island.

Eco Island Vision the Council wants the Isle of Wight to become a world renowned Eco Island with a thriving economy.

Huge opportunities to regenerate the entire Island this is a much needed step in the right direction by the Council and for all island based businesses to work together by creating work and opportunities for all who live on the Island.

Training needs to begin now with creating the Highways Industry training on the Island so we have the knowledge and expertise for local tradespeople and contractors to be able to be employed in 2013 and this needs to include all ages not just the under 25's.

April 2010

Good News for the island the Pan Development will be delivered in partnership with the Isle of Wight Council and Spectrum Housing Group the contract will be undertaken by Barratt Homes part of Barratt Developments PLC which incorporates other house building brands such as David Wilson Homes, Ward Homes and Wilson Bowden Developments PLC the contract will take 12 years to build and in agreement with the developer local people are to get the work which will include apprenticeships for younger people and 'adults' also on offer will be sub contract opportunities that will benefit the local island economy this is an agreement written into the contract to fulfil the employment objectives this is a step in the right direction and its what we want for the island 'work' and opportunities we will keep you updated its starting to happen.

March 2010 

Building Contractor Barratt wins contract for Pan Estate, Newport 846 new homes to be built and 254 shared ownership properties.

http://www.barratthomes.co.uk

£355m PFI Investment

With the PFI Private Finance Initiative government funding case accepted  the island will see major works on the island roads over the next 25 years this will create work on the island with £355 million pounds of investment, it opens up huge opportunities for the island now we need to build on this with regenerating the island into a properous island this work will not be started until 2013.

How To Tender For Government Contracts/Procurement

A brief simple guide: Contracts below EU threshold the basic rules of the EU directive are non discrimination, equality and all organisations in the UK are to operate responsibly as it is a public service and they have a 'duty to be open and transparent''

The size of the contract will affect the way the public organisations procure services 'Variations are the norm' for example the set limits on a contract that does not need to be competitively tendered varys all councils differ also procurement practices of central government and local differ.

If you decide to tender for public sector contracts, the procurement procedures must be adhered to including the deadlines, firstly you will be asked to complete a pre qualification questionnaire about your business, your expertise and knowledge, qualifications in the field you are tendering for, financial standing, accounts,references, years extablished.

This identifys your suitabilty and contracts are awarded on value for money and meeting the criteria for awarding the contract once you have submitted your tender it is legally binding and final.

Note - Any info you submit that is confidential you can request a non-disclosure agreement.

February 2010

Businesses who want to access public Contracts need to be able to get help to acquire the skills and know how of procurement here is a 'FREE' on-line training course the 4 hour procurement course "Winning the Contract" will help all businesses and can be done in your own time and it is 'FREE' we have provided the link below

http://www1.learndirect-business.com/business-courses/winning-the-contract/

January 2010 - The Bad News

Just looking at the work statistics on the island TUC state 60 to 1 after every job when average is 10 to 1 the island population is 140,000 with 25% over 65 years, unemployment is above average on the island and the average wage is one third lower than regional average these statistics are available on http://www.oneplace.direct.gov.uk 

£11.6 million gap in Isle of Wight Council's budget so what will be cut  now? Highways maintenance and probably many other contracts leading to yet more job losses the affects of these cut backs will effect everyone, our living expenses are going to be hit and if you lose your home the council are cutting that too  with a cut in spending on the homeless, and with charge's for day care 'this will cost more in administration fees than savings' and council tax to rise.

  Good News For 2010

Waitrose building work to start in new year in East Cowes and Walters and Cohen have won permission for the go ahead for a £5.5 million extention and refurbishment to Ryde School work is to start in June 2010 until September 2011 this is good news for the building trade!

November 2009

The work situation on the island has now hit many businesses hard especially the building trade resulting in cheap labour with contracts going off the island the contractors are bringing in their own labour from the mainland this results in the island workforce not having enough work on the island and they often cannot afford to travel off the island for work  we need to keep these contracts on the island the Isle of Wight Council could split up these large contracts so small contractors can access these and keep our island trades people working 'it also keeps money flowing on the island' helping other businesses survive such as retail and these businesses employ people who live on the island because we are an island we are in a different position from the mainland whom can travel elsewhere for work we have an expensive piece of water to cross 'we are listening to the people who live here keep our work to the island'Saving money is not about contracting out our services as it costs island jobs and more unemployment keep the jobs inhouse at home on the island cut consultants costs and how about the money wasted on planning that never happens and the millions wasted on the college planning application a eco island with much waste when we could use our own resourses.

October 2009

Unemployment has hit a 14 year high so whats happening on the island the building trade is feeling the hardest hit with not enough work, the retail trade and suppliers are struggling to survive another reason why we must pull together and support each other otherwise we will lose our tradespeople, retailers and industry the knock on affect has affected every business, too much has already been lost on the island and it is now essential government contracts are kept to the island where possible to preserve the island as this will save jobs, government grants must be provided to aid recovery and regeneration any rebuilding on the island should use island businesses.

Online Advertising Spending

Is now taking over tv advertising and other tradional advertising for the 1st time in history as businesses are looking to save money and look for a cost effective way to raise their company profile with business promotions and a good website and high google ratings businesses are now following the trend despite the economic downturn the forcast is growth with online advertising with more people turning to the internet to shop and find services it is now an essential part of our daily life.

The 21st Century Isle of Wight College

Pick Everard was awarded the Contract to design the New Isle of Wight College the architectural and iconic design was to be creative and to include a striking glass entrance with the creation of light and space with the environmental factor taken into consideration.

The building will be designed using the latest dynamic thermal modelling to make sure that heating, lighting and ventilation systems use as little energy as possible low carbon energy sources such as heat pumps and solar thermal systems are being considered as well as green construction materials such as timber, lime and recycled concrete substitutes it will have the wow factor.

The £83m plan to rebuild the new College has now been axed leaving the council out of pocket to the tune of £2.5 million just for plans the council are now thinking of ways to improve the existing College with alternative plans.

Isle of Wight Highways Maintenance Contract

Bids are now underway for the £46m Isle of Wight Maintenance Contract for highways and rights of way networks throughout the island 6 Contractors will be invited to tender for the 3 year contract that starts in Autumn 2009.

Isle of Wight Council Contracts

The question is how can the Isle of Wight Council tackle work on the island with the local economic downturn and the difficulties faced how can the council help?

Small Contracts under the threshold could be kept to the Island using and supporting Island businesses where we have the skills or suppliers as I am sure this would be in most instances more cost effective.

With larger contracts where the Island does not have the Contractors or resources to undertake multi million pound contracts the contract should stipulate the winning bidder/contractor uses local island labour employed or contractors as we are a eco island and use our own resources including workforce as the unemployment is rising.

Isle of Wight Economic Partnership loses Contract to Mainland Company

The Isle of Wight Council has chosen WM Enterprise a Birmingham business to undertake the 3 year contract worth £750,000 and the main task will be to increase employment on the island increase new business start ups and new investments and increase the average wage of island workers.

 Robert Heath Heating Limited Wins Isle of Wight Contract

Residents help choose gas contractor  

“ Residents give us a different perspective on what to look for in a contractor.”

NEWS

Residents of Medina Housing and South Wight Housing Association on the Isle of Wight have taken part in a unique joint-working initiative to choose their gas servicing and maintenance contractor.

Robert Heath Heating Limited is a large mainland contractor and was the island residents chosen contractor

BUSINESSES 'ONCE IN A LIFETIME REGENERATION OPPORTUNITY'

Isle of Wight Council say investment in the Islands transport infrastructure will provide huge opportunities for IW businesses, employment and training the council is keen for IW businesses to make the most of it.

Official Figures Released August 2009

28m Brits of working age  and 10m out of work the hidden data of the uk jobless the real cost of the uk recession we are worse off than every major economy we are lagging behind France, Germany and Japan who have come out of the recession the data is provided by the Office for National Statistics.

September 2009

£25m Holiday Complex For Shanklin

Redevelopment of Shanklin Esplanade The Riviera Group plans to build 100  three bedroom holiday apartments and the complex planned will see a stylish shopping area, 2 restaurants, swimming pools, ten pin bowling alley, spa, fitness centre, pharmacy, toilets and showers and a dome shaped building to stage pop concerts, theatre and conferences and 2 cinemas and with state of the art energy saving solar power for the complex is just what Shanklin needs.

A new stainless steel tower lift would replace the existing one, parking for 340 cars on 2 levels and this exciting venture for the island would create many jobs for suppliers and contractors and the unemployed and when the project is finished it would create 40 jobs its just what the island needs investment and development.

Now the island needs an indoor shopping complex Asda, ToysRus or a Gunwharf Quays, redevelopment and regeneration will make this island prosper and using our green technology and solar power it could be good news!

Tradespeople, Suppliers and Businesses - If you need self employed staff or have Contracts for supplys or services  you can advertise them 'FREE' on wightquote

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