Monthly Archives: October 2020

HR News, News, Work from Home

Nicola Riley: The Future Workplace: A perspective

Nicola Riley, Health & Wellbeing Consultant Unum, shares her thoughts on the future workplace

In his book ‘The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working’ published in 2010, Tony Schwartz describes the absurdity of the way we ‘currently’ work. Our culture, he argued, is failing to address our four basic needs: emotional, physical, mental and spiritual. In his view, the modern workplace didn’t suit the way that our brains and bodies function best.

Skip 10 years and our current ‘normal’ is looking radically different. It may have seemed unfathomable back in 2010 (or even six months ago) to imagine the seismic shift in the way a lot of us currently work. But COVID-19, with all its threat and challenges, represents a real opportunity to reimagine how we work.

Logic says that working remotely enables us to flex our day, match the task to our focus and energy. To no longer be constrained by a rigid schedule. However, pre-COVID, requests for flexible or remote working were met with scepticism, maybe even a sprinkling of mistrust.

But 2020’s experiment with homeworking has proved largely successful. Research from the CIPD found that three quarters of employers reported improved work-life balance amongst staff, better employee collaboration (43%), and improved focus (38%).

Clearly there have also been challenges too – particularly supporting the mental wellbeing of staff at a distance. The CIPD say that 47% of employers reported a decline in the mental wellbeing of their employees during lockdown. But, as the Government announces new restrictions to our working and personal lives, businesses should now be able to draw on their lockdown experience to gauge how well remote working has performed and where it needs adapting to best serve their team in the uncertain months to come.

Here’s how lockdown has shown businesses how to navigate typical blocks to remote working.

 

1. Connection / visibility:

Needing to physically see each other. Technology is the solution here. With the widespread uptake of platforms like Teams, we’ve enabled ourselves to stay connected with our work and colleagues. It’s also brought greater insight at times into who we are as individuals outside of work – something which is helping to strengthen our connection, engagement and performance.

 

2. Productivity:

The concern is that without someone watching, you won’t be as productive. However, flip this on its head and you’ve got less distraction, a greater focus and even greater need to demonstrate what you have been doing with your time. It’s vital to think about productivity in terms of performance and this doesn’t always equate to hours spent at a desk. The 2019 IWG Global Workplace Survey found that 85% of over 15,000 global businesses (across 100 nations) confirmed that greater location flexibility led to an increase in productivity.

 

3. Fairness:

How to fairly treat an influx of requests for flexible/ remote working. Will the floodgates open? I think not. Homeworking suits many, but not all. A happier balance is about matching the task to where you feel you will be able to best achieve it. For managers, it’s about having a robust flexible working policy in place that’s clearly laid out and transparent. COVID-19 has enabled us to see who performs well remotely. All of this is helpful when considering flexible working requests. A US survey of 7,000 employees by Flex jobs found 80% said they would be more loyal to their employer if they had flexible work options.

 

4. Wellbeing:

Loneliness, a reduced work-life balance and low mood are higher in remote workers – 21% report loneliness (Buffer 2018, survey of 1,900 global remote workers). However, 77% of employees say that remote working has improved their overall health and wellbeing. There’s a watch out here for those of us with responsibility for health and wellbeing. We need to ensure support is in place, but most importantly, that the culture and ways of working acknowledge the need to take breaks, the structuring of the day (however that best suits both employer and employee) and a clearly defined work and home life.

Workers who have control over their schedule report finding time to exercise more, eat better and have higher morale and a better outlook in general (American Psychological Association).

There is also concern that sickness absences will increase, and yet go hidden and under the radar. This is where the role of the line manager is vital. Knowing your team and being connected, offering a listening ear and being watchful for any change in behaviour.

 

“The new normal”

So now is the time to think about what our new normal will look like. We are gaining real insight into how we all work best and for each employee that will be very different.

As we brace ourselves for another potential six months of restrictions, we should use this as a time of great experiment and reflect on the changes that we wish to implement going forward. Remote working isn’t a one size fits all, but for some it really does enable them to perform at their best. 61% of companies globally currently allow staff to have some form of a remote working policy. Germany being the highest at 80%, the Netherlands 75%, USA 69%, UK 68% and Japan at 32% (IWG Global Workplace Survey 2019).

I can’t help but reflect on how very timely this all is for Generation Z for whom digital connectivity is a superpower. Now that we are meeting online and digitally connecting with friends and family, it looks like the traditional workplace is about to catch up and better serve all our needs.

 

News

Reacta leads development of global peanut allergy diagnostic

Deeside based Reacta Biotech is on course to secure a Market Authorisation for its peanut diagnostic product within the next two years as global activity to treat peanut allergies ramps up.

Reacta expects Nestlé Health Sciences’ $2.6 billion acquisition of Aimmune to accelerate demand for food allergy diagnostics as the California based biotech business has already received FDA approval for the worlds’ first therapy to actively treat peanut allergies.

Reacta was established in 2014 by co-founder and non-executive Chairman Professor Ashley Woodcock and is now led by serial healthcare entrepreneur Doctor Paul Abrahams as Chief Executive. The company develops food science technologies to improve the efficiency, accuracy and safety of diagnosing food allergies through its Oral Food Challenge (OFC) products. Having raised £1.25 million equity finance in early 2020, Reacta’s funders include the Development Bank of Wales, Moulton Goodies Limited and Acceleris Capital.

Reacta’s first peanut allergy diagnostic product is currently being used as a gold standard OFC diagnostic to support clinical trials being conducted by several companies globally in the field of food allergy therapy.

Dr Paul Abrahams, Chief Executive of Reacta believes that the product will significantly improve the diagnosis and monitoring of individual patients’ allergies thereby allowing tailored therapies to be administered. He said: “We’re making good progress with the development of our peanut allergy diagnostic product and expect the acquisition by Nestlé Health Sciences of Aimmune  to generate more resource and attention to this relatively nascent market from both a therapeutic and diagnostic perspective. We are confident that we can leverage off the benefits which will come from Nestlé Health Sciences further strong endorsement of the sector as we continue to focus on securing a Market Authorisation.”

Michael Bakewell, Deputy Fund Manager who manages technology venture investments at the Development Bank of Wales added: “Food allergies have become a major global health problem affecting around 250 million people worldwide. With the benefit of equity investment, Reacta is quickly building a strong name in the global food allergy diagnostic market. They are very much on course to becoming the gold standard oral food challenge diagnostic supplier in the market and with our continued support they have every opportunity to achieve their growth ambitions.”

News

Kushan Bhareti: Identity and Access Management for Start-up Businesses

Written by Kushan Bhareti, Software Engineering Intern at WS02 

Entrepreneurship is one of the hottest trends of this decade and a lot of start-ups have been formed through innovative ideas that have been converted into businesses. Some of these start-ups grow into large and successful businesses, while many others will fall by the wayside.  But this does not deter entrepreneurs from developing new business ideas and, accordingly, new firms show up daily.

New job opportunities are created as a result and along with this comes a client or customer base. Staff and clients become the stakeholders of the business, each with their own identity. Over the last decade, records have moved from paper to digitised forms and many software solutions have been introduced to solve the multiple challenges businesses face. Different problems are solved by different solutions and vendors meaning that very quickly managing these solutions can start to get complicated.

As companies are encouraged to move towards a digital infrastructure, so their services require access to data which often includes sensitive information. Proper security measures are a must for protecting data from possible attackers. Convenience, in addition to security, is also an important consideration. This is where identity and access management (IAM) comes into play, particularly for those growing and aspiring companies.

So, what is IAM?  In simple terms, it’s all about managing different users and defining the different methods by which these users can access different services. Access can be obtained using different authentication methods that differ according to security requirements. Here at WSO2 we have some specific features in WSO2  Identity Server that are particularly useful for start-up companies, these include:

 

User Account Management

All stakeholders of a business are users and even a start-up needs to have proper infrastructure that can manage these users and give relevant access to data. There might be an internal system that keeps track of all records or an online store that is maintained by the firm. Using an IAM tool offers businesses a user management feature that can be implemented into various systems. For example, WSO2 Identity Server maintains a high standard on user account passwords as it’s the first point of vulnerability to an attack. While giving the system admins the right to add and manage users, it also has a feature that allows users to self-register.   The admin can set an expiry period for the password entered which can be an added precaution to protect from attacks. A higher level of security can be obtained by using advanced authentication methods such as multi factor authentication (MFA) and adaptive authentication.

 

Single Sign On

A business might be required to access multiple services from multiple vendors. Accessing these services requires the creation of accounts. Remembering a lot of passwords can prove to be difficult and writing them down or saving them in a file can result in a security compromise or breach. The goal of single sign on (SSO) is to be able to access multiple services using the same credentials, making this incredibly convenient.  An added benefit is that once an account is created for a user in one application, access to all other applications can be granted automatically or can be granted by the admin with ease. For example, WSO2 Identity Server enables the user to create an account in an application using SSO, and the credentials can be used in any of the other apps that are in the connected network.

 

Federated Authentication

When you go to a website or application which requires a sign up, the most convenient method of creating the account is signing up with Google or Facebook.  Federated authentication allows users access to any service using existing accounts. For example, WSO2 Identity Server offers several accounts that can be used to login to an app. These include Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and many other platforms. Start-ups that work through services such as Google would find this feature very useful when delegating access.

 

Multi Factor Authentication

Two factor authentications is a well-known security measure. It increases security by breaking the authentication process into two parts, commonly sending a code to either your phone or email address. MFA takes it to the next level by adding a few more steps to the authentication process.

There are the three ways to prove your identity:

  1. Things that you know (passwords, pin numbers, etc.)
  2. Things that you own (phone, email, etc.)
  3. Things that you are (biometrics)

 

WSO2 Identity Server offers several authentication methods that can be set to create a multifactor authentication flow. For apps that contain sensitive information, it is advisable to have additional security layers implemented. These additional authentication methods can vary from one-time passwords (OTP) through SMS or email, to specific identifying questions, to biometric authentication such as a fingerprint. This way, even if an attacker finds out the password to one of your applications, they must still supply other credentials.

But additional security comes at a cost. Adding more authentication steps will result in a lower level of convenience so it’s important to find the right balance between security and convenience.

 

Adaptive Authentication

Adaptive authentication is a way of overcoming this convenience issue while providing high security. It can delegate the steps followed for authentication depending on various factors such as the role of the user or the location the service is accessed from. For example, the level of security required at a café (connected to a public Wi-Fi network) can differ from what’s required inside an office building (secure network). This is where adaptive authentication comes into play. Adaptive authentication lets the level of security required be set depending on the scenario. So, if you have roles that contain or have access to sensitive information these can be given extra layers of security. With an increasing number of employees working from home, there can be security breaches because employees are working on unsecured networks. Having an additional layer of security for authentication can save a business from this type of data leakage.

 

Having an IAM system can be very useful in the long run because it helps a business move ahead with a solid infrastructure that has the capabilities required for expansion, avoiding any unnecessary identity silos. It also acts as a blanket of security that protects data from possible attackers. But the most important aspect for a start-up business is being able to implement a proper IAM system at a low cost. Here WSO2 Identity Server is ideal as it is open source and can be downloaded freely for a number of platforms.  Alternatively, for those who prefer not to manage the set up, we have a subscription-based model.  The choice is yours!

If you would be interested to find out more about WSO2 or your organisation is considering integrating WSO2’s services into your business practices, please visit wso2.com

News

How low code business apps can help companies recover post Covid-19

Last year Forrester forecast that the low-code market will grow 40% annually to $21.2 billion by 2022[i]. As companies look for ways to support their recovery post Covid-19, many are turning to low-code tools to develop business apps, according to Malcolm Carroll, director at BlueFinity International.

Carroll says, “As we move through the pandemic companies want to ensure they have a sound basis for economic recovery. One solution is the creation and timely introduction of innovative business apps. For some companies Covid-19 has accelerated the pace of digitalisation and increased demand for apps, as companies see them as a way of responding to the challenges of the virus and changing consumer and business behaviour.”

According to mobile analytics firm App Annie[ii] the pandemic “has changed consumer behaviour on mobile forever” with their latest statistics highlighting that Covid-19 has driven consumer spending on apps to $50 billion in the first half of 2020, up 10% from the second half of 2019.

Other research from McKinsey[iii] showed that digital interaction with B2B customers is now two times more important than traditional channels—more than a 30 percent jump since before the COVID-19 crisis hit.

Carroll says, “Apps allow businesses to deliver all or part of their services to customers on mobile devices and laptops, as well as traditional desktops.  The security and flexibility of an app, in a world where people are working from home, social distancing and changing their routine on a continual basis, can help companies adapt and aid their business recovery.

“However, the key now is that companies need to be able to develop apps quickly and cost-effectively to be competitive. Low code development platforms, which enable companies to use existing staff to build sophisticated business apps without the need for employing outside software developers, are the ideal solution.”

One company that has been using BlueFinity’s low code development platform, Evoke to digitalise a manual ordering system is Classic Groundcovers, a wholesale nursery based in Georgia, USA that sells plants to nurseries, re-wholesalers and landscape contractors, who experienced a surge in sales in the spring of this year.

Spring is always their busiest time. This year orders were exceptional as the pandemic forced people to stay at home and many turned to gardening, increasing demand for plants.

The company had operated a manual order system and when order volumes were high, managing orders took up to 12 hours a day of administration and the situation was unsustainable. Classic Groundcover approached BlueFinity to create an app to automate their order processing, reduce their administration, and ensure they could manage high volumes of orders.

Using Evoke and the support from the BlueFinity team, an app was created and deployed in 90 days. The company said that having the app has been ‘ground-breaking.’  It has automated their order processing; enabling the company to not only managed the surge in orders but grow the business and halve the time spent on administration.

BlueFinity also helped one of Groundcover’s biggest wholesalers to get set up with the Evoke app as well and as a result, Classic Groundcover processed a record number of 3000 orders from that wholesaler alone, during this spring period.

Carroll adds, “We recommend that companies don’t delay decisions to go digital until ‘things get back to normal’ as they could miss a significant opportunity to get their business ready for the post Covid-19 world. The business world has changed and in many instances the changes will become a more permanent part of life.

“Now is the time to not only be responding to the changes but also to be planning for the future. In the world of business and commerce, the introduction of the right apps can provide the point of difference that is so often needed to stay ahead of the competition.”

Evoke allows businesses to design, develop and deploy adaptive business apps across multiple mobile and desktop devices using their existing staff, and in a fraction of the time and cost of traditional methods. It is a develop once, deploy everywhere platform that requires no hand coding.

Evoke is the only mainstream low-code App development platform that provides for complete flexibility in meeting current and future requirements. From the same design you can generate web, hybrid and native apps to run on mobile devices and desktops. All regular devices are supported including the iPad, iPhone and watches; Android and Windows phones, tablets and watches plus Windows, Linux and Apple desktop. Future proofing is guaranteed as Evoke is based on industry standard technologies and provides the development options to create your apps entirely with Evoke, to add unlimited custom and library code or to generate and work with complete Visual Studio and Xamarin projects, all from the same design and code base.

News, Recruitment News

Why employers should rethink talent acquisition for the post Covid-19 world

The UK economy grew by 6.6% in July, but still remains far below pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS)[i] The UK unemployment rate has also risen to its highest level for two years[ii].

But according to skeeled, a provider of predictive talent acquisition software, although the economy has been deeply affected by Covid-19, it’s time for business leaders to move from survival mode to preparing for the new normal.

Speaking at a recent In-house Recruitment Live Virtual event, Nicolas Speeckaert, co-founder and director of skeeled says, “2020 has been a hugely challenging year so far however, it’s time for business leaders to look over the hill and start thinking about how they recover. While many companies have had recruitment freezes, part of their recovery will be ensuring they have the right talent to adapt to the new normal. Talent acquisition should be a key focus and businesses need people with the necessary skills to adjust to changes that occurred due to Covid-19.

Nicolas highlights that Covid-19 has been transformational, not only changing how people work, with more people working at home, but changing how companies do business with many embracing e-commerce as a result of the lockdown and these changes will affect the skills companies need.

He predicts, “We expect to see more of a focus on online skills, as well as soft skills such as communication and time management as people increasingly work remotely.  The jobs market will be very busy with more people chasing vacancies, especially after the furlough scheme comes to an end in October. Whilst employers may be spoilt for choice, the reality is that HR staff may be overwhelmed with applications and find it challenging to sift through CVs to find the best talent.”

“Businesses will need to re-think their talent acquisition strategy to respond to the changing world and difficult economic conditions ahead. Having the right recruitment processes in place will be key to attracting the workforce they need to survive beyond Covid-19.”

Nicolas Speeckaert has the following five tips for employers:

Don’t delay, act now – Employers should be revaluating their talent acquisition strategy and making any necessary adjustments sooner rather than later. Recruiting talent could take longer with the expected wave of redundancies and more people chasing roles. Therefore, having the right staff in place by the end of the year means recruiting now.

Adapt your employee benefits package – Remote working was a growing trend in 2019, but in 2020 due to Covid-19, it exploded. Many people want to continue working flexibly so this should be part of the benefits package for those that want to attract the best people. Employers should also re-think their wellbeing benefits, especially how they support the mental wellbeing of their workforce.

Get buy in from the C-suite – To build a solid business going forward talent acquisition is going to be a core part of any business strategy. HR professionals must get the buy-in from CEOs and senior management to any changes in recruitment processes and strategy to ensure that have their support.

Embrace virtual recruitment – Many companies embraced virtual recruitment during lockdown and continue to do so. Talent acquisition technology can streamline and automate many recruitment processes especially during the time-consuming early stages. For CEOs keen to bolster staff numbers this year ‘virtual’ talent acquisition is likely to become the new norm for recruitment.

Consider adding AI to your recruitment toolbox – AI will become the must-have recruitment tool post Covid-19. skeeled’s software is powered by predictive AI technology. It can help companies publish job vacancies and screen and sift through CVs, as well as schedule in the first phone interviews and face-to-face interviews.  This can save businesses time and money and means they won’t need extra staff to deal with large numbers of CVs.

For more information on skeeled visit: www.skeeled.com

[i] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54113948

[ii] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54146833

Creative News, News, News from Wales

Huel Partner with Welsh Agency to Help Create Their Social Media Ads

Cardiff-based video marketing agency, Aura Ads, has recently won global brand Huel as their newest client, after impressing the company leaders with impressive results while on a one month trial.

The brand came to the Welsh agency in July with KPIs to increase paid social performance through the use of conversion focused video ads.

Aura Ads’ trial video accounted for a large portion of Huel’s overall Facebook purchases whilst also generating a 34% higher clickthrough rate, all while maintaining the same cost per acquisition.

Ryan Walton, Founder of Aura Ads, says: 

“Huel were after a fresh pipeline of high quality creative in order to maintain paid social performance. We exist to fix this problem, by providing the ideation, production and editing capabilities to turn around awesome video ads within 25 days every month.

Given we launched Aura Ads in March this year, Huel really is the icing on the cake for us and is a huge confidence leap moving forward!”

Huel is a world-renowned brand providing nutritionally complete food with essential minerals, vitamins, proteins and fats, hitting their revenue high earlier this year.

Ben Bokaie, Senior Performance Marketing Manager at Huel, says:

“It’s important that we serve really high-quality video creative to our target audiences. This is where Aura Ads have come in. They’ve smashed performance for us across all our markets on Facebook and Instagram, especially in the US where it’s single handedly turned around performance in a tough time.”

“We’d not hesitate to recommend Aura Ads to all other B2C consumers, especially if they’re trying to scale paid social with some really high quality video ads at a super, super good value. I look forward to working with Aura Ads for the foreseeable!”

Huel’s main goals while working with the agency is to increase both purchases and click through rate, while keeping the cost as low as possible.

The client sends Aura Ads the product while they plan, shoot and edit the video, before sending the video ads back to them within the promised 25 days.

Earlier this month, Huel released their video ads for their new Hot & Savoury product that were created by Aura Ads. These have performed superbly well, driving a 15% higher clickthrough rate than average to date.

Aura Ads launched in March 2020, as a more e-commerce focussed brand than their sister company, Visaura, focussing on corporate videos. Both of which create ads designed to convert on social media.

Benefits, HR News, News

3 in 4 employers to review Employee Benefits offerings as a direct result of the COVID19 pandemic

A survey undertaken in September by Howden Employee Benefits & Wellbeing (Howden) highlights a significant shift in attitudes from employers towards their employee benefits & wellbeing provision in light of the coronavirus crisis.

The research found that almost 3 in every 4 employers (72%) would be reviewing their employee benefits provision for workers as a direct result of the national health emergency.

Steve Herbert, Head of Benefits Strategy at Howden says; “The truth is that the mortality, physical health, and mental wellbeing risks for workforces and their employers have been made so much more apparent by the COVID-19 crisis.

It follows that employers in all sectors are now much more acutely aware of the need to support their workers wherever possible, and we are expecting this new attitude to feed through into many more conversations about a variety of workforce wellbeing initiatives in the months and years ahead.”

Howden undertook the survey as part of the intermediaries’ popular series of Howden Employment Webinars, and the same research also highlighted how the pandemic has also led to a significant change in personal as well as corporate attitudes towards employee benefits provision.

6 out of every 10 delegates questioned felt that employee benefits are now either “much more important” (38%) or a “little more important” (22%) than before the crisis.  And not one single audience member felt that the need for employee benefit provision had reduced since the lockdown began.

Herbert concluded; “It’s really encouraging that so many employers and their Human Resources teams are now fully accepting the true value of employee benefits provision in protecting workers of all grades, their loved ones, and of course the employer too.

2020 has been a year of desperately bad and sad news, but we hope that this new found understanding and belief in the value of a robust employee benefits offering will result in many more employers supporting their workers in all aspects of their wellbeing for many years to come.

Ultimately that would be a huge step forward for the nation and its workforce and might yet be a silver lining to what has been a horrible and tragic year for the entire nation.”

For more information, please visit www.howdengroup.co.uk

COVID-19, News

3.6 million in North and Midlands face ‘locked down, locked out’ digital double whammy

When expected new COVID-19 rules kick in, digitally excluded people in the Midlands, North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber will be hardest hit, says charity.

The UK’s leading digital inclusion charity is warning that millions of people face a miserable Winter ‘double-whammy’ of digital exclusion and tougher regional lockdowns.

With 9 million people across the UK still stranded by the digital divide and unable to fully use the internet (source: Lloyds Consumer Digital Index 2020), it’s those in the Midlands and North of England who will continue to be most affected – leaving them isolated, cut off from essential support, experiencing deteriorating mental health, and financially worse off.

New analysis for Good Things Foundation by Professor Simeon Yates shows that 11.4 million people in the Midlands, North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber are either offline [3.6m] or use the internet in a very limited way [7.8m]* – locking them out of critical lifelines such as GP appointments, Government support schemes and job retraining. And, that only 18% of people in the North East of England can use the internet to its full potential compared to 49% in the South East.

The charity is calling on the Government to commit to levelling up the UK’s deep digital divide with a Great Catch Up, helping 4.5 million people get digitally included and delivering £1.92 billion back into the UK economy.

Those who stand to be hit hardest by new government lockdown rules are people like Annette, 60, from Kings Heath, Birmingham, who found herself cut off with no money earlier this year.

Annette, who has had three strokes, and suffers from COPD, diabetes and chronic arthritis, says: “I was so depressed, for three days I didn’t get out of bed. The staff from my local online centre [Smartlyte] gave me a tablet and showed me how to use it, and it saved my life.

“The tablet gives me a chance to be part of my grandkids’ lives, and I didn’t have that before. I was so down, I was suicidal. I take a lot of medication and at one point I was going to take it all, but staff from the centre talked me out of it.

“It’s so lonely when you have got just four walls. I couldn’t go out, I was a prisoner in my own home.”

Mable, 91, lives in Stockport in her one-bedroom flat. Mable wasn’t able to leave her home for weeks during the last lockdown. “I do get a little bit down sometimes because of my illness. At night is when I get lonely.”

And Army veteran Jason, 34, from Middlesbrough, suffers anxiety and has struggled financially due to being unable to access his online Universal Credit account. Jason says: “Lockdown meant my world became my flat and I only had limited access to support staff. I felt very lonely.”

Helen Milner OBE, Good Things Foundation Chief Executive, says: “The pandemic has made digital skills critical for everyone in the UK – which is why we urgently need a Great Catch Up to help people cross the digital divide. With 9 million people across the country still unable to fully use the internet, we’re in danger of heading back to the dark lockdown days of April – where people were, shockingly, being forced to choose between data and food.

“Through our work, we saw millions of people being locked out of access to GP appointments, social contact and essential Government services. We can’t let this happen again – but the real fear is this is where we are heading unless the Government acts swiftly, working together with businesses and other organisations like ourselves to help more people get across the digital divide.”

Good Things Foundation’s call to level up on digital skills is being backed by 33 MPs including several Conservatives in Red Wall areas, such as Jonathan Gullis (Stoke North), Dehenna Davison (Bishop Auckland) and Christian Wakeford (Bury South), who are calling for a parliamentary debate on the issue. The backbench motion is led by former Conservative Minister Esther McVey and Labour’s Julie Elliot, chair of the Digital Skills APPG.

* Analysis of the most recent Ofcom data on Adults’ Media Use & Literacy (2019 survey data, released 2020) by Prof Simeon Yates, The University of Liverpool: proportion of population in England from within North West, North East, East and West Midlands, and Yorkshire and Humber regional areas who are offline (‘non-users’), who use the Internet for a very limited number of activities (‘limited users’) and who can use the internet to its full potential (‘extensive users’). See here for further information.

Breakdown of people off-line by region as follows;

North East – 140,523 (population 2,669,941)
North West – 1,181.342 (7,341,196)
Yorkshire and Humber – 827,880 (5,502.967)
East Midlands – 483,593 (4,835,928)
West Midlands – 927,193 (5,934,037)

Farming, News

Farming Network warns Welsh Farmers to align practices with climate-friendly future or face collapse

A new report by the Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN) reveals that farm businesses will go bust if policy doesn’t help farmers better balance food production with the natural environment.

The report draws on evidence from over 40 UK farms and shows that business as usual cannot continue if farms want to survive. Instead, farming with nature is critical to ensure long-term resilience and financial viability for farmers, whilst also helping to tackle the wildlife and climate crises.

Roger Thomas, Chair of the Wales Environmental link says:

“The NFFN’s Nature Means Business report highlights that nature and farming are inextricably linked. Nature friendly farming not only helps to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies, but it also makes good business sense. It’s vital that Governments in Wales and across the UK develop future agriculture policies that facilitates and fully reward farmers for the work they do in maintaining and enhancing nature and the environment.”

Gethin Owen at Nant yr Efail Farm in North Wales has been implementing nature-friendly practices for several years.

“Nature-friendly farming has a positive impact on the lives of animals as well as farmers. We have saved £3,000 a year from adopting nature friendly practices”.

Gethin, along with the NFFN are calling for governments to ensure agricultural policy enables farmers to farm with nature.

 “Farmers being paid public money just for owning land is unacceptable and has been one of the most damaging aspects of agriculture policy during the last 50 years. Governments need to take action now and ensure farmers stop using unsustainable and damaging methods”.

“We believe that the Agriculture Bill and associated funding mechanisms must help farmers to produce safe, healthy food at the same time as helping our soil, landscapes, rivers and wildlife to recover and flourish”.

“We are calling for a new food system for Wales to better join up food and farming policy; one that ensures farmers earn a fair return whilst ensuring food is healthy, affordable and sustainably produced”.

The new research by the NFFN also reveals that the majority of the UK and Welsh public want public money to support farmers and land managers to deliver healthy and sustainable food.

  • Seven in ten people (70%) do not want public money to reward ‘business as usual’ farming approaches or allow damaging farm practices to continue.
  • Almost eight in ten people (79%) are calling for food and environmental standards to be put into law, to protect long-term food security.
  • Over three quarters (76%) are urging their MP to support farmers that farm with nature.

The report is endorsed by leading environmental organisations including the Wildlife Trusts, RSPB, Butterfly Conservation Trust and Buglife.

 

Finance and Banking, News, News from Wales

Welsh business activity expands in September, albeit only marginally

The headline NatWest Wales Business Activity Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors – registered 51.3 in September, down slightly from 51.5 in August. The latest data indicated only a marginal expansion in Welsh private sector business activity. Although a number of firms linked the rise to greater client demand, others noted that new order inflows remained historically subdued.

Welsh firms signalled a slower upturn in new orders during September, albeit still solid overall. Growth in new business was commonly linked to the reopening of client businesses following extended lockdown measures. The softer expansion was the second-strongest since July 2019 and reflected the UK-wide trend.

September data signalled further optimism among Welsh private sector firms regarding the outlook for output over the coming year. That said, the degree of confidence slipped to the weakest since March, as some firms expressed greater hesitancy amid the ongoing pandemic and global economic downturn. The level of positive sentiment was much lower than the UK average.

September data signalled a further marked contraction in workforce numbers across the Welsh private sector. Firms stated that the drop in staffing numbers was due to redundancies and efforts to cut costs amid weak sales. The rate of job cuts eased to the slowest for six months, however, reflecting the trend seen across the UK as a whole.

Welsh private sector firms recorded a slight decrease in backlogs of work at the end of the third quarter, with the rate of decline quickening marginally. Companies often cited sufficient capacity as a key factor behind the depletion of outstanding business. The rate of contraction was much slower than those seen during the depths of the pandemic, however.

Welsh firms registered a fifth successive monthly increase in cost burdens during September. The increase was strong overall, but eased to the slowest since June. Although some noted that higher input prices were linked to greater supplier charges, others stated that redundancies had reduced pressure on costs. Nonetheless, the rate of inflation was faster than the UK average.

Average selling prices continued to increase at a solid pace at the end of the third quarter. Panellists linked higher charges to the partial pass-through of greater costs to clients. The rate of inflation matched that seen in August and was the fastest of the 12 monitored UK areas. The increase in charges seen in Wales contrasted notably with the slight decline seen across the UK as a whole.

Kevin Morgan, NatWest Wales Regional Board, commented:

“Following a modest pick-up in August, the Welsh private sector signalled a moderation in activity growth at the end of the third quarter. Nonetheless, the further expansion indicated a marked turnaround from the substantial decline seen in April.

“In an effort to reduce cost burdens, firms cut back on employment through further redundancies. Staffing fell at the slowest pace for six months, but pressure on capacity remained weak. Impetus to hire may not return any time soon, as business confidence dwindled once again to its lowest since March.

“Encouragingly, selling prices continued to rise solidly, contrasting notably with the marginal fall seen across the UK as a whole.”