The Chancellor today announced a series of measures to increase productivity, improve people’s access to employment, build a fairer society, improve public services and protect the environment in Yorkshire and the Humber.
The Pre-Budget Report confirms that the Government is meeting its fiscal rules. The Government’s macroeconomic framework has continued to deliver an unprecedented period of macroeconomic stability, with low inflation and sustained economic growth.
Some of the most deprived areas in Yorkshire & the Humber were given a boost today when Leeds, Sheffield, Doncaster and North East Lincolnshire were awarded £66.7million in a Government programme promoting enterprise and employment. Theirs were among 10 innovative proposals by 14 local authorities being awarded a total of £157 million under the programme.
This second round follows the £126 million awarded last year to 10 bids covering 15 local authorities, including Bradford.
The winning bids from 14 local authorities will be funded for three years in the second round of the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) – a joint programme between Comunities and Local Government, HM Treasury and the Department for Trade and Industry.
Today’s announcement was made in the Chancellor’s Pre-Budget Report.
Communities Minister Baroness Andrews said:
“The Local Enterprise Growth Initiative aims to encourage a step-change in economic activity in some of the most deprived areas in England. I am impressed by the huge response to LEGI and the genuinely deep understanding of local issues demonstrated by many bids and the strong role set out for local partnerships in delivering change. Following a very tough selection process I am convinced that the winning proposals will be able to make a real difference and drive enterprise forward in partnership with the private sector. LEGI is a vital element in turning around the lives and prospects of some of our most disadvantaged communities in an economically sound and sustainable way.”
The successful bids will be awarded funding from April 2007 over three years:
Doncaster £16m
Bid proposals include, business outreach managers ‘Streetwalkers’ and community based enterprise advisers working directly in the deprived neighbourhoods, making links between business support, local opportunities and micro businesses.
Leeds £15m
Bid proposals include, enterprise ambassadors in schools, five enterprise centres and support in partnership with Business Link to target deprived areas and business sector support.
North East Lincolnshire £18.7m
Bid proposals include outreach centres and enterprise and business advisers in the targeted neighbourhoods, private sector companies offering support from their workforce to offer support to individuals and businesses.
Sheffield £17m
Bid proposals include a schools programme to identify the entrepreneurs of the future and the creation of a proactive network of neighbourhood enterprise champions and business advisers.
Felicity Everiss, Director of Government Office in Yorkshire & the Humber said:
“Congratulation to all our winning bidders, this is an excellent result for the region which reflects the very high standard of bids that we received in this round of LEGI.
Along with our round 1 winner, Bradford, the new funding will significantly enhance the region’s ability to tackle the barriers to enterprise in some of our most deprived areas and transform the quality of life for residents in those areas.
“The Government Office and Yorkshire Forward worked hard with regional partners in developing a new approach to providing support and guidance in this round. I would like to take this opportunity to express my personal gratitude for the hard work and commitment of all our partners in providing that support.”
LEGI is a regeneration programme designed to increase total entrepreneurial activity in deprived local areas, support the growth and reduce the failure rate of locally-owned businesses; and attract appropriate inward investment and franchising – making use of local labour resources.
Local authorities were invited to submit proposals setting out how LEGI funding would be used to stimulate enterprise and transform their most deprived areas. The selection procedure included leaders of short-listed bids taking part in question and answer sessions with a national advisory panel, which included two senior private sector representatives.
Baroness Andrews added:
We will also continue to work closely with authorities with the highest level of deprivation and lowest rates of enterprise formation. Regional Development Agencies, local partners and organisations such as the Princes Trust and Business in the Community will be key in helping to strengthen any future bids.”
John Healey, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, added:
“LEGI provides flexible, devolved investment in some of the most deprived areas in England. Today’s announcement of a further £157 million will boost local economic activity in areas which need more enterprise, growth and jobs. The 10 bids we have chosen to receive funding in this second LEGI round are those most capable of making a targeted, long-term difference in their communities.”
DTI Minister for Industry and the Regions Margaret Hodge MP said: “The winning bids will make a real difference to their communities, spearheading an economic transformation that will stimulate business growth and new investment. It has been very encouraging to see the public and private sectors working together for the good of their local communities. This can only result in a positive outcome for local entrepreneurs and businesses.”
From next Monday, passengers on the MetroTrain network and beyond will benefit
from almost 1,700 additional seats on peak-time trains services into and out of
Leeds.
Thanks to a £20m partnership between Metro, Yorkshire Forward and train operator
Northern, six additional trains have been acquired for use on services in and through
West Yorkshire. This includes the peak-time services from York and Harrogate via
Horsforth and from Halifax and Bradford on the Caldervale Line.
Additional capacity is also being made available on services into and out of Leeds
from Huddersfield, Knottingley, Selby and Sheffield.
“This is excellent news for commuters,” said Metro Chairman Cllr Stanley King.
“Metro remains committed to putting the passenger first, and by pooling our
resources with Yorkshire Forward we have enabled Northern to provide services
more suited to the needs of commuters while still providing extra seats on busy
routes during the rest of the day.”
Tom Riordan, Chief Executive of Yorkshire Forward said: “This significant investment
demonstrates Yorkshire Forward’s commitment to the development of the region’s
transport infrastructure. We are confident that the additional seats will encourage
more people to make public transport their first choice when travelling to work.”
A striking new landmark building at the gateway to the University of Leeds has been made possible thanks to a substantial donation in memory of Arnold Ziff, a long-standing friend and supporter of the University.
Funding for the new Marjorie and Arnold Ziff Building on Beechgrove Terrace has come from the family’s charitable foundation in recognition of the couple’s commitment to the University.
The family’s businesses, Town Centre Securities plc and Stylo plc, have also contributed to what is the largest donation ever received by the University. It rekindles a tradition for major benefactions which have shaped the institution’s development over its 102-year History.
The Marjorie and Arnold Ziff Building, which will house a range of student services, will present a world-class face to the community it serves – the University’s past, present and future students, its partners and the region. The building will also represent, more visibly than any other project, the ambitious plan for Leeds to rank among the world’s top 50 Universities by 2015.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Arthur said: “It is fitting that such an iconic building, standing alongside landmarks like the Parkinson Building and Brotherton Library, should be made possible by an act of philanthropy which echoes the significance of those early 20th century donations. We are tremendously grateful to the Ziff family for their continuing interest and generosity to the University.”
Throughout his life, Arnold Ziff was also known for his philanthropy across the Leeds community – and was a major figure in the History of the University, giving unstintingly of his time during 11 years on our governing body, council. He brought his clear-sighted wisdom and business acumen to a council committee which developed opportunities to commercialise research and evaluated the success of our relationships with companies.
Projects ranging from Arnold’s involvement in fundraising for the business school and the development of the University’s western campus, to the provision of a Steinway grand piano for the refurbished Clothworkers’ Centenary Concert Hall illustrate the generosity of Arnold and Marjorie’s commitment to the development of the institution. The family’s strong connection to the University continues through their son Michael, who remains a member of council.
The new £15m six-storey building will consolidate key student administrative services under one roof, bringing into one place, functions currently carried out at six separate locations across the University, providing a ‘one-stop shop’ to offer improved and integrated support to students.
Its light, airy foyer will offer an open and welcoming environment – and it will stay open late, allowing part-time and continuing-Education students to be taught in an accessible, secure environment as part of the ‘evening campus initiative’ to make better use of the University facilities later in the day.
The Marjorie and Arnold Ziff Building will also provide a quality suite of offices for the University’s senior management team and include a new meeting room for council, bringing the executive and governing bodies together on one site.
Arnold Ziff began studying economics at Leeds in 1944, but didn’t complete his course and was instead called up for national service.
He went on to play a key role in the post-war revival of Leeds through his company Town Centre Securities plc which developed the Merrion Centre – then the largest indoor shopping centre in Britain. By the time of his death in 2004, his shoe firm Stylo plc had grown to become one of the largest independent footwear retailers in the country.
His sons Michael and Edward are also former students of the University. The family said “As Leeds alumni, along with our sister Ann, we all are delighted to be involved with this project,”
“It is absolutely wonderful that this next exciting phase of the University’s development will be named after our parents.”
Marjorie added: “We look forward immensely to the completion of this next phase of development of the University. It will provide another permanent reminder of Arnold’s contribution to the whole community of Leeds.”
Plans for the building are to be considered by Leeds City Council in the coming weeks, with work on the site due to start in late March. Building work is scheduled to be completed by May 2008, with staff taking occupation of the building during the summer of 2008.
A blind man suffering déjà vu. It sounds like a contradiction in terms – but the first case study of its kind has turned the whole theory of déjà vu on its head.
Traditionally it was thought images from one eye were delayed, arriving in the brain microseconds after images from the other eye – causing a sensation that something was being seen for the second time.
But University of Leeds researchers report for the first time the case of a blind person experiencing déjà vu through smell, hearing and touch.
The University is a world-leader in déjà vu research. The ground-breaking work of the University’s Institute of Psychological Sciences has been widely published in both the scientific and the news media. Their work is particularly aimed at understanding chronic déjà vu, where patients are constantly plagued by the feeling of having “been here before”.
In a new paper published in the journal Brain and Cognition*, researchers Akira O’Connor and Chris Moulin relate how mundane experiences – undoing a jacket zip while hearing a particular piece of music; hearing a snatch of conversation while holding a plate in the school dining hall – were examples of how deja experiences were triggered in the blind subject.
“It is the first time this has been reported in scientific literature,” said O’Connor. “It’s useful because it provides a concrete case study which contradicts the theory of optical pathway delay. Eventually we would like to talk to more blind people, though there’s no reason to believe this man’s experiences are abnormal or different to those of others.
“Optical pathway delay is a quite antiquated theory, but still widely believed – and was the basis for the déjà vu sequences in Joseph Heller’s novel Catch-22. But this provides strong evidence that optical pathway delay is not the explanation for déjà vu. The findings are so obvious, so intuitive, that it’s remarkable this research has never been done before.”
O’Connor admits that to the person experiencing déjà vu, it feels almost inexplicable. “And because it feels so subjective, psychology, in striving for objectivity, has tended to shy away from it. But psychologists have gone some way to illuminating things like the ‘tip of my tongue’ sensation when you can’t think of a particular word. We just wanted to get to the same sort of understanding for déjà vu.”
O’Connor’s thesis, due to be completed next year, examines the experimental induction of déjà vu through hypnosis. “We now believe that deja experiences are caused when an area of the brain that deals with familiarity gets disrupted,” he said.
In one experiment, students are asked to remember words, then hypnotised to make them forget – and then shown the same word again to induce a feeling that they have seen it before. Around half said this brought on a sensation similar to déjà vu – half of whom said it was definitely déjà vu.
O’Connor would like to take the research further: “It would be really neat to do some neuro-imaging on people during genuine spontaneous déjà vu experiences – but it’s very difficult to get them to have them on demand…”
The environmental impact of the clothes we wear and how to reduce it will be discussed by industry leaders at major conference being held next week (November 16) and organised by the University of Leeds.
Marks & Spencers, The Woolmark Company and Lenzing Fibers and they will be among the companies represented at The Green Solutions and Sustainability in Textiles and Fashion Conference. Together they will represent every stage of clothing production and supply, and explain pioneering work on more sustainable fabrics and how to get products to the high street.
Conference organiser Dr Richard Blackburn and head of the Green Chemistry Group at Leeds’ Centre for Technical Textiles said: “This conference is a must for everyone with an interest in green issues and sustainability in textiles and fashion; this conference is a must for everyone interested in the future of textiles and fashion.
“We need to think about what the most sustainable materials are – natural isn’t necessarily sustainable. Cotton requires a considerable amount of pesticides and water and polyester is made from oil but alternatives are becoming available. We’ve just completed work on dyeing a replacement for polyester which is made from corn.
“Some companies and organisations are making valuable improvements, but developments can be limited to the area most relevant to that business, such as a fibre manufacturer making sustainable fibres, a dyehouse using clean dyeing processes, a fashion house embracing green design. Yet, significant improvements can be made when considering the impact of the full life cycle and all the industries involved in the supply chain.
“Industry can do a lot and provide alternatives but sometimes new products can only become a reality when they get a real market share but people have got to demand these sustainable alternatives.”
Over 200 delegates are now registered representing the biggest names in textile production, design and retail, making this conference the biggest of its kind ever held in the UK.
For more about the conference being held at the Village Hotel on November 16, go to www.textiles.leeds.ac.uk/conference or e-mail r.s.blackburn@leeds.ac.uk
Although the conference is now full, press places are available for coverage of the event.
A new-look jewel on the Yorkshire scene from next February will be the University of Leeds’ £4.5 million refurbished state-of-the art refectory, providing a contemporary dining experience for up to 600 delegates at a time.
Traditionally the home of high profile concerts, such as the Arctic Monkeys and The Who, the new-look refectory has been designed to not only look good, but during the day it will offer a wide-variety of food from a Theatre-style cooking area for oriental dishes and grab-and-go sandwich bar, to a hot and cold deli and coffee shop. And in the evening it can be transformed into fine dining for 600 people.
RefectoryCommercial development manager at the University of Leeds, David Meli said: “The refurbishment sees us move very much into the 21st century. Delegates will be able to choose exactly what they want to eat, whether it’s a light snack or a three-course meal, all in one location. It makes it easier for conference organisers who may have delegates with a range of dietary needs, rather than trying to arrange a complicated buffet they can allow everyone to make their own choices.”
The facilities will be cashless with delegates being given a card to pay for their meal and the new refectory has been designed to ensure everyone will be served quickly.
“It will be a fast-food service, but of inventive, high quality food,” explained David.
Chef preparing foodIn the evening, the venue can be transformed to offer silver service for up to 600 people. “Whether it’s the final dinner for a conference event or an awards ceremony, we really excited about the experience we are going to be able to offer once the work is completed early next year”, explained David.
