The Chamber

• Do you occupy a public building of more than 1000m2? and
• Is your building occupied or part-occupied by a public authority or institution providing a public service? and
• Is your building visited by large numbers of the general public?

If so, from October 1st 2008 the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive makes it compulsory for you to have a Display Energy Certificate (DEC). This rates the operational performance of your building in terms of CO2 emissions. You also need an advisory report, which highlights cost effective measures you can implement to improve energy performance.
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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN
THAT THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-EIGHTH
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF MEMBERS OF THE CHAMBER
will be held at Jury’s Inn
at 12 Noon on Wednesday 23rd July 2008

Members are requested to attend

A G E N D A

1. To elect the President of the Chamber

2. To elect the Chairman, Vice Chairman and Deputy Vice Chairman of the Chamber

3. To receive the report of the Board from the Chairman

4. To receive the Statement of Accounts and Balance Sheet, and the Report of the Auditors

5. To agree the re-appointment of Edward Robinson as Auditors for 2008/09 and to agree to allow the Board to fix their remuneration

6. (a) To elect Council members retiring in rotation under Article 42 and who have signified their willingness to offer themselves for re-election

(b) Council are asked to NOTE the resignations of Council members.

(c)To elect members who have been recommended for election to Council, or who have signified their willingness to be elected in accordance with Article 39

7.  To formally agree to the adoption of the new “Code of Operation” to prepare for the future Governance of the Chamber.

Download a copy of the Code of Operation here [Word Doc]

8. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Book your place online at the Chamber website

Get directions to Jury’s Inn Liverpool

Why indeed!  When you  have a free service right on your door step.

As members of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce you are entitled and indeed encouraged, to make use of  the Trident Training Recruitment Service which is FREE to members.

Trident Training have been involved with schools and colleges within the Greater Merseyside Area, through the Compact Careers and Guidance Open Days.  We have over two hundred applicants waiting to be placed in employment

If your organisation is looking to employ any staff in the 16 to 18 years age group in a junior administrative or general office position we can assist.  All applicants are thoroughly vetted by qualified staff, providing screening and testing of each individual applicant before Trident release their CVs to employers for consideration

Each successful applicant will commence their apprenticeship with Trident Training in one of a number of subjects such as Business Administration, Retail & Customer Service, IT User& IT Practitioner with key Skills and Technical Certificate

The Learning & Skills Council provide funding of 100% for any staff in the 16 to 24 years old age group to gain a National Vocational Qualification through the apprenticeship scheme which is also open to existing staff in this age group.

The employer is responsible for employing the employee at an Apprenticeship wage of not less than £80.00 per week. Also the employer is responsible for ensuring that the employee receives support and assistance with their apprenticeship program.

For more information, please call the Workforce Development Team on 0151 236 3222 or 227 1234

At Liverpool Chamber, we’re commencing production of the 2009 Business Directory.

Visit our online membership directory to check your company details on our website, before we go to print. Mistakes cannot be rectified later!! If you have any changes please email membership@liverpoolchamber.org.uk and we will amend your details.

You may also wish to advertise in the directory which goes out to over 4000 businesses in Merseyside.  Benham Publishing are working with the chamber and will be contacting your shortly to find out your requirements. Alternatively you may wish to book early to get the best advertising space, so you can email rogerswift@benhampublishing.com or call him on 0151 236 4141.

Unless you’ve got your head in a bucket, you’ll have noticed that Liverpool is currently overrun with Superlambananas, all individually decorated and dotted about the city.

Liverpool Chamber even has its own SLB. Not only have we sponsored the beasty, a member of Chamber staff has decorated it. Ours is called ‘First Past The Post’ and has been painted by Pamela Holstein, a talented artist who just happens to look after our press and PR.

You can see our SLB outside our offices at One Old Hall Street, and you can see more of Pam’s art on the Art In Liverpool website.

Energy markets are again in turmoil with record highs being posted on gas and electricity base load prices. Wholesale gas prices have risen by approximately 110% since February 2007 and electricity prices have risen by around 135% over this time.

“The markets are being driven by high coal and oil prices along with the economic growth experienced in China and India who are purchasing as much base fuel as possible,” explained Jeff Wealands, Technical Director for Utility Auditing, which supplies the Chamber Utilities™ service.

He added: “Reduced gas flows into the UK along with ‘outages’ at power plants over the winter have exacerbated matters - driving prices ever upwards. Where will it end? Markets are also affected by global political and natural events. One thing is for sure – price stability in wholesale energy markets is a thing of the past and locking into long term fixed contracts is looking increasingly attractive.”

As well as negotiating the best price on gas and electricity, with impending legislation to reduce carbon and consumption, it is more essential than ever before for organisations to improve their efficiency. Most organisations can cut consumption by up to 20%, which can help mitigate rising costs.

For help and advice on cutting costs and improving energy efficiency contact Chamber Utilities™. Get in touch today to see how you can profit both your business and the environment.

Contact Chamber Utilities™ 0845 120 2423, www.chamberutilities.co.uk

This programme is very intense and delivers powerful leadership changes to individuals within the organisation who require a stepped increase in positive leadership outcomes.

Although this is the foundation level of the Academy’s management development programme, the term ‘foundation’ should not be confused with ‘basic’.

The Liverpool Chamber of Commerce is working in partnership with Holistic Academy to deliver this three day programme is designed for aspiring and new leaders, as well as those leaders who wish to take their skills to another level.

The programme is very intense and delivers powerful changes to individuals within the organisation who require a stepped increase in positive leadership outcomes.

Content:
By the end of the programme, you will be able to…

• Prioritise the 12 roles of an effective leader
• Run productive and efficient meetings
• Effectively motivate staff
• Influence others more effectively in a wide variety of situations
• Describe 4 distinct leadership styles
• Understand how to determine the appropriate development level of a person against a given task
• Practise the use of 3 factors when being assertive
• Construct a delegation plan
• Use 3 ways to minimise the likelihood of conflict within your teams
• Describe 9 factors that help or hinder teamwork

The course takes place from 3rd - 5th June and costs £700 + VAT

For more information please contact Alma Mayers or Sarah Abraham on 0151 227 1234.

Changes in the way United Utilities calculates its surface water drainage charges could bring either a smile or a frown to the face of metered business users this financial year, according to the Chamber Utilities™ team at Liverpool Chamber of Commerce.

Previously, the charge was linked to rateable value, but the water company has introduced bands of payment based on the ‘chargeable area’ of a site, equating to the site area which benefits from the drainage service.

New meter customers were introduced to the new charging system last financial year, while existing customers will see the changes phased in over the next two years.

According to Jeff Wealands of Chamber Utilities™: “This means that city centre businesses with high rates, but small premises could pay less, while organisations in the non-prime locations, such as schools and factories, with big sites and relatively low business rates may pay more.”

“There will be no financial benefit to United Utilities as a result of the changes, whose overall revenue will remain unchanged, but there will be ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ among their business customers which should be prepared and budget accordingly.”

Chamber Utilities™ offers a raft of specialist services to help businesses minimise the cost of waste water and may be able to assist some organisations in reducing the new liabilities from the changed charging structure.

Utility Auditing, which delivers the Chamber Utilities™ service, has years of experience in environmental and wastewater management solutions. Savings can be made by increasing efficiency of wastewater processes, reducing pollution, and identifying recovery value for recycled waste product.

Additional benefits flow from the separation and recovery of by-products, which have a commercial value.

Added Jeff Wealands: “Water used to be a relatively low overhead but it is now an expensive surcharge. It is becoming increasingly important to understand the charges incurred for water supply and waste water disposal and how they can be reduced. The control of resources in your operation, including water and the control of what remains as waste is vital to cost minimisation.”

Chamber Utilities can advise businesses on total water management and leak detection, as as well as checking meter size to ensure users optimise efficiency.

For further information contact Chamber Utilities™ on 0845 120 2423, www.chamberutilities.co.uk

Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC)

Wednesday 21 May 2008

Come along to a free seminar briefing on the implementation of the Driver CPC held by  RTITB and Voss.

Whether you operate one vehicle or 100 the CPC will affect your business. The Driver CPC will impact on almost 1,000,000 drivers; will require 3,000,000 training hours annually (freight only) and will require the training of more than 1,000 new instructors.

By any measure the CPC is a major challenge for the industry. We do hope you will be able to set aside time and attend this important FREE event.

Topics covered include:

• EU DIRECTIVE 2003/59/EC - Driver Certificate of Professional Competence: Mandatory Driver Training
• The Driver CPC in detail – who, what, when and where
• The opportunities and challenges the Directive presents
• The type of training options available
• The type of training infrastructure that will be required
• Options available for minimising cost and maximising benefits

There will also be the opportunity to see a demonstration of the RTITB’s new desktop, portable, in-house training system called Digit-ALL that can be used for training individuals or groups of drivers.

The free seminar takes place on Wednesday, 21 May between 10.30 - 12.30 followed by a buffet lunch at LACE Conference Centre, Croxteth Drive, Sefton Park, Liverpool L17 1AA.

To book your place please call Voss Training on 0151 650 6600.

28th April 2008, Liverpool - 15:15 pm – 18:15 pm

If you are looking to trade with China or partner with a Chinese company for import, export and manufacturing, Liverpool Chamber’s Chinalink are hosting two valuable events - The China trade Forum, Question Time and UK-China Business Matchmaking event plus an evening networking reception with a Chinese delegation of business leaders.

For full details of both events and how to book, click ‘more’.

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