Once again thanks largely to J4B I have been able to draw up another stop press of grant information. Our network of readers and followers is now becoming truly nationwide. So I am now including information from throughout the country. Please check these notices out and click on the links provided for more information. More information will be posted as it becomes available.
New Fund Fires Up Coalfield Communities
A new £20 million fund is being set up to boost business in areas crippled by the collapse of coalmining.
Housing Minister John Healey has announced plans to set up a Coalfields Growth Fund to support new and growing small businesses in former coalfield areas.
Places Up For Grabs On American Enterprise Programme
Aspiring Scottish entrepreneurs are invited to enter a competition offering subsidised places at a prestigious Boston-based business school.
Six lucky applicants from the Highlands and Islands region will receive funding to take part in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s renowned Entrepreneurship Development Programme at the end of January.
Climate Change Cash Still On Offer
There’s still time left for Chorley-based companies to take advantage of a scheme to help them go green.
Approximately £30,000 remains up for grabs through Chorley Borough Council’s Climate Change Business Grants programme.


Multi-Million Pound Boost For Marine Energy
Government grants totalling £22.5 million are up for grabs to speed up the commercial development of wave and tidal technologies.
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has officially launched their Marine Renewables Proving Fund.
Closing Date Coming For Environmental Awards
There’s only a month left for businesses, schools, councils and charities to enter a prestigious competition offering cash prizes for great green initiatives.
The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy 2010 close to initial applications on 27 October.
Innovative Industrial Biotech Fund Launched
Up to £2.5 million funding is being made available to carry out feasibility studies into how industrial biotechnology can be used to produce high value chemicals.
The Government’s April 2009 New Industry, New Jobs report highlighted the potential impact that industrial biotechnology could have, in particular by shifting the focus of the chemical industry away from oil to one based on renewable and biological substances.
New Creative Competition Underway
A new £1 million programme to help Scottish artists team up with the wider creative industries sector has opened to applications.
First announced last month, the Vital Spark Awards is the first project to be financed by the £5 million Innovation Fund established by Creative Scotland, the new body set up to nurture the nation’s cultural and artistic talents.
Scots Given Incentive To Tell Apprentices: “You’re Hired”
Employers can receive £2,000 to recruit a redundant apprentice under a Scottish Government scheme.
Up to £1.7 million European Social Fund cash has been made available for “Adopt an Apprentice”, the first project to be supported through the Government’s skills development programme ScotAction.
Second Chance To Net Innovation Assistance
Companies in the East of England have a second chance to scoop £3,000 funding to boost their business by working alongside one of the region’s universities .
The second round of the East of England Development Agency’s Innovation Vouchers programme has opened to applications.
Source: www.j4b.co.uk www.mgba.co.uk www.ukba.co.uk
MPblog3009

Small Firms To Benefit from Big Business Refit

The Carbon Trust is set to launch a new programme they claim will help thousands of UK SMEs to reduce their energy bills by a combined £40 million. Their Big Business Refit initiative provides firms with expert advice and access to interest-free loans to replace old, inefficient equipment with new, environmentally-friendly models.
Through their long-standing Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme, the Trust offers SMEs funding ranging from £3,000 to £400,000 to upgrade their equipment.The fund currently has £100 million worth of loans available, a sum expected to help up to 3,000 businesses cut a total of £40 million off their annual energy costs.

Sc: www.thecarbontrust.co.uk www.mgba.co.uk www.ukba.co.uk

Business Link Article

The Birmingham post has run an article that will be of interest to all businesses in the region. I have therefore simply attached a link.

http://www.birminghampost.net/birmingham-business/birmingham-business-news/other-uk-business/2009/09/14/management-turmoil-throws-business-link-s-future-into-doubt-65233-24680422/

Rules on Migrant Workers Tightened

A raft of new government measures has been announced this week, which aim to ensure that resident workers have every opportunity to fill UK vacancies before they are offered to workers abroad.
The Government has accepted the recommendations made by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) last month to tighten up the rules controlling when skilled workers are allowed to take jobs in the UK under the Government's points system.

From next year, all jobs must be advertised to British workers in Jobcentre Plus for four weeks, extended from two weeks, before companies can seek to employ individuals from outside Europe.

The Government will also extend the qualifying period for all those overseas workers who want to transfer to work at the UK base of their company – from next year they will have to have worked for their firm for at least a year rather than just six months prior to the move.
The minimum salary that will allow an individual to qualify as a skilled worker and be eligible to work in the UK will also rise from £17,000 to £20,000.

Source: Workplace Law Network

www.mgba.co.uk www.ukba.co.uk

Black Country Engineer Wins £30,000 Grant

Good news today. I have heard from a client that the grant application that he and I have been working on for several weeks has been approved in the sum of £30,000.
My client is a small engineering company based in The Black Country. The MD has been working on a new technology to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of solar panels and their use in the domestic housing industry. Working with the client we applied for a Proof of Concept grant from Advantage West Midlands to help with the cost of IPR; a full market assessment and the further testing of his prototype to ensure the design will cope with a manufacturing process.
This is a further successful Proof of Concept application we have made on behalf of clients and I am delighted.

www.mgba.co.uk www.ukba.co.uk

Recovery Still Threatened By The Banks Say EEF

Britain's economic recovery is still being threatened by the lack of credit on offer from banks, a leading manufacturers' organisation reports today, warning that many businesses are actually finding it harder to secure affordable finance than a few months ago.A survey conducted by the EEF said 47 per cent of firms had seen the cost of finance increase over the past two months, from 44 per cent in the second quarter and 37 per cent in the first. Only 7 per cent of manufacturers said the cost of finance was now falling.Manufacturers also found the cost of new borrowing was still rising, with banks charging both higher fees and more expensive interest rates.A third of companies added that the supply of credit had shrunk in recent weeks, though this was an improvement from the second quarter when 42 per cent of businesses warned lines of credit were dwindling. However, small firms, in particular, are being hit by the credit shortage, the EEF said.Steve Radley, the EEF's director of policy, said that despite action from policymakers, the manufacturing sector's hopes of recovery were being hampered by their credit difficulties. "Despite historically low levels of interest rates and significant intervention by the Government and the Bank of England, credit conditions remain very tight for most manufacturers," he said."Given the severe damage done to banks' balance sheets by the recession, this is likely to remain the case for some time and will dampen the recovery as meeting new orders puts increasing pressure on manufacturers' cashflow."The EEF's warning reflects increasing concern that the inability of banks to lend more to business might prevent the UK from exiting recession or, at the very least, act as a cap on the strength of the recovery.Source: David Prosser, Business Editor, The Independentwww.ukba.co.uk

Grant Information Update

Here is a new update of grant news and availabiliy from J4B. If you would like more information you can email me on martin.parry@mgba.co.uk

Scottish Voucher Scheme Back For Second Round
A programme to encourage collaborations between Scottish SMEs and academic institutions has reopened to applications.
The first round of the Scottish Funding Council’s Innovation Voucher Scheme saw 30 businesses team up with Scottish universities to carry out projects involving the development of new products, processes and services.
£6 Million Boost Gives Textile Industry A Cutting Edge
Textile manufacturers across Yorkshire and the Humber are set to benefit from a major new European funding project.
The Textile Innovation Programme is being financed by a combined £6 million from regional development agency Yorkshire Forward and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Innovation Grant For Energy Consultants
A Derbyshire-based sustainable energy firm has secured funding to develop a range of environmentally-friendly heating and energy systems.
East Midlands Renewable Energy Ltd (EMRE Ltd) has received a £3,000 Innovation Support Grant from the Sustainable Construction iNet, a network funded by the East Midlands Development Agency.
Retailers Call For “Fridge Scrappage” Scheme
The Government has been urged to scrap VAT on energy efficient household appliances and offer consumers incentives to trade in their fridges and washing machines for “greener” models.
Industry body the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has written to Chancellor Alistair Darling calling for more action to encourage people to switch to newer, more environmentally-friendly household appliances.
Start-Up Contest For Highlands Highflyers
Aspiring entrepreneurs from the Scottish Highlands can secure start-up support from a new awards scheme.
The UHI Millennium Institute Business Idea Competition – run by Inverness College UHI – has a total prize pool worth £2,900 available for the individuals with the best ideas for starting a new business.

http://www.mgba.co.uk http://www.ukba.co.uk