Belfast leisure centres support UK National Fitness Day

Better leisure centres in Belfast are joining sport and leisure facilities across the UK in supporting National Fitness Day on Wednesday 26th September.

Now in its eighth year, National Fitness Day is a ukactive initiative, aimed at inspiring people around the UK to take part in exercise, whilst raising awareness of the importance of leading healthier and more active lifestyles.

Better leisure centres across Belfast are taking part, including Avoniel, Ballysillan, Grove, Ozone, Olympia, Whiterock, Girdwood and Better Gym Connswater, with a host of free activities for all the family, including:

-        Open Day with Try It classes at Avoniel;

-        Open Day at Ballysillan;

-        Survive and Save Taster, including morning Group Cycle Taster and Tom Daly Diving Academy Taster at Grove;

-        Open Day at Ozone;

-        Open Day, including morning Group Exercise and evening Abs Blast at Olympia;

-        Open Day with Group Exercise Taster at Whiterock;

-        Group Exercise studio Open Day with instructor led classes in the morning and virtual class programme in the afternoon at Better Gym Connswater;

-        100,000 Moves Challenge across Better Gym leisure centres, with each person’s moves added to the real-time daily total through the mywellness app.

Conor McCallion, Regional Product Manager at GLL said:

“We are delighted to once again support ukactive’s National Fitness Day.

“Better Leisure Centres exist to provide affordable, accessible leisure facilities, to get more people more active more often. By supporting National Fitness Day, we are able to work alongside ukactive, aligning similar views to encourage people in communities across the country, to take part in physical activity.

“We have a range of exciting events taking place on the day, including Try It Classes and taster sessions, to suit people of all ages and abilities and we encourage everyone to head down to their local Better leisure centre and take part.

“Across our Belfast leisure centres, and using our Technogym mywellness technology, we will try and hit a set target of 100,000 moves as a gym total on the day. This will showcase our technology and help to build on our already great community spirit in Better Gym Belfast and I would encourage everyone, members and non-members alike, to get involved.”

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Chair of National Fitness Day organiser ukactive said:

“National Fitness Day is a powerful tool to raise the profile of physical activity and the role it plays in increasing the health of our nation. By getting people across the country involved we can help provide the initial steps towards continued involvement in physical activity.”

To find your nearest Better leisure centre, visit https://www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/belfast

Trade Credit Brokers rebrands to Willis Towers Watson Trade Credit and Surety to become Ireland's largest Trade Credit Insurance specialist

Trade Credit Brokers has rebranded to Willis Towers Watson Trade Credit and Surety Ltd, becoming the largest and best resourced Trade Credit Insurance and Surety specialist in Ireland.

Based in Belfast City Centre, and with an office in Dublin, Willis Towers Watson represents some of the most well-known brands and companies across a range of trade sectors and brokers over two-thirds of the Credit Insurance business across the island of Ireland. In Northern Ireland alone, its Trade Credit clients insure over £1.5billion worth of sales per year.

Trade Credit Insurance has come into sharp focus recently with several iconic companies, such as the high-profile collapse of Carillion and House of Fraser making the news headlines leaving their supply chains exposed to hundreds of millions of pounds of unsecured debt.

Having Trade Credit Insurance provides vital protection for businesses against the impact of bad debt which can be caused by a failure of customers to pay for goods or services sold on credit. The impact of bad debt can be devastating for some companies, but Trade Credit Insurance can help to manage risk and elevate anxiety.

As Brexit draws ever-closer, the growing threat of a no-deal outcome means that trade credit risks may be exacerbate, bringing an added layer of uncertainty to the already unsteady economic climate in Northern Ireland and businesses who are not protected with Trade Credit Insurance may face previously unforeseen dangers and challenges.

It is now more important than ever that businesses protect themselves and positively manage their credit risk with Trade Credit Insurance.

Nigel Birney, Head of Trade Credit and Political Risk Northern Ireland at Willis Towers Watson, said:

“The rebrand of Trade Credit Brokers to Willis Towers Watson Trade Credit and Surety Ltd represents the evolution of Trade Credit Brokers to become the largest and best resourced Trade Credit Insurance broker on the Island of Ireland.”

“At a time when the future of business appears to be unpredictable, Willis Towers Watson can help businesses to proactively manage this unpredictability. Trade Credit Insurance is about mitigating risks and provides reassurance and financial protection during difficult trading conditions. You only have to look at recent news headlines to see the number of businesses which have been saved due to having Trade Credit Insurance in place when a business further up the supply chain fails. No-one is immune no matter how safe they may seem.”

“The added uncertainty and upheaval of Brexit, means that businesses are now in a position where they do not know what maybe thrust upon them. It is a time for businesses to be as protected and prepared as possible.”

“Trade Credit Insurance provides vital protection against the impact of bad debt caused by the failure of customers to pay for goods or services sold on credit and having Trade Credit Insurance can help businesses to proactively manage their credit risk. Having Trade Credit Insurance in place can help businesses de-risk and Willis Towers Watson can provide solutions and recommend an option for businesses who wish to proactively protect themselves and grow their business safely whether they are trading at home or abroad”

Eversheds Sutherland announces new Partner in Belfast - Matthew Howse

Eversheds Sutherland has announced Matthew Howse has joined their Belfast office as partner.

Matthew will join the litigation department of the international firm, bringing 13 years of legal experience with him from Birmingham and Belfast. Throughout his career he has specialised in litigation and dispute resolution.

Photo: (From Left to Right) Matthew Howse (Partner, Eversheds Sutherland) and Alan Murphy (Managing Partner, Eversheds Sutherland).

The announcement comes at a time of growth for the Belfast operation, who recently released plans to double its headcount in the next year and a half, with a focus on litigation, real estate, employment and banking.

The firm is also set to grow its Dublin office which currently employs 275 people.

Eversheds Sutherland managing partner, Alan Murphy said:

“We are thrilled that Matthew has joined us, bolstering the firm even further as we move into a period of expansion in Belfast and Dublin. We are ambitious for the future and need the right people to help us do that. Matthew is an impressive individual and will be a strong addition as a partner.”

Matthew Howse added:

“This is an exciting opportunity to play a leading role in the development of the Eversheds Sutherland presence not only in Belfast, but in Dublin and throughout its international offices. Eversheds Sutherland has an outstanding reputation for offering professional advice and its client servicing. This coupled with the plans for growth made it the right time to join.”

Former MLA Dawn Purvis named as new Chair of HIV Charity Positive Life

Dawn Purvis has been announced as the new chairperson of Northern Ireland’s only dedicated HIV charity, Positive Life.

The former MLA takes up the post after serving on the board of Positive Life for several years. She replaces Colum Conway who has been appointed as head of Social Work England.

Approximately 100 new cases of HIV are diagnosed every year in Northern Ireland and the numbers of new diagnoses continue to rise, unlike the rest of the UK where they are falling.

Recently Positive Life, Northern Ireland’s only dedicated HIV charity revealed that the numbers of people with HIV accessing its services has almost doubled in just one year. New statistics showed that there was over an 80% increase since 2017. This unprecedented increase is a result of several wide-ranging campaigns to raise awareness around sexual health, stigma and support services.

Positive Life support services includes Counselling, Complementary Therapies, Social Events, Family Support along with Rapid HIV Testing. In many cases, Positive Life offers the only real and meaningful contact that those living with HIV have due to the overwhelming impact of the stigma around the condition here in Northern Ireland. 

Purvis takes up the role as Chair in the lead into World AIDS Day which takes place on 1 December and is one the focal points of the year for the charity.

Dawn Purvis, new chairperson of Positive Life said:

“I’m honoured to be taking up the role of chair of Positive Life. Last year saw the number of people in Northern Ireland living with HIV pass the 1000 mark and the number of Positive Life service users doubling. This shows just how vital the work carried out by our staff and volunteers is to help those affected live healthy lives and ensure they are treated with respect and dignity.”

“I’m keen that the lived experience of those with HIV in Northern Ireland remains at the heart of everything we do. One of the biggest issues that impacts our service users is the persistence of the all too common and harmful misconceptions around HIV and the daily stigma faced by those living with it.”

“We know that HIV doesn’t discriminate. We know that it can affect people regardless of their gender, religion, age or sexuality. We know this, but without an Assembly, without a Health Minister and a comprehensive sexual health strategy, there are no proactive measures being taken to combat the stigma that still surrounds HIV.”

“I will use my term as chair to further the issue of sexual health education and empowerment and push to end the stigma around the issue which is now a manageable lifelong condition and not the death sentence it once was.”

Chief Executive of Positive Life, Jacquie Richardson:

I am absolutely thrilled Dawn has taken up the post of chair of Positive Life. The organisation will benefit greatly from her skillset and experience, including her strong corporate governance knowledge. Dawn brings to this challenging position her caring, sympathetic personality and her exemplary commitment to helping those in Northern Ireland with HIV.”

“One of the most important jobs we have is combatting the stigma around getting tested and encouraging as many people as possible to take control of their own sexual health. There should be no embarrassment or shame in getting a HIV test if a person feels that they are at risk and the fact that there is has a direct and devastating impact on people’s lives.”

Brown O'Connor Communications Political and Business Events Forward Look September/October

September – October 2018

September

3 September, Next Belfast City Council Meeting

5 September, Hospitality Ulster, Retail NI and Manufacturing NI House of Commons reception

6 September, Social Media Belfast, Titanic Belfast

6&7 September, RHI inquiry with former Minister Jonathan Bell

10 September, Nominations for Irish Presidential Election close

12 September, NI Chamber Annual Networking Conference & Business Showcase

13 September, House of Commons, Conference Recess

14 September, IoD NI Young Directors Forum, Boojum, Allstate, Belfast

14 September, NI Affairs Select Committee Deadline for evidence on Education Budget Inquiry 

20 September, Next Belfast City Council Brexit Committee

22 September, NI Health & Fitness Awards, Crowne Plaza, Shaw’s Bridge  

23 September, Labour Party Conference, Liverpool

26 September, Derry City and Strabane District Council Investment/City Deal Event, London

27 September, Northern Ireland Energy Forum, Titanic Belfast

30 September, Conservative Party Conference, Birmingham

October

1 October, Closing date for entries for Women in Business Awards

1 October, Closing date for entries for NI Corporate Finance Awards

5 October, IoD NI Young Directors Conference 2018, Merchant Hotel, Belfast

8 October, In Camera Lunch with Sue Gray, Permanent Secretary, Department of Finance

9 October, Irish Budget (expected)

11 October, 2018 NILGA Annual Conference and Exhibition, Armagh City Hotel

12 October, Derry Chamber of Commerce Presidents Dinner

16 & 17 October, Hospitality Exchange 2018, Crowne Plaza Belfast

18 October, In-Camera Dinner with Head of the NI Civil Service, David Sterling

18 October, Big Data Belfast, Waterfront Hall

19 October, CIPR Awards, Culloden Hotel

25 October, CBI NI Annual Lunch, Titanic Belfast

26 October, Irish Presidential election

29-31 October, Build Peace Conference, Ulster University

International Law Firm Eversheds Sutherland Plans to Double Belfast Staff by 2020

International law firm, Eversheds Sutherland, has announced plans to double the size of its Belfast office by 2020.

The expansion is expected to bring the headcount to over 30 in the next year and a half with a focus on litigation, real estate, employment and banking. The current number of staff is 15 including 3 partners.

Originally set up as a satellite office 2015 with only six staff, the permanent presence in Belfast city centre was established due to the demand for its services.

The announcement comes as the firm is also set to grow its Dublin office which already houses 275 people.

Eversheds Sutherland Ireland managing partner, Alan Murphy:

“Since the opening of our Belfast office in 2015 we have gained a real foothold in Northern Ireland which has been reflected in our growth in colleague numbers and revenue.

Alan Murphy

“The success of the Belfast office has been fantastic in such a short space of time and it has given us the confidence to invest to meet the demand for our services. We are hugely committed to Northern Ireland and are thrilled that our performance is allowing us to build further.”

“We are assured that our ambition and ongoing success will attract a range of talent who want to work for a law firm with global reach from Belfast.”

He added:

“Brexit has offered, and continues to offer, challenges and opportunity for our local and international clients and to have such a strong presence across the island of Ireland we can assist them seamlessly.”

“Many of our partners and staff work on a cross border basis which is a great asset for our client base and our own colleagues in the likes of the US, Far East and European centres.”  

NI Affairs Select Committee Inquiry into Health Funding Priorities in the 18/19 Budget

The Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee has published its Terms of Reference for its call for written evidence into funding priorities for Health in the 2018/2019 budget. 

The deadline is 24th August and the Committee invites written evidence on the following issues:

• Are the funds allocated to the Department of Health in the Northern Ireland Budget (No. 2) Bill sufficient to improve levels of performance across the Health and Social Care (HSC) service in Northern Ireland?
• What will be the consequences for the HSC that follow from the decision by the Secretary of State to allow £100m of existing funding ring-fenced for capital to be invested in ongoing public service provision?
• Should the UK Government ensure that additional confidence and supply funding earmarked for specific areas is spent on those areas, and if so how?
• Which areas of health and social care are under most pressure and how could funding be used to alleviate these pressures?
• How could funding be directed to meet the changing patterns of demand that arise from an ageing population?
• How can access to cancer treatment and drugs be improved in Northern Ireland?
• How could funding be targeted to reduce waiting times for elective care?
• How could funding in the short-term be used to bring about long-term transformational change in the HSC?
• Does the current HSC workforce model secure value for money?

Petition backing Community Pharmacy reaches over 120,000 signatures

The public petition to save local community pharmacy in Northern Ireland has now hit over 120k signatures. The petition officially closed on 9th July with the exact figure reaching 120,112.

The representative body for community pharmacy in Northern Ireland has said that the Department of Health can no longer ignore the sheer volume of patients and organisations now involved in the campaign.

Gerard Greene, CEO of Community Pharmacy NI

The petition which had 75,000 signatures around ten days ago has received a welcome boost as support from patients grows. The jump in over 45,000 signatures has come about due to local pharmacists encouraging a final push before sending back their completed petitions to the central co-ordinating team at the Community Pharmacy NI headquarters in Belfast. 

Community Pharmacists across Northern Ireland have taken the opportunity to engage and activate their regular patients to let them know exactly what the current crisis is about and how it could potentially impact on their healthcare provision.

The final petition push comes as the senior leadership from Community Pharmacy NI travelled to London last week to meet with the Northern Ireland Secretary of State to highlight prolonged Government underfunding, additional funding cuts made in 2017/18 and to explain why the current funding model which sees many medicines dispensed at a loss, is inappropriate.

Background

Prior to the collapse of the NI Assembly, the last Health Minister, Michelle O’Neill, outlined a commitment to continue to develop and resource community pharmacy-based initiatives over the next 10 years. However, this is now in jeopardy due to the fact that the Department of Health is under funding the cost of providing community pharmacy services by at least £20m.

This funding shortfall has been compounded in recent months by unprecedented generic medicines shortages leaving community pharmacists and their staff with a daily struggle to find many of the medicines needed by their patients. When they do source the items required, they can find themselves paying more than ten times the usual price, all without knowing if they will be fully reimbursed.

Gerard Greene, Chief Executive, Community Pharmacy NI commented

“In the past few days we have been inundated with our members returning page after page of petition signatures. We are overwhelmed, but not entirely surprised, as this quantity of feedback clearly shows how important local pharmacy is to people.”  

“Community Pharmacists are fighting for their future existence and have been activated to capture the support that we know is out there. Patients and patient groups have told us that they are extremely worried about this situation and are very concerned that some pharmacists are being forced to make tough decisions and how that might impact on their care.”

“We are truly grateful to the many tens of thousands of people who have called in to their local pharmacy or gone online to show their support. They need us, and we need to be there for them in terms of clinical and social support, now, and in the longer term.” 

“Elected representatives, business leaders and patient representative organisations are standing with us. This huge public outpouring needs to be heard and recognised by the Department of Health. They can no longer keep their heads in the sand and hide behind the fact that there is no Assembly or Executive in place. They made the cuts in the first place and they have it within their gift to redress the funding issues and must do so urgently.”

Number of Service Users at HIV Charity Positive Life jumps 80%

Positive Life, Northern Ireland’s only dedicated HIV charity has revealed that the numbers of people with HIV accessing its services has almost doubled in just one year.

New statistics show that there was over an 80% increase (18 to 33) in the first quarter of 2017 in comparison to the first quarter in 2018.

This is an unprecedented increase for the HIV charity and comes off the back of several wide-ranging campaigns to raise awareness around sexual health, stigma and its support services.

Positive Life CEO, Jacquie Richardson 

Positive Life support services includes Counselling, Complementary Therapies, Social Events, Family Support along with Rapid HIV Testing. In many cases, Positive Life offers the only real and meaningful contact that those living with HIV have due to the overwhelming impact of the stigma around the condition here in Northern Ireland. 

Jacquie Richardson, Chief Executive of Positive Life commented:

“The courage of those living with HIV coming to us for support is very encouraging. Our work is to raise awareness about HIV, stigma and our services and this is the ultimate measurement of the effectiveness of that activity.”

“For someone to identify themselves to us as living with HIV takes huge personal sacrifice due to the stigma that is associated with the condition in Northern Ireland. There is a significant fear for anyone sharing a HIV+ diagnosis, even to us confidentially at Positive Life, that they are committing themselves to a death sentence and a lifetime of isolation.”

“To see such a rise in new service users is really exceptional and we want to do so much more to ensure that those who haven’t yet accessed our services are not afraid and come forward and allow us to help.”

“We have focussed our safer sex message to make the most impact with those at high risk, particularly among younger people, as we really want to see a decrease in new cases here in Northern Ireland. There has been an upward trajectory of new cases for far too long. We are hopeful we will see the benefits of this next year and the years to come as results are often slow to emerge due to the nature of people affected by HIV coming forward.”

Greater service provision for those with HIV requires funding and is needed to sustain the increased numbers accessing the services at Positive Life Chief Executive Richardson added: 

“However, we are providing these services on the same budget as the lower number of service users and this will not be sustainable for too much longer.”

“Although we are seeing more and more people coming through our door, the financial resources that we have stays the same putting our ability to provide for the new cases under extreme pressure.”

New £7.3million Newry Whiskey Distillery Gets Green Light

Planning permission has been granted for a new £7.3million Whiskey Distillery, Bar, Restaurant and Visitor Centre on Monaghan Street in Newry.

The green light to proceed was given by Newry, Mourne and Down District Council at its latest planning committee yesterday.

Backed by well-known Newry businessman and entrepreneur, Michael McKeown, the historical location will see the revival of the Matt D’Arcy & Company business on the site which goes back as far as 1817.

Not only will there be a fully restored Victorian bar, restaurant and international visitors centre, the site will be returned to its former use as a fully functioning whiskey distillery producing single malt for the premium market on the international stage. The size of the entire project site is expected to be around 14,000 square feet over several floors with the £7.3million investment spread over three years.

Around 50 hospitality jobs are set to be created alongside a Master Distiller and staff with cooperage skills to oversee the future maturation process of the whiskey that will be distilled at the Monaghan street site.

The restoration and build of the new distillery and facilities are expected to take around 18 months and, when completed, will bring forward a thriving international tourist attraction focusing on the US, Chinese, European and Australasian markets.

Andrew Cowan, Chief Executive, Matt D’Arcy & Company who has over 20 years international experience with a host of iconic Irish brands such as Jameson & the delivery of Ireland’s largest tourism initiative, The Gathering 2013, said:

“We are thrilled to have received such good news on the positive planning decision. This will now see us move to the next stage of the plans for Matt D’Arcy.”

“This is a really special development which will create jobs, fill local hotels and bring many tourists to this key attraction on the eastern corridor of Ireland, perfectly positioned between Belfast and Dublin.”

“We have already received a significant amount of interest in the plans to develop the Irish whiskey tourism offering on this part of the island which we believe will be very successful.”

“The Irish whiskey market is hugely successful and growing at a significant rate. Last year the market produced a modest 9 million cases with the 2020 target of 12 million cases looking like it will be exceeded.”

“Our ambition is to create a world class tourist offering through the restoration of the 200 year old site famous for whiskey distillation. Our ultimate aim is to produce around 9000 cases per year of single malt and to retain stocks for at least 10 years aimed at the premium market.” 

“For some years now, we have been maturing our own whiskey off site and will release a premium matured merchant Irish Whiskey in early 2019 prior to distilling at the Monaghan Street location on completion of the construction phase.” 

“Very soon we will be creating roles for a specialist Whiskey distiller, maturation experts and are also at the developmental stages to bring forward the first recognised cooperage course to train young apprentices and rekindle a dying art.”

Michael McKeown, owner and investor of Matthew D’Arcy & Company added:

“We took our time in bringing forward the plans to make sure that we got the proposal for the restoration of such a key site in Newry just right. The development of this location into a flagship international tourist attraction has been a passion of mine for some time and is an exciting investment.”

“I’m thrilled that we are now moving forward with enthusiasm and that the benefits of this great asset will be felt by the business and hospitality sectors locally and nationally.”