Business News Round Up (01/12/2023)
Councils pilot net zero projects with £19m government backing
A new £19m pilot programme will help selected combined authorities unlock private investment, speed up their efforts to tackle climate change and help the UK reach its net zero target. Two Local Net Zero Accelerator pilots in the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the West Midlands Combined Authority will help drive investment in multiple green projects across key sectors such as energy, housing, and transport – essential to delivering on the UK’s climate targets. The combined authorities will decide how to allocate funding, selecting projects that will benefit their communities. These could include housing retrofit and renewable energy and transport projects, such as installing solar panels, battery storage and deploying green buses – all of which could help significantly cut emissions. Councils have previously faced barriers to attracting private sector investment in smaller net zero programmes and one-off projects.
Almost a third of Scots office workers ‘not allowed hybrid working’
Almost a third of office workers have been ordered back to their company’s premises full time, with no option for hybrid working. Research for Flexibility Works – a Scottish Government funded organisation which works with employers to develop flexible working practices – found 29% have been told to work from the office five days a week. A further 16% have been asked to go into the office on a weekly basis, but with bosses leaving it up to their staff which days they go in, while 22% have been given complete freedom to decide when they go into office. Overall, nearly three quarters (71%) of office workers now have some kind of hybrid working arrangement – with those who work in this way spending on average 2.1 days a week in the office and working elsewhere the rest of the time.
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/almost-third-scots-office-workers-31555121
Black Friday boosts retail footfall – BRC
UK retail footfall stabilised in November, industry data showed on Friday, as shoppers snapped up Black Friday bargains. According to the latest BRC-Sensormatic IQ Footfall Monitor, footfall decreased by 0.7% in the four weeks to 25 November year-on-year, a notable improvement on October’s 5.7% decline. Within that, footfall fell 1.7% on high streets, by 1% in retail parks and 2.2% in shopping centres. A month previously, footfall had slumped 4.6% on high streets, 4.3% in retail parks and 7.3% in shopping centres. Footfall on Black Friday itself was up 52.4% week-on-week. Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “A slight uptick in consumer confidence, as well as easing inflationary pressures and more predictable weather, led to an improvement in footfall compared to the previous month. After a slow October start, the month-long Black Friday sales helped to get shoppers out to their town and city centres.”
UK AI sector to receive a £2.5bn boost from Microsoft
The UK’s AI sector is to receive a £2.5bn investment from Microsoft, the main investor behind ChatGPT developers OpenAI. The investment was announced at a gathering of multinational executives aimed at increasing foreign investment into the UK. The money will go towards AI infrastructure and upskilling workers in the UK. The investment is part of a commitment by Microsoft to train over one million people into the AI economy. This upskilling will include workers who have no previous background experience in AI. The £2.5bn will be spent over the next three years to expand Microsoft’s UK AI datacentre infrastructure and bring over 20,000 advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) to the UK by 2026. GPUs are vital in the machine learning process which allows AI to internalise data. The UK government welcomed the investment, stating that AI accounted for a £3.7bn contribution to the country’s economy and employed around 50,000 people.
https://www.verdict.co.uk/uk-ai-sector-to-receive-a-2-5bn-boost-from-microsoft/