Medical Adaptation Electricians

Medical adaptations to your property Who is eligible for a medical adaptation? If you are disabled and living in States rental property, you may require an adaptation or item of equipment to assist you in your daily living. What does the process involve? If you are finding aspects of your daily living difficult due to an illness or medical condition, your doctor may write to the Assisted Living Team with their concerns. Alternatively, your carer, district nurse or healthcare worker may make an application to us on your behalf. Only adaptations appropriate for your specific needs will be considered. An occupational therapist will visit your home to assess your particular needs. They will then send us their report and assessment of adaptations or equipment that may be required in your home. If it is a simple measure that is required, such as a handrail or bathboard installation, this will be carried out by an appointed contractor as soon as possible. However, if it is a more complex adaptation then you may be visited by a maintenance officer from the Housing Department to assess the scope of work involved. Is there a cost? There is always a cost for any adaptation. Some may be very expensive due to the complexity of the equipment required. It may take some time before the full cost is obtained. More expensive work may need to go out to tender. Means test All tenants whose rent is paid either partially or in full by Income Support will not be means tested for any adaptation. Required adaptations will be carried out if the tenant is not in rental arrears. All other tenants are required to pay the full cost of any adaptation within their home. You will be advised, in writing, of the full cost of the adaptation and will need to confirm if you wish to proceed. No adaptation can be carried out until payment has been received and cleared by your bank account. If you feel you are unable to pay the full cost at any time, you are invited to make an appeal to the Assisted Living Manager. When making an appeal you should provide the following details; a letter detailing your reason for the appeal all sole/joint financial documents bank statements details of income details of savings/investments A full reveiw of your personal circumstances will be undertaken and you will be advised of the departments decision. If you are unhappy with the decision a further appeal can be made to the Housing Minister. If would like further information on medical adaptations, contact the Assisted Living Team.

Apprentice Electricians in Paisley

Youth unemployment leads Renfrewshire to be branded a “hotspot” A DEPRESSING new report has claimed that Renfrewshire is one of the UK’s “hotspots” for youth unemployment. The study identifies Renfrewshire Paisley as one of 152 local authority areas where the proportion of young people claiming Jobseekers Allowance is more than double the national average. More than 12.5 per cent of young people in Paisley are claiming unemployment benefits, and are either out of work or full-time education or training. The findings come only weeks after statistics emerged showing there are eight people chasing any one vacancy in the area. This latest report was compiled by the Commission on Youth Unemployment, part of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (Acevo). Paisley and Renfrewshire South MP Douglas Alexander said: “Worryingly, this report is further confirmation of what we already know. “Local young people in paisley and renfrewshire want to work, contribute to their community and be part of the local workforce but the opportunities are not available to them.” Last month, the Labour politician called for more government action to get young people back in work and bring more investment and jobs to our local area. He also pointed out the number of local young people in Paisley and renfrewshire aged 18 to 24 who had been unemployed for over six months had risen by 41.7 per cent. Mr Alexander said: “We cannot continue like this – local people deserve better. “I recently visited the local Kibbleworks centre in Paisley to see the work they are doing to provide training and employment opportunities for local young people who are in care or preparing to leave care. “That’s the kind of approach that can make a real difference but the Government doesn’t seem to understand that, without work, it won’t work. “I urge the Government both in Westminster and Holyrood to strongly consider recommendations such as the part-time job guarantee for people who have been on the work programme for more than a year and the provision of localised education-to-career support for the non-university applicants who are fast becoming forgotten. “We need action now to prevent a generation of local young people here in paisley and Renfrewshire being left on the scrapheap.” Youth Employment Minister Angela Constance, however, claimed the Scottish Government are “determined to tackle this national challenge with a national response”. She said: “I have been appointed as the first Youth Employment Minister anywhere in the UK to see that commitment through, backed up with an additional £30million investment which will go towards Opportunities for All, our guarantee of a place in education or training for every 16 to 19-year-old. “As well as guaranteeing 25,000 Modern Apprenticeship opportunities in every year of this Parliament, prioritising young people within colleges and working with local authorities on Activity Agreements for those, we are working closely with the UK government on implementing those elements of their youth contract relevant to Scotland.”

small electrical motor

The butyl methyl sulphide molecule whips round an axis defined by its single sulphur atom (blue) Single molecule's stunning image Nano-propellers sent for a spin Researchers have created the smallest electric motor ever devised. The motor, made from a single molecule just a billionth of a metre across, is reported in Nature Nanotechnology. The minuscule motor could have applications in both nanotechnology and in medicine, where tiny amounts of energy can be put to efficient use. Tiny rotors based on single molecules have been shown before, but this is the first that can be individually driven by an electric current. "People have found before that they can make motors driven by light or by chemical reactions, but the issue there is that you're driving billions of them at a time - every single motor in your beaker," said Charles Sykes, a chemist at Tufts University in Massachusetts, US. "The exciting thing about the electrical one is that we can excite and watch the motion of just one, and we can see how that thing's behaving in real time," he told BBC News. Miniature uses The butyl methyl sulphide molecule was placed on a clean copper surface, where its single sulphur atom acted as a pivot. The tip of a scanning tunnelling microscope - a tiny pyramid with a point just an atom or two across - was used to funnel electrical charge into the motor, as well as to take images of the molecule as it spun. It spins in both directions, at a rate as high as 120 revolutions per second. But averaged over time, there is a net rotation in one direction. By modifying the molecule slightly, it could be used to generate microwave radiation or to couple into what are known as nano-electromechanical systems, Dr Sykes said. "The next thing to do is to get the thing to do work that we can measure - to couple it to other molecules, lining them up next to one another so they're like miniature cog-wheels, and then watch the rotation propagation down the chain," he said. As well as forming a part of the tiniest machines the world has ever seen, such minute mechanics could be useful in medicine - for example, in the controlled delivery of drugs to targeted locations. But for the moment, Dr Sykes and his team are in contact with the Guinness Book of World Records to have their motor certified as the smallest ever.

electrical contractors 2012 olympics

T Clarke counts on Olympics boost The electrical contractor's margins are under pressure amid tough market conditions but the longer-term outlook remains good as it eyes work that will emerge in the build-up to the London Olympics. Print ArticlePermissions/ReprintsCommentHemscott Editor | 18-08-06 | E-mail Article Interim pretax rose 10% to £4m on sales up 9% to £100m. Earnings per share increased 10% to 6.76p and the interim dividend has been hiked 5% to 3.675p from 3.5p. Pat Stanborough, chief executive of T Clarke, says that despite tough market conditions and margins remaining under pressure, the group remains positive about the future. The group is especially upbeat about prospects for its core business in London, which should benefit from the build up to the Olympics in 2012, with many new major infrastructure projects planned to start in 2008. Stanborough says that this, combined with a number of large commercial office schemes in central London that are on the starting blocks, bodes well for the group's longer term future. The group is working hard to ensure it is in the 'right shape' to take advantage of 2012 opportunities as they emerge. On a further disappointing note, the group notes that its regional businesses have found it particularly tough going as they experienced 'mixed fortunes' over the half-year. In the provinces the group suffered unexpected bad debts and unforeseeable increases in material costs - copper prices for instance increased by over 100% between October 2005 and April 2006. In the South East, meanwhile, there has been some recent slippage in the timing of two major projects. Overall however, the group says prospects for the group are improving, with its £175m order book, and likely upswing in construction industry activity in the latter part of this year and beyond, giving it confidence for the future. However, with an eye on the timing of major contract completions, the group cautioned that its current year results will be broadly similar to those achieved in 2005. A decidedly mixed statement from T Clarke, with pressure on margins and the problems in the regions making for disappointing reading and taking the shine off the undoubtedly very good longer term prospects for the group, especially its core London businesses. In early trade, T Clarke plc shares were down 16p or 6.3% to 238.5p.

electrical contracting olympics uk 2012

Contractors get bonanza at olympic games Britain will spend about £10 billion on the Olympics, and contractors are getting a bonanza in tenders and assignments--not just in construction, but in every field. We've just gotten some of the details from the procurement plan announced last week by the London based Olympic Development Authority (ODA), which oversees all the other agencies and private groups involved. Role for SMEs There's a lot more up for grabs than one might realise. Olympics minister Tessa Jowell has already admitted spending £60 million on consultants--that includes IT and engineering planners. There will be more, even if the Olympics Ministry tries to play down their role. Okay, so the big consulting firms have their piece of the pie. But the Olympics Development Authority's is committed to giving as much business as possible to SMEs. Specifically, the Authority's procurement policy document states: ''SMEs and social enterprises are particularly important in developing the Olympic Promise, locally, regionally and nationally. The ODA will seek to ensure it does not inadvertently exclude such small companies from accessing ODA contracts, through its procurement strategies and procedures.'' SMEs are particularly important in the Olympics procurement process Olympics Development Authority Procurement Policy Document Most of the procurement is being done through an electronic process so there's no reason that you should be shut out. Just go to the Olympics E-Tendering Web Site. So, for example, you will soon be able to bid on building the communications network for the International Broadcast Centre there. Or on mobile phones services. Or on the electronics for the press centre. Or there are just plain vanilla IT software contracts to be had. The budgets aren't broken down in terms of sector: that is, you don't know how much is slated for a given tender for IT or electrical engineering. Rather the projects are defined in terms of overall goals, and then broken down into phases. While it's probably hard for a small company to bid on a major phase like mobile communications, the subsections of the project are up for grabs by SMEs as well as larger companies. For engineering projects, the ODA intends to use the new engineering contract version 3 (NEC 3) for all major electronics and construction procurement. It is of course the latest in the evolution of NEC contracts, and one that has become most popular with the industry. The range of possible contracts is extraordinary. 'Sebastian Coe, chairman of London 2012 Olympic Games, describes it: ''Business-related opportunities exist in many areas ranging from tourism, manufacturing, retailing, sports, transport, human services, security, environment, administration, hospitality, construction, IT, marketing & communications, logistics, and many other sectors and industries.'' Coe continues: ''We need thousands of computers, phones, televisions, hand held radios and the latest technology to wire the Games to the world. The ODA is developing a ''contract packaging'' approach which breaks down the entire programme to deliver venues and infrastructure into individual procurement elements.'' The ODA is developing a contract packaging approach which breaks down the entire programme to deliver venues and infrastructure into individual procurement elements Sebastian Coe-ODA When the Olympics were held in New South Wales, Australia, small business won the equivalent of £400 million in contracts for the Games,and over £115 million were won by small regional companies.

electricians in uk protest

Thousands of electricians march between London building sites to protest against changes to pay and conditions. Hours before students took to London's streets, electricians and construction workers were arriving from across the UK, to march over a new deal on pay and conditions. Today's demonstration comes after several months of unrest within the construction industry. In May a consortium of seven large construction companies, led by Balfour Beatty, announced it was withdrawing from a long standing pay and conditions deal known as the Joint Industry Board agreement. The replacement deal, the Building and Engineering Services National Agreement (BESNA) is the subject of much controversy with Unite - the union which represents construction workers - claiming skilled electricians will be replaced by lower grade, less skilled workers. BESNA is being developed by the Heating and Ventilating Contractors' Association. Chief Executive Blane Judd says that workers are being fed misinformation about what the deal will mean. He told Channel 4 News: "The industry has changed and we need multi skilled teams. At the moment you have three different operatives travelling in the same van, to the same site on different rates and different conditions. It's unwieldy. We want to level the playing field and 30% will see an increase in pay. Others will see no drop in salary. We need our operatives to compete in the market place so to suggest that we want to de-skill people is nonsense. " There has been rolling industrial action at major construction sites across the UK since the deal was announced. London has seen weekly demonstrations, while workers have also picketed Sellafield, the Lindsey oil refinery and Paper Mill in Carrington, near Manchester. Today coaches from across the country brought workers to London to demonstrate, starting with early marches of several hundred people to the Occupy site at St Pauls, then to two major construction sites, the Shard near London Bridge and then Blackfriars Bridge. Both sites are partly controlled by Balfour Beatty. The workers then moved on to Parliament where a group went in for an arranged meeting with their local MPs. Only around a third of the demonstrators made it to Parliament Square, after police held some back to stop them mixing with the students already in Parliament Square. Read more: Pop up tents in Trafalgar Square as students protest "The firms are trying to brainwash the lads" Speaking from the march, one electrician, who wanted to be known only as Bob, said he had come down from Manchester with 30 others to protect his industry. He told Channel 4 News: "This agreement had been in place for 40 years and then totally out of the blue a gang of the employers got together and said they were making a new agreement, whether we like it or not. There was no negotiation. The firms are trying to brainwash the lads into this and it will cut our rates. The management are telling us that the wage structure won't change but we don't believe them. "It's de-skilling, they will get people who are not in the electrical game to do this work and will put union members out of work. I see my pay going down by a third. I'm surprised, it was completely out of the blue and it's almost been done in a vindictive way. They are making good profits at the moment and they should be bringing the standard up, not knocking it down." But Blane Judd says workers are being fed misinformation by the unions: "I think there are people in the unions who are hell bent on protesting. Some in the union want to negotiate but can't because of the others. What's been lost is the opportunity for the operatives to be able to make a decision without being misinformed." He explains that there is clear evidence that many workers will benefit from higher salaries. "We have even got the employers guaranteeing that workers will transfer from existing grade to a new grade at their current salary or higher - where do you get guarantees like that nowadays? If you are on a particular grade you will be advanced, there will now be London weighting that there wasn't before. We just want to be able to deal with one wage agreement, with everyone on the same terms and conditions." Ballot over strike action Unite are balloting for strike action from November 16th until the 29th. They warned that any action could hit some of the UK's key infrastructure projects, including power stations and London's Crossrail development. Unite's General Secretary Len McCluskey said: "Balfour Beatty will be the first of the rogue firms to feel the anger of its workers. The failure of senior management at Balfour Beatty to withdraw the threats of dismissal has left Unite with no choice but to ballot members for industrial action." Unite's spokesperson Leanne Groves also spoke to Channel 4 News from the march, as protestors gathered. She said: "This is an attack on people's skills. There will be a new semi-skilled grade, with eight semi-skilled workers for every one qualified electrician. This work will be paid a third less. "The employers have looked at the agreement and tried to squeeze every single penny out of it." Leanne Groves, Unite "Before, they would clock on at the entrance to a large site before walking to where they work. That could take 20 minutes, so now the companies are saying they will deduct this time from their pay. People will lose an hour and a half of work a day just because of this. The employers have looked at the agreement and tried to squeeze every single penny out of it." Groves says that workers are fighting for other sectors as well: The agreements electricians have worked under for years were the benchmark for the industry. If these employers take on the sparks, nobody will be safe, there will be a massive push to squeeze all workers. "The companies involved say no workers will lose pay as a result of the deal. But Groves says Unite does not believe this: "Our members are already being offered work by agencies who say they only want semi-skilled people on site. This has massive financial implications for workers." At BESNA, Blane Judd is frustrated that the unions are refusing to discuss changes that the industry believe are necessary: "There is a real risk that we will cease to be competitive in our own markets and that should be a concern to everybody, if British workers cease to be competitive in our own market place." But Bob is not convinced. "I very much hope I don't have to sign it, I don't think I will, but the threat will be, if you don't sign it you are sacked."

some friends honoured

Electrical Safety Council Board Member Honoured Roy Jones – a member of the Electrical Safety Council’s (ESC) Board and governing body - has been awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List, for Services to Young People in Wales. Roy has over 40 years of service within the utility market and is currently a Community Liaison Manager for ScottishPower. Following the launch of ScottishPower Learning in 1995, he oversaw the delivery of the Prince’s Trust team programme across North Wales and Merseyside and, as New Deal Manager, helped establish schemes to bring young people into employment. Originally from Bethesda, North Wales, Roy – who is married with two children - has also managed the ‘Your Champions Award’ for ScottishPower and Trinity Mirror North Wales, which gives recognition to unsung community heroes in the region. Roy, who left school at 16, holds postgraduate qualifications in Marketing and an MBA in Business Administration. He is also a school governor. In both his personal and professional life he has been committed to assisting young people make the transition from education to employment.“I am honoured to receive this award but it has really been a team effort”, explains Roy. “The community projects I have worked on could not have been delivered without the help and support of my colleagues. Their generosity with their time and expertise has been fundamental to the success of our community projects, as it is this sharing of skills which has proved key to getting young people into work”. electricians in glasgow