BUSINESS NEWS
have met Prime Minister David Cameron to lobby him on the importance of direct flights from Birmingham Airport. Mr Blackett also hand-delivered a
letter to Mr Cameron, signed by the leaders of six West Midlands Chambers, pleading for an end to Heathrow’s monopoly on flights. In the letter, the Chambers claimed that efforts to boost inward investment and exports from the region were being hampered by the lack of direct flights from Birmingham. Mr Cameron was told: “Every
day, our members complain about the damaging hit to their competitiveness of having to traipse down to Heathrow to reach their customers. “It is not just the cost of the
time/fuel/parking etc. that hurts. It is also the difficulty our businesses have in presenting the region as a significant growth point in the UK. “Businesses overseas have a simple mantra - if they can’t fly directly to a place, then in their minds they can’t really get there.
PM lobbied on airport role IN BRIEF C
hamber chief executive Jerry Blackett and vice- president Greg Lowson
Flight of fancy (left to right): Paul Kehoe (Birmingham Airport), David Cameron, John Morris (Birmingham Airport) and Jerry Blackett Credit: Stewart Writtle
‘We must challenge the cosy monopoly of Heathrow and the aviation industry’
They equate indirect access with
second-rate economies. “We would therefore urge the
Government to maximise the potential of the Davies Review to rebalance the provision of aviation services away from a total dependence on London and the South-East. “We must challenge the cosy monopoly of Heathrow and the aviation industry, who claim it is
only possible to meet the UK’s needs for aviation by forcing business people to fly via Heathrow. “The Government must make clear that a re-balanced economy can only be delivered to its full potential with an aviation industry that is in tune with this ambition. We must challenge the status quo and make much better use of our regional airports.”
Birmingham-based Pinstripe Print Group has announced that it has won a print services contract with Dudley Council. The contract will see Pinstripe
provide Dudley Council with a full colour print outsourcing service, including brochures, booklets, newsletters, folders, magazines, postcards, leaflets, manuals, flyers and calendars. Pinstripe managing director Nigel
Lyon said: “This is another great win for us and proves our ability to meet the exacting standards required to work with councils, universities and top quality businesses.”
Two organisations which are part of the NHS monolith have merged. The pair are the Staffordshire and Lancashire CSU (commissioning support unit) and Central Midlands CSU.
CSUs were introduced in 2012 to
provide IT, HR and various support services to other parts of the NHS, and several have already merged, mostly because they were “unsustainable” on their own, according to the health sector trade media. The newly merged Staffordshire, Lancashire and Central Midlands CSU has some 1,200 staff and provides services to 24 clinical commissioning groups in its geographical area.
MAY 2014 CHAMBERLINK 11
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