Famous astronaut and author, Tim Peake has been announced as the key-note speaker for the 2022 Yorkshires Business Awards.
The shortlist has recently been announced for The Yorkshires. Business Awards 2022.
The first of the annual event will be held by Yorkshire Children's Charity to celebrate the best of the region's start-ups, entrepreneurs, legendary leaders and giants of industry.
The awards will be held on Friday 9 December 2022 at the Queens Hotel in Leeds.
The charity have revealed that legendary astronaut and author, Tim Peake, will be making a celebrity appearance as key-note speaker for the event.
We’ve had to be tight lipped about this one, but we are DELIGHTED to announce that the one and only Tim Peake will be speaking at The Yorkshires. Business Awards on Friday 9th December! 🚀
Not only will he be reflecting on his incredible career, he will also be delivering a workshop to pupils from St Peter's CofE Primary School in Leeds city centre ahead of the highly anticipated awards.
Composed of four main categories, The Yorkshires. Business Awards will award; Large Corporate of the Year, Mid-Market Corporate of the Year, Business Leader of the Year and Board of the Year.
Shortlisted Yorkshire companies in the running include Betty’s, BJSS, Team 17, MKM, Big Change, Astonish Cleaning Products and Air Logic.
As well as this, the winner of the Yorkshires. Young Entrepreneur Challenge will be announced, which has seen school pupils from some of the most economically challenged areas in Leeds, work in teams to present a business idea and turn £500 seed money into as much profit as possible.
The money raised from this challenge will be used to purchase specialist equipment for young people living with disabilities.
Start your Christmas celebrations early by celebrating the best in Yorkshire business at The Yorkshires. Business Awards 2022! 🎄
Charlotte Farrington, CEO at Yorkshire Children’s Charity said: “We are delighted to be holding the first of our annual The Yorkshires. Business Awards and are especially looking forward to hearing the key-note speech from Tim Peake, which I am sure will be an incredibly inspiring listen.
“This event will allow us to celebrate the success of both the region’s leading business minds, alongside the school children who have worked so hard to raise funds for children with disabilities across Yorkshire. Raising money to support these children is always at the forefront of any event we plan, and we never lose sight of the responsibility we are entrusted with - to raise significant funds for the children and young people who depend on us.”
The Government is investigating a number of companies for 'misleading' pricing practices.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched three new consumer protection investigations into Trainline, Virgin Atlantic, and RED Driving School over concerns that customers were not shown the total price upfront when buying things like train and coach tickets, holidays, or even driving lessons.
The investigations are part of a wider CMA clampdown on misleading pricing practices - in this instance, where mandatory charges are separated from the headline price, or added later in the buying process, which is known as drip pricing.
These practices leave consumers facing 'unexpected' costs or having to calculate the so-called true cost themselves.
Such practices can also impact competition between businesses, as a firm using drip pricing may falsely appear to be cheaper than a competitor pricing correctly, and therefore attract more customers.
Trainline is being investigated over whether all mandatory fees have been included in the upfront prices displayed to consumers buying tickets in advance on its app and website, while Virgin Atlantic's investigation will focus on whether mandatory resort fees and local taxes have been included in the upfront prices shown to customers buying package holidays.
Trainline and Virgin Atlantic are among the companies being investigated for 'misleading' pricing / Credit: Northern | Aric Cheng (via Unsplash)
RED Driving School is being investigated over how a mandatory booking fee and 'digital' fee have been displayed to people booking driving lessons - specifically whether these fees have been included in the total upfront price.
"At a time when many households are watching every pound they spend, it is important that people are not surprised by extra fees," commented Emma Cochrane, who is the Executive Director for Consumer Protection at the CMA.
"Clear pricing helps people compare offers confidently and choose the option that works best for them.
"Unexpected mandatory charges make this much harder, which is why the CMA initially put these firms on notice over concerns about their pricing practices and is now opening formal investigations."
The CMA says it's at the beginning of its investigations and has reached no conclusions about whether these firms have broken the law.
If it finds there has been an infringement of the law, the CMA can order businesses to pay compensation to affected customers or be charged up to 10% of global turnover.
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Business
Major new phone rule introduced at Wetherspoons after customers are ‘driven nuts’
Emily Sergeant
A major new phone rule has been introduced in all JD Wetherspoon pubs across the UK after customers complain of being 'driven nuts'.
The pub chain - which has nearly 800 branches across the UK - announced earlier this week that it has made the decision to ban people from playing music or videos out of their phones, and from taking calls on loudspeaker.
The ban, which has been introduced effective immediately, follows a rising number of complaints from customers about the noise - with owners saying sounds from smartphones and tablet computers had become an 'increasing problem' in recent years.
Wetherspoon founder and chairman, Tim Martin, says he wants Wetherspoon pubs to be 'an oasis of tranquillity and contemplation'.
A formal statement from the company announcing the ban reads: "Following complaints from customers, who are being driven nuts by other people’s videos and amplified phone conversations, Wetherspoon has asked customers to switch their phones to silent or to use earphones."
Wetherspoons has introduced a new phone rule at all its UK pubs after customers are 'driven nuts' / Credit: Allan Rohmer (via Unsplash)
Tim Martin added: "In order to avoid customers being driven chicken jalfrezi by a cacophony of sound, we are kindly asking phone users to pipe down."
Wetherspoon's ban follows a YouGov poll conducted last year questioning public opinion on a proposition made by the Liberal Democrats of introducing fines of up to £1,000 for 'headphone dodgers' who play music out loud on buses and trains.
62% of people, on average, said they would back this move if it was introduced.
The poll, which surveyed 6,815 British adults, found that almost three-quarters of those over 65 would support the fines, while those aged between 18 and 24 were split 47% to 43% in favour of it.
Early public reactions to Wetherspoon's ban appears to be overwhelmingly positive.
Clementine Hall -
29th November 2022 
