HELLO and welcome to the AM Business Briefing, as world leaders are facing calls for urgent action to limit dangerous temperature rises as they gather for a summit at the start of a crunch UN climate conference in Scotland.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who will welcome leaders to Glasgow for the Cop26 talks, will tell them that humanity has "long since run down the clock on climate change" and must act now to tackle the crisis.
Scotland's First Minister has said she shares Mr Johnson's pessimism over the Cop26 climate talks, but urged leaders to "put our shoulders to the wheel".
Also today, an architecture and building surveying practice has announced a new expansion; research has shown a fall in the already depressed uptake of shared parental leave in the UK; and Jeremy Peat's view on the longer term impact of the Budget.
Surveying practice opens first Glasgow office
Architecture and building surveying practice Gibbon Lawson McKee Limited has announced its expansion into the west and a focus on commercial markets with the appointment of Gerard Smith, formerly of Ryden.
The privately owned building consultancy, now in its 25th year, employs over 20 staff across Scotland including bases in Edinburgh and Inverness and the launch of the new office "sees the potential for further team growth in the not too distant future".
The expansion comes at a time when the market demand for technical, project experienced property and construction professionals is "at an unprecedented high" and the team has already secured a variety of contracts across Scotland which will be serviced across the three offices.
Leading the west team will be Gerard Smith, formerly of Ryden, and newly appointed as a director of the Glasgow venture alongside GLM managing director and co-founder, Ian McKee.
Mr McKee said: “We have seen the potential for growth in the west of Scotland for quite some time and after a series of successful projects delivered by the team based in Edinburgh we were exploring opportunities when the chance to work again with Gerry arose.
"Gerry worked with David Gibbon (another co-founder of GLM) back in the late 1980s at Povell Worthington before I joined David and we subsequently started GLM together. I look forward to working with Gerry to create opportunities and develop the offering in the West in the coming months and years”
Mr Smith said : “I am excited at the potential for what this partnership with Ian McKee, David Gibbon and the wider team at GLM holds for me. It is brilliant to have the opportunity to build on my past experience, connections and grow the awareness of GLM and the wide array of services that we can deliver across the market in the west.”
The new office will cover work throughout the west of Scotland providing the full complement of services while specialising in the commercial offering of building surveying and project management.
Shared parental leave failing to deliver as take-up tumbles
NEW research released today has shown a fall in the already depressed uptake of shared parental leave in the UK, a scheme introduced in 2015 in a bid to bridge the gender pay gap.
Jeremy Peat: No doubt Budget works to raise inequalities in UK
Last Wednesday’s UK Budget and Financial Statement mattered to businesses and households in Scotland for the usual two reasons. First, a number of the pronouncements are of direct relevance to Scotland, as they apply across the UK.
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