Other UK News In Brief

Small Business Input Sought

A small business support group is urging firms to take part in a new survey to highlight their experiences of dealing with the banks. The Forum of Private Business is hosting the questionnaire on behalf of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in an effort to find out how business owners are being treated by the major lenders and comes after new figures from the British Bankers' Association, which show bank lending to businesses fell again last month, placed fresh scrutiny on the relationships between banks and smaller companies. Forum Research Manager, Thomas Parry, said: "Clearly, the issue of the way banks treat small firms has received an enormous amount of attention recently and sparked a lot of debate. The Forum have been arguing that viable smaller firms are being unjustifiably denied credit, or offered it at an extortionate cost, by risk-averse banks which often don't understand their needs."

Heating Expert Sex Assaults

A heating engineer who posed as a yoga expert as a ruse to sexually assault three women has been convicted. Kyno Hunt, 32, of Enfield was found guilty on 24 August at Wood Green Crown Court of sexual assault relating to the three victims and is due to be sentenced on 12 October. Hunt attended addresses by prior arrangement in order to fix the heating system. He would engage the female occupier in conversation, mentioning that he was a yoga teacher and subsequently encouraging them to assume a yoga position that required them to get down on all fours. He used this as an opportunity to come into physical contact with the victim, sexually assaulting them in the process.

£85m Liverpool Contract For NI

Two Northern Ireland firms have scooped an £85 million contract to develop five mental health care facilities in Liverpool, Sefton and Kirkby. The good news comes in the same week that it was announced that the level of construction activity across NI is still on the way down. However, both Farrans and Heron Brothers are bucking the trend and have secured a joint venture to work on the Mersey Care Development Programmes for Mersey Care NHS Trust and Liverpool and Sefton Health Partnership.

Passport Tourist Boost

The UK's new passport will help stimulate tourism with famous images - including the White Cliffs of Dover, the Gower Peninsula in Wales, Ben Nevis in Scotland and the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland - representing rural scenes from across the UK. Sarah Rapson, Chief Executive of the Identity and Passport Service, said: "What we're not trying to do is represent every single aspect of Britain today. We've deliberately chosen scenic Britain, the images you're seeing are representative of that aspect of Britain." The 10-year adult passport, which will cost the same £77.50 as now, uses complex images to help prevent fraud.

(BMcC/KMcA)