Business Garage continues bringing you our round-up of positive news stories for business and Oxfordshire:
- Progress for gender equality: a recent report shows that over a third of board level positions are now held by women in UK FTSE 350 Companies, while FTSE 100 female directors have doubled since 2016. Although there is still room for improvement, this represents considerable progress in the last few years.
- Oxford is in top 10 global cities for life sciences (ranked 9, just above Cambridge at 10) according to Savills. Thanks to world-leading research, innovative technologies and cutting edge science campuses, Oxford is world-renowned for its clinical trials and contribution to the Covid-19 vaccination efforts.
- SME Brexit Support Fund will offer grants of up to £2,000 for SME’s importing/exporting with the EU. Online applications will open soon.
And good news for the environment! Oxford City Council have completed their consultation on a Zero Emission Zone in the city centre. The council’s aim is to drastically reduce air pollution in the city so they have set an ambitious target for 30 µg/m3 of NO2 by 2025. The government’s current legal target is 40 µg/m3.
The council have taken public views into consideration and revised their plans to offer:
- 100% discount for professional care and health workers on duty, emergency service vehicles, hearses, military vehicles and historic tax class vehicles
- 100% discount for Blue Badge Holders until August 2025
- 90% discount for residents living within the ZEZ Pilot for up to 2 vehicles per address until August 2030
- 90% discount for businesses operating in the ZEZ Pilot for up to 10 vehicles registered to the business until 2025
- 50% discount for petrol-electric hybrid private hire taxis until August 2025
Charges will be introduced for vehicles entering the pilot area from August 2021. Residents and businesses must apply for the above exemptions.
Share your business good news story with us at [email protected] – we would love to hear from you!
