Using AI in your business

Hampshire’s Growth Hub will be hosting a webinar aimed at helping small businesses harness the power of AI. It will take place on 28 May between noon and 1pm.You can register to attend the event here: AI Agents for Small Businesses Tickets, Wed 28 May 2025 at 12:00 | Eventbrite

Or you can access support from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the Code Institute by joining their assessment programme here: Code Institute - AI Maturity Assessment - UK, and gain digital skills through Enterprise Nation: Tech Hub | Digital tools to boost productivity | Enterprise Nation | Enterprise Nation

Hampshire Growth Hub is also hosting an in-person Hampshire Business Growth Accelerator workshop at the Balmer Lawn Hotel, Brockenhurst. It will be held on Tuesday 3 June and Monday 23 June.

Looking to recruit? Make sure your business meets the Employer Standards

The Careers and Enterprise Company, which provides a service to ensure students leave education with an understanding of the world of work, has set out nine key employer standards which will help businesses understand who they want to recruit and why.

To check how your business meets these standards here: Home - CEC Employer Portal

Hampshire Chamber of Commerce quarterly survey

You have until Friday 6 June to provide your thoughts on the UK economy to the British Chambers of Commerce: Quarterly Economic Survey | Hampshire Chamber of Commerce

Farming Equipment and Technology Fund has re-opened – grants of up to £25,000 available

For more information about this government grant, including the criteria, please visit the website here: Farming Equipment and Technology Fund 2025 - GOV.UK. This current scheme closes on 10 July.

Single use vape ban – what businesses need to do

On 1 June 2025 the law around single use vapes will change. Understand your responsibilities by reading the government advice here: Single-use vapes ban: what businesses need to do - GOV.UK

Do you specialise in manufacturing?

Innovate UK, a major grant provider to the manufacturing industry, would like your help to shape their future services around AI and digital technology use in your sector. You can access their 15-minute survey here: Made Smarter Innovation Network: Digital & AI in Manufacturing

Digital transformation support in the South East | Made Smarter

Or join the Innovate UK Growth Catalyst, which provides startups in clean energy and climate technology with funding and support: Innovate UK Growth Catalyst for late-stage startups: Clean Energy and Climate Technologies - Innovate UK Business Connect

Do you provide services to tourism or the visitor economy? Enter the Beautiful South Awards

Applications will be accepted until 18 May: Welcome to the Beautiful South Tourism Awards

This project is funded by the UK Government through the UKSPF

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and​ skills.

Find out more on GOV.UK

Help shape the Horndean Green Trail and Heritage Network

Workshops this week aim to use residents' local knowledge and memories to highlight points of interest around the village

Bring your stories of Horndean's history and your ideas for its future - that's the message to local people ahead of interactive workshops, to identify and create points of interest along a walking and cycling network that will bring to life Horndean's heritage.

The workshops will help develop the new Horndean Green Trail and Heritage Network, a series of routes around the village to make walking and cycling easier, safer and enjoyable.

The trail will be delivered in phases, the first of which, running through Catherington Lith, has been adorned with imaginative sculptures (funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund).

Residents are being invited this week to share photographs, memories and ideas at two workshops, being held on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon at the Jubilee Hall.

After the workshops, place-making experts Urban Place Lab will collate the results and use them to design an engaging online map along with wayfinding features that draws on the history and heritage of the area to be installed at places of interest across the village.

The events, organised by Horndean Parish Council and East Hampshire District Council, will run from 2-4pm on Wednesday 14 May and 1-3pm on Thursday 15 May, at Jubilee Hall.

If you would like to join in, please email Joanne Utting at East Hampshire District Council’s Community Team, or contact Horndean Parish Councillor Andrew Redding, so we can keep track of numbers:

• Joanne Utting, East Hampshire District Council: joanne.utting@easthants.gov.uk
• Parish Councillor Andrew Redding: Andrew.Redding@horndeanpc-hants.gov.uk

This project is being funded by a grant from Hampshire County Council, applied for and secured by East Hampshire District Council.

Council welcomes positive Peer Report

Councillors have welcomed an excellent report into East Hampshire District Council’s performance by a team of independent public sector experts.

At Thursday night’s Full Council meeting members discussed the Corporate Peer Challenge report – an assessment of EHDC’s operations by senior councillors and officers from other authorities.

The report described EHDC as a 'well-run' council that can 'deliver on its priorities' with 'passionate staff, who are committed to the council and residents'.

EHDC Leader, Cllr Richard Millard, said: ““I am extremely pleased with the findings of the peer review. It shows the council in its true light as the successful council that it is, and it shows that we continue to provide support to all members of the community to the standards that I expect.

“To have such a positive endorsement of the work we have done at EHDC over the last few years shows the value of the work we have put in here.

"It really supports the work our officers do day in day out, so congratulations to them on achieving such a successful report. There were some recommendations for improvements but that gives us the opportunity to continually feedback and review as we go forward."

The report is the end result of a process called a Corporate Peer Challenge. It saw a team of senior local government councillors and officers undertaking a comprehensive review of key finance, performance and governance information at the council.

The team spent three days with the council in January interviewing staff and councillors and closely examining the council’s operations.

Praise for the council included its recent move to new premises, its new leadership structure, bringing IT services in-house and updating systems and redesigning services.

The report also made recommendations for improvements and an action plan is already in place to see these recommendations put into practice.

Charity benefits from unused council furniture

We’ve given unused furniture from our old offices at Penns Place to a Hampshire charity called Inclusion Education.

Downsizing our council offices with our move to Monterey House meant that there was some unused furniture left over in Penns Place.

We reused 113 desks, refurbished 159 office chairs and moved other storage furniture into our new offices, but there were still some items left over that we didn’t need.

As part of our commitment to avoid waste where possible through the move, Hampshire-based Inclusion Education – a charity providing social, emotional and mental health support to young people in education – has taken some of the remaining furniture for use across their sites.

Cllr Robert Mocatta, EHDC portfolio holder for Regeneration and Prosperity (which includes climate and environment) said:

“Anything we can do to avoid this furniture going into a skip to be disposed of is worth doing as it reduces the impact of our move on the environment.

“I am very pleased that Inclusion Education has been able to take this furniture on and hope it will be useful to them for many years to come.”

Kristian Still, COO at Inclusion Education said:

"We are so grateful for this incredibly generous donation.

"The furniture and equipment from Penns Place is being used across our sites helping us to create warm, nurturing environments to support our young people, helping them to re-engage with both education and for our older students, future work place opportunities.

"This has made such a difference and we can't thank EHDC enough."

If your community group or charity might be interested in any of the other surplus furniture from Penns Place, please email community@easthants.gov.uk

Don’t miss out on a £7,500 heat pump grant

The government offers a £7,500 grant towards installing a heat pump across England and Wales through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Heat pumps are three times more energy efficient than traditional gas boilers, meaning they will substantially reduce the carbon footprint of your home. Because they run on electricity, there’s also potential to make significant bill savings by using smart tariffs with cheaper off-peak rates.

Make your home smarter, greener, and more energy efficient.

Find out if a heat pump is right for your home and find an approved heat pump installer through the government’s website.