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FULLY-ONLINE VEHICLE TRACKING
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TELEMATICS SPECIALIST Trakm8 is launching the UK ’ s first fully-online vehicle tracking solution .
Designed for trades professionals and other small businesses , Trakm8 Prime is the only vehicle tracking available where the customer can browse and buy online , without having to deal with a sales person . The tracker unit can be self-installed , so there are no installation or removal fees - and vehicle down time is kept to a minimum .
It combines GPS tracking with innovative features designed to help save time and money . These include a driver coaching system proven to cut fuel consumption by up to 15 percent . It achieves these savings by helping employees to break bad habits such as heavy acceleration , harsh braking , sharp cornering , and engine idling .
Furthermore , Trakm8 Prime features the company ’ s marketleading vehicle health alerts . The tracker picks up on any vehicle
‘ The tracker unit can be self-installed ’
fault codes , acting as an early warning system to prevent costly breakdowns and non-starts . It also enables quick and easy separation of business and private mileage , eliminating hours of paperwork while helping both sole traders and smaller companies to remain HMRC-compliant .
https :// buy . trakm8 . com / prime
Change of heart towards council housing
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MOST OF THE HEADLINES ABOUT the autumn budget focussed on the Chancellor ’ s stamp duty cuts . The threshold has been raised to £ 300,000 , supposedly to help first-time buyers and families who are desperate to move to bigger properties . Chris Coxon , Head of Marketing at Eurocell , considers the announcements .
The jury is out on whether the stamp duty break will have its intended effect . But the detail that caught our eye was plans to lift borrowing caps on Housing Revenue Accounts for local authorities in areas of ‘ high affordability pressures ’ so that they can build more council homes .
This follows on from Theresa May ’ s announcement of an additional £ 2bn funding to deliver 25,000 homes for social rent , during her embattled speech to the Conservative Party Conference in October . And while neither gesture can be considered a game-changer , what they do demonstrate is a change of heart from the Government towards local authority house building . This is good news all round . On a social level , affordable rented properties are the only answer for many struggling households .
www . eurocell . co . uk
CALL FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN HOMES
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THE GLASS AND GLAZING Federation ( GGF ) was cautiously optimistic in response to housebuilding announcements made at the 2017 budget . Despite the government ’ s focus on housebuilding , the GGF believes more action is needed to ensure the UK meets the target of building 300,000 homes per year . The GGF was also disappointed the Budget contained no measures to increase the energy efficiency of the UK ’ s homes , some of the worst performing in Europe .
HOUSEBUILDING PROGRAMMES
Governments of all colours have proposed speeding up the planning process and unlocking public sector land , but the UK ’ s housebuilding rate has remained well below target over the last decade . Therefore , the GGF does not expect to see a sudden surge in housebuilding , particularly at a time when confidence in the construction sector in the year ahead dropped to its lowest level since December 2012 .
THE LACK OF A ‘ WHOLE HOUSE APPROACH ’
All housebuilding programmes should be centred on a ‘ Whole House Approach ’ to ensure new and existing homes are energy efficient and can keep people warm during winter . The GGF was disappointed the government failed to include measures to ensure housing stock is energy efficient .
www . MyGlazing . com
8 » JAN 2018 » CLEARVIEW-UK . COM