Marine insurer North P&I's in-house freight demurrage and defence team (FD&D) has won two awards at this year’s Northern Law Awards.
It won Team of the Year - Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Legal Department of the Year at the annual awards, which recognise outstanding work across a range of criteria, from legal expertise and client service excellence to project management skills and team working.
Katherine Birchall, North’s global director for FD&D, said: “These awards are testament to the highly skilled and committed FD&D team we have at North and to the unparalleled support they provide for our ship owner and charterer members, helping them navigate many complex areas of shipping law and international trade.”
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Paul Jennings, chief executive at North, added: “Congratulations to Katherine and her team for delivering so effectively on our FD&D service. North’s core purpose is to ensure that our shipowner members and clients can trade with confidence and our FD&D team certainly delivers on our commitment to service across the globe. “
The awards ceremony took place at the Hilton NewcastleGateshead on Thursday, June 23.
The Constructing Excellence Awards 2022 , saw outstanding projects, organisations and individuals rewarded and recognised.
Costain, with design partner Jacobs on behalf of National Highways, scooped two awards including Project of the Year Civils for the A19 Testo’s Junction Improvement Scheme and the award for Health, Safety and Wellbeing.
Building Project of the Year was awarded to the Bam Construction-led £8.6m project, The Regent Cinema in Redcar, which also involved GT3 Architects, Fairhurst, Desco and Identity Consult.
Other winners on the night included MGL Group, Tilbury Douglas Construction, Black & White Engineering, Esh Civils, Seymour Skills Academy and CoreHaus Ltd.
Outstanding contribution to the industry went to Keith Mouther, Believe Housing and John Nielsen, who has recently stepped down as chair of the Construction Industry Council North East
Winners will go forward to the national final at the London Marriott, Grosvenor Square hotel in November.
Catriona Lingwood, chief executive of Constructing Excellence in the North East, said: “Congratulations to everyone who was shortlisted, awarded highly commended and to all of the winners. We must also say a big thank you to all of our sponsors and everyone who donated so generously to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.”
MCR Services has extended its support for the Vegetarian Society’s food bank scheme by helping pack meal boxes destined for the remote Scottish island of Bute.
The support follows the Cramlington-based firm’s initial moves to deliver 7,600 meal boxes to food banks in the North East.
Staff sort and pack the contents before palletising the boxes, which contains ingredients and recipes for two dishes that can be used for eight meals. The 606 boxes, which are heading to independent foodbanks on Bute, are being distributed through the Pall-Ex network, of which MCR’s parent company, Moody Logistics and Storage, is a member.
The initial Vegetarian Society Food Box scheme, which was funded by Barclays Community Aid package, was designed to ease the fallout from Covid-19 by helping those in need put food on the table and eat more healthily. The scheme’s extension to Bute is being financed by individual donations.
Matthew Fretwell, production supervisor at MCR Services, said: “The need for this type of help has become even more acute with the emergence of the cost-of-living crisis with those on low and fixed incomes often having to choose between heating or eating. Our original support for the Vegetarian Society’s scheme worked very well with us packing, palletising, and delivering boxes to Trussell Trust food banks throughout the North East, including those in Cramlington, Newcastle, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Stockton.
“Following on from this success, we now are delighted to be helping the Vegetarian Society expand the scheme to the Isle of Bute, off the west coast of Southern Scotland.”
Read more: Winners reveal pride after Teesside final of North East Business Awards
Newcastle Building Society has shared details of its community donations made since the start of the year including a new partnership with armed forces charity Walking With The Wounded, and a contribution of £25,000 to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
In total, the region’s largest building society has provided community funding of £182,000 so far in 2022, as part of its ongoing commitment to support those in need - in addition to a further commitment of £50,000 to Newcastle United Foundation as part of a long term partnership.
One of the largest donations was made in April to the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) to help those impacted by the conflict in Ukraine. DEC charities and their local partners are on the ground in Ukraine and neighbouring countries, providing food, water, shelter and medical assistance.
The society also committed to support colleagues who choose to open their home to a refugee through the Homes for Ukraine scheme. As well as providing an additional two days’ paid leave, the society will provide colleagues with a grant of £500 to help with settling-in costs.
£50,000 was awarded to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation to continue to fund a specialist nursing post at the Freeman Hospital. Having supported the Foundation for each of the past ten years, the Society is now the largest corporate donor to the charity, with a cumulative contribution of over £3m.
In March, a new five year partnership with Walking With The Wounded was announced, including an annual donation of £25,000 to support the charity’s employability programme. The Society is also creating veteran employment opportunities across its Group and aims to recruit at least five veterans this year.
Andrew Haigh, CEO at Newcastle Building Society, said: “The society has been able to make a significant and diverse financial commitment to support our communities already this year. We know many people in our region are feeling squeezed by the rising cost of living so we’re grateful for the amazing work of our partners and the charities that are helping to make a long term difference right across the North East, North Yorkshire and Cumbria.”
