A joint project offering black and ethnic minority business owners help with food, health and safety, and fire safety laws – organised by Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, and the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership – attracted around 30 businesses.
Business owners were treated to a free lunch and advice on food, health and fire safety regulations on Monday and Tuesday of this week (June 8 and 9); at the Desi Grill & Piri Piri Chicken restaurant, in Sneinton Dale, Nottingham. The initiative was arranged by Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS), and the D2N2 Growth Hub team – who also provided valuable advice on ‘growing your business’ – and Better Business Regulation team.
The lunchtime get-togethers were organised after Fire Protection Officers at Nottingham Fire and Rescue Service saw a rise in the number of prohibition notices issued, due to unsafe practices in some restaurants and fast food outlets, in areas with a high black and minority ethnic (BME) population, and emerging communities.
D2N2 Growth Hub Co-ordinator Manny Agalamanyi (stood centre) addresses one of the lunchtime events at the Sneinton restaurant.
Language was felt to be a barrier in some cases to understanding safer business practice, and they and D2N2 initiated the lunches to help better inform business owners on safety measures and regulations.
The lunches were hosted by the Desi Grill & Piri Piri Chicken restaurant’s owner, Iftikhar Ahmed.
Mr Ahmed said: “The concept of the business lunches is an excellent initiative for the community. I now have a greater understanding of the regulations I have to follow in order to keep my business successful.
“I know that other business owners within the Pakistani community often feel intimidated by business legislation and regulatory bodies, and are not aware of the support and advice they can actually receive. Working with NFRS has opened my eyes to see this and the support I have received has been very beneficial.”
Paul Cooper, Business Education Advocate for NFRS and D2N2 Better Business Regulation Co-ordinator, added: “We have worked very closely with members of the Pakistani community to build a sense of trust and understanding, in order for us to engage with businesses in their community.
“We wanted business owners to feel comfortable in coming along to these lunches, so they could learn the requirements for business premises from a fire protection and business regulation perspective, particularly if they are looking to expand their enterprise.”
Further lunch events, bringing together different regulatory professionals and the D2N2 Growth Hub team to give advice, were set to be run in other Nottinghamshire areas in future, said Mr Cooper.
The D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership – a collaboration between business, local authorities, and skills and training providers – promotes economic growth and jobs creation in Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Part of its role is to help reduce the regulatory burden on businesses in its area, by making the information available easier to understand and more accessible for the private sector.
For more information about D2N2’s Better Business Regulation work see web link www.d2n2lep.org/BBR
Media wanting further information about this news release can contact Sean Kirby, Communications Officer, on the D2N2 Newsdesk, on 0115 9578749 or email: sean.kirby@d2n2lep.org
