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A £37 billion deficit needs to be cleared by the Ministry of Defence, although the Government is targeting the civil service mandarins rather than troops. The Minister in charge, Liam Fox, said it would be "difficult and painful" to deal with this "dangerous deficit", but pledged a stop to the "endless salami slicing" of military budgets. Dr Fox ruled out any merger of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF but has hinted there were still disagreements between the MoD and the Treasury over who will pay the £20 billion cost for replacing Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent. Savings can be made at your work environment via Tensor’s proven range of Windows™ based time and attendance products, from simple collection of employees' clocking data, through to extensive labour hours analysis. Our software has lots of standard analysis and viewing screens which enable you to analyse, approve and audit clocking transactions made by employees. A report can also be saved in a variety of formats or even transferred to other Windows packages. This is a quick and easy process once users become familiar with Windows.

Regional and local transport minister Norman Baker said on the imminent end to wheel clamping on private land, set to be implemented by the end of 2010: “The rules governing parking on private land should be proportionate.” He added: “Cowboy clampers have had ample opportunity to mend their ways, but the cases of bullying and extortion persist. That’s why we are putting an end to these outrageous practices once and for all. Drivers will no longer have to fear intimidation from rogue traders, and we can then allow the parking industry to begin to restore its reputation with the motoring public.” Any change in change in is unlikely to affect those premises which install Tensor access control systems – these allow entry via contactless smart cards and are able to control your site’s gates, barriers and turnstiles. It means neither cowboy clampers nor illicit parkers can enter your facilities. The system can be used for multi site companies and will control most standard types of internal or external electronic, magnetic door locks or releases. Smart card readers are located out of sight and there is no need to remove your ID badge from a wallet or purse to use it.  

The government has reached a landmark of time spent in power – and this has been ‘celebrated’ in an unusual way. The TUC (Trades Union Congress) has listed 100 cuts affecting poor families to mark the coalition's first 100 days. The union organisation gave as examples the cancellation of an expanded free school meal programme and literacy help for children with learning difficulties as evidence that the pain of repaying the huge national deficit was not being equally spread. The TUC is asking for all future Budget cuts to meet a 'fairness test'. Your company can meet its tight budget, even when cuts are necessary, thanks to Tensor time and attendance systems. After employees clock in with smart cards, with the WinTA Lite software you can view all time and attendance information for an employee or a single department and see when jobs are going over budget. Tensor even offers a specialised and simple PC-based clocking system for schools, WinTA PC Clock. The entry level WinTA Lite is designed to self-install. Alternatively, you can buy engineering or training days from us and we will install the system and train your staff.

David Thompson, freshly arrived in the West Midlands as deputy chief constable after three years as Assistant Chief Constable at Greater Manchester Police, said until the details of the comprehensive spending review were announced it was hard to predict its impact on the number of his officers. Plans had been put in place to protect front line delivery. His comments came as Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said the current level of police officers was not “sustainable”. Unrestricted by the number of employees and packed with additional features, WinTA Enterprise is specifically designed for firms who require the ultimate time and attendance system to enable them to produce greater productivity and efficiency. It provides total control over working rules, job costing and fire roll call, and biometric technology is easily added to prevent an employee clocking in on someone else’s behalf. Biometrics (use of unique characteristics – in this case fingerprints) would be useful for organisations like the police which need extra security as it provides irrefutable proof of identity.

The Health and Safety Executive prosecuted a partner in construction company Bryan Brown & Son, of Flamborough, Bridlington, after finding substandard staff toilet facilities. Following the initial HSE inspection an Improvement Notice was served on Mr Brown (later fined) as the principal contractor. Bridlington Magistrates Court heard that on a subsequent Humberside site visit it was found that the requirements of the Improvement Notice had not been complied with. A sewage outlet had been provided to the toilet, but there was no water supply to the unit. Neither was there any water available at the sinks. Installing a Tensor toilet turnstile is a simple solution to giving decent toilets to workplaces where there are large numbers of employees. Since they are coin operated they can mainly finance themselves. Half height toilet turnstiles provide an unobtrusive method of controlling access to your facilities. Speed and reliability are provided, ensuring that even during busy times, your half height turnstiles do not compromise the safety and security of those passing through it. All our turnstiles are durable so they are ideal for long-term use.

Caught on camera was the moment a man threatened a petrol station cashier with a rock – just a few hours after being released from prison. The result of this night-time robbery in Exeter was David Fairbairn being jailed for a staggering 73rd time. Recorder Jeremy Wright told Fairbairn: "This was a very serious crime. You went into this garage, wielding a stone as a weapon, which is a frightening thing to do, and you carried out this crime at night." Fairbairn was sent to prison for 30 months for holding up the Devon service station. A CCTV surveillance system is one of the many security products offered by the group of companies under Tensor’s umbrella. One of the main features of our CCTV’s is that they are integrated to work with a standard PC monitor; while the cameras can be added to our many smart card and biometric access control networks. Password and security features limit the viewing of certain cameras to specific groups of people, enabling you to securely manage who is able to see particular areas of activity.

Time and Attendance technology from Tensor would benefit local authorities, especially as the Government has put pressure on them to save money. Minister Eric Pickles said council leaders could do some of the work currently carried out by chief executives, and added that authorities could save on the bottom line by merging departments such as accounting, instead of cutting front line services. Speaking to the Local Government Association, Mr Pickles stated: “Is it really right, in this day and age, to have separate planning departments? Lawyers? Communications teams?” The time and attendance contactless smart card clocking system is suitable for both small and large public bodies or companies; and enables them to fully cost jobs, identify those jobs which are over budget and deal with all manner of complicated working patterns. A WinTA Lite time and attendance system comprises of: WinTA Lite software installation CD, a T8440 Clocking Station, 50 Smart Cards, an extensive user manual, a serial cable for communications to a PC and ten days of free helpdesk support from date of purchase.

Chairman of Devon and Cornwall Police Federation Nigel Rabbitts, when discussing the effects of an employment freeze in his force, said: "In a large geographical area like Devon and Cornwall [it] will be difficult." Mr Rabbitts said savings could be made by reducing the number of community support officers and by staff working on special in-house projects such as IT procurement. He added: "Around 82 per cent of the police budget is spent on wages so if they're looking for cuts it's the obvious place to start." Tensor is an expert in technology which helps personnel departments be more efficient and save money by handling all your Time and Attendance needs in one system. Tensor’s contactless smart cards, key fobs, or fingerprint biometrics provide the fastest and safest method of recording attendance. There are numerous extra software features that can be implemented on your time and attendance system to take into account diversity with working rules between different organisations, like creating different shifts and pay grades. A range of output styles let you export to web pages, spreadsheets or as simple text files.

Local authorities are using a ‘Ripa’ act in order to catch illegal traders in the act. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act allows public authorities to film people with secret cameras. For instance, Southampton City Council has used its spying powers 59 times over the past two years to catch people suspected of activities such as illegally selling alcohol to the under-18s and tipping trade waste. Civil liberties groups object to these covert surveillance actions, but councils insist they would not be effective in combating these crimes otherwise. CCTV has been used by organisations as an integral part of security and surveillance for a number of years to detect crimes like those mentioned above that police would not have the time or resources to chase. Recent advances in technology have significantly reduced the cost of implementing state-of-the-art digital CCTV systems to replace outdated analogue systems. Tensor’s affiliate company CCTV Surveillance use a range of devices and accessories from top manufacturers – including covert, bullet, dome and infra-red cameras – so that we can meet your CCTV needs.  

The next time you complain your car is going nowhere on its daily commute: spare a thought for a fiendishly long traffic jam in China which entered its ninth day. Stoic drivers are being warned the bottleneck could continue for a month. Hundreds of trucks heading for Beijing on the Beijing-Tibet Expressway have been at a standstill because of roadworks in the capital. Small traffic accidents or broken-down cars aggravated the congestion which started on August 14. But those affected have been taking the disruption in their stride by playing chess. All your car parking needs are met with Tensor’s access control and car parking technology. Because the Windows™ based system is modular in design, with Tensor Access it is possible to graft on all sorts of security devices to protect your parking facilities. The system can control all your car park barriers and gates, as well as almost any other electronic mechanism that powers a physical security device. The access readers can be located out of sight, or even behind brick walls, while providing secure entry for authorised personnel using contactless smart cards.

Officials feel that the city populace remains too worried about crime in Southampton, so they have teamed with a police campaign to fight residents' fears. The City Council and Hampshire Constabulary are contributing to the Southampton Safe Partnership, a group of organisations which have launched a £13,000 Home Office funded poster campaign to highlight their successes in taxis, buses and using mobile billboard vehicles. They are informing the city that incidents of violence in the centre after dark have dropped by almost a third. Tensor have unrivalled expertise in improving security at your site thanks to its smart card-operated access control networks and software such as Access Lite.NET. Access control profiles are easily created and customised to suit your particular site, and can be varied minute-by-minute, enabling access to be granted and denied almost instantly. The card is limited so that it can't be used by more than one person. Doors can be configured to open automatically on fire alarms and lock automatically on burglar alarms, enhancing building control. CCTV surveillance camera systems can be added for extra security.  

The government has said the new Local Enterprise Partnerships, which will also be tasked with promoting economic development, will involve local leaders. The LEPs will replace the Regional Development Agencies, which were a casualty of the government’s budget cuts. The new organisations will need to punch their weight to match their predecessors’ records. An Association of Greater Manchester Authorities report said that their RDA on average had a rate of return of more than five times the original investment in the region. A Tensor Time and Attendance smart card system is the clocking solution for the 21st century and is ideal for increasing productivity and efficiency at work when cutbacks need to be made in the company's structure. The inbuilt report generator makes it simple to get both real-time and archived information, and hosts a range of output styles to suit your company's requirements. A report can also be saved in a variety of formats. Additional features are available, which can be implemented on your time and attendance system to take into account diversity with working rules between different organisations.