HMRC is introducing Real Time Information (RTI) for PAYE from April 2013. The vast majority of employers are required to start submitting PAYE returns in real time in April 2013 and all employers will be routinely reporting PAYE information in real time by October 2013.
From April, PAYE returns are electronically required each time a payment is made, as part of routine payroll processes. Employers operating their own payroll will need to consider and take the appropriate action to either update their payroll software, obtain new payroll software or, where an agent or payroll bureaux is used, discuss the changes with their payroll provider. During October HMRC will be writing to all employers telling them about RTI, advising what they should be doing to get their business ready for the changes to PAYE in April 2013, and signposting HMRC guidance.
Over 100 Norfolk businesses, large and small, came together this morning to discuss the economy from both a local and a national scale at a bustling Norfolk Chamber breakfast at Dunston Hall, sponsored by Steeles Law.
Attendees heard a presentation from John Longworth, Director General at the British Chambers of Commerce, who provided an overview of key economic issues facing businesses across the country, including the Eurozone and USA. Mr Longworth commented on the confusing economic data coming out of Government. He felt that the data was “not inaccurate but incomplete” and was causing businesses to lack confidence in investing.
He felt that access to capital remains key to economic success, as was the funding of infrastructure rail, road, aviation, energy, digital and of course skills. Mr Longworth complimented Norfolk Chamber on its campaign work and emphasised the need for the Chamber network to continue to make the business case to government and to “hold people’s feet to the fire” if they try to avoid addressing the key issues.
Chloe Smith, MP for Norwich North and Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office, highlighted three areas that are essential for economic growth at a local level, namely infrastructure, in particular rail, young people and export. Ms Smith emphasized the need for local businesses to work together with the Chamber to get behind the new Norfolk Rail Prospectus as there is a window of opportunity to get the business voice heard.
John and Chloe then went on to interact with several Norfolk businesses by holding a Q&A session and addressing the questions and concerns of a varied audience.
John commented “I was delighted to be speaking at the Norwich Economic Breakfast. The economic climate is of concern to businesses of all sizes, though many tell us things aren’t as gloomy as newspaper headlines suggest. I enjoy hearing from members, and will do all we can at the British Chambers of Commerce to ensure the government listens to what Norfolk businesses need to grow, and contribute to a strong economic recovery.”
Chloe commented “As a local MP and minister, economic growth for Norwich, Norfolk and the country is my top priority. I make it my business to understand business, and so I was delighted to join the Chamber for such an informative event.”
The breakfast also featured a very special guest, Nelson the Gorilla, who was there to highlight the work the Chamber is doing with the charity Break. Aiming to have 50 Gorilla sculptures around Norwich in 2013, Break have launched their ‘Go Go Gorillas’ project and are looking for the support of Norfolk businesses to sponsor a sculpture.
Nelson’s cousin, Horatio, will be being painted live at the Chamber’s forthcoming B2B Autumn 2012 event, taking place on 18 October at Norwich City Football Club, with a special guest appearance from Jake Humphries, an Ambassador of the ‘Go Go Gorillas’ project.
To view photo’s from the Norwich Economic Business Breakfast, visit the Norfolk Chambers’Facebookpage.
Working with partners, Norfolk County Council is seeking to progress a number of key infrastructure initiatives in 2012/13 and beyond. The attachedupdate aims to keepeveryone up to speed on progress.
A survey released today by the British Chambers of Commerce reveals falling levels of trust in financial institutions among businesses. The results, comprising responses from 1,560 businesses including Norfolk show that although banks and building societies are the main source of finance for firms, half of businesses lack trust in these financial institutions. Over a third of respondents said that they trust financial institutions less than they did a year ago, and almost four in ten are not confident in securing finance.
The survey shows the following:
Almost half (49%) of firms use banks or building societies for external finance, with only 10% using equity, and 8% using grants, venture capital, private equity, peer-to-peer lending and angel finance combined.
50% of firms mistrust banks and building societies; 38% of businesses trust them less than a year ago.
Only 57% of respondents feel confident that they could secure external finance, but over a third (37%) are not confident. However 59% of firms say a government-backed business bank would make them more confident about accessing finance.
When asked about government-backed finance schemes, 43% of businesses had not heard of any of them, with younger businesses and micro firms more likely to be unaware of them.
Commenting on the findings, Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber said:
“As we approach the end of the party conference season, Britain’s politicians must stop scoring points against each other and start scoring points for economic management, starting with the thorny problem of business access to finance.
“Our new research clearly identifies the scale of the problem: half the companies we surveyed mistrust banks, and levels of trust have worsened significantly over the last year. Four in ten companies are not confident that they could get external finance. And awareness and take-up of existing government support schemes, which are run through the banks, is extremely low, with the recent LIBOR and mis-selling scandals damaging confidence among businesses. While it is important to avoid stifling growth in financial services with over-regulation, the City’s primary role should be to oil the wheels of the economy, providing the patient capital businesses need to plan for the future and grow.
“Financial institutions need to rebuild trust and repair damaged relationships with businesses and improve transparency. Regulators should look to increase competition in the banking sector to ensure businesses have more choice, and the government must ensure that plans to create a British Business Bank mean more funds available to growing businesses. Six in ten companies would feel more confident in seeking finance if Britain had its own dedicated business bank.
“While it is right that the businesses consider other forms of funding, the results of this survey show that bank finance is, and will remain, the dominant source for businesses. Other BCC surveys conducted this year have shown companies’ concerns about access to working capital, and the impact of this, for example, on small businesses looking to export for the first time.
“Political leaders always seek to woo the favour of corporate Britain. But the next election will be won or lost on what happens in the real economy. Our findings suggest that the parties need to focus on access to finance for Britain’s army of small- and medium-sized companies, and particularly new and growing companies, if they are to win the votes of Britain’s wealth creators, and the people who work in business, in years to come.”
Norwich City Football Chief Executive David McNally with one of the three well-known faces making an appearance at Norfolk Chamber’s B2B Autumn 2012 business exhibition on 18 October – Formula One and 2012 Olympic Games presenter Jake Humphrey, Anglia Tonight presenter Emma Baker are the other two.
All three personalities will be appearing at the free-to-attend flagship event to show their support for local business and give a boost to the popular event, which is the largest business exhibition in Norfolk.
David McNally will be speaking at the exhibition at 11.00am. Prior to joining Norwich City Football Club in June 2009, David McNally was Chief Executive at Fulham and Sales and Marketing Director with Celtic. Before working in the football industry, he held a number of roles at blue chip companies including Courtaulds Textiles, Sara Lee, L’Oreal, Max Factor and Colgate-Palmolive.
David said: “I am very excited to be speaking at B2B Autumn 2012, because this event has been giving a boost to the business community for 14 years. With the continually challenging economy that we currently have to contend with, anything that can give business that cutting edge or an extra spark of inspiration has to be of benefit.
“This B2B event gives businesses a chance to pick up some new ideas and innovations, which is something we are always looking to do at the football club. Given that the event is free to attend, it’s the perfect opportunity for local business owners or directors to come down to see what B2B can offer them.”
B2B Autumn 2012 will be held at Norwich city football Club on 18 October between 10am and 5pm. For more information or to book a stand, go here
Targeting the Australian market? Australia offers opportunities for new overseas suppliers because it depends on a wide range of imported industrial and consumer products. The market is also very open to overseas suppliers – there are no import quotas and most import duties are 5 per cent (general rate), and zero for eligible developing countries.
Take a look at a guidecovering the Australian market, which outlines the key factors that must be considered by potential overseas suppliers if they are to take advantage of the opportunities in this competitive market.
The Great Yarmouth Chamber Council meeting was recently held at the E-Tech Group’s office. The economic round robin highlighted that whilst Great Yarmouth businesses were doing reasonably well, the economic climate was still tough. A recent British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) had indicated that confidence had dipped in the manufacturing and export sectors, in comparison to previous quarters. Chamber Council members in the engineering sector advised that although there was a lot of engineering work available, bank assistance for cash flow to support business growth was hard to obtain.
Simon Grey, the new CEO of East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) also attended the July meeting and updated the Chamber Council members on what he had achieved in his first 6 weeks on the job. It was agreed that it was important to ensure that both the local and the wider business community needed to be kept up to date on what was happening in the energy industry, particularly with regards to the wind and renewable energy sector.
The Norfolk Chamber and enterprise GY are launching a brand new free-to-attend event to help businesses to gain the skills they need to successfully pitch for new business, and at the same time practice what they have learned.
Called ‘Pitching for Business’, the free to attend half-day morning event will be held during Global Entrepreneurship Week, on 14 November at the Novus Enterprise Centre, Great Yarmouth. It combines a series of informative workshops, networking opportunities with key Norfolk buyers, and a business support exhibition.
Caroline Williams, CEO of Norfolk Chamber, said: “GY Businesses have benefited in the past from the ‘Meet the Buyer’ events run with enterpriseGY. ‘Pitching for Business’ has a different more informative and informal style. Businesses from start up to more established businesses have a choice of 6 workshops throughout the morning to hone their presentation and procurement pitching skills, learn about online marketing, relationship building, securing finance and find guidance as a new start up going into their second year.
There will also be a networking lunch, attended by key regional buyers, where businesses will have the opportunity to practice what they have leaned.”
Peter Wright, Economic Development Officer at Great Yarmouth Borough Council, said: “enterpriseGY aims to enhance entrepreneurial activity across all sections of the community within the GY Borough. ‘Pitching for Business’ is specifically aimed at helping new and existing businesses to develop local markets and learn how to win business .
We are delighted to be working closely with the Chamber .They are well known for their meet the buyer events and they have good contacts within the business community.”
The series of six, 40-minute, interactive workshops will be presented throughout the morning. Their topics range from online marketing tips, to securing business funding, relationship building and procurement and public sector pitching. One of the most popular workshops is proving to be ‘Pitching & Presentation Skills’, delivered by Jean McNeil, from Best Support. She said: “This workshop will be very interactive and help you improve the key pitching and presentation skills essential for any business.
“When a golden opportunity comes along you don’t want to blow it! You want to impress the buyer and not depress them. In this session you will learn how to prepare for specific buyers – learn what buyers tell us they need, deliver a clear message for maximum impact, avoid the pitfalls – top tips on what works and what may not, handle questions – listening and responding skills, and prepare yourself and be confident – people buy from people they like.
“Three of the main criticisms we have had from buyers regarding people who have pitched to them is that firstly they haven’t done their research, secondly they don’t listen and thirdly that they haven’t tailored their pitch to suit the buyers’ needs.
“I will be researching the key buyers before the event and during the workshop I will ask the attendees if they have done this research and help them to pick out relevant points to ensure they are fully armed with as much knowledge as possible before they actually speak to the buyers at the networking lunch.”
Buyers attending the event will include Gardline, HSBC, Hugh J Boswell, Midexco, Norfolk County Council, Performance Plus Partnership and Waveney District Council.
There will also be a business support exhibition, with stands from organisations looking to help and advise delegates in a variety of different areas that will compliment their business. They will be A4E, Economic Development Unit – Enterprise Zone, Federation of Small Businesses – Great Yarmouth & Waveney, Great Yarmouth College, New Anglia LEP, Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, and the University of East Anglia.
‘Pitching for Business’ will be held on 14 November at the Novus Enterprise Centre, Great Yarmouth, from 8.30am to 12.30pm, followed by a networking lunch until 2pm. For further information or to book your place, go to Pitching for Business
We are delighted to welcome two new Chamber Gold Patrons -Aviva, and Greater Anglia rail franchise – who join existing Gold Patrons Hugh J Boswell and Chapelfield.
Pictures show Chamber CEO Caroline Williams with Andrew Dernie, Head of Business Operations at Aviva, and Chris Perry, Chamber Membership Manager, with Jonathan Denby, Head of Corporate Affairs at Abellio (Greater Anglia Ltd).
The Global Marketplace Series begins with our first event, taking place on 08 November at Fluke Precision Measurement Ltd in Norwich.
“Spotlight on Turkey” will look at this most dynamic and attractive market for UK companies. Already sizeable, the Turkish economy will be the second fastest growing economy in the world by 2018 and will out-strip those of Italy and Spain in the next decade.
A young growing population and EU funding mean there are opportunities for UK companies in a variety of sectors including:
Refined Petroleum
Chemicals
Harbours and harbour services
Automotive OEM and Side Services
Automotive OEM Investments
Automotive Side Supplier Investments
Railway/Tram Locomotives and/or Railway Cars
Transit Pipe Line Transportation Services
Electronics
Medical, High Precision and Optical Equipment
Pharmaceuticals
Aircraft and Space Vehicle and/or Parts
Machinery (including Electrical)
Integrated Metal Production
Hear from our host who, as a regular exporter to Turkey, can advise you of their experiences of trading with this market. All the information provided will help aide your decision on whether you should take the next steps to trading there.
Delegates will be able to learn from an informative workshop delivered by Matthew Dabbs, International & Trade Channel Manager of Barclays, who are sponsoring the series.
Registration will begin at 3.30pm for a 4.00pm start, ending at 6.00pm with a light networking buffet.
Book your FREE PLACE at this seminar to find out how you can access this thriving market, by emailing export@norfolkchamber.co.uk
Take a look here for details of the next five events in this series, covering Libya, Dubai, Angola, Saudi Arabia and Emerging Europe.
For help and advice any other matter relating to International Trade, you can contact Tracey direct on Tel. 01603 729711 or email: tracey.howard@norfolkchamber.co.uk
This year’s Norfolk Chamber Autumn B2B was a brilliant day with some wonderful speakers. Jake Humphrey, Formula One and 2012 Olympic Games presenter showed a real passion for local Norfolk businesses as he talked about how proud he was to have gone from being just a ‘Norfolk boy’ to becoming a BBC TV presenter, through hard work and determination. He talked about how businesses should work together and how this can be achieved by being part of the GoGoGorilla project, of which Jake is patron.
Delegates also heard from David McNally, Norwich City Football Chief Executive who talked about running the football club as a business. He highlighted the importance of having a good team around you from a business perspective as well as on the pitch. David was really enthusiastic about business in Norfolk and was pleased that the football club could be part of bringing them together at this B2B event.
The exhibition was opened by Emma Baker, ITV Anglia who also judged the best stand awards. Emma was impressed with the variety of exhibitors at the event and after much deliberation she announced the winners. The Break Charity won the overall best stand for their gorilla statues, one of which was being painted live at the event and NVCS Ltd was a clear winner for Best Stand Design for their great coffee display. The Forum won Best On Stand Promotion as they had a great opportunity to win a table of eight at their upcoming Comedy Store night.
Attendees also had the opportunity to gain knowledge as well as do business with four free workshops. Two workshops were delivered by Nial Adams, PUSH Academy who helped attendees to make marketing work and offered some top tips on selling more in a tough climate. Julie Bishop from JobHop highlighted how lots of companies use social media for recruitment and that it is an important tool for finding the right candidate. Finally Jean McNeil, Best Support led a really interactive workshop that discussed personality profiling, the different types of personalities and how these personalities affect networking style.
Overall there was a real buzz around the exhibition which wasn’t just coming from Hugh J Boswell’s buzzer game, won by Sarah Mintey from the Open Youth Trust. There was plenty to see and do, from putting at the Royal Norwich Golf Club stand to perhaps bagging yourself a green rubber duck at the Green Duck stand. 99Squared also showcased a unique way of using digital advertising with their square-code that could be scanned with a Smartphone and Archant were there as our Media Sponsors. The event was a huge success and allowed lots of local companies to raise their profiles, work together and do some great business.
The 116th Norfolk Chamber of Commerce Annual General Meeting was held at Dunston Hall Hotel on Friday 5th October 2012. The event was well attended and the finalised minutes can be viewed by clicking on the attachment.