Commenting ahead of the Prime Minister’s speech on deregulation today, John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said:
“No business could disagree with the government’s commitment to reduce unnecessary red tape. Good progress has been made in removing domestic regulations, and the Prime Minister is right to lead a charge in Brussels to reduce European bureaucracy.
“However reducing regulation is as much about quality as it is about quantity. Removing hundreds or thousands of laws from the statute book will only have an effect if companies on the ground feel that the burden of needless regulation is lifting.
“Britain’s deregulation drive must also not be derailed by costly new laws affecting firms. At present, both tax changes and EU regulations are excluded from the government’s “One-in, Two-out” rule for new regulations. This loophole blunts the impact of the policy. All new regulations, from whatever source, should be scrutinised and their burden minimised as part of this system.”
The EDP has recently released the exciting news of the finalist list for one of the biggest business awards in the county; Norfolk Business Awards. It’s great to see several of our members have been selected for a number of the categories, for the full awards list and finalists (click here). These awards highlight the hard work of the companies, and staff teams, as well as shining a light on our innovative businesses in Norfolk. We wish everyone good luck in the next stage.
The winners of the overall awards and business of the year will be announced at the Gala dinner on Thursday 21 November, held at the Norfolk Showground, with James Nesbitt the international TV star hosting the event- not to be missed! So do keep an eye out for the winners over the next month. To read the full EDP article published in Wednesday 16 October edition, click here.
Commenting on Saturday’s Parliamentary debate, Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:
“While the parliamentary drama continues, in the real world businesses wait anxiously for a clear outcome.
“In the coming days the onus is on the government to answer the many questions businesses are posing on the Prime Minister’s deal – and its potential impact on trade, investment, communities and jobs.
“At such a critical moment in the process, the government must give business an iron-clad guarantee that it will not seek to take the UK out of the EU without a deal on 31st October. Getting a Brexit deal is far more important than simply getting it done.
“Allowing the UK to slide toward a Halloween no-deal – whether by design or disarray – would be an act of economic and political negligence. As frustrating as it would be to many in business, a short extension to unlock a comprehensive solution and a smooth transition is still infinitely preferable to an overnight economic shock.”
The United Kingdom will leave the European Union on the 31 October 2019 and your business will need to take action to get ready.
Join a free Brexit Business Readiness Event in your area to meet government advisers and to find out what actions your business needs to take to prepare.
The events will combine a keynote address, interactive support, advice stands and in-depth sessions led by subject matter experts. They will provide you with specific business-focused advice and help.
Events will be taking place across the UK and new locations will be added to this website as they’re confirmed.
For businesses wanting to understand what they need to do to prepare for Brexit, you can now watch this free HM Government online Brexit Business Readiness Event to watch presentations from government advisers and to find out what actions your business needs to take to prepare for Brexit.
Understand what Brexit means for business, find out why personal data matters, plan for imports, exports and international trade after Brexit, and learn more about how to prepare your services business, or what to do if you operate in food and drink, farming, fisheries, waste, or chemical sectors.
The B2B Exhibition made its debut at Norfolk Showground on Thursday 17th October, opening its doors to the business community 21 years after it first began. The move to Norfolk Showground saw the event grow significantly with more attendees joining us for a day for face-to-face networking and problem solving. Overall, the event had an increased sense of community with all exhibitors together in one hall, as well as a fun and buzzing atmosphere from start to finish. Doors opened at 10am and all 99 of our exhibitors were ready to go, including event sponsors Desira Group who welcomed businesses to the exhibition with an outdoor display of their vehicles. As visitors began registering and queues built up to get inside, Norfolk Chambers CEO Chris Sargisson began judging the best stand award with guest judge and Norfolk Chambers President, Fiona Ryder. Our judges went around the exhibition spending time with all of our exhibitors, taking part in interactive activities and meeting top Norfolk businesses. Although our judges encountered everything from puzzles, sweet treats and even puppies on stands, GGS were crowned winners of the best stand award 2019 with their fun and interactive photo booth – that they built and designed themselves! Our judges agreed that this not only allowed you to have a fun at the event, but it made visitors to the stand re-engage with GGS Norwich by having to visit their Facebook page to view the photos. The stand also showcased the work GGS do, with an exciting exhibition display, photography and the graphic design work. Photos from the photo booth can be found here. Chris Ball, Creative Director/Photographer at GGS said: “We always look forward to the Chamber of Commerce B2B exhibition as it is the only one we do on a regular basis, and, in fact, I think we have been at every one since it started. We love it that we can connect, face to face, with so many of our clients; many of whom we normally only deal with on the telephone, and that we have the opportunity to meet plenty of new people, too. The new venue was excellent. There was a real buzz about the place on the day and the increased ceiling height and roof space gave us the opportunity to be a little more creative with our stand this year. It’s always a challenge to come up with something a bit different and which will engage with and attract visitors. Previously it’s been cakes or a competition, or even a game; but this year’s Photo Booth was a real hit. Feedback was fabulous, and by only making the photos we took available next day on our Facebook page we managed to extend visitors’ engagement with us over a number of days after the event. And we were absolutely delighted that it won us ‘Best Stand’, too! Result!!” Throughout the exhibition we had 20 minute workshops taking place from Matt Sykes from Salescadence, Aimee Konieczny & Hayley Leech from Indigo Swan, Neil Foley of Business Growth Club, Kathy Ennis of Little Piggy and Eleanor Bougie-Smith of SocialB. Their expert workshops provided attendees with key takeaways covering customer service on social media to business boosting tips. We were also delighted to have Ian Hacon of Energise.me leading on some speed networking sessions in the centre of the exhibition. This provided attendees with the chance to meet various businesses in quick, 1 minute chats before moving on to the next person. Ian gave our speed networkers some useful advice before they started each session, including the tip to tell the person something interesting they’ll remember, don’t just pitch. For 2019 we took a big leap from previous B2B exhibitions, with a new venue, new opportunities and much more happening both behind the scenes and on display. The B2B Exhibition will return to Norfolk Showground on Thursday 15th October 2020. A big thank you goes to our sponsors and partners at this year’s event: Archant – Media PartnersDesira Group – Outdoor SponsorsBirketts LLP – Bronze SponsorsZing Insights – Feedback Partners
Norfolk County Council have released their latest economic report for July – September 2019 – Quarter 2. The report highlighted:
Employment levels in Norfolk has increased and is at its highest levels since 2017
Average weekly earnings in Norfolk have risen by 9% but are still lower than the national average
A vertical farming company is considering moving into Norfolk – there is potential for 4 farms each employing up to 35 people
Norwich Western Link preferred route announced. The route will connect the Northern Broadway to the A47
European Skills Funding call is currently open until 2 December. It is aimed at enhancing equal access to lifelong learning and improving labour market relevance of education and training systems
The British Chambers of Commerce, together with the accredited Chamber Network, including Norfolk Chambers, run Britain’s largest and most influential independent business survey – the Quarterly Economic Survey (QES). The next fieldwork period for the QES will start on Monday 04 November and will be open for 3 weeks.
But why should your organisation take part? Nova Fairbank, Norfolk Chambers’ Head of Policy outlines why she wants more input from Norfolk businesses:
“The QES is Britain’s largest, and longest-running, private business survey and it’s a leading economic indicator – often picking up big changes in the economy long before other surveys or official statistics. With the continued uncertainty of Brexit and the UK economy effectively treading water, it is more important than ever that as many businesses as possible take part.
“By completing the QES you are helping to identify how strong our local economy is and how well it is performing against the national averages and some international measures. Norfolk has many dynamic and innovative businesses, we need to have a strong voice and ensure our region gets both the credit and the investment that it deserves.”
Below are just a few more reasons why your organisation should take part in this important economic survey:
It’s provided consistent data since 1989, and regularly receives over 7,500 business responses. Compare that to the average business survey, which garners only a few hundred responses.
Norfolk responses represent over 34% of the responses from the East of England. (East of England includes: Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire).
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee uses the QES as one of its key benchmarks when setting interest rates.
HM Treasury and the independent Office for Budget Responsibility use the QES to put together their forecasts for the UK’s economic performance.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) use the QES when comparing the UK to competitors worldwide.
The more Norfolk businesses that take part – the louder the voice of the Norfolk business community will be. So what can your business do to contribute to the QES? During the fieldwork period, the survey can be completed electronically. There are several ways to access this online survey either:
Use the link within the Chamber Policy news article or;
Use the link that the Chamber can send direct to you
Norwich City Council has now released its Economic Barometer for the final quarter of 2013. Findings show that the period November 2013 to January 2014 highlighted some very promising signs for the New Year and beyond. The end of 2013 saw a surge in consumer spending, which was to be expected over the Christmas period, with John Lewis reporting a 10% upsurge in online sales.
December saw a fall of £2.1 billion in UK government borrowing. It now stands at £12.1 billion. With the signing of the Greater Norwich City Deal, by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, it is hoped that the city Deal will create 13,000 jobs and 3,000 homes in the area and sustain 6,000 construction jobs. Overall unemployment figures continue to fall for this region.
With the increased popularity of the summer flights schedule, Norwich International Airport achieved a year on year increase in passenger numbers of 11% and Loganair have announced that they will commence new services from Norwich to Edinburgh from the end of March 2014.
The £7.8 million expansion of Hethell Engineering Centre will be up and running from the start of March 2014 and is set to create 240 new jobs and will double the size of the current site by adding 16 new offices and workshop spaces.
The full Norwich Economic Barometer can be viewed here.
The previous Quarter 3 results highlighted the continued impact of economic uncertainty on our economy. The manufacturing sector reported the lowest level on exports since the EU Referendum in 2016. And the normally buoyant services sector saw falling domestic and export sales and orders.
Norfolk’ manufacturing sector saw a marked downward shift in many indicators in the third quarter. The balance of firms reported weak sales and domestic orders and export sales dropped to the lowest level since Q1 2016. Business confidence in turnover and profitability among manufacturers fell.
The dominant Norfolk services sector also saw decreased domestic sales and orders and export orders. The balance of firms confident in turnover and profitability improvements fell in quarter three, as did the balance for investment in training.
With Brexit postponed until 31 January and a General Election set for 12 December – we need your help to clearly understand what shape the Norfolk economy is in. The Quarterly Economic Survey for Quarter 4 is now underway and we need to hear from as many Norfolk businesses as possible. Please take the short survey Q4 Quarterly Economic Survey (QES).
The QES is the largest independent business survey in the UK and is used by both the Bank of England and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to plan the future of the UK economy. It is also closely watched by the International Monetary Fund. It is vital that as many Norfolk businesses as possible take part, so we get a true reflection of the local economy.
You can have your say by completing the QES online NOW. It takes less than 3 minutes. The completion deadline for this survey is midnight on Monday 25 November 2019. The Q4 results will be published in the first week of January 2020.
Key findings in the Q3 2019 survey:
Norfolk Manufacturing sector
The balance of firms reporting increased domestic sales rose from -13 in Q2 2019, to 0, whilst those reporting increased domestic orders rose, but remained in negative territory from -19 to -11.
The balance of firms reporting improved export sales fell from +23 to -6 and the balance of firms reporting increased export orders dropped from +15 to -24.
The balance of firms reporting improved cashflow fell into negative territory from +25 to -5.
The balance of firms increasing investment in plant/machinery rose in the quarter from -19 to +10 remaining historically weak, and investment in training rose from -6 to +10.
The balance of firms confident that turnover and profitability will increase in the next 12 months fell from +50 to +38 for turnover and from +19 to +14 for profitability.
Norfolk Services sector
The balance of firms reporting increased domestic sales fell from +12 in Q2 2019 to +8. Those reporting increased domestic orders fell slightly from +4 to 0.
The balance of firms reporting improved export sales fell from +4 to -5. Those reporting increased export orders continuing in negative territory fell still further from -4 to -5.
The balance of firms reporting improved cashflow rose very slightly from -5 to +2 but remains weak by historic standards.
The balance of firms looking to increase investment in plant and machinery drastically fell from +2 to -14 and fell slightly from +10 to +7 in training.
The balance of firms confident that turnover and profitability will improve over the next year decreased from +30 to +10 for turnover from +12 to -5 for profitability.
You may not think of Psychopaths and The Norfolk Chamber of Commerce in the same sentence (well, hopefully not) but our West Norfolk Networking lunch on Friday 1st November was a very interesting couple of hours… Our West Norfolk events are relaxed affairs, our members being a chatty and engaging bunch, and new visitors are made to feel welcome and engaged the moment they walk in. We have a wide cross section of businesses and it is the perfect opportunity to meet other local companies. The relaxed setting was a perfect back drop for our guest speaker Chamber Member Steve Gaskin, Director of Right Angle Events to talk to us about his 25 year background as a Detective Chief Inspector with The Metropolitan Police. Busy these days running a successful teambuilding company, Steve is a fascinating and engaging man. We learnt how the traits of Psychopaths can impact upon certain sectors, and are used in business skills and training. Steve then invited the room to take part in a Psychometric test to see where they fell on the scale – thankfully he didn’t ask for the results to be shared, but it was an interesting and fun way to end to his talk and certainly created quite a stir! Following the success of our King’s Lynn Two Hour Tuesdays, the change of timings from our West Norfolk Networking breakfasts to a lunch event has happily been well received, and it offers a mix of timings that make networking that much easier in West Norfolk. We look forward to our next lunch and meeting you there!
We’re all aware of the impact technology is having on our private lives, most people now have a smartphones and a large proportion have tablets and laptops too. There is an increasing buzz around screen time and how we manage our relationship with technology, at our recent HR Forum the experts from Birketts took delegates through how technology is impacting on the workplace and what you as employers can do about it.
We had three Senior Associates with us, Laura Brown, Jenny Leeder, and Kitty Rosser guiding delegates through a number of case studies involving the fictional character Sam Sung. Laura started by outlining the positives technology has on our lives such as computational accuracy and flexibility as well as risks such as data protection and working time issues. The majority of businesses in the room gave employees work phones and Laura highlighted that these pose an interesting question around working times as they give employees the flexibility to work from anywhere but also have the potential to encourage a blurring of lines between work and home life.
The case studies covered social media use both personally and professionally, mobile phone use, emails and data protection, and employee surveillance. It was suggested to delegates that even personal social media use can have a professional impact and that in order to protect themselves they should have a clear policy in place. Many delegates said that they would consider looking at a potential candidate’s social media channels prior to interviewing them, it was suggested that actually the best time to do this is after the first interview and that all staff should be trained on the relevant policies. On the subject of employee surveillance delegates were given a number of ways to protect themselves and things to consider including ensuring surveillance isn’t excessive and that clear boundaries are set. Finally delegates were given some examples of emerging technologies such as HR chatbots that could have an impact on their businesses.
Delegates left with a number of action points such as reviewing current policies to ensure that they cover all technology and are fair and reasonable, providing training to staff which was a clear theme throughout the afternoon, the importance of consistency when enforcing policies, and making sure they’re aware of potential vicarious liability risks. Overall it was a really informative afternoon that raised some issues that you would not necessarily consider when discussing technology and the workplace.
Big thanks to Laura Brown, Jenny Leeder, and Kitty Rosser for leading the afternoon and Birketts for sponsoring. All slides from the HR Forum can be found here.