UK GDP growth for Q4 upgraded to 0.7%, but growth for 2016 revised down to 4-year low
UK retail sales weakens further as inflation continues to rise and earnings growth slows
German GDP growth picks-up in Q4 as Greece’s economy shrinks
The second official estimate for Q4 2016 UK economic growth (GDP) stood at 0.7%, which was up from the previous estimate of 0.6% and is the fastest rate of growth since Q4 2015. Overall the latest GDP estimate confirmation that the UK economy enjoyed a solid end to 2016. Although the UK economy enjoyed a strong end to 2016, higher inflation is an increasing challenge for businesses as well as consumers.
Retail sales continued to declined and fell by 0.4% in January. Rising prices in fuel and food are significant factors in the slow down with average store prices rising by 1.9% on the year.
The Eurozone GDP growth remains mixed. The biggest economy is German, which grew by 0.7% in Q4, whilst the economies of Finland and Greece contracted. Whilst the Eurozone is likely to grow at a reasonable rate there are concerns over the southern European economies and broad political uncertainty could also weigh on their growth prospects.
The delivery of the 36.7m steel beams for the bridge that will carry the NDR dual carriageway over the Norwich to Sheringham railway has been rescheduled for next week after the police were unable to provide an escort this week.
The five abnormal loads will instead be moved on Tuesday 14 March, Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th. The route from Middlesborough will be along the A1, the A47 and the B1140 through Panxworth, reaching the bridge site from Plumstead Road, which will be closed for around 15 minutes for each arrival (between noon and 4pm).
The beams – five braced pairs – will arrive in halves and after assembly on site will be lifted into place on Sunday 9 April and/or Sunday 16 April, when the railway will be closed, with Bittern Line trains replaced by buses.
Temporary Traffic Lights:
The location of temporary traffic lights from Week Commencing 13 March will be as follows:
Reepham Road
Two-way off-peak lights Monday only (13 March) by Bell Farm (tree trimming for BT diversion)
Three-way lights at Reepham Rd/Holly Lane on Monday (after morning peak) and Tuesday as part of the Hall Lane traffic calming works,
Two-way lights on Reepham Road at Drayton Lane junction site Wednesday to Friday
Holt Road (B1149)
Two-way lights at Drayton Lane roundabout site Monday to Wednesday and Friday.
Three-way lights at Holt Road/Holly Lane on Thursday to form access into the compound off Holt Road next to junction ready for bridge beam deliveries.
Cromer Road (A140)
The 24 hour two-way lights currently in use will continue throughout next week and are likely to remain until Monday 20 March.
The A47 Alliance is to push for further investment from central government to make much-needed improvements to the A47, including dualling much of the route.
Highways England, the government company charged with operating, maintaining and improving England’s motorways and major A roads, is shortly set to reveal a set of proposals to make improvements to the A47 in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. Central government has already committed to funding these improvements, which largely consist of making improvements to junctions along the route, with construction set to begin in 2020.
The A47 Alliance, which includes Norfolk Chamber, local authorities, MPs and others, will now focus its efforts on getting a commitment from central government for further improvements. The priority improvements agreed by the A47 Alliance are:
Dualling Acle Straight to Great Yarmouth
Dualling Tilney to East Winch (including Hardwick flyover dualling) in King’s Lynn
Dualling Guyhirn to Wisbech,
Junction improvements at:
A1101 Elm High Roundabout and B198 East and West in Wisbech
Eye Roundabout
Junction 15 and Junction 18 in Peterborough
If funding for these improvements is secured, work could get under way between 2020 and 2025.
Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk chamber said:
“Norfolk Chamber will be supporting the A47 Alliance in its plans to step up the campaign for A47 improvements. We need to show Westminster that we have the support of the Norfolk business community, the local authorities, the general public and all our local MPs by presenting a business care which highlights that the much needed A47 improvements will help deliver greater economic growth and jobs.”
The A47 Alliance will be canvasing public and stakeholder support through the website and newsletter and organising a business breakfast. It will seek to meet the Transport Minister with a portfolio of evidence to try to secure future funding.
Cllr Wilby, Chairman of the A47 Alliance and Chairman of Norfolk County Council’s Economy Development and Transport Committee, said:
“These improvements are crucial to improve the A47. It is the major route across East Anglia and for too long businesses, residents and visitors have had to put up with an inadequate, unreliable route.
“The Alliance was successful in persuading government to invest over £300m for improvements that will start on the ground in 2020. These are a good first step towards the Alliance’s ambition of full dualling of the full A47, with bridges and flyovers being created at key junctions. We have now agreed our priorities for the period after 2020 and will step up our campaign to persuade government of the case for further investment.”
Graham Plant, Vice Chairman of the A47 Alliance and Leader of Great Yarmouth Borough Council said:
“The A47 is the major route that connects our region to the midlands and the north, so it’s vital that we maintain pressure on getting the road improved.
“We welcome the forthcoming Highways England consultation on the currently funded schemes along the A47. The A47 Alliance is pleased to see progress with these schemes starting to come forward after the funding announcement in 2014. We are also pleased to see that the A12 has now been renumbered as the A47 between Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. This will make journey planning easier for motorists. We will continue to press for further major infrastructure in and around the town including Vauxhall Junction, Acle Straight dualling and the Great Yarmouth Third River Crossing.”
Businesses from across the UK are invited to compete in the fourteenth annual Chamber Business Awards – hosted by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
The prestigious competition is one of the showpiece events in the business calendar, recognising and promoting the best of British business through a series of regional heats, culminating in a Gala Awards Dinner, which will take place at the Brewery, London on 30 November.
Entries open on Monday 13 March and will run until Friday 30 June. This year’s Awards are being launched at the London Stock Exchange, where last year’s winner of Business of the Year, Scientifica, have won the special honour of opening the Exchange as a prize. Next year’s winners will have the same chance to do so, a rare opportunity for a private business.
Companies can enter nine categories, covering exports, small business, people development, technology, high-growth, customer service, partnerships with the education sector, social media, and health and wellbeing.
Francis Martin, President of the British Chambers of Commerce said:
“Businesses are the driving force of the UK economy, creating jobs, growth and prosperity, and helping Britain to maintain its reputation internationally. This is exactly why it is important for us to recognise and celebrate the contribution they make to their local communities and the wider economy.
“The broad spread of categories in the Chamber Business Awards reflects both the diversity of industries and skills of British firms, and the range of achievements and projects that they have been involved with.
“Each time I visit Chamber member businesses, it is inspiring to see so many companies finding innovative ways to grow their business in every corner of the UK. The Awards acknowledge the relentless efforts of these businesses and their talented employees.”
Adrian Corbin of Scientifica, Winner of the ‘Business of the Year’ award last year, said:
“Everyone at Scientifica is incredibly proud that the company won Business of the Year at the Chamber Business Awards 2016. It is an enormous achievement and a fitting testimony to all the hard work that has gone into creating such a great company.
“We are at the forefront of high-tech British manufacturing, exporting our products to more than forty countries worldwide. We employ a highly-educated and international workforce who are all committed to producing innovative products to help further neuroscience research, and the winning of this award will undoubtedly help us expand into even more markets around the world.”
Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber of Commerce provided a business perpsective for the Mustard TV debate on the outcome of the Spring Budget. The discussion panel included, James Wright, Liberal Democrat City Councillor, Emma Corlett, Labour County councillor and Andrew Wiltshire, Conservative, Norwich South
Giving her full reaction to the Budget, Caroline Williams, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce said:
On Business Rates:
“We are pleased that those Norfolk businesses hardest-hit Norfolk by this year’s business rates revaluation will see some ease to their burden. We look forward to the money being given to councils in England being used to offer relief to the hardest hit Norfolk businesses.
“However welcome, the measures that mitigate the short-term impact of business rate rises, are little more than a sticking plaster. The radical changes needed to improve the broken business rates system will have to wait for another day.
“The government had an opportunity to re-visit the detail of reform to the appeals system but has not addressed the serious concerns ratepayers have. This will mean that more businesses seeking to correct their erroneous rates bills could lose out.
“In the longer-term, fundamental change is needed, including stripping plant and machinery from rates assessments that does so much to discourage business investment.”
On International Trade:
“There was a noticeable and disappointing absence of any new support for Norfolk exporters, or measures to encourage international trade in this Budget. As we begin the Brexit process, it’s more important than ever to get Norfolk businesses trading their goods and services with the world. The government must do more to incentivise and promote companies to be ambitious and trade to new markets. Norfolk Chamber will continue to do whatever we can to support Norfolk exporters.”
On Digital Infrastructure:
“We look forward to more details on the announcement for full-fibre broadband connection vouchers, as all businesses within our rural areas need faster and more reliable connections. The governments focus must now be on rural areas and existing business parks that still do not have superfast connections. The private sector will invest where there is a demonstrable return on investment and we would urge that the scheme is communicated effectively to the business community and providers.”
On Changes to the Tax System for the Self-Employed:
“Many Norfolk entrepreneurs and sole traders will be concerned to see significant rises to their National Insurance bills over the coming years. Especially when many of them are facing challenging economic conditions. Ministers need to ensure that these business people, who make a significant contribution to the economy, also get the recognition and benefits that correspond to their contribution.”
On Thursday 2nd March over 30 members attended our first John Lewis VIP Beauty Evening. The members arrived and were greeted with a glass of cava and a list of what each beauty counter was offering throughout the night. Once all of the members had arrived we started them off with a networking icebreaker in which they were given a sticker with a famous name on and had to find their famous partner such as Prince William and Kate Middleton. When everyone had found their partner and had some time to network Ruth from John Lewis introduced the evening and explained about their latest offers.
We moved everyone down to the beauty counters to enjoy a bit of pampering. Some of the treatments included GHD demonstrations, Liz Earle hand massages and Channel makeup lessons. Benugo’s restaurant provided more cava and cake throughout the evening and John Lewis provided goody bags for members to take home. Towards the end of the evening we drew a raffle and two people won hampers packed with beauty goodies donated by John Lewis.
On Thursday 23rd February over 100 Norfolk Chamber members joined us at Norwich City Football Club for a morning of networking with a delicious breakfast and a presentation from Paul Britton, Google Maps Advisor.
Caroline Williams MBE hosted the morning, Members started off the morning with an ice breaker quiz. This quiz involved members guessing the top Google searches of 2016 about Norwich. Following the quiz a delicious breakfast was served and members got a chance to speak to the people they were sat with.
To introduce more networking before we had the Google presentation we mixed the members up with a safari move swapping them to different tables to make more connections.
Paul Britton took the floor after breakfast to show us how we can change our Google Map views of our businesses to give people a better understanding of where a business is placed and an inside view. Paul also showed us how he has started to use 3D technology to bring parts of the business to life.
Following Paul’s presentation Caroline started a Q&A between the delegates and Paul to help them get a better understanding of how they can use these tips within their own businesses. After this had finished many delegates stayed and networked with their existing contacts and also the new ones they had made that day.
As the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) publishes statistics that show two-in-five businesses are more concerned about business rates than three months ago, the business group renews its call for action in the Spring Budget this week to ease the burden of rates and bring about fundamental reform to the system.
New interim statistics from the BCC’s Quarterly Economic Survey, based on the responses of over 900 companies, show that 39% of businesses are more concerned about business rates than three months ago, second only to those reporting higher concern around exchange rates (42%) than three months ago.
The results show that it is small businesses who are most worried about the burden of business rates, with one-in-two (50%) saying it’s of greater concern, the highest of any factor.
The business group is calling for the Chancellor to use his Spring Budget to support long-term investment and growth by taking action on this upfront costs which hits businesses unfairly, and irrespective of their economic health or circumstances.
BCC seeks four key measures on business rates from the Spring Budget:
Abandon the fiscal neutrality principle in business rates reform – an unacceptable barrier to fundamental reform of the business rates system that is unique to that tax. This would allow the government to help those firms most affected by the revaluation.
Drop proposals that would restrict the ability of the Valuation Tribunal for England to order changes to business rates liabilities – ensuring businesses access to justice and fairness.
Bring forward the switch from RPI to CPI, currently planned for April 2020, to April 2017 – limiting annual increases starting more swiftly.
Longer term, remove all plant and machinery from the valuation of property for business rates purposes.
Caroline Williams, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber said:
“The concerns of Norfolk businesses, with regard to business rates is rising. Norfolk Chamber would call on the Chancellor to take urgent action in the Budget this week. The UK had the highest business property taxes in the developed world even before the recent revaluation – hammering firms in our region with sky-high costs before they turn over a single pound. This undermines business investment, which in 2016, fell for the first time in seven years.”
Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said:
“As the new bills kick in from April 1st, many will see this situation get worse with some facing double, even triple-digit growth in the amount they must pay. Businesses face a tipping point: with rates rising for many and the combined costs of currency depreciation, the new National Living Wage, Pensions auto-enrolment and rising energy prices – urgent action is needed to reduce the upfront costs of doing business.
“In the short-term, the Government must provide additional relief to the firms hit hardest by rates and re-visit the detail of reform to the appeals system. It should bring forward the change from RPI to CPI this year.
“In the longer-term, fundamental change is needed, including stripping plant and machinery from rates assessments that does so much to discourage business investment.”
The latest edition of Norfolk Voice is out now, including interviews with Andrew Paine, Head of Offshore Wind Development UK, Vattenfall and David McQuade, Chief Executive, Flagship Housing.
We also have two features dedicated to Norfolk infrastructure and Apprenticeships.
A delegation from Norfolk Chamber were in attendance at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Annual Conference at the QEII centre in London this week.
Following an opening speech by Francis Martin, the President of the British Chambers, a video montage from the Chief Executives from across the regional Chambers was shown. It outlined the differences being made locally and helped to articulate how the work the Chambers do locally is collectively contributing to the national economic picture.
Unsurprisingly, Brexit was a re-occurring theme throughout the conference agenda, with the questions from the UK press and media coming in thick and fast amongst the questions from the business audience.
Director General of the BCC, Adam Marshall outlined how he saw an army of civic minded businesses driving prosperity through the process of Brexit. And that those businesses felt that an ambitious domestic agenda mattered equally as much as any Brexit deal. He also noted that young people place faith in the transformational power of business and will respect those businesses with civic impact, who can invest in manufacturing and innovation and technology to help support the needs driving modern day society.
One of the panel debates discussed how to grow business in the regions. Panelists included George Osborne MP, and Andy Burnham MP, the candidate for the Mayoral election in Manchester, as well as Vincent De Rivaz, CEO of EDF Energy. They debated Devolution, City Deals and the need to transfer power to local regions and what the outcomes of that may be. All agreed that the regions would benefit from power becoming less centralised, but gave a warning that the real competition for the UK was from outside of our shores and there needed to be commitment from all regions to compete as one nation.
Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, reiterated how important information and feedback from Chamber members was in providing input into the Industrial Strategy. “There is no substitute for talking to people, the diversity of connection, challenge and opportunities means everything to those who make policy.” He went on to invite all UK Chambers to participate in the development of sectoral groups for the Industrial Strategy, saying “local knowledge is irreplaceable and essential.”
The highlight speech of the conference came from Boris Johnson, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. He opened with analogies about pineapples and closed with haggis and pineapple jam! His point being that the UK needed to reclaim globalisation. Historically the UK is the most global of all the developed economies, with the links and friends being created over centuries of being a globally trading nation. On the subject of the UK in relation to the EU, Mr Johnson said “the UK is the flying buttress supporting the cathedral – UK trade has raised everyone’s standards and there remains opportunities within the EU.” He went on to say that “the UK should think global to be a safer, more successful and prosperous Great Britain.”
Commenting on the BEIS Committee’s report on Industrial Strategy published today (Friday), Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said:
“A clear, ambitious mission – and the untapped potential of our towns, cities and counties – need to sit at the heart of the Industrial Strategy.
“We need to decide our top economic and social goals as a nation, and develop a strategy that allows us to deliver these missions. At the same time, we must galvanise business communities all across the UK, so every area can leverage its competitive strengths and make a strong contribution to economic growth and prosperity.
“I applaud the BEIS Committee for recognising that mission and place are crucial to the success of Industrial Strategy. Business communities across the UK will now wish to see government adopt many of these recommendations as it works to bring the industrial strategy to life.”
On the Committee’s recommendation of a fundamental review of Business Rates, where the BCC has been campaigning for radical change, Marshall added:
“Business rates hammer firms with significant, volatile, up-front costs before they turn over a single pound. They are a barrier to achieving an ambitious Industrial Strategy, because they stop many firms from investing in their own productivity and growth. The Committee’s recommendation of a fundamental review of the business rates system is one we have made for years – and it’s time for action.”
Also commenting on the Industrial Strategy, Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for the Norfolk Chamber said:
“Now is the time for the Norfolk business community to highlight the strengths and opportunities of our region. We have a world-leading life sciences research base; advance engineering and innovation centres; a strong energy coast; and emerging ICT and digital sector; as well as many thriving traditional sectors – thi is our opportunity to ensure that Westminster clearly understands the economic potential and growth in our ‘place’.”