Chamber News

Chamber highlights its concerns over delays to A47 improvements to Highways England

Jonathan Cage, the Vice President of Norfolk Chamber and Managing Director of Create Consulting Engineers, represented the Norfolk Chamber at the recent meeting of the A47 Alliance. The meeting included a presentation from the Highways England team of AMEY/AECOM, on the feasibility work that has been undertaken to date and the anticipated timeframes for delivery of the improvements to the A47.

Highways England are responsible for the delivery of the improvements to the A47 and they outlined that the three main schemes, which are centred around Norwich, including Burlingham, North Tuddenham and Thickthorn, were all effectively programmed to start work in 2020, with an approximate cost of £300m.

Commenting on the Highways England presentation, Jonathan Cage said:

“Highways England advised that they had assessed each of the schemes to determine whether a Development Consent Order would be required. They acknowledged that a lot of work had been previously undertaken on Burlingham, and that a scheme had been close to being started in the past.”

“However they stated that they needed to review the details and determine whether or not the route was still the ‘preferred route’. It was also essential that a full detailed evidence base was available to back up any future scheme submissions, to ensure that they would stand up to detailed scrutiny at future Inquiry.”

“Highways England believed that this exercise would be completed by October 2015, at which stage they would be able to advise which, if any of the schemes, could be brought forward earlier for implementation. The same criteria would also apply to the Vauxhall roundabout and Gapton Hall roundabout improvements in Great Yarmouth.”

On the length of delay in commencing the improvement works along the A47, Jonathan said:

“I raised the Chamber’s concerns about the delays, especially with respect to Burlingham, and asked why did Highways England need to review the proposals again?” He noted that “it was very unlikely that the traffic flows had changed and the only major thing that had changed since 2006 was that more people had lost their lives.”

With regard to possible severe disruptions whilst the improvement works were being undertaken, Jonathan said:

“I also raised a concern about the potential for all three Norwich schemes to be progressed at the same time, which would effectively result in access to Norwich from all directions being severely disrupted for about 18 months – something that would not be acceptable to the business community. I was informed that it was unlikely that all three would be progressed simultaneously, which would then potentially lead to a further delay on one of the schemes.”

Roger Foulger, the Chair of the A47 Alliance, also highlighted to Highways England, the occasions that both the local MPs and the Norfolk Chamber had written to express their concern at possible delays. Jonathan Cage said: “It was clear that both the MPs and the Chamber correspondence had had an impact on Highways England – however the Norfolk business community, together with the A47 Alliance needs to continue to lobby hard for the improvements to the A47 to be delivered as soon as possible.”

Commenting on the publication of today’s productivity plan, Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, said:

“Whatever label the Government wish to put on it, we have to tackle deep-rooted, structural problems if we are to have a great economy. Norfolk needs world class infrastructure, a streamlined planning process that serves to aid not delay projects, and, crucially, we must improve our export performance. We must also see better access to finance for businesses – this has been the missing piece of the jigsaw for far too long. These are the fundamentals where the UK has consistently failed to punch its weight and which act as a drag on growth and productivity.”

Commenting on specific measures, Ms Williams added:

Planning reform and house building

“Automatic zoning for brownfield sites sounds good in theory. But not if it means that employment land is gobbled up by residential developers. There is already an acute shortage of sites for business growth in many parts of England, and a residential building boom could make that shortage worse if unchecked. House builders must also be prevented from buying up sites that do not require planning permission, without the intention of developing them within a reasonable timeframe.

“If the proposals put forward today result in less bureaucracy and cost for firms seeking planning permission or much needed infrastructure improvements, they will be welcomed. If not, they will join the graveyard of previous planning reforms where the rhetoric was good, but the reality was something else. Unless planning reform makes things simpler for all businesses – not just house builders – it will fail to deliver its full potential.”

Infrastructure

“There remain unanswered questions on the Government’s infrastructure plans. Our rail network is in serious need of an upgrade. Despite the announcement around governance arrangements, businesses would have liked clearer, firmer commitments on how that will become a reality. The commitment to make a decision on airport capacity by the end of the year is welcome. If the government is serious about boosting productivity then the outcome should already be clear. We need extra capacity and the independent Airports Commission has shown the way forward.”

Compulsory Purchase Orders

The Government is talking of reform to the Compulsory Purchase Order system. And this is an area where reforms are desperately needed – for both house building and business expansion plans alike. The BCC has long said this is a key priority for businesses, and if meaningful reform is delivered it could prove to be a turning point for Britain’s infrastructure projects.

“In particular we would have liked to have seen major reforms to the compensation paid to people affected by infrastructure development, from railways to fracking, from airports to roads. This way Nimbyism can be converted to enthusiasm for the essential development of our economy.

Exports

“Plans to move responsibility for promoting exports to individual departments is to be welcomed if those departments make exports a serious priority. However, if we are to make significant progress in the essential rebalancing of our economy, and address our unsustainably large current account deficit, it will require a radically new approach to export support across the UK. We are consistently punching below our weight when it comes to international trade – we currently export less than the Netherlands, a country a third our size. And the OBR predict that the UK will miss the government’s target of having exports worth £1 trillion by 2020 by more than a third, coming up short by £370bn.

“Without a radical change in the support and encouragement offered to UK businesses, we are compromising our medium and long-term economic growth. The business community will be left feeling this is another missed opportunity to offer a serious boost to current and potential exporters.”

Skills

“When it comes to skills initiatives, the sentiment is right. A post-16 skills system and higher quality vocational education should help to meet local labour market needs.

“The National Infrastructure Plan for Skills sounds like a very promising idea. A genuine long-term strategy and vision for skills would allow businesses to better plan and invest in their workforce, and would help to tackle persistent skills shortages. The Chamber network has experience of developing sector skills plans and so we will be taking a close interest in this and stand ready to offer our help.

“To strengthen the focus on improving skills, we want OFSTED to take data about pupils’ careers and employment outcome more seriously in their inspection regime, so that schools have a greater incentive to make sure they are equipping young people with the skills and experience that employers want.”

Devolution

“Our research shows businesspeople in England broadly support the concept of further devolution to their city or local area. But businesses don’t support devolution for devolution’s sake. They support greater local decision-making if it means greater efficiency and better results. One key challenge in passing more authority to local areas is to make sure it is genuine devolution, and not a proliferation of bureaucracy.”

Review of economic statistics

“An independent review into the quality and delivery of economic statistics for measuring productivity is welcome and long overdue. Economic policy decisions and business confidence are very sensitive to official data on how much the country produces. Ensuring these figures accurately reflect the reality of today’s economy is essential.”

The ONS has published their trade figures today. Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber of Commerce said:

“On first glance the trade figures are exceptionally good. However, it would be premature to celebrate the virtual disappearance of our trade deficit.

“A few weeks ago the ONS reported a historically high trade deficit in real terms for Q1 2015, coupled with an unsustainably large current account deficit, so we need to look closely at today’s figures against the longer-term trends.

“Beneath the surface we see that exports in current prices were unchanged between April and May and in volume terms exports fell by 3.4%. It’s also important to note that the main reason for the fall in the deficit was the fall in imports, not a significant rise in exports.

“If these figures signal the start of an improving trend then of course that is positive. However, the longer term data suggests that we still have some way to go to close our trade gap for good. Boosting Britain’s exports should be a national priority – this will require greater support for exporters, particularly SMEs, to penetrate growing markets beyond the EU.

“The key is to make it easier for companies to consider trading internationally, and make it a bigger part of our business culture. That’s why the Chambers are building a strong global British business-to-business network is so important, since it helps a company from Bradford, Bristol or Belfast land on its feet in Bogota, Bangkok or Beijing.

“The Norfolk Chamber of Commerce will continue to grow our global business network and deliver real, practical and sustainable support to Norfolk exporters around the world.”

Key details within the report include:

• The UK trade deficit in May 2015 was £0.4bn, compared with £1.8bn in April 2015
• In May 2015, there was a deficit of £8.0bn on goods, partly offset by a surplus of £7.6bn in services.
• In the three months to May 2015 exports to the EU were 13.4% lower than in the same period last year, whereas exports to non-EU were 8.9% higher.
• The May 2015 trade deficit is the smallest since June 2013.

Norfolk Chamber has recently recruited additional members to its Board of Directors. Seven new Board members have been appointed, which takes the Board to a total of 16 members.

Ian Hacon, President of Norfolk Chamber said:

“We were pleased to receive such a large number of applicants for the Board. All of an extremely high calibre, with great all round business skills and experience. This made it very difficult to select a shortlist of candidates for interview and made the decision even tougher for the interview panel to make their final selections.”

“Our new Board members will help give Norfolk Chamber stronger representation geographically, by size of company and by sector and will allow us to truly be the voice of our membership. I am looking forward to working with them all to support and promote issues affecting the business community in Norfolk.”

The new members are:

Alastair MacFarlane Port Manager – East Anglia, ABP

Andrew Sherwood HR Director, Bernard Matthews

Esther Evans Managing Director, STM Packaging Group Ltd

Fiona Ryder Managing Director, Mustard TV

James Mason Commercial Director, Norfolk Training Services

Lynsey Sweales Chief Executive, SocialB Ltd

Simon Watson Partner – Corporate Services, Lovewell Blake

The Norfolk Chamber Board is made up of Chamber members from across the County to ensure that members’ interests are represented at local, county and regional levels.

Following yesterday’s budget, in which the Chancellor outlined many areas that will impact on Norfolk businesses from Corporation Tax reductions to lower National Insurance contributions; changes to the Annual Investment Allowance, to a new National Living Wage; pension reforms; and commitments to childcare. Attached is a summary table which shows all the key announcements.

Greater Gabbard wind farm’s first wind farms, located 23km off Sizewell, began to supply the national grid in January 2011. The joint venture between Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) and RWE Innogy constructed started in 2008 and has since created a hundred permanent jobs at its £1.5m operations and maintenance base in Lowestoft.

The 504 megawatt (MW) site is roughly two and a half hours by boat from shore and needs to be serviced by helicopters.

Stephen Rose, head of offshore wind generation for the Greater Gabbard array advises that lesson have been learned and that changes had to be made to how the turbines were maintained:

“We’ve had to be open minded think flexibly, be prepared to modify plans and vary our approach to service and operation at regular intervals.

“We learned that the weather and marine environment can vary dramatically across a vast 147 sq km site and having a control room that operated for only 12 hours a day limited our ability to respond to turbine resents and therefore plan effectively for the next working day in the event of any interventions being necessary

“These challenges led us to extend our control room hours and change some of our seagoing vessels in order to have the relevant capabilities to safely access the offshore turbines in rougher weather conditions”

As warranty agreements with manufacturer Siemens draw to a close, Greater Gabbard’s owners will soon have to choose between servicing the turbines itself, entering a contract with a third part or remaining with the status quo.

Mr Rose advised that the pioneering success of Greater Gabbard had prepared his team for its next offshore project off the North coast of Scotland.

The Future

RWE Innogy continues to review the viability of a new business case for Galloper wind farm, an extension to the Greater Gabbard project, which was shelved last October when the firm said it was unable to meet finance deadlines after joint owner SSE pulled out.

The project which had been expected to be completed by 2017, is now moving into a detailed design work phase, involving its supply chain partners and potential equity finance partners. The aim is to enable onshore construction to begin before the end of the year.

Road users are advised that the A47 near Hockering in Norfolk will be closed for two nights from tonight (Thursday 9 July) for essential surface repairs.

Work will take place between 9pm and 5am to carry out urgent carriageway repairs in both directions near the Church Lane/Sandy Lane junction between Hockering and Honingham.

During the work the A47 will be closed in both directions and a diversion will be clearly signposted via the A11, A134 and A1065. Access to local properties will be maintained at all times.

Motorists affected by this work are advised to plan ahead and allow extra time for travel.

“Today’s decision by the Bank of England’s Monetory Policy Committee to keep interest rates and quantitative easing on hold was correct and unsurprising” said Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber “The OBR’s growth forecast for the next two years, announced yesterday, is on the low side. While we think that they have underestimated the growth potential for the economy, we recognise that the UK is still facing many headwinds. The fast moving situation in Greece is creating uncertainty for businesses, particularly those exporting across the EU.

“Although inflation will slowly edge up over the next 18 months, it will remain well below the Bank of England’s 2% target until well into 2016. In addition, following the Chancellor’s summer budget, businesses will need a period of stability through which to plan and invest. Against this background the MPC can afford to keep official interest rates at their current low level for the foreseeable future. Businesses would also benefit from a more open communication from the MPC over its plans for interest rates over the mid to long term.”

King’s Lynn will launch a colourful trail of model spitfires in the town this Saturday, 11 July. There will be 24 spitfire sculptures, which will form a ‘flight path’ through the old town.

Each spitfire is sponsored and decorated by local organisations and businesses. The project has been co-ordinated by the air cadets from the 42F (King’s Lynn) Squadron Air Training Corps. Visitors will be able to view the trail until the end of September.

Heather Garrod, President of West Norfolk Chamber Council said:

“King’s Lynn has a wealth of historical heritage on which to capitalise. The excellent sound and light shows have attracted many visitors and increased footfall in the town centre, which has benefitted the businesses based there. Together with the recent Hanse business convention and festival in May, helping to increase business awareness of the trading opportunities, this has all firmly put King’s Lynn on the map for both business and tourism.”

“It is hoped that the Air Cadet’s Spitfire Trail will prove to be just as successful and popular as the GoGo Gorrillas trail held last year, and the current GoGo Dragons Trail in Norwich. The Spitfire Trail will not only celebrate the Battle of Britain, but it will help boost visitor numbers to the town centre and contribute further to the local economy.”

(Based on June 2015 data releases)

• Q1 UK GDP growth revised up – driven by less pessimistic construction output figures
• Latest economic data suggests a pick up in UK economic growth in Q2
• Eurozone economy showing signs of improvement, but Greece is on the brink

The UK economy green by 0.4% in Q1 2015, revised up from the previous estimate of 0.3%. The upward revisions were driven by the better performance from the construction sector.

Real earnings are still growing in the 3 months to April2015, the number of people in work rose by 114,000 compared to the previous 3 months. Total pay rose by 2.7% in annual terms for the same period – the fastest rate of growth since 2011.

The Eurozone is improving but Greece remains on the brink. With the possibility of Greece becoming the first country to exist the Eurozone becoming more likely, the decline on its economy has been dramatic.

Overall the economic data provides further evidence that the UK economy will grow. However risks remain, although the risk of contagion to the UK from the Greece debt crisis remains relatively low.

Full details can be found in the attached report.

In her full reaction to the Chancellor’s Summer Budget, Caroline Williams, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber said:

“George Osborne has delivered a genius balance of politics and economics that provides stimulus for the Norfolk economy, while continuing the tough task of eliminating the deficit. Steady deficit reduction means the economy still has the oxygen it needs to grow.”

“Norfolk companies will offer a cautious welcome to proposals on transport, training and local decision-making, but will want to see precisely how the Chancellor’s moves will make roads better, improve skills, and allow them more power to determine what happens in our city, towns and county.”

“The Chancellor has confirmed that Britain is open for business. Firms across Norfolk will cheer not just the new permanent Annual Investment Allowance, further Corporation Tax reductions, and lower National Insurance for small businesses, but also commitments to childcare and higher education that help them employ Norfolk’s best.

Ahead of the publication of the government’s Productivity Plan on Friday, she added:

“Several key themes for business – such as export support, compensation for those affected by infrastructure schemes, planning reform, and transport – were conspicuous by their absence in the Budget. Companies will want to see more detail on how the government’s productivity plans help to improve the business environment, because any plan will only make a difference if it becomes easier to do business on the ground.”

Commenting on key additional measures announced in the Budget, Caroline Williams said:

Annual Investment Allowance

“Businesses across Norfolk will cheer the announcement of a permanent, £200,000 Annual Investment Allowance – something we have been advocated for over many years. This will be an important shot in the arm for businesses that are investing for growth. As the one tax break that offers significant support for medium-sized companies, it will support the firms that repeatedly deliver jobs and tax revenue here in the Norfolk.

“It means businesses can plan investment over a reasonable period, and help to deliver the productivity increases Britain needs.

“The Chancellor should in future go further, and extend the Annual Investment Allowance to cover premises improvements and more types of training, not just plant and machinery.”

National Insurance

“The less National Insurance Norfolk companies have to pay, the more confidence they will have to hire new employees. This will be a real boost for small and start-up businesses.”

Corporation Tax

“The Chancellor’s commitment to further cut Corporation Tax is a clear sign that Norfolk and Britain as a whole is open for business.”

Road investment and road tax

“The decision by the Chancellor to commit the revenue raised by Vehicle Excise Duty to a Roads Fund will be welcomed by Norfolk businesses, who have long wanted to see a dedicated source of roads funding. Investing in the country’s infrastructure to deliver promised investment in road and rail is vital for long-term economic growth. We will need to see more detail on how much extra this will deliver to invest in much needed improvement in our road network. In addition to new and upgraded roads, maintaining the existing network is also vital.”

Devolution and local growth

“The British Chambers of Commerce research shows that business people in England broadly support the concept of further devolution to their local area. The announcements today on further powers for cities, local decisions on Sunday trading, and Enterprise Zones for smaller towns will be welcomed by many.

“Greater local-decision-making must come alongside greater efficiency in local government, greater accountability and better results. Our proposal for a ratepayers’ vote on local economic development strategy and funding decisions would ensure that plans for an area’s future have the support and input of the whole business community.”

Apprenticeship levy

“If the government is serious about boosting apprenticeships, it should focus on improving quality of apprenticeships to make them more attractive to employers.Businesses of all sizes need positive encouragement and an apprenticeship system that meets their needs. It’s also disappointing that businesses have not been consulted on the move to introduce an apprenticeship levy on larger firms.”

Housing

“It is disappointing that we didn’t hear anything in the budget to tackle the root problem in the housing market – the lack of supply. The Government needs to put forward credible plans on how it will address this issue.”

Access to childcare

“Expanded access to childcare is a win-win for employers and parents alike, helping more talented individuals to stay in work. We hope that roll out of this measure is done in a cost effective manner.”

Also in reaction to the Chancellor’s Summer Budget, John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce,said:

“Companies will offer a cautious welcome to proposals on transport, training and local decision-making, but will want to see precisely how the Chancellor’s moves will make roads better, improve skills, and allow them more power to determine what happens in their cities and counties.

“Most Chamber member companies already pay their staff at or above the Living Wage. They will want assurances, however, that moves to create a National Living Wage follow an evidence-based approach, and minimise impacts on smaller firms, for whom adjustment will be harder.

“We hope that the Chancellor’s reference to the free movement of aircraft over West London is a portent of a rapid decision to expand aviation capacity at Heathrow, in line with the Airports Commission’s recommendation.”

Commenting on some of the additional measures announced in the Budget, John Longworth said:

Inheritance tax changes

“Passing the fruits of hard work to the next generation appeals to everyone. Yet it is wrong to raise inheritance tax thresholds at the expense of pension saving. This particularly hurts entrepreneurs, who defer their own compensation while investing in their companies.”

Tax avoidance

“As the vast majority of UK businesses diligently pay all the tax they owe, we support the Chancellor’s attempts to create a level playing field for all firms. The employment of aggressive tax avoidance schemes by a small minority continues to be a major source of frustration within the business community.”

Pensions

“Any reform to pension saving and taxation must bear entrepreneurial aspiration in mind. Cutting pension tax relief for those who seek long-term rewards would be a step backwards.”

National Living Wage

“Making ends meet is clearly an issue of huge concern to many in Britain today. And we applaud all of those businesses that pay, or aspire to pay, their staff above the Living Wage. That includes a huge majority of Chamber of Commerce members, with 61% paying all staff at or above the Living Wage, and a further 20% paying most staff above the Living Wage rate.

“They will want assurances, however, that moves to create a National Living Wage follow an evidence-based approach, and minimise impacts on smaller firms, for whom adjustment will be harder.”

A total of 166 employers were fined for failing to comply with their workplace pensions duties in the last three months of 2014, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has said.

So far, since auto-enrolment started being rolled-out in 2012, 169 employers have been given £400 fines.

Charles Counsell, director of automatic enrolment for TPR, said: “My message to all employers is that failing to declare within five months of your staging date means you risk being fined, which is why we recommend you start your automatic enrolment planning and preparation 12 months before staging.

“It appears some medium employers waited for a prompt from the regulator before completing their automatic enrolment duties.”

He said this was a small number compared to the tens of thousands of businesses which have complied with auto-enrolment, but warned the number of fines could increase.

“With the mass market roll-out of auto-enrolment to large numbers of small businesses in the coming months, we expect to see an increase in how often we need to use our powers,” Mr Counsell said.

Although the vast majority of employers have completed their duties on or ahead of time, he said TPR was still seeing a small minority that required the additional nudge of a notice.

A total of 1,139 compliance notices were issued in the last quarter of 2014 instructing employers to remedy a contravention of one or more of their duties or risk a fine or further action.

The regulator said a significant number of these notices were sent to employers who had missed their deadline to submit their declaration.

Depending on the seriousness of an employer’s failure to comply with auto-enrolment rules, The Pensions Regulator can fine them up to £10,000 for each day of the failure.