Chamber News

• Norfolk manufacturing export sales and orders strengthened from the Q1 results – in contrast to the national results which weakened
• Employment in Norfolk’s manufacturing sector increased by 10 points – whereas the national results decreased by 12 points
• Both Norfolk service and manufacturing sectors reported that they did not intend to increase their prices within the next 3 months
• Norfolk’s service sector balances for home sales and orders reflected the national results, remaining static

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) – one of Britain’s largest and most authoritative private business surveys, based on almost 7,500 responses from firms, employing around 800,000 people – shows that in the second quarter of 2015 the national service sector continued its current trend of steady progress but national manufacturing firms reported much weaker growth.

However the Norfolk results for Q2, whilst mixed, showed signs of cautious growth. Norfolk’s manufacturing export sales and orders are stronger and higher than the national results and employment in the Norfolk manufacturing sector rose in comparison to the national results.

Caroline Williams, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce said:

“The Q2 2015 results for Norfolk point to continued moderate growth in the local economy over the next year. It is encouraging to see that several of Norfolk balances positively ‘bucked’ the national trend, with some results being stronger than the national balances, compared to the last quarter. However concerns over the EU and the possibility of Grexit are causing some uncertainty within the business community and the impact of the reduced oil prices are being felt locally.

“Despite mainly positive results, Norfolk still has some structural issues that are limiting our local businesses’ ability to grow. First, underinvestment in infrastructure and second, insufficient focus on helping more businesses succeed in new markets overseas. The Chancellor’s Budget, the forthcoming spending review and the remainder of this Parliament should focus on tackling these issues for the long-term.” “

Key findings in the Q2 2015 Quarterly Economic Survey:

• In Norfolk services sector, the domestic and export balances recorded mixed movements in Q2, but the overall growth level for sales and orders remained broadly static. The balance for domestic sales fell (+33% in Q2 2015, down from +35% in Q1 2015), as did the balance for domestic orders (+28% in Q2, down from +29% in Q1). However the export sales balance increased by two points in Q2 to +14%, and the export orders balance increased by ten points in Q2 to +10%.
• The Norfolk service sector’s confidence in their cashflow increased with a rise of seven points to +18%. However the balances for investment and employment both dipped – showing that businesses are still being very cautious.
• In contrast, many of the key Norfolk manufacturing balances rose in Q2 2015. Both export sales and orders balances rose (sales by eight points to +29% and orders by 2 points to +18%). Employment expectations rose by ten points to +23%.
• In Norfolk, the intention to raise prices balance dropped markedly for both sectors (manufacturing +8% in Q2 2015, down from +20% in Q1 2015 and service +11% from +22% in Q1 2015) this was in contrast to the National balance for manufacturing which rose from +11% in Q1 to +23% in Q2 2015. The national service sector balance dipped by three points from +23% to +20%.
• The balance for pressures on capacity were both down slightly (manufacturing +35% in Q2 2015, down from +38% in Q1 2015) and services (+34% in Q2 2015, up from +48% in Q1 2015).

John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, commenting on the National results, said:

“These figures give us the best, most current insight into business experience and sentiment. Overall, they indicate that we will see continued growth in the economy, thanks mainly to the strength of the services sector. But the difference in results also raises the prospect of the UK experiencing two-tier growth – with modest expansion in services and markedly slower growth in manufacturing and goods.”

Norfolk Chamber is looking for the Chancellor to deliver a business friendly budget tomorrow.

Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber gives her point of view:

Speculation is mounting ahead of tomorrow’s Budget that Sunday trading laws could be relaxed.

But putting all our eggs in the basket of consumer spend will not deliver long-term, sustainable, great growth for the UK economy. The government needs to focus on improving our road, rail and digital infrastructure as well as promoting international trade and export – that is how we can rebalance the economy and help achieve Norfolk growth ambitions.

It is positive that Norwich and Norfolk will be able to decide locally so that our independent stores which make Norwich’s shopping experience so specialcan have their voices heard

Tomorrow’s Budget presents a golden opportunity for the Chancellor to demonstrate the Government is serious about boosting international trade and hitting its target of having exports worth £1 trillion by 2020. Our small and medium exporters need the same support as the larger companies so we would look for additional support for them as they compete on a global stage. It is an opportunity the Chancellor cannot afford to miss.

The Chancellor must also get to grips with the huge investment challenge facing the country which particularly affects us here in Norfolk. Ageing roads, rail and energy networks need upgrading

Business will no longer accept a ‘make do and mend’ approach and want to see real commitment to supporting the needs of business.

Norfolk Chamber would like to see:

• A commitment to continued infrastructure improvements in roads and rail
• Improved Digital and wireless connectivity through broadband and mobile speed and coverage to support selling and buying online
• We need investment in energy infrastructure to keep production lines and technology running.
• Improved international support for small and medium sized exporters.

Failure to invest in capacity and maintenance in infrastructure is hampering Norfolk’s business growth and potentially costing jobs.

We accept the government’s goal of deficit reduction but it must be achieved without restricting our businesses economic growth which will affect our ability to create and retain jobs.

We are seeing an improvement of the local economy especially relating to manufacturing where Norfolk is showing better results that nationally in the British Chambers of Commerce’s Q2 Quarterly Economic Survey results out today.

However, the economy remains fragile with uncertainty within the business community relating to the situation in Greece and the reduction in oil prices. A business friendly budget is needed.

Norfolk County Council has advised of major road works which will affect Hall Road, Sandy Lane, Bessemer Road and Barrett Road I Norwich for approximately 19 weeks from Monday 13 July 2015.

The road works include:

• Widening and resurfacing of Sandy Lane
• Construction of new store accesses, footways and cycleways
• Construction of Tucan crossings on Hall Road, Sandy Lane, Bessemer Road and Barrett Road
• Construction of Zebra crossing on Hall Road
• Upgrading of existing traffic signals on Sandy Lane/Hall Road and Sandy Lane/Whiting Road

Many of the works will be undertaken simultaneously to attempt to minimise the duration of the road works. One way systems, road closures and traffic management and diversions will be in operation during the works. Full information of the works can be found here.

Norfolk Chamber is situated on the Norwich Business Park on Whiting Road and members should note that they should expect delays when visiting the Chamber offices.

Young people in Norfolk are being urged to think about careers in the county’s six growth industries as part of a new interactive campaign aimed at developing Norfolk’s future workforce.

These six growth are Energy, Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering, Creative Industries, Financial and Insurance and Health & Social Care.

Norfolk County Council has launched the Future You campaign to help address a skills gap in the county and boost the aspirations and careers of young people living in Norfolk.

Aimed at young people aged 13 to 21, the campaign includes the launch of a free mobile careers app which helps young people match their skills and aptitudes to the county’s likely job market. It also offers advice on interview techniques, work experience and CV writing, as well as job roles, apprenticeships, academic courses and career paths.

Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber of Commerce “The Chamber welcomes this exciting initiative as our young people are Norfolk’s future workforce.

Our members are passionate about supporting young people by offering employment including apprenticeships and working closely with schools.

The new campaign will help raise the profile of what great opportunities there are for young people right here in Norfolk.”

George Nobbs, Leader of Norfolk County Council, said: “One of the County Council’s key priorities and ambitions is to ensure that people who live in Norfolk have access to Real Jobs; career jobs. Not zero hours or seasonal work.

“We especiallydon’t want our young talent to feel that they have to leave this county in order to forge a successful andrewarding career.

“That is why we’ve launched the Future You campaign and app – to ensure our young people are both aware of and encouraged to consider, careers in our key economic sectors.

“Norfolk’seconomy is already growing at a faster rate than nationally. With great potential for further growth,we want Norfolk residentsto be a key part of, we will continue to invest in and champion: the good infrastructure that we need to bring even morereal jobs to our communities.”

The Future You app is available from the AppStore and Google Play Store.

The films are available athttps://www.norfolk.gov.uk/Childrens_services/Schools/Future_You/index.htm

Europe is dominating the news at the moment due to the uncertainty of how the situation with Greece will be resolved. Commenting in the wake of the Greek referendum, which saw voters reject creditors’ bailout terms, Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber of Commerce said:

“Beyond its immediate impacts on markets and trade, it looks ever more likely that the Greek referendum vote will spark fundamental changes in the Eurozone – and the European Union as a whole.

“The Prime Minister may get an early, and important, opportunity to put the case for fundamental reform of the UK’s relationship with the EU. Businesses will want him to seize this opening, especially as many of the UK’s desired reforms would support the competitiveness of the EU as a whole.”

“There is now broad agreement across the political spectrum that our relationship with the EU needs to change and that the status quo is not an option. Norfolk businesses would like their voice included in the debate, to help the government secure meaningful changes to our relationship with the EU.”

There are five key elements that Norfolk Chamber wants to focus on relating to EU reform:

• In a Europe in which the decisions will be made by and for the Eurozone – a club of which we will never be a member – Britain must have absolute guarantees to protect our economic and other interests within the EU.
• We need to protect our businesses from the regulatory burdens imposed by the EU, particularly those that do not relate directly to trade, again with an opt-out if necessary. The vast majority of the UK’s economic activity is not directly derived from trade with the rest of the European Union – and yet all of that activity is hit by the cost of European regulation.
• It is necessary to sort out the “common market” so that it works for British business. The UK is by and large a service sector economy and yet there is no meaningful internal market in services within the EU and, at the same time, the market in goods is imperfect and unravelling.
• We need a clear and balanced approach to immigration taking into account the need for stability and social cohesion and driven by the skills requirements of our economy, meaning businesses can access the talent they need.
• We need a cast iron opt-out to make sure we do not sleepwalk into an ‘ever closer union’.

If you have an opinion on this issue or would like to give examples of how the current situation with the EU is adversely affecting your business please advise cw@norfolkchamber.co.uk

We’re delighted to welcome Plain Speaking Agency as a new member of the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce. Plain Speaking is a straight talking, results focused PR, communications and marketing agency based in Norwich. Founded in 2006, the team is made up of three senior comms professionals – managing director Pippa Lain-Smith, plus Amber Davis and Kayla Dunne – collectively with over fifty years’ PR experience: from global organisations to start-ups, consumer goods to business services, national brands to social enterprises. They are friendly and tenacious, all involved in every element of clients’ work, from developing campaign plans and implementing activity, to measuring success.

The Plain Speaking team believes public relations is about communicating and building relationships with people who are important to your brand; engaging their interest, inspiring their loyalty and encouraging them to do business with you. They help to build, maintain and protect reputations; and take pride in using language that clients understand, avoiding unnecessary jargon. The will only recommend communications tactics that they honestly believe will add value to a business.

Pippa Lain-Smith, managing director of Plain Speaking Agency, said: “Our team has such broad experience that we are able to represent a very diverse range of clients; from retail to telecoms, healthcare to property, and everything in between. We have one simple aim: to help our clients achieve their business objectives. Most of the clients that we work with have been with us for a number of years, which is testament to our commitment to exceeding their expectations.

“We offer more than just media relations: from award submissions, event planning and internal communications; to issues management, copywriting and social media engagement. There is also our Brand Vitals© process which helps clients to develop their brand identity and hone core values. Depending on the brief, our work can cover consumer, business-to-business and trade audiences; on a local, regional, national or international level.

“We joined the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce to engage more with the regional business community. The training, networking and events programme has been highly recommended so we’re looking forward to meeting new people and enhancing our skills base.”

To find out more about Plain Speaking visit www.plainspeakingagency.co.uk , call 01603 487 291 or email info@plainspeakingagency.co.uk

Commenting on the final report of the Airports Commission, which has backed anewrunway at Heathrow, John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

“After three years of deliberation, businesses across the UK will be pleased that the Airports Commission has finally come to a clear recommendation.

“Now that all the evidence is on the table, firms in every corner of the UK want to see an irreversible government commitment to a new runway at Heathrow by the end of 2015, with planning complete and diggers on the ground by the end of this parliament in 2020.

“The ball is now firmly in the government’s court. If ministers duck this decision, and delay airport expansion for yet another generation, British businesses and our overall competitiveness will pay the price.

“Business long ago ran out of patience. The government cannot afford to delay airport expansion any further if it is serious about Britain punching above its weight on the global stage. That means delivering a new runway at Heathrow now, and leaving the door open to subsequent expansion at Gatwick, Stansted and key regional airports as well.”

Ahead of the Chancellor’s Budget announcement on Wednesday 8 July, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is urging the government to commit to rebuilding Britain’s infrastructure, bringing to an end our ‘make-do and mend’ culture.

The BCC’s submission highlights that a lack of investment in infrastructure capacity and maintenance – across transport, energy and digital – is hampering business growth and costing jobs.

Public infrastructure investment has fallen noticeably since the 1970s, despite the UK National Infrastructure Plan identifying around 650 projects required in the next 15 years. Britain also lags behind other developed countries for quality of infrastructure, ranking only 27th in the World Economic Forums’ Quality of Overall Infrastructure table. The UK needs to be in the top 15 by 2020 if it is to achieve the government’s aspiration to become the richest country in the G7, per capita, by 2030.

Businesspeople across the UK are concerned that government spending remains too focused on areas of short-term economic benefit and political convenience, instead of on assets that have a lasting economic impact. The BCC calls for the government to sharpen its focus on growth and put infrastructure measures, capable of boosting productivity, at the heart of the economy.

The BCC submission proposes five key measures* to address this:

• Complete the review and reform of the compulsory purchase process by 2017/18 – the BCC urges the government to speed up the delivery of important projects by increasing compensation for people subject to compulsory purchase orders to 150% of the open market value of the property.
• Rapid action to green-light new aviation capacity following publication of the Airports Commission’s final report and recommendation.
• Deliver promised investments in road and rail schemes of national importance.
• Create a new independent body to decide the UK’s infrastructure needs.
• Remove investment relating to the delivery of the national infrastructure plan from the national debt target.

Commenting, Caroline Williams, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber said:

“It is the business community that will deliver jobs and economic prosperity in Norfolk and delays in delivering the vital infrastructure improvements will be to the detriment of Norfolk’s economic wellbeing.

Norfolk has historically lagged behind the rest of the UK in terms of road and rail infrastructure. Greater accessibility is key to ensuring that the Norfolk business community can compete on a national level and infrastructure improvements in Norfolk will open up opportunities for local businesses to deliver more economic growth, housing and jobs for our County.

We would call on the Chancellor to re-confirm the commitments that he made to improve Norfolk’s infrastructure, prior to the General Election, with solid timescales.”

Commenting, John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce said:

“The UK must get to grips with a huge investment challenge over the next decade – ageing road, rail and energy networks need upgrading and replacing and more houses need to be built to meet demand.

“Businesses rely on transport networks to move people and goods, digital and wireless connectivity for selling and buying online and energy infrastructure to keep production lines and technology running. Failure to invest in capacity and maintenance is hampering business growth and costing jobs.

“Britain has relied on a ‘make-do and mend’ approach for far too long, but this is simply not acceptable. While our competitors across the world are making serious, sustained investment towards infrastructure, in many cases we rely on patched up systems built in the ’70s. It’s for this reason that we languish so far down the international league table for quality of infrastructure, as well as investment. Unless the UK overhauls its lacklustre approach to managing infrastructure and gets serious about investment, we risk falling behind in the global race.

“We need the government to make irreversible commitments to new airport capacity and nationally significant road and rail improvements. As well as establishing a national board to oversee the delivery of projects, the government should increase compensation for people subject to compulsory purchase orders to make the system fairer and speed up the delivery of projects that help strengthen the economy.

“Businesses support the government’s goal of deficit reduction, but it must be achieved without detriment to growth. We want this Parliament to be defined by growth and to enable that we need to invest in our infrastructure.

“A world class economy needs world class infrastructure – and if delivered, it will be a triple win for business, jobs and government.”

The Government has updated its advice on doing business with Greece.

Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber said “Although each case must be taken individually the following information may be useful for those already doing business with Greek companies or considering doing so in the near future. Greece has announced that they are introducing capital controls on the movement of currency. If you trade with Greece, or you rely on suppliers there, you may find that you are directly affected by the situation.”

A news story has been published on gov.uk as a central point of information and advice for people and businesses on the latest developments in Greece. This will be updated on a rolling basis and can be accessed at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/greece-updates-advice-for-uk-citizens…

Other useful links include:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/greece-has-introduced-temporary-capit…

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/exporting-to-greece

Exhibitions showing the latest proposals for the Golden Ball Street, All Saints Green and Westlegate area of Norwich city centre open tomorrow (Wednesday 1 July) at City Hall and as a window display in Westlegate Tower.

At City Hall staff will be on hand on Wednesday 1 July and Thursday 2 July from 10am to 6.30pm to answer queries and help people comment upon the plans, which can also be viewed online at www.norfolk.gov.uk/citychanges .

Under the proposals, drawn up by Norwich City Council and Norfolk County Council,anareaaround FarmersAvenue, Golden Ball Street, All Saints Street and All Saints Green, Westlegate, St Stephens Plain and Red Lion Street isin line for major changes to traffic flows, the creation of more pedestrian areas, and the removal of traffic lights and kerbside barriers at a number of junctions.

The aim is to build upon other ‘Transport for Norwich’ projects, especially the recent changes in St Stephens Street, Chapel Field North, and Rampant Horse Street. Together the changes to the city centre are designed to support the vitality of the main commercial area by reducing conflict between vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, while maintaining access for all modes of travel – car, bus and taxi, motorcycle, bicycle and walking.

The exhibitions will remain in place until the consultation ends on 27 July.

Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber said: ” We would encourage all businesses using the city centre routes to review these proposals and to feedback any issues they would like to be taken into consideration”

Commentscan be made in the following ways: Online, via www.norfolk.gov.uk/citychanges. Email to norwich.transport@norfolk.gov.uk. By post to Golden Ball Street/Westlegate Consultation, Transport for Norwich – floor 6, Norfolk County Council, County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich, NR1 2DH.

The results of the consultation will be reported to Norwich Highways Agency Committee in September.

A new Taskforce is being established by New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership to support businesses and employees who are being affected by the current downturn in the oil and gas sector.

The drop in the global oil price has caused a reduction in exploration activity and investment by major oil companies, especially in the North Sea. This has caused a number of businesses in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft to experience difficulties – with a number of staff being made redundant.

The new Taskforce will bring together key stakeholders from central and local government and MPs together with representatives from the industry to co-ordinate support for businesses and individuals affected. This will include advice on grants and other funding, support to help businesses export and find new markets as well as assistance for those made redundant. The group will also develop a long-term strategy for the sector.

Mark Pendlington, Chairman of New Anglia LEP said: “The oil and gas industry in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft is vitally important to our economy. I have asked Mark Goodall, with his industry knowledge and expertise, to chair this Taskforce looking at how we can best support businesses and retain their talented and highly skilled workforce.”

Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber said: ” Both Norfolk and Suffolk Chambers will be involved in this taskforce to bring the knowledge of the network to the table. It is important that businesses understand what support and opportunities are available to them and how they can access them. There are also decisions which the industry needs the government to make to help give confidence back to this sector.”

The Taskforce has already gained the support of Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom MP, who offered her support and to meet the group in response to a question in the House of Commons from Peter Aldous MP.

Peter Aldous MP for Waveney said: “The oil and gas industry in the North Sea faces very challenging times and it is very important to the East Anglian economy. It is therefore great news that the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership is creating an Oil and Gas Taskforce to support the industry during these difficult times. I welcome the Minister’s assurances that the Department for Energy is Climate Change is happy to play a role in Taskforce alongside Brandon Lewis and myself, and I look forward to meeting up with him to discuss this further.”

Brandon Lewis MP for Great Yarmouth said: “I fully support the working group, and will work with them to ensure we continue to do all we can locally to deliver on the growth opportunities for our area and to make sure we do all we can to support those who have seen their employment at risk by the company failures we have seen over the last couple of weeks.”

The group is due to meet in the coming days and will report back to the LEP board meeting in July.

Norfolk Chamber was pleased to learn that contractors have been appointed by Highways England to deliver the design and planning phase of the A14 upgrade. Although not based in the county this is an important route for many Norfolk businesses.

The target date for the main construction work to start is late 2016. The new bypass and widened A14 would open to traffic in 2020.

Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber said: “We welcome the commitment of up to £50 million from the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough LEP to the upgrade of the A14 and the news that this project is moving forward”.

Work will now start to design and plan construction of the up to £1.5 billion A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon project. The contracts have been awarded under Highways England’s Collaborative Delivery Framework (CDF).

Due to the size of the project, it has been broken down into development (detailed design and pre-construction) and delivery phases, with construction of the proposed scheme split into four packages of work.

The detailed design contract has been awarded to Atkins CH2M joint venture at a total cost of £35.3m. The initial award is for the development phase at a value of £19.6m.Once the scheme is given the go ahead the joint venture will provide design support and site assurance services throughout the scheme to a value of £15.7m.

Costain Skanska joint venture have been awarded construction package one, covering A1 at Alconbury to the East Coast Mainline; and package two, covering east of the East Coast Mainline to Swavesey. The value of the pre-construction phase is £1m. Once the scheme is given the go ahead, the joint venture will deliver £598m of construction work.

The 2nd, 3rd and 4th construction contracts are still waiting to be awarded and tendered.

To find out more about the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon improvement scheme, visit the Highways England website:www.highways.gov.uk/a14cambridgetohuntingdon