Chamber News

With just over four months to go until Scotland votes, The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) on Wednesday published the results of a major survey of business opinion surrounding the Scottish Referendum debate.

This independent survey of 2,400 Chamber members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland examines the impacts, opportunities and risks perceived by businesses in the rest of the UK. The survey also explores how non-Scottish businesses would react to a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote on September 18th.

The BCC survey is linked to a survey published by the Scottish Chambers of Commerce last week on the views of businesses based in Scotland.

Key findings from the BCC survey:

The majority of businesses outside of Scotland want Scotland to remain part of the UK

• The majority of businesses surveyed (85%) said that Scotland should remain within the UK
• Only 11% of firms said that Scotland should become an independent country
• If Scotland votes to remain part of the UK, almost half of businesses (49%) believe that the current division of power should remain the same
• Exactly a quarter of businesses (25%) said that the Scottish Parliament should have more power if Scotland remains part of the UK, but a fifth (21%) also said it should have less

More than half of firms outside of Scotland do not see any opportunities with independence

• Two thirds of businesses (63%) say no new opportunities would arise for their businesses if Scotland votes for independence
• Only 6% of companies believe that potential tax savings (due to different tax rates between Scotland and the rest of the UK in the case of independence) would be an opportunity for their business
• Firms identified the highest risk as trading across borders should Scotland become independent, (26%), and identified future currency arrangements as the most important issue (47%) for their business

Businesses outside of Scotland would favour a reform of the Barnett formula if Scotland voted to remain part of the UK

• 63% of businesses said it was important that the current arrangements for allocating public expenditure between the UK nations were reformed, should Scotland vote ‘no’ in September

A third of firms outside of Scotland would like a formal currency union between the UK and Scotland if Scotland votes for independence

• Just over one third of businesses believe a formal currency union would be in the best interests of the UK if Scotland became independent (35%)
• More than a quarter (28%) said Scotland should create its own currency if it votes for independence, 18% said it should join the Euro and 8% said they it should retain Sterling but not join a formal currency union

The Scotland referendum debate hasn’t impacted the majority of firms south of the border, but more firms perceive a negative impact since the BCC’s 2013 survey

• A clear majority (91%) of businesses outside Scotland said that the independence debate has had no impact on business decisions to date
• However, reports of negative impacts are increasing. 11% of firms reported the debate having a negative impact on orders and sales, compared with only 5% in August last year.
• The percentage of businesses reporting that the debate had a negative impact on their decisions to invest was up to 11% from 6% last year.

Comparisons between businesses outside of Scotland, and businesses based in Scotland:

The BCC’s sister organisation, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC), published a related survey last week made up of responses from businesses based in Scotland. This is how the results compared with the British Chambers of Commerce survey of businesses based in England, Wales and Northern Ireland:

• In Scotland, 24% of businesses report that their decisions have already been influenced by the independence debate, whereas outside of Scotland, this number drops to 9%
• Business in Scotland are more than twice as likely to expect to change their strategy (49%), than in the rest of the UK (20%) if Scotland becomes independent
• In the event of a ‘no’ vote, 68% of Scottish businesses would like to see more powers given to the Scottish Parliament, compared with 25% of businesses in the rest of the UK.
• Nearly three quarters of companies surveyed in Scotland (74%) said currency arrangements were an important issue. Whilst this was the most important single issue for businesses based outside of Scotland, it was identified by only 47% of them.

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

“Business opinion across the United Kingdom on the Scottish independence debate is far from unanimous. That’s only logical, as businesses have different interests, and different views on our complex history of economic and political union.

“Businesses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland remain less than captivated by the intense debate unfolding north of the border. Yet they do have views on the potential impacts of a change in Scotland’s relationship with the rest of the UK.

“In the event of a ‘yes’ vote, cross-border trading and currency arrangements loom large in businesses’ thinking. If Scotland votes ‘no’, constitutional questions remain around the devolution of power and the distribution of public funding between nations.

“Business communities across the UK have diverse views on the Scottish independence debate. Yet one thing is for certain. Regardless of how Scotland votesin September, things will never be quite the same again.”

Norfolk Chamber of Commerce is looking to recruit an Assistant Accountant.

Objective of the Role:

• To manage and maintain the financial records and management information of the Chamber.
• Support the production of management and financial information for review by the CEO prior to presentation to the Audit Committee and Board.

A full job descriptiopn can be found here

If interested please send your CV with a covering letter to julie.austin@norfolkchamber.co.uk

Series 3 of The Chamber Sessions started with a high when Elliot Symonds of Jarrold training gave an energetic presentation on his top tips for closing deals. Elliot covered the top 7 closing techniques and when best to use them. The session was hugely interactive as Elliot got our delegates into small teams, gave them business scenarios and sent them off to practice using his top techniques. He said “I enjoyed it greatly and delegates were engaged.” Elliot’s top tip for his delegates would be to “use 15 minutes a day to read.”

Elliot provided practical knowledge needed for any business to thrive. All delegates walked away thoroughly enthused by what they had just learnt, and many stated they were going to start using these top tips today. Lizzy Gaskin of Right Angle Events said “Fantastic content, I can’t wait to apply what I’ve learnt this morning!”

The Highways Agency has announced a key milestone in the programme to dual the A11 between Fiveways roundabout and Thetford in Suffolk will be reached with the opening of the A11 bypass on 28 April 2014.

The new bypass will run with one lane open in each direction, and with a 40mph speed limit, between Chalk Hall Farm to near the end of the scheme, just before Thetford roundabout.

Subject to satisfactory weather conditions over the next few days, work to open the bypass is expected to commence overnight on Sunday 27 April and complete by 6am on Monday 28 April. A11 traffic will then use the new bypass as the regular route.

HGVs that normally use the C633 towards Bury St Edmunds will be directed to leave the A11 at the new B1106 junction and follow signs to continue their normal route. Advanced warning signs will be placed along local roads directing traffic. Access to businesses and properties along the B1106 and within Elveden Village will remain open as usual, via the new junction.

Once the bypass is opened, work will begin to construct the new southbound slip road less than a mile south of the Thetford roundabout. This work is expected to take approximately 12 weeks.

Highways Agency project manager, Geoff Chatfield, said:

“Work on the A11 dualling and improvement scheme is progressing well, and with the opening of the A11 bypass we have reached a key milestone. This opening brings us one step closer to delivering smoother, faster journeys along and around the A11 in Suffolk. We have worked closely with local partners to ensure disruption to road users during the closures is kept to a minimum. Although this is just a partial opening with one lane in each direction with a 40mph speed limit for the time being, road users and local residents will see an immediate benefit of reduced congestion and smoother journeys.”

For more information about the scheme and to register for regular updates, visit https://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/road-projects/a11-fiveways-to-thetford-….

Road users can also call the Highways Agency Information Line on 0300 123 5000 or follow @HAtraffic_east on Twitter for the latest travel information.

A major renewable electricity project has been unveiled in Norfolk as part of the government’s world leading electricity reforms, giving a massive boost to green growth and green jobs.

The project, along with seven others across the UK, will provide up to £12 billion of private sector investment, supporting 8,500 jobs by 2020.

Based 32km off the Norfolk Coast, near Cromer, Dudgeon offshore windfarm is expected to add a further for 402 MW of low-carbon electricity to Britain’s energy mix.

The eight projects, once built, will contribute around 15TWh or 14% of the renewable electricity we expect to come forward by 2020, helping to put the UK well on the way to meeting the UK’s renewable energy target. They will also reduce emissions by 10 MtCO2 per year compared to fossil fuel power generation.

The projects have been offered under Contracts for Difference (CfD), which form part of Government’s world leading Electricity Market Reform programme. They include offshore wind farms, coal to biomass conversions and a dedicated biomass plant with combined heat and power.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Edward Davey said:

“These contracts for major renewable electricity projects mark a new stage in Britain’s green energy investment boom.

“By themselves they will bring green jobs and growth across the UK, but they are a significant part of our efforts to give Britain cleaner and more secure energy.

“These are the first investments from our reforms to build the world’s first low carbon electricity market – reforms which will see competition and markets attract tens of billions of pounds of vital energy investment whilst reducing the costs of clean energy to consumers.

“Record levels of energy investment are at the forefront of the Government’s infrastructure programme and are filling the massive gap we inherited. It’s practical reforms like these that will keep the lights on and tackle climate change, by giving investors more certainty.”

There has been significant growth in renewable electricity sector with the renewables’ share of total electricity generation more than doubling since 2010. We are supporting this growth to continue through Electricity Market Reform and expect to deliver over 30% renewable electricity in 2020.

The eight successful projects have been awarded contracts under the Final Investment Decision (FID) Enabling for Renewables process, allocating the first CfDs that are being introduced through the Electricity Market Reform programme. Under CfDs, generators and developers receive a fixed strike price for the electricity they produce for 15 years.

These contracts are vital to give investors the confidence they need to pay the up-front costs of major new infrastructure projects.

The contracts are supported by the new legislative framework introduced through the Energy Act 2013. Further CfDs will be made available in the autumn and the Government intends to publish further details of the allocation process alongside the Government Response to the January Consultation on Competitive Allocation of CfDs shortly.

Together, the successful projects will help provide a secure, affordable supply of electricity and support skilled jobs, boosting growth, supply-chains and businesses across the country.

Work starting on Norwich inner ring road’s Grapes Hill on Monday, 28 April, heralds a summer of changes that will transform access to the city centre for buses, and bring improvements for pedestrians and cyclists on busy shopping streets.

The construction of a bus lane up Grapes Hill, creation of a new access route into the city centre via Chapel Field North, and the removal of general traffic (except buses, taxis and bicycles) from Rampant Horse Street, St Stephen’s and part of Surrey Street have been welcomed by bus operators. The changes are expected to be in place before Christmas shopping begins in earnest.

The work on Grapes Hill is to create a southbound (uphill) bus lane, in addition to the two general traffic lanes. This will allow buses to avoid queues at the Grapes Hill roundabout.

The work is being carried out for Norfolk County Council and Norwich City Council by Lafarge Tarmac and will take around 12 weeks to complete. Grapes Hill will remain open, but lane closures will be required and the councils apologise for the inconvenience this will cause.

The Grapes Hill project will be followed by the Chapel Field North and St Stephen’s schemes. These will create a new route into the city centre for buses, taxis and cycles, and remove general traffic from Rampant Horse Street (between Debenhams and Marks & Spencer), St Stephen’s Street and Surrey Street (from St Stephen’s to All Saints Green).

Changes that make this possible include:

• Making Chapel Field North two-way, with a 20mph speed limit and general traffic only allowed as far as the Chantry Car Park. (Buses, taxis and cyclists will be able to carry on into Rampant Horse Street.)
• Removal of the pavement on the southern side of Chapel Field North, but with an improved cycle and pedestrian path inside Chapelfield Gardens and pedestrian crossings to the north side pavement
• Two-way traffic on Cleveland Road from Grapes Hill Roundabout, allowing the closure of Little Bethel Street to vehicles
• Right turn only into Red Lion Street at the bottom of Westlegate for general traffic, so that it cannot cross into Rampant Horse Street.

The construction programme for the Chapel Field North and St Stephen’s/Surrey Street is still being finalised, but work will finish before the important pre-Christmas period. Work on Chapel Field North may begin before Grapes Hill is complete.

Altogether the three linked projects will cost around £1.7M. The Grapes Hill and St Stephen’s schemes are being largely paid for through the Department for Transport’s Better Bus Area Fund. The Chapel Field North scheme is funded by Norfolk County Council, Norwich City Council, developer contributions (Section 106) and Growth Point Funding (via the Greater Norwich Development Partnership).

David Harrison, Norfolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport, Development & Waste, said: “These are important Transport for Norwich projects that will make it quicker and easier for buses to get into the city centre, and at the same time improve important shopping streets for pedestrians. The Government’s Better Bus Area fund is making an important contribution to the cost, and has also helped us develop a range of other improvements, including the ‘holdall’ smartcard ticket for Park and Ride, improved bus information and measures such as bus priority at traffic lights, and business travel packs. The aim is to make bus travel people’s first choice because it is high quality, reliable and easy to use.”

Steve Wickers, Commercial Director Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk for FirstGroup plc, said: “The changes to Norwich City Centre’s traffic network are welcomed by First and demonstrate what can be achieved through partnership working between local authorities, operators and other key stakeholders.

“The improvements to Chapelfield North in particular will allow us to reroute our busy Blue Line services which link the Station, City Centre and University, offering a more direct journey with fewer delays. The changes are good news for Norwich, as bus passengers will benefit from improved reliability of services encouraging more people to use the bus.”

Julian Patterson, Managing Director of Konectbus/Anglianbus, said: “These significant improvements to bus flow in the city centre will further enhance the appeal of bus travel by enabling quicker access to shops and businesses and removing some of the timetable unpredictability by not sharing road space with car park queues.”

• The Prime Minister and Chancellor welcome over 200 infrastructure projects due to start in 2014/2015

The Prime Minister and the Chancellor are visit a transport infrastructure project today to see the action the Government is taking to help hardworking people and to back businesses with better infrastructure being delivered on the ground. They will highlight that, as part of this Government’s long-term economic plan to help Britain succeed, more than 200 projects in rail, road, local transport, flood defences, broadband, airport infrastructure and waste management are due to start construction in 2014/15. These include the Mersey Gateway Bridge, Sheffield Lower Don Valley and Exeter flood defence schemes and the A1 Barton to Leeming motorway upgrade, which will reduce journey times by 20 per cent.

More than 200 infrastructure projects are also due to be completed this year, including projects in Norfolk such as the A47 Honingham Roundabout Expressway; the A12 – A143 Link Road in Great Yarmouth; and the refurbishment of the flood gates at King’s Lynn Fisher Fleet. Click here for a full list of the projected infrastructure starts and completions for the East of England in 2014-2015.

The projects due to start construction this year are part of £36bn of planned investment – £5bn public investment, £21bn private investment and £10bn in joint public and private investment – in infrastructure across the country that could support over 150,000 jobs in construction and many thousands more in other sectors following completion. This includes the start of a £38 billion programme of rail spending over the next five years. In addition, there is expected to be further investment of up to £15bn in oil and gas this year.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Ensuring Britain has first class infrastructure is a crucial part of our long term economic plan: supporting business, creating jobs and providing a better future for hardworking people. As a crucial part of our long-term economic plan, this Government is backing business with better infrastructure so that more jobs and opportunities are created for hardworking people, meaning more financial security and peace of mind for families.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said: “As part of our long term economic plan we are investing in infrastructure around the country to create a more balanced, resilient economy. Because of the tough decisions we have taken in day to day spending, we can prioritise public investment where it is most needed and create the right conditions for private investment in infrastructure where it brings value for the taxpayer. So this year over 200 new projects worth an estimated £36 billion are due to start, creating thousands of jobs, securing future growth and delivering the world class infrastructure Britain deserves.”

Throughout this parliament, the Government has consistently made tough decisions on day-to-day spending that have enabled the prioritisation of vital capital investment. In June 2013 the Government built on this approach by setting out a further commitment to invest in over £100 billion of capital in specific projects in the next parliament, including providing long-term funding settlements in key infrastructure sectors.

The Government has also taken radical action to unlock and stimulate private sector investment, which is expected to make up the majority of UK infrastructure investment between now and the end of the decade. This has included setting out a plan to generate a wave of new investment in our energy infrastructure through the biggest change to the electricity market since privatisation, and the provision of up to £40 billion of support for critical infrastructure projects through the UK Guarantees Scheme.

The Norfolk Rail Taskforce have issued the first in what will be a regular series of briefing notes, to keep stakeholders fully updated on progress with the work of the Rail Taskforce. They hope it will be used widely to cascade information to organisations and individuals’ networks.

Equally important, will be feedback to inform the discussion and debate on options, and to provide evidence of the economic imperative for investment in improving our train services.

The work of the Taskforce is crucial for all business and leisure travellers. It is fundamental to the future of the Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk economies, to ‘UKplc’ and to the thousands of businesses located in the three counties who want to compete and win in the UK/EU and global marketplace.

The Prime Minister highlighted the importance of this project at PMQ’s in the House of Commons on Wednesday 2nd April: Chloe Smith: It is as quick to go 225 miles over land and sea from here to Brussels as it is to go half the distance on the train to Norwich. Does my right hon. Friend agree that East Anglia needs investment in better, faster rail infrastructure and that the Norwich in 90 taskforce will bring benefits to businesses and passengers in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex?

The Prime Minister: I pay tribute to my Hon. Friend and others for the work they are doing on the Norwich in 90 taskforce. This is a very important project. I welcome the interest shown by business leaders, local authorities and enterprise partnerships. East Anglia is one of the fastest-growing parts of our country and it has world-class companies and universities. Better transport will support and bolster that growth and I look forward to the taskforce report that I know she is working on. I hope that it will be used to shape the specification for the long rail franchise, which should start in 2016. We look forward to working with you in coming months. Chloe Smith MP Mark Pendlington Joint Chairs, Rail Taskforce

To read the full briefing click here.

As a follow up to the Norfolk Chamber’s ‘Audience with George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer’ event on the 7 November, we submitted a number of questions from our members to the Chancellor. Responses to those questions are now starting to be received from the relevant Ministers within Westminster.

Jonathan Woolston is Managing Partner at Larking Gowen, one of the Chambers longest standing members.

Jonathan’s question to the Chancellor was:

“Every year a significant number of small unincorporated businesses set up in Norfolk which do not get the same tax breaks as a Limited Company, why is there such a distinction and are there any plans to encourage these micro businesses further, without the need to incorporate?”

Find on the attached document the written response from the HM Treasury.

The Skills Service is looking for around 150 businesses from Peterborough, Fenland, Rutland and West Norfolk and the surrounding areas to showcase their industry at the Careers Festival on the Peterborough Embankment on 10th July.

Supported by The Skills Show, the European Social Fund and the National Careers Service, the Festival aims to help young people consider their career options, raise their aspirations and ensure they have the right skills needed to gain employment in the local area.

Last year the event was attended by more than 100 businesses and training providers and over 2000 young people. Following positive feedback from both exhibitors and visitors the 2014 event is being extended to a much wider geographical area, offering a bigger and more extensive experience.

Free to exhibit, businesses are invited to offer interactive ‘have a go’ style activities to give a taster of what it might be like to work in their sector and to talk to young people about the types of jobs they could aspire to.

To book or find out more, please contact Miranda at Opportunity Peterborough: miranda.boughton@opportunitypeterborough.co.uk.

Norfolk Chamber members are currently being polled for their views on the referendum for Scottish independence by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). The actual referendum will be held in September 2014 and BCC would like to know whether the referendum will impact on your business wherever you are located.

There will be 15 short questions on the poll and your answers will help the BCC and the Accredited Chamber Network to best represent the interests of businesses across Norfolk and the UK in the closing months of the referendum campaign. The poll has been emailed direct from the BCC to all Norfolk Chamber members and will remain open until midnight on 17 April 2014.

Since the last update, more than 40,000 homes and businesses can now receive high speed broadband services as a result of the BBfN programme. Around half of those services have been made available since the start of the year and the programme’s going well.

In the latest ‘batch’ to be announced, parts of Deopham, Filby, Haddiscoe, Herringby, Little Ellingham, Mautby, Morley St Botolph, Rockland All Saints, St Olaves, Stokesby, Thrigby and Wicklewood can now get better broadband. Many more areas will be added to the growing list of towns and villages in which services are available over the next few months. Keep up to date with the latest on: www.betterbroadbandnorfolk.co.uk.

To find out which areas will get better broadband next and to find out more information read the attached update document.