Chamber News

On a crisp January morning, delegates from across the county joined the Norfolk Chamber at the Sea Life Centre for a Great Yarmouth Business Breakfast on Sales Success in 2014

Delegates got the networking off to a great start with a cup of coffee and an ice breaker to warm them up on a winter morning. They then got to take part in a prize draw to win a signed copy of Terrines & Verrines by celebrity Chef Franck Pontais & the winner was Mark Ellaway from Bigfork Ltd. Our key note speaker Elliot Symonds, Sales Manager at Jarrold Training, then delivered a fantastic presentation, providing delegates with top tips to close the deal. Following this, delegates got another chance for some more networking with a safari move and a chance for them to try out what they learnt.

Elliot started his presentation off by setting the scene of what Jarrold Training do and who they are. He then went on to outline the 7 key closing techniques that someone can use, focusing on the Duke of Wellington (or if you’re American the Abraham Lincoln) closing technique. He finished his presentation talking about the 7 Safari animals including the shark & the whale. This lead perfectly onto the safari networking where the delegates got to move to another table and try the Duke of Wellington technique on each other.

The event ended with the delegates being able to go on a tour of the Sea Life Centre and get hands on with the creatures of the deep blue sea. Our next Great Yarmouth Business Breakfast is scheduled for the 3 April 2014 to book or for more informationclick here. Some of the tweets from yesterday’s event are below

View photos from the event onFacebook

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.

Sally-Ann Forsyth is the Chief Executive at Norwich Research Partners who have been members only a short time having joined the Chamber in June of 2013.

Sally Ann’s question to the Chancellor was:

“Norwich Research Park is a concentrated science cluster comprising the complete innovation supply chain from fundamental research to clinical trials all within a 1km radius. The aim is to encourage the translation of this world class UK research in to world class innovations for the Global Market.

On site we are building a thriving science and innovation community that supports the establishment of new companies, nurtures SMEs and aims to attract inward investment to drive economic growth in the region. What role does the Chancellor see for Norwich Research Park in supporting the commercialisation of UK leading science to generate growing companies and how will the Government help it to achieve this?”

Find on the attached document the written response from the Department for Business Innovation & Skills.

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.

TaxAssist Direct Ltd are based in Norwich and have been members of the Chamber for just under a year now. Karl Sandall is the Chief Executive at TaxAssist Direct Ltd.

Karl’s question to the Chancellor was:

“We have heard that the British bankers Association are working with the banks to set up a team of Business Mentors who will help small business owners raise finance. Are Government aware of and in support of this initiative and what else are they doing to support small businesses in obtaining lending from the banks?”

Find on the attached document the written response from the Department for Education.

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.

John Last is Vice Chancellor at the Norwich University of the Arts. The University is based in Norwich and have been members of the Chamber for just under a year.

John’s question to the Chancellor was:

“Recent figures indicate that the creative industries — and especially games, film & animation and digital content creation — are growing faster out of the recession than most other areas of our economy. At Norwich University of the Arts we are working closely with these industries and especially the smaller and medium sized businesses typical of the sector. Might the Government be willing to consider extending their support for STEM subjects to include this sector, which is a significant part of our economic ecosystem, despite not having the lobby power of sectors with predominantly larger employers?”

Find on the attached document the written response from the Department for Business Innovation & Skills.

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.

Ian Hetherington is Fuel Terminal Manager of Asco UK Ltd in Great Yarmouth. Asco have been members of the Chamber for 10 months having joined in March of 2013

Ian’s question to the Chancellor was:

“According to reports this month the big six energy firms received almost £900 million last year through consumer subsidies. This was worth £200 million more than the electricity produced by on and off shore wind farms. Onshore farms receive approximately 50% of their income through subsidies and with offshore wind farms; it’s about twice the value of electricity produced. With this in mind, can the Chancellor say with any certainty that electricity generated by wind farms will at some stage become self-sufficient and affordable, thereby removing the need for consumer subsidies (and also government subsidies) and if so, how will this affect investment in future wind farm construction projects? i.e. will we see it decline?”

Find on the attached document the written response from the Department of Energy & Climate Change.

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.

Andrew Sherwood is Human Resources Director at Bernard Matthews who are not only one of the Norfolk Chamber’s Gold Patrons but is one of Norfolk’s biggest known brands.

Andrew’s question to the Chancellor was:

“The Prime Minister has recently announced a review of ‘Green Energy Taxes’ following the recent increases in energy prices by the major energy companies. This will bring a significant level of uncertainty to investors and developers alike, supporting the green energy agenda. Green Energy taxes make up a 9% of the average dual fuel bill and support the government’s commitment to carbon reduction and renewable energy.

Can the government give the commitment to provide certainty with green energy taxes moving forward to provide the confidence to allow investments to continue to be made in this sector?”

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

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.

Saul Humphrey is current Managing Director at one of the Norfolk Chamber’s longest standing members: RG Carter Ltd.

Saul’s question to the Chancellor was:

“The industry I work in is construction and as you know construction makes up 8% of GDP and accounts for about 10% of all employment. The benefit of investment in construction is however not only immediate, but also much long-term with economic and social benefits for all.

In truth my industry’s embryonic economic recovery is largely quite London centric and dominated by the house building sector following the Governments introduction of the “Help to Buy” mortgage guarantee Scheme.

Unfortunately proposal infrastructure investment in High Speed 2 is also not expected to have any benefit to the Norfolk population. It also appears the Green Deal has also not yet really caught the public imagination and even proposed capital investment for Sizewell ‘C’ will be controversial to say the least.

I am delighted that we are seeing improvements to the A11 and hopefully future investment in the NDR. Proposed improvements to the train line from Norwich to London and support for the growing science and research community at NRP is also very welcome.

What more can we all do together for the benefit of Norfolk and indeed the East of England to help accelerate the economic recovery, help achieve our carbon reduction commitment and, in doing so, help our country to grow its economy in a sustainable manner?”

Find on the attached document the written response from George Osborne.

Members of the Great Yarmouth Chamber Council recently met with Brandon Lewis, MP for Great Yarmouth, to highlight issues affecting local businesses. Among the topics discussed was the need to highlight the many and varied opportunities available to local businesses from the offshore and renewable industry; Assisted Area Status and the benefits this could bring to Great Yarmouth; skills and careers advice; and infrastructure.

Brandon outlined that Great Yarmouth’s Assisted Area Status case was being well supported and that he was cautiously optimistic that Great Yarmouth stood a good chance of being awarded Assisted Area Status, which would bring our region into line with the offerings that other Centres for Renewable Engineering (CORE) areas already benefit from.

Members of the Great Yarmouth Chamber Council highlighted the need for more Government support on the education establishments to ensure that the young people of today understand what opportunities are available to them locally. At present the schools do not have sufficient time or funding within the existing curriculum to cover careers advice in any great detail. Brandon advised that he was organising a Jobs Fair in conjunction with the Borough Council which would be held on 7 March 2014 at Great Yarmouth Racecourse.

Improvements to the A47, including extending the A47 to Lowestoft were also discussed. Brandon advised that the Norfolk Nine MPs were campaigning hard at Westminster and called for the business community to keep raising the profile of the A47 campaign locally. Brandon advised that the business case for the improvements was expected to be finalised by the Norfolk County Council in the next few weeks.

Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough LEP West Norfolk Skills Survey

As we head into 2014, the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough LEP (GCGP) is busy making plans for the future and they need your help. Looking ahead, the Government has determined that the GCGP LEP will have strategic influence over public funded training, as well as the ability to direct European Funds to where they are needed most for the West Norfolk local area and for our local businesses. This is where they need your help.

With increased influence and the ability to help shape the training available to local people the GCGP want to find out what you, as a local business in West Norfolk, need to help your company succeed in the future. Your views are also vital to help secure future funding for the GCGP LEP area. They have launched an online survey to find out more about your current and future skills and training needs to help them ensure that what is delivered locally meets your requirements.

The survey should take no more than ten minutes to complete and they would really appreciate your input. Complete the online survey here.

The GCGP would appreciate your support by completing the Skills Survey and also letting your contacts know about both of these projects where appropriate.

Commenting on statement by Chancellor George Osborne on the minimum wage, John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said:

“Although it is clear that there is an increased disparity between the highest and lowest earners, arbitrarily raising the floor isn’t necessarily the solution and could in fact make the UK economy uncompetitive in the long term. The adverse effects of an unaffordable minimum wage hike would also be predominantly concentrated among SMEs, young people and graduates. If we want to spread the wealth around as the economy recovers, we need a long-term plan to create a high-skill, high-wage economy, including action on infrastructure and access to finance.”

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

“Increasing the minimum wage by more than inflation rate could have a detrimental effect on the Norfolk business community, the majority of whom fall into the SME bracket. Economic recovery is fragile and many employers are working hard in challenging markets and increased wage bills would slow their progress to growth.

The Living Wage campaign has been gathering momentum across the the public sector and larger employers and this looks to be a compromise, increasing the minimum wage but keeping it lower than the Living Wage rate.”

China-Britain Business Council and UK Trade & Investment have identified the latest business opportunities for UK companies across various sectors.

This is a fairly long list so make sure you don’t miss out and see if there are any of interest to you and your specific sector.

Please click here for the full listing.

The UK India Business Council has a series of FREE webinars planned which should be particularly valuable to Norfolk businesses.

Their Indian-based sector specialists in Gurgaon are going to be presenting information on recent developments and opportunities for UK companies in the following sectors:

• Healthcare
• Skills and Education
• Advanced Engineering and Manufacturing

This is an exciting opportunity for the India-based Sector specialists to be available to directly answer questions from the webinar attendees.

The short (45 minutes) webinars will be taking place this week. Please follow the above links to book your free place.