Chamber News

Thursday, March 28th 2019 is an unmissable event for you and your business.

You will be joining a high-level audience of business decision-makers, policymakers and the Chamber network so ensure you book your place and join us at the QEII Centre in London for The British Chambers of Commerce Annual Conference.

As Britain’s’ biggest and best ‘B2P’ – business to politicians – event,  It is a fantastic opportunity to be part of this inspirational day, with stimulating panel debates and keynote speeches from senior politicians, business leaders and opinion formers.

Three key themes will be the primary focus of the day; Innovation, People and Infrastructure.

The programme for the 2019 Annual Conference will focus on the topics most relevant to UK businesses, providing insight into these issues through panel discussions, keynote speeches and giving you the opportunity to meet with businesses from all sectors and sizes from across the UK.

Further speakers will be announced in the coming weeks including high profile politicians and commentators from the world of business and media, but the confirmed list are as follows:

• Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London
• Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer, Shadow Brexit Secretary
• Will Gardiner, CEO, Drax Group plc
• Martin Griffiths, CEO, Stagecoach Group
• Alison Rose, CEO, Commercial and Private Banking, Royal Bank of Scotland
• Nigel Wilson: CEO, Legal & General
• Pawel Adrjan: UK Economist, Indeed

Economic changes

With Brexit approaching, the UK has to do its utmost to fix the fundamentals of the domestic business environment, or it will not be in as strong a position economically as it could be.

There is a need to focus on innovation in industry, developing the leading products and services for the UK and global markets.

The economy is changing and becoming more technologically advanced, and the workforce is demanding increased flexibility. The Conference is going to analyse these trends and discuss how the UK can move forward to meet the challenges that tomorrow may bring.

We are positive you will see this is a must-attend event and such an exceptional opportunity to network with hundreds of like-minded businesses from around the UK.

Book your tickets before 15th February 2019 for this must-attend event for you and your business with our early bird Chamber rate of £129 + VAT.

 We look forward to seeing you on the day! 

Lynsey Sweales, CEO of SocialB has been appointed as Joint Vice President of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce. She joins Fiona Ryder from TCD Media, President of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce and Paul McCarthy, General Manager of Intu Chapelfield, who has been a Joint Vice President since October 2017.

Commenting on her appointment to Joint Vice President, Lynsey said: ‘It’s an absolute honour to be representing and promoting our amazing county.  Norfolk is a real gem in the UK’s crown which when you scratch just below the surface there are a plethora of businesses doing amazing thing locally, nationally and internationally. I believe Associations & Membership organisations are a critical part of business success in the UK, it’s important to me to help organisations to thrive in our county while keeping abreast of the overall UK industrial strategy for growth.”  Lynsey Sweales, CEO of international digital agency SocialB (who have offices across the UK including Norwich).

A very warm welcome to Lynsey from all of us at the Chamber, and we are delighted to work with her over her term as our Vice President.

Commenting on reports that the Cabinet is considering options around making imports tariff-free across the board if we leave the EU next month without a deal, Adam Marshall, Director General of British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

“Businesses across the UK will be deeply concerned by reports that ministers are considering setting UK import tariffs to zero in the case of no-deal. 

“Ministers have not consulted with business on removing tariffs. They have shown no clear understanding of the damage that such a move could cause to key parts of the economy, including manufacturing and agricultural firms across the UK. They have no plan to support the industries, places and people who would be affected overnight by these proposed changes, and no time left to prepare.

“A snap decision to move to zero tariffs speedily and unilaterally would harm domestic producers and exporters, and create a huge new source of extra uncertainty for business communities at an already difficult time. Some UK businesses would lose market share very quickly, and find themselves facing imminent threats to their survival.

“In addition to the real-life impacts of such a move, businesses will also be anxious at the thought of the UK government ceding one of its levers for trade negotiations with other countries, before it even gets started.

“Decisions of this scale and consequence should only be taken after deep engagement with those most likely to be affected, and must take into account the potential long-term impacts on both trade and inward investment. None of this has happened.”

Suren Thiru, Head of Economics and Business Finance at the BCC, added:

“While eliminating some de minimis tariffs may not impact on the competitiveness of some businesses, others would risk being decimated overnight. It makes it hard to see how the UK can build up tariffs from a zero base when there would be little incentive for other countries to negotiate.

“If the aim is to keep prices down for consumers should the UK leave without a deal, then analysis has shown that unilaterally reducing tariffs to zero would have little impact. Instead you risk losing businesses, and therefore jobs, in some sectors across the country, as firms find themselves priced out of being competitive overnight. In short, nobody wins.”

Local businesses joined Norfolk Chamber Great Yarmouth Borough Council and New Anglia LEP to consider the potential impact of Brexit and discuss what our region could look like post-Brexit.

Mike Spicer, the Policy Director for the British Chambers of Commerce provided an update on Brexit and also took part in a panel discussion on the potential impacts of Brexit, together with Paul Briddon, a Partner at Lovewell Blake and Nigel Best, the Growth Hub Manager from New Anglia LEP.

The discussions highlighted that many businesses have yet to prepare for Brexit.  Businesses should be aware of the potential risks to their business and have some idea of how they will mitigate them. 

It also became clear that businesses needed to have a good look at their supply chain – whilst their Tier 1 suppliers may be UK based; consideration needed to be given to Tier 2 and beyond.  An easy way to consider their preparation for Brexit would be to use the free Chamber’s Business Brexit Checklist. 

The Businesses were also asked to consider their future plans and what support they might need access to.   Plans included recruitment and upskilling of staff; access to funding and grants to innovate their businesses; and the need to positively promote the region.

On the very cold morning of February 1st we hosted the first 2019 breakfast in King’s Lynn.

We greeted many local businesses at Knights Hill Hotel for a morning of networking and an inspirational talk delivered by the very unique Richard Finney, owner of Captain Fawcett.

He not only captured the audience with his brilliant speech but also left the room talking about his amazing story on how Captain Fawcett got started.

Which is pretty perfect given that his speech was about ‘staying loyal to your brand’ and the importance of ensuring your brand has a story; something that your customer will remember.

We had two stand holders on the morning; EACH – our feature charity and Mark Wright from LinkedIn Strategy, Marketing and Training

Join us at our next event: The Big Debate held at OPEN in Norwich to engage with Norfolk MPs as well as local businesses.The event will focus on four topics; place/perception of our county, diversity, education and of course, Brexit. These topics have been identified by Norfolk Chamber as key to the business community right now.

Commenting on the latest votes in Parliament on Brexit, Chris Sargisson, CEO of Norfolk Chamber said:

“Another day lost while the clock is ticking. Government and parliament are still going round in circles when businesses and the public urgently need answers.

“The real-world result of Westminster’s interminable wrangling is market uncertainty, stockpiling, and the diversion of staff, money and investment. For every big-ticket business announcing high-profile Brexit-related decisions, there are many more quietly making the changes they need in order to safeguard their operations in the event of a disorderly Brexit. The net result of this displacement activity and uncertainty is slow but very real damage to the UK economy.

“A messy and disorderly Brexit on 29th March would cause widespread damage to businesses and communities across the country. Neither Government nor many businesses are ready for a no-deal exit in two months’ time, and it must not be allowed to happen by default.”

Chamber members had the opportunity to highlight and discuss the challenges facing the local business community with Clive Lewis, MP for Norwich South on Friday 25 January.

Brexit was the main topic of discussion and the business community’s need for certainty and clarity were clearly highlighted.  Mr Lewis provided an opposition perspective and his opinion as to how he thought Brexit should be delivered for the UK.

Broadband, 5G and overall connectivity were also brought up and Mr Lewis outlined his thoughts on a sustainable economy, that looked to protect our resources and limit climate change.  Improved connectivity would actively link into this agenda. 

Commenting on the meeting, Fiona Ryder, President of Norfolk Chamber said:

“We are really pleased to welcome Clive Lewis to the Norfolk Chamber office to hear from the local business community.  It is important that our MPs understand the needs of business and the Chamber will continue to ensure our members views are hear loud and clear in Westminster.”

We took over Hollywood Bowl on 24 January with over 120 attendees on the lanes for our annual Super Bowl event.

After a drink at the bar and some networking among the teams, we made our way onto the lanes ready to compete for the title of ‘Super Bowl Champion’. There were both company teams and mixed teams going head to head at this informal, social evening.

The competition was fierce with Price Bailey trying to take back their winning title, however it was Lovewell Blake who just snatched it from them, with an average score of 111.3 per player!

The full score board can be seen below:

Team Average Score 1st Lovewell Blake 111.3 2nd Price Bailey 108.2 3rd Naked Marketing 105.3 4th Credo Asset Finance (lane 3) 103.2 5th MIXED TEAM – Cracknell Law, Technique Recruitment Solutions, Coleman Opticians 96.4 6th BDO LLP 89.6 7th Credo Asset Finance (Lane 5) 89.2 8th Target Follow 87.6 9th Norfolk Chamber 82.2 10th Spire Solicitors 75.5 11th MIXED TEAM – Cassandra Andrews, Indigo Swan, Lime Learning, IoD Norfolk, Naked Element 75.1 12th Credo Asset Finance (lane 4) 73.5 13th Create Consulting 71.8 14th MIXED TEAM – Atkinson Moss, Vertas Group, Norfolk Chamber, Nor-folk, Hairsmiths Salon 68.8 15th MIXED TEAM – Charles Stanley, Ash Tree Barns, Anglia Business Cleaning 63.8 16th Cozens-Hardy 63.4

Following the bowling, we tucked into some grub and counted the scores ready to crown Lovewell Blake the winners.

Don’t miss our next evening networking event!

Wine Tasting with Harper Wells Thursday 28 March 08:00 – 20:00 at Harper Wells, Norwich

Find out more

With the shortlist released recently, these awards are now in their second year and growing too. It’s great to see such a diversity of businesses selected, showcasing their boundless skills, and supporting these fresh awards too. 

The North Norfolk Business Awards are a chance to celebrate some of the best companies in our region. As a Chamber of Commerce with a diverse business community, and over 900 members, we recognize how many great businesses there are in Norfolk. So, it is great to see several of our members like Archant, Lovewell Blake, Fakenham Racecourse and Four, supporting a number of the awards categories. It is of course also great to see our member Norfolk Cottages in the final shortlist too. Having been selected for the Tourism & Hospitality award, this is an ideal chance to highlight the great work they are doing and the strength of their brand too. Mega good luck to them for Awards dinner coming up.

Norfolk Chamber is excited to be supporting and to be part of this event too. Our CEO, Chris Sargisson will be hosting the night at Gresham’s School, Holt, on Thursday 21st February. Chris added his comments on the recent shortlisting “The inaugural awards were very impressive and based on the quality of the entries I’m sure the 2019 event will be even better. I know it was a tough job whittling down the entries and drawing up these shortlists. I suspect the judges are going to find it even harder to select the winners.” 

Shortlist and Awards;

Agriculture, Horticulture & Countryside, in association with Lovewell Blake:

Crop Systems, Kelling Estate, Place UK

Business Growth, in association with Four:

Anglia DNA Services, Crisp Malt, Hilltop Outdoor Centre

Environment, in association with Fakenham Racecourse:

Exo Environmental, Margins Walking, Glamping Holidays

Innovation, in association with the Fakenham & Wells Times and the Norfolk News:

Chell Instruments, Exo Environmental, Swift Aircraft

New Business, in association with Eastlaw:

Archangel Distilleries, Shambles Café Bar Bistro, The Massage Hut

Small Business, in association with Menta:

The Hop Inn, Morton’s Event Hire, The Norfolk Brewhouse

Tourism & Hospitality, in association with Thursford Christmas Spectacular:

Bewilderwood, Norfolk Cottages, Openwide Coastal

Young People & Skills, in association with New Anglia LEP:

CT Baker Group, Holkham Estate, Windboats Marine

Good luck to all the businesses on the Award dinner night. We are looking forward to sharing more about the awards soon. For more details on the award categories visit the North Norfolk District Council web page.

Catch up also on the recent article in the North Norfolk News about the shortlisting.

Commenting on the labour market figures for January 2019, published today by the ONS, Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: 

“The marked increase in employment is further evidence that the jobs market remains a major positive for the UK economy. Although some firms report that Brexit uncertainty and recruitment difficulties are weighing on hiring intentions, the high degree of flexibility of the labour market continues to limit the impact of a sluggish economy on UK jobs growth.

“With earnings growth rising once again, pay growth is now comfortably outpacing inflation. However, achieving meaningful real wage increases over a sustained period is likely to prove challenging without delivering a marked improvement in productivity and easing the high upfront business costs which stifle pay increases.

“The continued rise in the number of vacancies is further evidence of the growing struggle for firms to hire the staff they need, which is weakening the UK’s growth and productive potential. Against this backdrop, more must be done to protect the long-term health of the UK labour market, including delivering a future immigration system that helps, rather than hinders businesses ability to invest, grow and support the economy. The Prime Minister’s announcement that there will no longer be a cost for EU nationals to apply to the Settled Status Scheme is a welcome move for the many businesses that are concerned about losing European employees after Brexit.”

An exciting new transport initiative for Breckland from Kickstart Norfolk in partnership with the Department of Work & Pensions, Breckland Council and New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

The Need –

At present, there are many hard to reach, unemployed individuals residing across the Breckland area who are unable to advance towards employment. When asked, clients stated that the main reasons for this are:

• a lack of transport
• rural isolation
• disabilities
• homelessness or criminal convictions
• Poor Health

Because of the above, hard to reach individuals reported that this was causing them to experience poor health, low motivation and self-esteem, and a belief that they would spend the rest of their lives on benefits.

The idea –

Building on the vision of the recent launch of Breckland for Jobs, Kickstart Norfolk, together with their partners the Department of Work & Pensions, Breckland Council and New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), want to help these hard to reach individuals to unlock their potential to gain meaningful training, work experience and/or employment.

The Solution –

With funding provided by New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP), Breckland Council & Kickstart Norfolk, Tripstart Breckland will provide a 7-Seater Minibus Service and IAG Support Worker for individuals across the Breckland area to engage with for a pilot period of 1-year.

Working in partnership with the individuals Jobcentre Work Coach, Tripstart Breckland’s dedicated IAG Support worker will provide, where applicable, the service user with the relevant 1-2-1 support to help them address and overcome their complex barriers to employment, build their self-esteem, confidence and motivation so they have every opportunity of moving forward with their lives.

Service users will be provided with a transport service until they are confident enough to plan their own route to their place of provision. Thereafter, support will be provided by both the IAG 

Support Worker and Communication Officer via telephone, however, face to face support will be offered where and when required.

The Tripstart Breckland Transport Scheme will be made available to everyone aged 18 and above, who reside in the Breckland area and are either unemployed or economically inactive.

The Tripstart Transport Scheme will compliment the transport services already provided by local government, it is in no way a replacement.

TRIPSTART Breckland is a transport provision for hard to reach residents of Breckland to use to move forward with their life.

All referrals received must be sent to the relevant Jobcentre for vetting before any individual is accepted on to the scheme.

Tripstart Breckland – Referral Process

Client Identified –

Once a potential client has been identified there are 4 referral routes that can be used to access Tripstart Breckland:

1. Self-Referral or Multi Agency Referral sent directly to Tripstart Breckland
2. Kickstart Norfolk refers individuals to Tripstart Breckland
3. Jobcentre Work Coach refers the indivual to Tripstart Breckland
4. Self-Referral or Multi Agency Referral sent to Jobcentre for referral to Tripstart Breckland

Vetting –

On receipt, all referrals to Tripstart Breckland must first be sent to the relevant Jobcentre for vetting, the aim of this is to:

1. Understand the reason as to why the individual has been referred to Tripstart Breckland

2. Ensure the individual meets the criteria for Tripstart Breckland

3. Make sure the individual is in receipt of the correct benefits

4. Deal with any benefit issues that may have arisen

Once vetting has been completed, referrals will be sent directly to the Tripstart Breckland, IAG Support Worker who will make contact with the client.  

Information, Advice, Guidance & Support (IAG) –

Individuals referred to Tripstart Breckland requiring IAG Support will be taken through a detailed induction, allowing the IAG Support Worker to compile, discuss and agree an Individual Action Plan with the client. The Action Plan will provide clear details of how the individuals barriers to employment will be addressed. All Action Plans will be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time Bound and will be in line with the Individual Action Plan implemented by the clients Jobcentre Work Coach.

Communication & Support Plan –

Each client will participate in daily, weekly and monthly communication with the IAG Worker to ensure that progress can be monitored and reported.

Should any issues be identified or arise during the supporting period, with agreement from the individuals Jobcentre Work Coach, referrals will be made to multi-agencies for them to provide additional support to the individual.

When the individual is confident enough to plan their own route, communication with will be moved from weekly to bi-weekly unless the situation dictates that the individual remains on a weekly plan. Bi-weekly communication will last for a period of up to 2-years.

To ensure continuity of support and communication, the IAG Worker will send weekly reports to the individuals Jobcentre Work Coach and regular face to face meetings will be held.

See PDF below for more information;

Responding to the Parliamentary defeat of the Meaningful Vote on the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration, Chris Sargisson, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber, said:

“There are no more words to describe the frustration, impatience, and growing anger amongst Norfolk business after two and a half years on a high-stakes political rollercoaster ride that shows no sign of stopping. Basic questions on real-world operational issues remain unanswered, and firms now find themselves facing the unwelcome prospect of a messy and disorderly exit from the EU on March 29th.

“The overriding priority for both government and Parliament must now be to avoid the clear danger that a ‘no deal’ exit on the 29th of March would pose to businesses and communities across Norfolk. Every second that ticks by sees more businesses spending money on unwanted changes, activating contingency plans or battening down the hatches and halting investment, as they try to anticipate a future that is no clearer now than it was at the time of the referendum result. 

“Businesses will take a dim view of more shuttle diplomacy and last-minute bargaining, which have so far done nothing to end the political impasse. The government must now urgently set out in concrete terms what it will do to avoid the damage that a messy and disorderly exit on March 29th would cause to businesses, communities, and the UK economy.”