Commenting on the publication of the policy paper by DExEU on the rights of EU citizens in the UK in the event of no deal, Nova Fairbank, Head of Policy, Governance & Public Affairs for Norfolk Chamber of Commerce said:
“While it is long overdue, businesses and EU citizens in the Norfolk and the eastern region will welcome the clarity on how the EU Settlement Scheme will operate in the event of no deal.
“Advice on EU nationals was glaringly absent from the no deal technical notices published by the government over the summer, leaving firms without clear guidance on whether and how they could access European skills and labour if a deal isn’t agreed. Business has been clear that it does not want a messy or disorderly Brexit, but it remains necessary for firms to prepare for all eventualities. Given the quite significant difference between the outcome of deal or no deal, businesses could be forgiven for thinking this is too short a time scale to plan for major changes to their recruitment processes.
“The government must now urgently publish the much-delayed Immigration White Paper to provide firms with long-term certainty as to how they’ll be able to find the necessary skills in the future to plug local shortages.”
A Year 5 pupil Dragons’ Den competition saw Mile Cross pupils face real life business dragons in the Norwich School During the Michealmas term, Norwich School Business Enterprise department have had the great pleasure to work on their first partnership project with Mile Cross Primary School and City College Norwich in a Dragons’ Den competition.
60 year 5 pupils from Mile Cross and L6 Business Enterprise pupils joined forces at City College’s StartUp lounge for the first day of the event on 6th November. Teams of Year 5 pupils were assigned a L6 mentor and tasked with coming up with a business idea that would wow the dragons.
The project, jointly led by Nicola Hill (Assistant Head of Outreach) and Toby Whalen (Deputy Head at Mile Cross Primary), aimed to provide an engaging introduction into product design, marketing and finance. Ideas ranged from fitness parties to an automatic dog ball thrower, with pupils taking inspiration from their surroundings a the StartUp Lounge.
The project final took place this week at Norwich School, with high profile dragons from Norwich’s business community, including Stefan Gurney and Miles Watson from Norwich Business Improvement District and Nova Fairbank from the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce. Mile Cross Head Teacher and Norwich School’s Steffan Griffiths also took on the role of dragons, with teams pitching their ideas to win an “investment”. The overall winning idea, “Zombie Bears” caught the imaginations of the dragons, with their sophisticated marketing and branding ideas and their captivating pitch.
Both the Year 5 pupils and the L6 Business Enterprise pupils gained much from the partnership, and plans are already in place for the next Dragons’ Den after the success of this inaugural event. Comments from our guests highlight the significance of the partnership:
Nova Fairbank, Head of Policy, Governance & Public Affairs, Norfolk Chamber of Commerce
“The students pitching at today’s Dragon’s Den have done an amazing job. Their presentations were well thought out; their business cases were solid; and all teams presented enthusiastic and interesting pitches. The Dragons had a truly difficult decision to select the winning bid. The talent and energy in the room was brilliant and I think we may have seen several future entrepreneurs! Well done to all the teams.”
Stefan Gurney, Executive Director, Norwich Business Improvement District (BID).
“It was truly inspiring to see the next generation of Norwich entrepreneurs pitching their innovative business ideas to us. All of the teams created products with originality, strong business models and presented with passion and energy. It was a difficult decision to choose a winning pitch, but a huge congratulations to every one of the students who worked so hard and gave us such a tough choice. Norwich’s future is in safe hands.”
Breckland Council’s Budget and the Medium Term Financial Plan provide the funding for delivery of the key priorities outlined in their Corporate Plan and the range of local services they can provide. They have invited comments from businesses and residents alike and would welcome your thoughts on their draft proposal
The Chamber Business Awards recognises and celebrates the success of UK businesses across the country. Entries from Aberdeen to Cornwall flock in from organisations of all sizes and sectors. Rewind back to September when the regional finalists were announced, and five Norfolk businesses won awards in six categories out of a possible seven in the Eastern region. Our winners were:
Fast forward to Thursday 29th November, regional winning businesses and Chambers across the country gather at Tobacco Dock, London to compete for the national titles. The evening got into full swing when host Jenni Falconer began announcing the winners, and we had our fingers and toes crossed for our finalists. It was a great result for Norfolk businesses as two were crowned runner-up in their categories. They were:
Larking Gowen LLP, National Runner Up in the Workplace Wellbeing Award
Liftshare, National Runner Up in the Employer of the Year Award
As the awards continued and there were just two left to announce, we were feeling proud of the achievements of our finalists so far… and then we had a winner!! Gnaw Chocolate took home the national title of Small Business of the Year 2018 – sponsored by Facebook! From more than 750 applicants, to regional heats, we are so pleased for their hardworking team and we couldn’t be prouder of the achievement of Gnaw Chocolate. We hope you’ll join us in sending congratulations to them, and to all our finalists for flying the flag for Norfolk.
On congratulating Gnaw Chocolate, Chris Sargisson, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber said:
“Gnaw Chocolate is a fantastic example of what a small business can achieve. This award is a testament to their passion and quality. It’s great to see a Norfolk company blazing the trail, bringing locally sourced ingredients to a global customer base. Their success is well deserved.”
Facebook said:
“Congratulations to Gnaw Chocolate. It’s great to see a local business innovate with such passion and embrace technology to reach both its local and global audiences. A worthy winner and we wish them the best for the future.”
Two other Norfolk Regional Winners were also named runners up for the national awards. Larking Gowen for the Workplace Wellbeing Award and Liftshare for Employer of the Year.
To view all the national winners from the awards, click here.
In the run up to the Brexit leave date of 29 March 2019, the BBC are seeking small to medium sized firms that would be willing to speak to Radio 5 Live, and possibly also BBC Breakfast TV, about their concerns in the run up to the leave date, and also how their business has been affected by the Brexit and the changes in the economy since the leave vote thus far.
They are looking for businesses from across any sector of the economy but their preference is for smaller regional firms with under fifty employees.
It is crucial that the Norfolk business voice is heard and that the small business perspective is taken into account. If you would be willing to be interviewed, please send your contact details to:
As part of their work to improve digital connectivity across our region, the Norfolk County Council submitted an Expression of Interest for Local Full Fibre Network (LLFN) funding to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) in September 2018.
Their application was successful and they now need to submit a full funding application. As part of the application, they need to collate a series of support letters from the local business community to submit in conjunction with the funding bid.
If successful, the funds would enable 410 sites across Norfolk to receive a gigabit fibre to the premises solution. This will benefit both businesses and residential properties, including rural sites, business parks and industrial estates, schools and care homes.
One of the oldest accountancy in Norwich, Larking Gowen began back in 1888, originally set up by Charles Larking in Norwich, then in 1969, the company merged with another Norwich accountants Harman & Gowen, thus Larking Gown was formed and has continued to grow into the company we know today. Now one of the UK’s top 40 accountancy firms with eight offices across the region. It is a company that has certainly managed growth and seen a number of changes in all our working practices over the years. Staff wellbeing is certainly now at the heart of Larking Gowen since they launched their wellbeing programme. This programme is continually evolving and developing through engagement with their staff and Wellbeing Champions. It is great to see Larking Gowen’s forward thinking and investment in their staff support. This has gained them recognition and is now part of their working culture. Selected as the Regional winner of Workplace Wellbeing Award, Larking Gowen met all the BCC Judges criteria below; • Evidence that the health and wellbeing of your employees are embedded in your businesses culture • The activities that your organisation undertakes to promote and encourage the positive health and wellbeing of your staff • How you assess your employee’s health and wellbeing needs • The impact that your health and wellbeing initiatives have had on your employees and the wider business. The Norfolk Chamber of Commerce is delighted for Larking Gowen winning this award and we wish them well in the next stage of the completion. https://www.britishchambers.org.uk/events/chamber-awards
The ‘Norfolk Business Brexit Sounding Board’ is a Norfolk County Council forum for Norfolk businesses to raise and discuss issues impacting on them as a result of Brexit.
It works in collaboration with partners including Norfolk Chamber, Norwich Airport, the FSB, CBI, University of East Anglia and some well-known local businesses such as: Kettle Foods, Lovewell Blake, Birketts, Saxon Air and Regional Freight.
Following the publication of the Withdrawal Agreement, the Brexit Sounding Board wants to understand how the local business community is feeling now. We would like you to take part in a short survey – it only takes a few minutes and your responses will help form the basis of the discussions for Brexit Sounding Board going forwards.
We’re now about to enter the final week of the campaign and Small Business Saturday (1st December) is only just over a week away. The theme for the final week is Shop Local. This is all about encouraging audiences to support and/or purchase from small businesses and to use the Small Business Finder to do so. Small Business Saturday is an independent grassroots movement that the government are supporting. The campaign aims to promote the value of small businesses to local communities; provide support to small businesses; and encourage the public to shop small and shop local. Why support Small Business Saturday?
Small businesses are the backbone of the UK economy
Over 99% of the UK’s 5.7m businesses are small
We want to highlight government support on offer to help small businesses start-up and grow
Government support is available for small businesses and entrepreneurs
How can you support?
Share local stories of small businesses on your channels
Follow us on twitter (@HMGEast) and retweet and like our regional case studies. We’d love to spread the message about how brilliant the small and local businesses in the East of England are.
Founded by Ali Clabburn back in 1998, Liftshare has grown in strength from its early days back in Bristol. Liftshare is a national company now based in Norwich, employing over twenty people. Focused on a sharing economy, and having a positive impact on the environment, Liftshare’s heart is certainly in the right place.
As a company Liftshare’s foundations are based on several highly successful fundamentals such as creating new communities, fewer cars on the road, reduction in CO2 emissions, saving money and of course making new friends for your Christmas card list too- that’s a fact!
A large part of the company’s provision is also ‘Liftshare for work,’ which support about 700 businesses nationally to get their staff safely to work, through creating a successful environment for sharing. This offers the wider benefits for each business, their staff, and employers, such as a reduction in parking and demands for parking too, corporate social responsibility, staff’s wellbeing, and financial savings too.
As an employer, Liftshare has a growing staff team, so winning the Regional East of England Employer of Year reflects the Liftshare’s commitment to its own staff. Praised by the BCC Judges for ‘building a culture where staff are 100% committed and happy, which in turn continues to enhance the growth of Liftshare.’ This clearly reflects that Liftshare is on the right tracks.
Selected as the Regional winner of Employer of Year, Liftshare met all the BCC Judges criteria below;
• Why learning and development is important to the organisation
• How training needs and skills requirements are assessed
• Investment, commitment and support given to staff
• Direct benefit gained by both individuals and the organisation
Liftshare has clearly been working hard to develop as a successful employer. The Norfolk Chamber of Commerce is thrilled for Liftshare winning this award and we wish them well in the next stage of the completion. https://www.britishchambers.org.uk/events/chamber-awards
Last Thursday night was one of Norfolk’s biggest events in the annual business calendar, with our gold Patron’s Anglian Water sponsoring the event, and over five hundred people attending from the business community. This certainly showcased the talent and innovation in our county. Host, Katherine Ryan certainly added a new dimension to the evening and demonstrated a real fondness for the county too, as well as being a great hostess!
We are so happy for our members who won the category’s below, a very big well done!
Norfolk County Council wants to create a Norwich Western Link to improve travel between the A47 and the western end of Broadland Northway (formerly the Northern Distributor Road) and to tackle transport problems in the area. They published four potential routes for a Norwich Western Link earlier this month and have now made further information about them available to coincide with the consultation opening. You can find out more about the options online via www.norfolk.gov.uk/nwl or by coming to one of their staffed events taking place in local communities throughout the consultation period. A full list of these events is below. Once you have looked through this information, there are a number of ways you can respond to the consultation. If you are responding on behalf of an organisation or in an official capacity, they would encourage you to respond in writing, as follows:
Tuesday 11 December at Taverham Village Hall (12-6pm)
Wednesday 12 December at Hall for All, Weston Longville
Friday 14 December at Salvation Army Church, Fakenham
Tuesday 8 January at Aylsham Town Hall
Thursday 10 January at Diamond Jubilee Lodge, Hellesdon
Friday 11 January at Great Witchingham Village Hall
Monday 14 January at The Costessey Centre
Tuesday 15 January at Dereham Memorial Hall
Wednesday 16 January at Honingham Village Hall
It’s really important that they receive your views on the four options for a Norwich Western Link – all the consultation responses will be used to help them identify a preferred route for the Norwich Western Link in Spring 2019.
Your response to the consultation must be in before midnight on Friday 18 January 2019.