Commenting on the announcement that the UK government and EU Commission have agreed a Political Declaration, Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:
“While we welcome the fact that more flesh has been put on the bones of the proposed future UK-EU relationship, the reality is that the clarity and precision businesses need to plan for the long term can only be delivered when the details are hammered out and fully agreed. There are still big questions to answer – including whether businesses will be able to conduct trade between the UK and the EU without significant new barriers or costs.
For business, this is just the end of the beginning of the Brexit process. Our trading firms will be paying close attention to what happens next, particularly as the proposals are debated in Parliament over the days ahead. Businesses remain deeply concerned about the potential for a political stand-off that leads to a messy and disorderly exit from the EU next March.
“We have raised a number of important questions with the Government on behalf of business communities across the UK, and their responses will inform our continuing assessment of the proposed agreement and its implications for business, investment and the wider economy – as captured in our practical Business Brexit Risk Register.”
Norfolk Chamber recently welcomed Phil Eckersley, the Bank of England’s Agent for the East of England to Norwich City Football Club, where he provided on off the record overview of the UK economy, including the impact of Brexit on the economy, since the Referendum in 2016.
In front of over 80 business leaders, Mr Eckersley answered questions on growth, investment, productivity, trade barriers and the international potential for the UK. He also noted that the Bank of England stands ready to meet both the opportunities and the challenges that may arise from Brexit.
Commenting on the lunch, Fiona Ryder, President of Norfolk Chamber said:
“It was a fantastic opportunity for Chamber members to hear the latest thoughts directly from the Bank of England and we would like to thank Phil Eckersley for joining us for lunch and providing some very relevant economic insight.”
The Mayor’s Business Awards publicly acknowledge outstanding business achievement and the contribution that businesses make to the west Norfolk economy.
Established in 1989, by former mayor Cllr Les Daubney, the awards recognise the achievements of local businesses. It provides them with the perfect opportunity to showcase their success. We have joined forces with the Lynn News to make the awards bigger and better than ever.
There are nine categories to enter. Businesses can enter as many as they wish:
Mayor’s business of the year award
Employee of the year
Apprentice/trainee of the year
Customer care
Innovation
Independent retailer
Leisure and tourism
Small business of the year
Businessperson of the year
In addition to supporting the overall awards, we sponsor the Mayor’s Business of the Year Award. This prestigious award acknowledges businesses that have made a noteworthy achievement during the last year or during a period culminating in the last year.
The nominations for this year’s awards are now open. They will be open until 30 November 2018, and the awards will be presented to the winners on 1 March 2019.
Founded by Ali Clabburn back in 1998, Liftshare has grown in strength from its early days back in Bristol. Liftshare is a national company based in Norwich and employs over twenty people. Focused on a sharing economy, and having a positive impact on the environment, it’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 supports 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 next week on Thursday 29th November at the Awards Gala Dinner in London. https://www.britishchambers.org.uk/events/chamber-awards
A summit which brought together leading businesses, public sector organisations with mobile network operators and their trade body has been hailed as a good first step in identifying and addressing the problem of mobile not-spots across the eastern region.
Held in the Guineas suite at Newmarket Racecourses, the ‘by invitation’ summit was hosted by Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk Chambers of Commerce and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) – the first of its kind under the latter’s nationwide ‘No More Not-Spots’ campaign.
The campaign aims to mobilise everybody with a role to play in improving our digital infrastructure – from network operators to local planning authorities and consumers themselves – to identify and address poor or non-existent mobile voice and data coverage. The initial stage of the campaign has identified over 1500 not-spots across the UK with nearly 400 of these located in the East of England.
Delegates heard speeches from Rt. Hon Matt Hancock MP, the current secretary of state for Health and the previous secretary of state for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Hannah Essex, co-executive director of policy & campaigns at the BCC, Mobile UK’s head of policy & communications, Gareth Elliott and Geoff Connell, head of IMT at Norfolk County Council.
These speakers outlined the impact on businesses of poor or non-existent mobile coverage, the level of investment being expended to address the problem and proven ways of working in partnership to more rapidly identify and solve not-spot issues.
The delegates also engaged in roundtable discussions to look in detail as to how businesses themselves, local planning authorities and the mobile operators can address specific not-spots in future months.
Chris Sargisson, Norfolk Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive, said:
“This was a very positive summit that allowed suppliers and customers to come together and start identifying areas of common concern – and possible solutions.
“Mobile not-spots are a barrier to doing good business and the East of England seems to be especially affected. In Norfolk, key areas identified so far are: Hunstanton; areas along the A47; around the A11/A47 Thickthorn junction; Wells-Next-to-the-Sea; and Hingham. In short, this summit points the way to collaboratively working together to deal with these issues.”
Norfolk Chamber is working with the BCC to pull together the ideas from the summit into an action plan of improvements over the next year. but we still need more people to log their Not Spots: Click here to log your not-spots
Businesses around the Norfolk are being urged to make use of a £2500 voucher for gigabit broadband speeds before the scheme closes due to high demand.
The Government’s Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme has already helped more than 7000 UK businesses and surrounding homes, who have used the vouchers to contribute to (and in many cases fully fund) the installation cost of a full fibre gigabit capable connection.
The £67 million scheme was initially expected to run until March 2021, but high demand for vouchers means that funds are now expected to be committed a year earlier, and perhaps even sooner if the current success of the scheme continues to grow. To date, demand for the scheme has been strongest in the South West, followed by the South East, Yorkshire and the North West.
Minister for Digital Margot James said:
“Our modern Industrial Strategy is clear on the importance of connectivity, as we build a full fibre Britain that is fit for the future. These vouchers provide practical and immediate help to firms struggling with slow broadband speeds.I encourage small businesses around the UK to apply now. “
To ensure as many businesses and homes benefit, the maximum value of the voucher will be reduced from the current £3000 to £2500 in a move that will encourage neighbouring businesses to “pool” their vouchers.
This will enable the scheme to reach more properties without the need for any additional funding. We expect more than 1000 additional businesses and homes to benefit as a result of this change.
DCMS will be carefully monitoring take-up following this change to the scheme rules to determine whether there are locations in which a higher voucher value would be justified.
The scheme is part of a series of Government initiatives to build a Britain with nationwide full fibre broadband coverage by 2033, making sure no communities are left behind. In addition to the voucher scheme, the Chancellor recently announced £200 million for an ‘outside-in’ approach that will see full fibre broadband rolled out in the hardest to reach rural locations at the same pace as the rest of the country. The Borderlands, Cornwall, and Welsh valleys will be amongst the first areas to be targeted.
Commenting on the announcement from the Prime Minister that the Cabinet has backed the draft Withdrawal Agreement and the political declaration on the future relationship between the UK and the EU27, Chris Sargisson, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber, said:
“Norfolk businesses will recognise the huge efforts made by the Prime Minister and across government to reach this milestone.
“With people’s livelihoods and the future prospects for many companies in the balance, this is not the time for snap judgments. Businesses will be looking carefully and deliberately at the real-world implications of this agreement over the coming days, and expect their elected representatives to do the same.
“After two and half years of uncertainty, this may be end of the beginning – but not yet the beginning of the end. Firms in our region need clarity and precision on the specific terms of trade they will face in future, many of which are still to be agreed. The avoidance of sudden or multiple changes to trading conditions is crucial to business investment and confidence.
“Our priority will be to assess the implications of these proposals, working closely with the British Chambers of Commerce and all the Chamber business communities across Norfolk and the UK.”
To help local businesses to understand and prepare for Brexit, there are several tools that may provide insight and support:
Business Brexit Checklist – this has been updated to take into account the draft Withdrawal Agreement
Norfolk Chamber is actively seeking comment for business about the draft Withdrawal Agreement. How much do you feel you understand the detail of the proposed Withdrawal Agreement? Does it give your business sufficient clarity and precision to plan for the future? Tell us what you think by email on: nova.fairbank@norfolkchamber.co.uk
Norwich School has been awarded Norfolk Chamber’s highest level of their Young Chamber Enterprise Recognition Award.
The Chamber’s Young Chamber Enterprise Recognition Award is an award recognising and celebrating education establishments in Norfolk that are committed to improving the employability skills of young people in our region.
Bearers of this award will have evidenced a clear understanding of the local business needs and will be working to equip students with the necessary skills as well as creating opportunities for students to engage with local organisations. An education establishment with the ‘Commended’ Gold Tick will have shown the most commitment to student employability outcomes and has gone above and beyond in delivering a culture of enterprise.
Norwich School were able to show their commitment to enterprise engagement across the life of their students. The Young Chamber judges were particularly impressed with the sustainable and focussed programmes that were in place to encourage students to consider their future opportunities in the world of business, which is why they awarded the ‘Commended’ level.
Norwich School is delighted to be ‘Commended’ in the Enterprise Recognition Award. Tom White, Head of Economics and Business Enterprise said:
“We’re very pleased to receive this award as it is the outcome of a sustained team effort. Norwich School approaches enterprise education from a wide angle. My colleagues have carefully put together a curriculum that is rich with work experience, community service, careers fairs and enterprise activity days. We have the active support of governors, parents and local business enhancing what we can offer in school. I am grateful to all the mentors, advisors and business people who have contributed to this success.
“The Enterprise Recognition Award also highlights the high level of engagement we see from our pupils. In the classroom and their clubs, societies, competitions and Young Enterprise companies, our pupils show a commitment to enterprise. They are frequently resilient, creative, dynamic and entrepreneurial. Congratulations on their achievements.”
Presenting the award, Glyndwr Thomas, Finance Business Partner at Aviva and Board member of Norfolk Chamber’s Young Chamber Board said:
“Recognising Norwich School with this award is fully deserved. Their commitment to embedding an enterprise approach is admirable and the evidence of the positive outcomes this creates is particularly encouraging. Giving our young people the skills and the opportunities to work with businesses and to prepare them for the world of work is critical to the success of Norfolk enterprise.”
Nova Fairbank, Head of Policy, Governance and Public Affairs and a member of the Young Chamber Board said:
“One of Norfolk Chamber’s key priorities is helping to bridge the gap between business and education. Our Young Chamber programme is designed to help create stronger business engagement with schools and support the raising of young people’s aspirations and soft skills.
“We are delighted to be able to award ‘Commended’ status to Norwich School. They have an active agenda of engagement with the local business community and are very proactive in ensuring their students have access to business engagement opportunities, such as supporting Norfolk Chamber in the delivery of our B2B event, as well as running their own Young Chamber group, where the students deliver their own business breakfasts.”
Norwich School is particularly keen to help support other schools to achieve an Enterprise Recognition Award, commenting on this, Nicola Hill, Assistant Head said:
“We would be delighted to talk with any school who would be looking to put themselves forward for this award in the future – we worked together with many colleagues in our own school to put ours together and would enjoy helping other schools to do the same.”
Commenting on the labour market figures for November 2018, published today by the ONS, Nova Fairbank, Head of Policy, Governance & Public Affairs said:
“The slight increase in the unemployment rate suggests that the UK jobs market may be starting to falter under the weight of persistent Brexit uncertainty and chronic skills shortages. While the number of people in work remains close to historic highs, the research from the British Chambers of Commerce confirms that there has been a significant deterioration in the share of firms looking to recruit, which if sustained could increasingly impact on employment growth.
“While wage growth increased again, recent improvements largely reflect a number of temporary factors, including the continued rise in actual hours worked. Productivity dropped in the quarter, to achieve sustained real wage growth the longstanding issues that undermine the UK’s productivity need to be addressed.
“There is clear evidence of a deep-rooted skills gap across the UK which is constraining business growth. To plug skills shortages, the government must deliver a post-Brexit migration system that enables access to the skills needed at all levels to help grow our economy.”
Last week two of our favourite colleagues got engaged!
We are super happy for Sam and Jack. Sam and Jack both started working at the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce back in 2013 as apprentices. As many of you will know they have both flourished in their careers since then. Jack is now the IT and Data Manager and Sam is the Conference and Events Manager, they are both key members of the team who contribute to a whole range of Chamber of activities.
We wish them well and can’t wait for the big day!!
On Thursday 8th November we were at The Boathouse in Ormesby, an absolutely beautiful venue with stunning views over the broads. It was a bright morning and everyone was in good spirits, especially once the speakers were underway.
Mark spoke about how the Post Office supports businesses banking needs through being part of a wide network that have long opening hours and work with most high street banks. Jon brought some much needed post-breakfast energy to the room through his unique approach. Firstly delegates had to greet each other in a low energy way, this was gradually amped up until people were “high tenning” each other and laughing away. His main aim was to highlight how you approach the day has a real impact on your own experience but also other people.
This was certainly not your typical stuffy business breakfast and we certainly enjoyed ourselves, judging by the smiling faces around the room so did all the delegates too!
East Coast Hospice were our feature charity, they are fundraising to build a ten-bed palliative care facility with day care and complementary therapies for the people of Great Yarmouth & Waveney. They currently have planning permission on the 7.54 acres of land they own and the hospice will provide specialist end of life care as well as supporting and training other agencies and carers.
Last Friday evening saw Norfolk Chamber successfully deliver a fabulous West Norfolk Chamber President’s charity dinner at the Town Hall in King’s Lynn.
The black tie event was held in aid of the Mayor of King’s Lynn, Nick Daubney’s favoured charity, The Purfleet Trust, as well as another local charity, Festival Too.
Nearly sixty local business people attended the event and were privileged to hear from the guest speaker, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, explorer, fundraiser, author and public speaker. Sir Ranulph is described by The Guinness Book of Records as “the world’s greatest living explorer”, he is the only man alive ever to have travelled around the Earth’s circumpolar surface.
Local businesses donated some amazing raffle prizes and on the night, the raffle alone raised £560 for the nominated charities. The total of the money raised is still being finalised, but is expected to exceed £2,500.
Hosting the event, the West Norfolk President, Michael Baldwin said:
“It was an honour to host both the Mayor and Sir Ranulph Fiennes. I was pleased to see so many local businesses supporting an event that brought the business community together to raise money for such worthy causes. We view this event as a starting point to engage with more of the local business community. Ultimately by working together, we can give a stronger voice to the issues that matter the most in West Norfolk.”
Following the event, Michael Baldwin, West Norfolk President and Chris Sargisson, Norfolk Chamber’s Chief Executive also signed the Love West Norfolk pledge.