Norwich City Council have released their latest economic barometer. The report highlighted:
Nationally
UK’s trade deficit is at its biggest since 2008 – mire evidence of the weight of global economic weakness
Consumer spending fuelled UK growth in the first 3 months of the year
The ONS highlighted that UK industry fell back into recession – as it shrank for the second quarter in a row
The number of workers on temporary contracts has risen at its strongest rate in over a year and wages growth remains likely to be stuck in the slow lane.
The number of UK properties sold fell by 45% between March and April
Locally
The East of England attracted more foreign investment projects last year than since any stage since the recession. This was helped by increasing overseas interest in Cambridge
A new £7m, 595 space car park at Rose Lane has now opened.
Kettle Foods, who employs 450 people reported a 5.4% reduction in sales for the year ending 31 July 2015
The Chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey is now underway. Deadline for responses is 13 June 2016 – complete the survey now
Work has begun on the £12m Norwich based aviation academy, which will train the next generation of aircraft engineers.
Many schools across Norfolk have already benefited from free Careers Events organised by Norfolk Chamber that inspire, enthuse and motivate students to consider employment options available to them and think about their future career progression.
We are looking for more state schools who want to take advantage of free careers events organised on their behalf for the next academic year (September 2016-July 2017).
We can tailor the event for each school and are flexible on duration, format and can provide marketing material to assist with promotion and we will liaise directly with a range of businesses to attend.
Participating schools would need to have a minimum of 250 students in Year 8 and above attend over the duration of the event.
If this sounds like something your school would like to be involved with, please contact:
We’re looking for businesses to donate their time in helping students at Wymondham College with CV and Interview Skills.
Wymondham College are holding their ‘Get Set for Success’ Employability Day for Year 10 students during Enrichment Week and are looking for business mentors to work with small groups.
It takes place on Wednesday 29th June, with two sessions running, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, duration of session is two hours. Business mentors can choose to help out at one or both of these sessions, with groups of 6-8 students which are supervised at all times by school staff.
Printed booklets for both mentors and students, and mentors guide their group through the activities and discussions, covering skills and qualities, the basics of CV writing and interview skills, and ending with a mock interview.
If you are interested in volunteering, please contact:
Plumstead Road, which is closed between Thorpe End and Little Plumstead, will reopen as soon as possible on Friday, 11 March, but this may not be until the evening.
The road has been closed to all traffic since 22 February for cable diversion and other preparatory work ahead of construction of the double bridge carrying Norwich Northern Distributor Road (NDR) over Plumstead Road and the Norwich to Sheringham railway. Recent difficult conditions mean that the work may not be finished until Friday evening, although every effort will be made to bring forward the reopening of Plumstead Road so that it is available for the evening journey home.
The reopening of Plumstead Road will be followed on Monday 14 March by the closure of the nearby Middle Roaduntilthe 25March. It will then reopen to allow the closure in turn ofSmee Lane, for up to two weeks from 28March, andLow Road, for up to two weeks from 11April. When Middle Road closes again in late April, this will be the start of the long-term closure for construction of the Middle Road bridge over the NDR.
On the western half of the NDR, the long-term closure of Drayton Lane begins on Monday 14 March. Holly Lane will provide the diversion route.Drayton Lane,which is a popular cut-through between Reepham Road and the B1149 Holt Road in spite of some sharp bends, is being completely realigned to provide a new route for Holt Roadtraffic to the NDR.
The current round of staffed exhibitions is now well underway. Over 500 people have attended the first three, at Postwick, Spixworth and Hellesdon, to view the plans, and to find out about the construction programme, traffic management and road closures, and environmental protection measures.
Over the next two weeks there are exhibitions (all 3pm to 7pm) at:
Thursday 10 March – Sprowston Diamond Centre, School Lane.
Friday 11 March – Drayton Bob Carter Centre, School Road.
Tuesday 15 March – Great Plumstead Village Hall, Church Road.
Wednesday 16 March – Rackheath Holy Trinity Church and Centre, Salhouse Road.
Friday 18 March – Thorpe St Andrew Dussindale Community Centre, Pound Lane.
Monday 21 March – Taverham Village Hall, Sandy Lane
Before the county head to their polling stations, Norfolk Chamber tackled the question on everyone’s minds – whether to stay in the EU or to leave? Europe: The Business Debate saw over 70 delegates attend an interactive panel debate at the Norwich City Football Club on June 10.
Norfolk Chamber’s President Jonathan Cage, Create Engineering, welcomed guests and explained the Chamber’s neutral position on the referendum. The event was hosted by BBC Radio Norfolk’s Nick Conrad who conducted a smooth flowing debate and also brought an element of wit to an otherwise heavy subject.
The event kicked off with a live poll in order to gauge the audience’s initial voting preferences. In contrast to other regional polls, the event poll showed a clear preference with 65% of the audience voting for remaining in the EU. Attendees were then able to hear from both sides of the EU debate with each of the guest speakers providing an opening speech, sharing their views on the vote and how it could affect business.
The expert panel consisted of Stephen Booth co-director of Open Europe, Hussein Kassim Professor in Politics UEA, Chloe Smith Norwich North MP, Stuart Agnew MEP, Derek Wood former Lord Mayor of Norwich and Luke Morris deputy chair for Business for Britain East of England. With so much knowledge and insight present on one panel it enabled the audience to directly get valid opinions on the referendum.
Before the panel Q+A began, delegates were given a short break to allow discussion in order to ready them to face the panel with their all important questions. Panellists then tackled the topics which arose, these include; priorities for change and reform, business regulations, political instability, housing crisis, immigration, TTIP, the economy and the long term implications of the vote.
Numerous key messages came from the panel, Luke Morris campaigning for Britain to leave the EU advised that ‘voters are stepping into uncertainty in whichever box they cross, but unfortunately uncertainty is a fact of life’ whilst stressing the importance of Britain’s ability to make trade deals with countries outside of the EU, advising ‘Getting out of the EU is not going to be the silver bullet to all of our problems but I think it will be a big improvement to where we are.’
The remain panel highlighted the importance of access to a free market, and reminded delegates that the EU supports tackling climate change and provides common security intelligence. Chloe Smith advised ‘To leave the EU would make Britain poorer in GDP terms and poorer in terms of the jobs that are available and to the next generation’, ‘we face a sever shock if we leave which is not worth taking’.
Neutral experts were on hand to either support or deny any allegations made by either side of the debate, Hussein Kassim summarised that ultimately the vote is all about trade-offs, whilst Stephen Booth advised ‘there are challenges on both sides’ noting that the EU still needs reform if we vote to remain in.
After the fast paced Q+A with the panel, the event finished off with another live audience poll. The results showed a 7% increase in votes to the leave campaign, totalling at 42%, however the majority of the audience still voted to remain in the EU.
NatWest has announced plans to help at least 15,000 UK businesses export their goods or enter overseas markets by 2020.
Working with UK Export Finance (UKEF), the bank aims to provide export finance to help companies secure £2.5 billion of overseas contracts within the next four years.
Alison Rose, CEO of Commercial and Private Banking at NatWest, said: “When companies are ready, doing business overseas can have huge benefits. Businesses only trading in Britain limit their revenue potential to the UK, but each new overseas market represents a new possible source of income.”
She said that the bank will make it easier to trade overseas by developing online tools and more simplified products through digital transformation programme.
It will also work with UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and other partners to drive UK exports, delivering regional workshops for businesses across the UK and showing firms the specific growth opportunities available to them.
NatWest will also work closely with UKTI and UKEF to make it easier for businesses to apply for schemes and to secure funding for exporting.
Lord Price, Minister of State for Trade and Investment, welcomed the news saying: “The Government and the banking sector share a joint aim – to help budding exporters realise their dreams of building a global business. By teaming up in this way, I hope we can inspire more British companies to take advantage of the world of opportunity out there and to make the most of the worldwide demand for their products, skills and expertise.”
We have been informed by the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq that with immediate effect the new requirements and regulations for exporting Red Meats to Iraq in any form must comply with the following:
1. All processed fresh red meat should be exported from countries free of Cow Disease
2. All exported red meat should be accompanied with an authorised Health Certificate and legalised by the Iraqi Embassy (Consular Section)
3. Health Certificate of the products includes:
Suitable for human consumption
Consumed by domestic population
Free of cow disease and any other pollution
Non Genetically Modified (GM) and free of added hormones
Free of any radiation effects
Labels to show clearly the production date and validity with a reference
Norwich Chamber Council heard an update from Neil Garner of Whitespace this week on the TechEast initiative. Norfolk Chamber supports Techeast andNeil is the Norfolkmember of TechEast’s Leadership Team.
The Chamber Council’s meeting was held in Whitespace’s offices at St James Mill and members heard how between 2010 and 2014 digi-tech industries grew faster than the rest of the economy and in 2014 they had an overall turnover of £161m. The aim of TechEast is to create ‘one voice’ for technology firms in the East and will link Norwich, Ipswich and Cambridge. It hopes that in succeeding with its manifesto they will create a further 5,000 jobs, generate an extra £650m GVA of economic growth in the East and be one of the UK’s Top 5 tech clusters by 2020.
The September meeting of Norwich Chamber Council will be held at NUA and will look at the incubation centre and what the building can offer and how it is supporting businesses in the digital sector.
TechEast was unveiled at a glittering launch, held the BT Tower in London this week. TechEast aim to create ‘one voice’ for technology firms in the East and will link Norwich, Ipswich and Cambridge.
Their vision is to be “Recognised as one of the Top 5 clusters in the UK” and their mission is “To accelerate the growth of the digital tech economy in the East, through promotion, excellence and support”
Tech East Manifesto is:
To promote digital tech growth and excellence in the East using local tech businesses as examples in order to attract new business and talent from other parts of the UK and internationally.
To establish a TechEast ’embassy’; a physical presence in London showcasing businesses and the sector, aiding business development and encouraging inward investment.
To galvanise the sector by speaking with one voice to amplify the benefits for tech companies in the East.
To excel by sharing best practice between members ad ensure that TechEast companies are amongst the best run tech companies in the UK.
To be recognised as the UK’s most open and collaborative digital tech cluster where new companies and entrepreneurs can thrive and grow in a supportive environment.
To work with local and national educational partners to develop the relevant sector skills and benefit from cutting edge research.
It is hoped by succeeding with the above manifesto, TechEast will create a further 5,000 jobs, generate an extra £650m GVA of economic growth in the East and be one of the UK’s Top 5 tech clusters by 2020.
Commenting on TechEast, Caroline Williams, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber, said:
“The increasing national significance of Norwich as a tech cluster, highlighted in this year’s Tech Nation Report, is very encouraging. We will continue to work with our neighbouring counties, to speak with one voice in the East to investors, business and government about unlocking further growth across the digital tech cluster – which will underpin the great businesses and start-ups already thriving in Norfolk.”
For Norfolk digital tech companies wanting to find out more and how to get involved visit either the TechEast website or email: Angela Silburn on: [email protected].
The latest Bank of England Agents’ Summary for Quarter 2 2016 has been published. Key highlights are:
The annual activity growth rate has remained moderate
Business services growth has slowed
Housing market activity has fallen
Growth in labour costs per employee has risen
Annual turnover growth has remained moderate, with turnover growth easing in the service sector, partly due to decision delays ahead of the EU referendum.
Construction output has remained stable with construction of new industrial property and education facilities remaining sold and more demand for refurbishment of existing commercial space. The housing market activity fell in April and May compared to the heightened activity that was seen in Quarter 1.
Asa result of the introduction of the National Living Wage in April, there has been growth in labour costs per employee. Recruitment difficulties have eased in recent months though they remain higher than normal.
Now that the EU referendum has concluded, the Norfolk Chamber business community would like to see fast-paced decisions to improve the business environment, give confidence and support growth. Norfolk Chamber will continue to support our members as they work through the issues and opportunities which may arise over the coming weeks and months.
The CEO of Norfolk Chamber, together withother Chamber CEOs and the British Chambers of Commerce have already held a virtual meeting to put in place plans to support the needs of the business community whilst the UK transitions out of the EU.
Caroline Williams, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber said:
“The business community is facing uncharted waters as the UK now embarks on the process to leave the EU. For many businesses, change will not be immediate, however all firms will face a level of uncertainty in the medium term. Norfolk Chamber, together with the rest of the Chamber network, will be lobbying Government for clarity on infrastructure, funding, housing and skills to ensure that the business community has the economic stability to continue to deliver economic growth and jobs in our region.”