Ahead of the general election, Norfolk Chamber is setting out the key Norfolk business asks for any future government and is calling for support for Norfolk exporters and for the government to work with businesses to secure the best possible deal with the EU.
Commenting on the need to support Norfolk’s exporters, Esther Evans, member of Norfolk Chamber’s Board and Managing Director of STM Packaging Group Ltd said:
“Many of Norfolk’s most successful businesses are staying very positive about Brexit and ensuring they are in a good position to take advantage of any opportunities that arise.
“To give Norfolk companies greater confidence over the next two years, we want to see down to earth and sensible dialogue on business issues from any future government, but we would also like to see the government working closely with businesses of all sizes to help deliver the best possible deal with the EU and deliver the most advantageous economic environment in which Norfolk’s exporters can thrive and grow. This can be achieved by canvasing opinions and utilising all the region’s best business talent via the voice of the Chamber of Commerce.”
“Brexit is also a fantastic opportunity for the UK Government to lighten the regulatory burden on businesses in order to stimulate business growth and innovation. Norfolk businesses have a huge capacity for both growth and innovation, and are perfectly placed to take advantage of these opportunities so that they can offer greater employment and improved skills opportunities to all current and many new employees.”
Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber outlined what Chamber members want to see as part of the Brexit negotiations:
- Business Voice: support Norfolk exporters to drive economic growth. Develop trade policy with business, and leverage Chambers of Commerce, which are best placed to provide stable export support in all regions of the UK.
- Labour: Protect the rights of existing EU workers to stay in the UK. Create a future UK immigration system that is responsive to economic needs and skills shortages at all levels, and ensure that there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
- International Trade: Tariffs need to be kept to a minimum, with simplified customs procedures to make exporting as easy as possible. To grow our export capacity, swift trade agreements with countries should be reached and trade missions should be expanded.
- Standards: Product standards should be aligned and recognised by the EU, to ensure that Norfolk products remain competitive.
- Funding: UK funding levels for business and people development need to be maintained in Norfolk to the levels that were formally funded from the EU.
Norfolk Chamber members are already noting how Brexit has impacted on their businesses so far:
Gordon Chetwood, Managing Director of Pasta Foods said:
“Pasta Foods has seen an upward path since the UK’s Brexit vote. Most of our pasta competitors are European businesses supplying into the UK, so the devaluation of the pound makes us more competitive to UK customers, in spite of the fact that we have faced rising costs, as we buy raw materials from Europe.
“In our snack business, we export snacks across the world to over 40 countries and we have seen very good sales growth in spite of raw material cost inflation and we anticipate that this will continue into the future.”
Alex Durand, Chief Executive of SaxonAir Charter Ltd said:
“Brexit has shown no signs of affecting our business yet, but as the majority of our flight operations are international, and particularly to, from and around Europe, it has the potential to significantly damage our business. Our view is that we need to prepare ourselves both for the good or the bad – there may be new opportunities created, or we may have to dramatically change our business. Either way, our approach needs to be the same: we have less than two years to make our business as efficient and dynamic as possible.”
Huw Sayer, Director of Business Writers said:
“Surprisingly, the Brexit vote has been good for our business so far but longer term uncertainties remain. Several of our European clients have already asked us to write marketing material emphasising their continued access to the EU single market and a pan-European supply chain.
“We have also been writing case studies for inward investment agency clients, showing how they can advise and support UK companies looking to future proof their business by establishing a base in the EU. The main threat we see is to our UK manufacturing and financial services clients, who may find themselves trading under WTO rules if the UK government does not secure a negotiated settlement.”
Sean Clark, Director of Clark St James said:
“Clients in the financial industry, based around stock investment, have severely cut their advertising spend as uncertainty is delaying potential investors from making any significant investment decisions. Travel and tourism advertising spend is up within the “staycation” market as the exchange rate makes it more beneficial to holiday in the UK.”
