Chamber News

For the first time Norfolk Chamber has decided to enter the Grand Norwich Duck Race, in support of charity member Break. The Grand Norwich Duck Race will be held on Sunday 26th August where corporate and community groups will bring their decorated ducks to race from St George’s Bridge to St Fye’s Bridge, outside the Ribs of Beef Public House. After much deliberation and duck puns around the office, we are excited to reveal the name of our duck: Harry Quacker & the Chamber of Commerce! Harry Quacker was designed and hand-painted by our very own Sam Brown. You can keep up-to-date with Harry Quacker through Twitter – @HarryQuacker. Break support young people in care and moving on; children and young people with disabilities, families in need of support and children at risk, across East Anglia. Throughout 2018 Break are also celebrating 50 years changing the lives of vulnerable children and young people.  Activities will begin from 11am including a cake stall, ice creams, face painting, Archers Butcher’s sausage stall, little duck stall, games and other activities. The main events are: 2.00pm – Individual Duck Race – 3,000 little ducks will take to the water to swim their way to the finish line 2.30pm – Large Painted Duck Race – large decorated ducks take to the water to compete to win the Grand Norwich Duck Race trophy Come along and support Harry Quacker & the Chamber of Commerce on Sunday 26th August as he magic’s his way to victory!   Find our more about the Grand Norwich Duck Race: click here

Following the successful launch of two new job initiatives, Breckland for Jobs and West Norfolk for Jobs in April this year, local employers are continuing the good work for Norfolk Day.

Norfolk Day is on Friday 27 July 2017 and is celebrating all that is great about Norfolk, from its people; its places; its culture; and its local business communities.  In celebration, we already have fifteen Breckland and West Norfolk for Jobs employers in King’s Lynn, Dereham and Thetford, who have agreed to open their doors for job seekers to visit them on Friday 27 July 2018.

The locations and the employers are listed below:

West Norfolk for Jobs Employers

• Associated British Ports
• Extra Hands
• Kenneth Bush Solicitors – King Street & New Conduit Street
• King’s Lynn Library
• Gaywood Library
• The Entertainer 
• Wilkinsons     

Breckland for Jobs Employers

• Cranswick Country Foods
• Hawk & Owl Trust 
• Independence Matters 
• Waitrose  
• Advanced Air                                                         
• Charles Burrell Centre
• Thetford Library
• Warren Services  

For more information and timings on the employers taking part – please see the attached PDFs.

For more information about West Norfolk and Breckland for Jobs , please contact Nikki David, Strategic Coordinators – Breckland & West Norfolk for Jobs on email: [email protected]

Commenting on the release of the UK government’s long-awaited White Paper on the future UK-EU relationship, Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

“At last, businesses have a more comprehensive understanding of the Government’s aspirations for the UK’s future relationship with the European Union.

“This vision should not have taken two years and three weeks to emerge, but it is nevertheless a welcome starting point for businesses.

“Momentum and pace are now needed to translate ambition into answers to the real-world, practical questions that businesses face. Even with the welcome direction of travel in the White Paper, companies still don’t know how they’ll be paying VAT, how they can move people between offices, or whether goods will get across borders with a minimum of fuss. It is incumbent on the two sides to work pragmatically and productively on the nuts-and-bolts detail of the future relationship over the coming weeks, drawing on business experience and expertise.

“Time is short – and for businesses, it’s results that count.”

Following publication of the White Paper, the leading business organisation maintained 22 ‘red-rated’ and 2 ‘amber-rated’ issues on its Business Brexit Risk Register, which brings together the 24 top questions being asked by businesses across the UK. On this, Marshall added:

“Businesses still need clear and detailed answers on many of the practical, real-world questions they face. Many of these answers can only emerge through negotiations – so it’s time for the two sides to crack on and get to a deal. And we have said many times, and will say again, that the UK government must deliver clarity wherever the answers to business questions are entirely within the UK’s own control.”

The British Chambers of Commerce also urged the UK Government to step up preparations for all eventualities – including ‘no deal’ scenarios — to ensure that businesses have clarity on how the UK would operate its borders, immigration system and regulations in the event of a breakdown in negotiations. Adam Marshall said:

“Firms need clear guidance from the UK government on preparations for all eventualities, so that they know how critical systems and borders would operate in the unwelcome scenario where a comprehensive deal cannot be reached.”

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) today (Monday) publishes its Quarterly Economic Survey – the UK’s largest and most authoritative private-sector business survey, and a lead indicator for UK GDP growth. Based on the responses of over 6,000 businesses, including those from Norfolk, the survey suggests that UK economic conditions remain sluggish, despite a modest improvement in activity in the second quarter of 2018.

In the dominant service sector, consumer-facing industries, such as hospitality and retail, continue to report tougher trading conditions. Cashflow and investment intentions are falling significantly for retailers in particular as consumer spending, a key driver of UK growth, continues to remain subdued.

In the manufacturing sector, the balance of firms reporting improved domestic sales rose in the quarter, and the balance of firms reporting improved orders increased to the highest level since Q1 2015. However, the size of the sector means that its contribution to UK growth remains limited. Nationally and in the East of England, the balance of manufacturers reporting improved export sales and orders eased in the second quarter, whilst Norfolk manufacturers reported increases in their export sales and orders.  Overall this suggests that slowing global economic growth is forcing firms to look domestically for sales.

A number of the key forward looking indicators, if sustained, point to a subdued outlook. The number of businesses reporting that they are intending to invest fell in the quarter, and business confidence for both sectors also fell. The biggest concern for businesses, however, continues to be the difficulties they face when trying to access skills, with the percentage of firms reporting problems rising again.

All this shows the economy is in a holding pattern, with annual economic growth this year set to be the lowest since the financial crisis. Much more needs to be done to put the UK economy on a surer footing. The BCC calls for a push to fix the fundamentals for business – fixing the crisis-hit training system, improving connectivity, delivering infrastructure improvements, and incentivizing investment – to create a “Brexit hedge” for the economy.  At the same time, the government urgently needs to provide clarity on the real-world questions that businesses are asking on the UK’s status after leaving the European Union, to give firms a clear path that would enable them to invest and grow.

Key findings in the Q2 2018 survey:

Norfolk Manufacturing sector:

• The balance of firms reporting increased domestic sales rose from +16 to +35, while the balance reporting improved domestic orders also rose, from +23 to +35
• The balance of firms reporting increased export sales rose from +31 to +44. The balance reporting improved export orders also rose, from +26 to +31
• The balance of firms increasing investment in training fell, from +33 to +5, while the balance of those increasing investment in plant and machinery also fell from +33 to +30
• The percentage of firms looking to recruit remained steady at +30 while the number of those struggling to recruit rose significantly from +67 t0 +82
• Cashflow continues to be a concern within manufacturing, with just +10% reporting improved cashflow.
• The balance of firms expecting turnover to increase remained static +45 (from +46)
• 67% of firms in the sector expect the cost of their raw materials to rise in the next three months
• Confidence that profitability will improve over the next twelve months dipped from +35 to +30

Norfolk Services sector:

• The balance of firms reporting increased domestic sales rose from +19 to +34, while the balance reporting improved domestic orders rose considerably from +13 to +28
• The balance of firms reporting increased export sales also rose, from +8 to +35. The balance reporting improved export orders also rose substantially, to +22 from +6
• The balance of firms increasing investment in training rose to +22 from +13
• The percentage of firms looking to recruit rose from14% to 37%, but the number of those struggling to recruit also rose to 82% (from 63%)
• Cashflow is a concern, with just 12% reporting improved cashflow.
• The balance of firms expecting turnover to increase in the next year increased, from +24 to +59
• Confidence that profitability will improve over the next twelve months increased from +15 to +36

Commenting on the results, Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber of Commerce said:

“Amid growing international uncertainty, from escalating trade disputes to oil price rises, the UK economy continues to grow at a sluggish rate. Brexit is a key factor – but long-standing structural issues are also holding companies’ growth back.

“The availability of skilled staff remains the biggest issue that firms face. Unless the government gets a handle on the disarray in the training and apprenticeship system and sets out a clear immigration policy that enables firms to cover vacancies, the economic potential of many areas across the UK will continue to be held back. Scrapping the harmful Tier 2 visa cap – which handicaps firms in every part of the UK – would be a swift and powerful statement of intent.

“Business needs clarity on Brexit, and a strong domestic agenda that creates a ‘Brexit hedge’ as we navigate turbulence over the next few years. Big, bold action is needed for the UK to buck the current slow-growth trend – with major new incentives for business investment, confidence-boosting infrastructure projects, and a concerted effort to slash the up-front cost of doing business, which is putting consumer-facing businesses especially under intense pressure.”

Suren Thiru, Head of Economics, added:

“Our latest survey indicates that UK economic conditions remain subdued. While the modest pick-up in domestic activity points to a slight rebound in growth from a weak first quarter, there remains little evidence in the current data to suggest a sustained upturn in the UK’s economic growth prospects. 

“Activity in the key services sector remains moderate, with most of the main indicators still below their pre-EU referendum levels. While still high by historic standards, the easing in export sales in the manufacturing sector points to a tightening in trading conditions. With growth in key markets moderating and the impact of the post-EU referendum slump in sterling dissipating, the improvement in the UK’s trade position in Q1 may well be short lived. 

“The latest results also indicate that cost pressures eased markedly in the quarter, suggesting that inflation will drift downwards over the near term. Significantly, there remains very little evidence that above target inflation is translating to stronger pay settlements, with weak productivity and the high upfront cost of doing business continuing to limit the extent wages are able to rise.    

“Against this backdrop, the Bank of England’s recent rhetoric around raising interest rates continues to look ill-judged. With the UK economy seemingly stuck on a low growth path and inflation easing, it would be prudent for the MPC to provide greater monetary stability rather than undermining the UK’s growth prospects further.”

Norwich City Council have released their latest economic barometer. The report highlighted:

Locally

• Business activity picked up sharply in May, helped by an increase in new orders and demand.  However this has subsequently slowed due to political and economic uncertainty
• Unite is warning that the Constructionarium Project, which gives undergraduates construction experience, is at risk of closure as a result of the Construction Industry Training Board’s plans to close its HQ at Bircham Newton
• More than 200 homes could be built in Norwich City centre on part of the former Jarrold printworks site.  Plans also include a 60 bedroom hotel and offices.

Nationally

• Mild improvements in both the UK manufacturing sector and the construction sector according to PMI data
• UK wage growth fell short of expectations – slipping to 2.8% from 2.9%, raising further doubts about whether the Bank of England will raise interest rates in the summer
• Tight labour market conditions have placed upward pressure on staff wages and are causing recruitment difficulties.

For full details of the latest economic barometer click here.

Tariffs imposed by President Trump’s administration on global steel and aluminium imports could lead to yearly export losses of £125 million for the UK, but it will be by no means the hardest hit country.

According to leading trade credit insurer Euler Hermes, global export losses caused by the US decision will reach £5.57 billion with the highest losses being suffered by Canada, Brazil, Russia, China and South Korea.

Canada looks likely to be the biggest single loser, Euler Hermes has calculated, suffering a £1.5 billion loss. In Europe, Germany could be the biggest loser with £300 million in lost exports, while the EU as a whole will lose around £800 million.

Despite these figures, Ludovic Subran, Chief Economist at Euler Hermes, still believes that the risk of a fully-fledged trade war – characterised by a doubling or tripling of the average US tariffs and severe retaliation from the EU, Canada and Mexico – still seems unlikely.

However, he warned, the uncertainty caused by the latest wave of measures combined with tit-for-tat tariffs from other countries threatens the status quo of rules built up over the past 25 years.

The most frustrating aspect of the current disputes is that they are taking place in the context of reasonably healthy global trade figures.

“Encouragingly, global trade is actually doing quite well and rose by around 5% last year,” Mr Subran pointed out. “For the moment, it is outweighing the dampening effects of protectionism measures.”

The nascent Customs Declaration Service (CDS) faces significant challenges and there is a risk that it will be unable to fully replace the existing Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system by January 2019.

Indeed, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will not know whether CDS works in live service until all of its functionality has been implemented this December, the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned.

In its latest report on the CDS, the NAO says that the late release of functionality and migration of users increases the risk that HMRC will not have sufficient time to resolve any issues that the last release might highlight and that some traders will therefore have to continue using the existing CHIEF system.

Although HMRC intends to migrate users to the CDS beginning in August, and aims to complete the process by January next year, the migration of all users from the current (CHIEF) to the new (CDS) system by then seems, as the NAO puts it, “unlikely”.

However, if the CDS is not ready, does not perform as planned, if traders have not migrated to it in time, or there is no deal on Brexit, then HMRC now has more robust contingency plans in place, the NAO agrees (something it welcomes given that its previous report of July 2017 criticised HMRC for a lack of planning).

For the British Chambers of Commerce, Anastassia Beliakova noted that, until the Government has decided which customs option it wishes to pursue with the EU post-Brexit, the 145,000 UK businesses that are only trading with the EU are left in the dark as to the future costs and administration they have to factor in.

The NAO report, The Customs Declaration Service: A Progress Update, can be found here.

Our flagship technology conference Talking Tech is returning to The Space, Norwich this September and now is the time to book your tickets! Our early bird tickets give you a discount of £5 off the standard ticket price. This discount rate ends on Friday 13 July – don’t let this superstitious date be unlucky for you by securing your tickets today. Talking Tech is a half-day conference bringing together local and national speakers for an interactive and inspiring event. The event is made up of keynote speakers, panel discussions, workshops, a tech themed exhibition and over 180 business attendees. Since 2017’s conference the way we do business has continued to change and adapt, ushering in new technology to improve efficiency and productivity. The focus of the conference this year is looking forward to the future of tech in business – how are things going to continue to change and how do we prepare for this? To cover such a wide topic our speaker line-up for 2018 has more than doubled, including the introduction of panel discussions which aim to bring together experts from different backgrounds to share their thoughts and answer your questions. Our three panels this year are Virtual and Augmented Reality, The Tech Skills Gap and Disrupting Industries. Other topics from our keynote speakers include Digital Marketing, Embracing Technology, Shaping the Future of Tech Innovation and more.  Closer to the event we will also be releasing workshop only tickets for the first time. As we shuffle our agenda around, our knowledgeable workshops will be the key close to the event. Buying a conference ticket will give you access to the whole event, including our networking lunch and workshops. However, if you don’t fancy the whole conference, you can join us for a spot of lunch and a choice of workshops to break up your day.  So what are you waiting for? Book your tickets today! Find out more about the event – click here Book early bird tickets – click here

On Thursday 5 July we were joined by Liftshare at our Norwich Business Breakfast at Sprowston Manor Hotel. Over 70 businesses joined us for the morning which including networking, a fun ice breaker activity, breakfast and of course our guest speaker.

Laura Watling is the Marketing and Membership Manager at Liftshare, which has been open for business for 20 years now. Laura told delegates how Liftshare Founder and CEO Ali Clabburn came up with the idea of Liftshare when he pinned a post-it note to a notice board asking if someone was able to give him a lift. After multiple responses to this, the idea for Liftshare was born and 20 years on they are campaigning and encouraging Norwich to become a global leader in Sharing City.

Laura said that by embracing Sharing City it will ‘put Norwich on the map’ as a global leader in the scheme. She encouraged attendees to get involved by using a scheme such as Liftshare, carpooling, using bike schemes, sharing lunches, or sharing skills, and then promoting all of this.

Why should businesses get involved? Well, Laura kindly answered that for us. By doing things such as carpooling, using sharing bikes such as Ofo, and more, it makes our daily lives more efficient and convenient. Norwich is the 5th fastest growing city in the UK meaning becoming a Sharing City would help greatly with sustainability in our area. It also aids economic growth and again, that global recognition. It also enables people of all age’s access to all of their needs; particularly when it comes to the elderly, and those that haven’t grown up with the digital skills we need to manage daily. Apps like Grabbit where you can put a call out for people to pick you things up from the shops, or ask others if they need anything, completely change the way we do things in our everyday lives.

Since Liftshare began, they have saved 500 million miles, £58 million, 116, 000 tonnes of C02 with Over 600,000 members and over 700 clients. This is proof of the ways becoming a sharing city could hugely benefit Norwich as a city, as well and those who live there.

After Laura’s insightful talk, the event ended with more networking and a great positivity towards Norwich becoming a Sharing City.

Find out more about…

Norwich Sharing City – find out more

Liftshare – find out more

Ofo – find out more

Grabbit – find out more

The Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) have updated the IECEE Recognition Certificate List and more electrical products are now mandated to comply.

The new SASO IECEE Recognition Certificate requirements will become mandatory for certain products from 1st August 2018.

For more information on this please click here.

With the UK Government struggling to find the unity that would allow it to present a coherent plan for customs arrangements after Brexit, other organisations are filling the gap with their own suggestions.

The latest to do so is BusinessEurope, a body which “speak” for all-sized enterprises in 34 European countries whose national business federations are our direct members.

It has issued Brexit: The Customs Implications and Solutions, a report which can be found at www.businesseurope.eu.

This warns that Brexit could result in a myriad of costly customs procedures, non-tariff barriers and regulatory issues. Every degree of divergence from EU membership creates additional economic barriers, it argues.

These could entail customs duties and declarations; complex rules of origin or issues of cumulation; physical and digital bottlenecks; diverging rules and legislation; a lack of mutual recognition and the introduction of conformity assessments.

BusinessEurope calls on the two sides to maintain the closest possible economic relationship while preserving the integrity of the single market.

As other business groups have noted, it stresses that regulatory alignment between the EU and the UK is of utmost importance in preserving value chains and avoiding non-tariff barriers to trade.

“No free trade agreement to date has come close to solving the issues of regulatory divergence,” the report warns, “and this will be a challenge for both sides to address in the framework of the future relationship.”

If trade really is to stay as frictionless as possible (as the UK Government has repeated on innumerable occasions), but the UK still wants to leave the single market and customs union, then BusinessEurope points out that the two sides have to come up with simplified customs procedures.

They must also start recruiting and training staff including customs officials, veterinarians and related staff such as those involved in managing sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues.

As Britain’s heatwave continues across the county, businesses from across Norfolk, and even some from Cambridgeshire, came together for a networking breakfast at Knights Hill Hotel in King’s Lynn.

On Tuesday 3 July we talked tourism in West Norfolk with our guest speakers Elizabeth Nockolds, Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk and Kate Francis, King’s Lynn Festival.

Delegates arrived early to enjoy the early morning sun and to make new connections. Not only was the room filled with Norfolk business, but our friends at Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce brought some delegates along to meet businesses across the border.

Welcomed by our West Norfolk Chamber President Michael Baldwin of Bank House Hotel, attendees started the event by taking part in our networking activity, in which they had to identify global cities by their ‘Street Map’ view. One table came close to full marks with 8 out of a possible 10.

Following this was breakfast served by Knights Hill Hotel, where delegates were able to continue conversations whilst tucking in. Once the plates were cleared we mixed the room up in our classic ‘Safari Network’ where attendees move tables to meet more businesses.

Next came our guest speakers. Elizabeth kicked things off giving an overview of how successful tourism has been in West Norfolk in recent years. This is shown by the fact that 18% of employment in West Norfolk supports tourism, and this percentage rises during peak seasons. Elizabeth also gave an overview of the new mobile apps in West Norfolk, including the ‘Visit West Norfolk‘ app which she encouraged businesses to get involved in.

After Elizabeth’s talk was Kate who kindly gave us her time despite being so close to the King’s Lynn Festival. Kate highlighted how the King’s Lynn Festival is one of the longest running art festivals in the UK. The festival takes place in venues across King’s Lynn including St.George’s Guildhall, which is the largest and best preserved medieval guildhall’s in the UK.

After some great question and answer time with businesses focusing on how they could get involved with the King’s Lynn Festival and the Council’s apps, the event drew to a close with the networking continuing.

Find out more about the following:

Cambridgeshire Chamber of Commerce – Find out more

Make sure you check out their next event that Norfolk businesses can attend! – Find out more

Visit West Norfolk app – Find out more

King’s Lynn Festival – Find out more