With only two weeks to go until our Norwich Business Breakfast, now is your last chance to book onto our ever-popular breakfast in the centre of Norwich. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear from ofo’s Regional Operations Manager Matthew Thomas-Keeping who will be talking about the company’s evolution from 2014 to now. Matthew will discuss the context of bike sharing as a force to change urban mobility and where bike sharing will be heading in the coming months and years, in the context of Norwich. In usual Chamber style, we will also be providing:
A luxury Norwich venue
Lots of coffee and a full English breakfast
Our trademark networking activities
The rest is up to you! You will meet lots of other Chamber members at our most popular, and often sold out, Norwich Breakfast and hopefully leave (potentially on an ofo bike!) having made new business connections. Click here to book your place onto our Norwich breakfast.
Representatives from Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk – the three counties the A47 trunk road runs through – stand united in calling for the Government to fully dual the road between Peterborough and Lowestoft, a meeting heard today. Members of the A47 Alliance came together at County Hall in Norwich today (Friday, 11 May) to discuss ongoing efforts to convince the Government to invest in the A47. Currently just 47% of this major route is dual carriageway and while Highways England have committed to making £300m of improvements to the road, including dualling some stretches, this will still leave substantial sections of the A47 as single carriageway with no current plans to dual them. The Just Dual It! campaign, which is being led by Norfolk County Council, Norfolk Chamber of Commerce and the Eastern Daily Press, is calling on the Government to commit to make funding available to dual the entire length of the A47 by 2030. Since launching at the end of March, the campaign has received more than 2,000 messages of support from residents, businesses and political figures, whose reasons for wanting the route fully dualled range from road safety, shortening journey times and improving journey reliability and creating a better transport link between the east of England and the Midlands and beyond. At today’s meeting representatives heard updates on the campaign from Chairman of the A47 Alliance and Norfolk county councillor Martin Wilby, MP for Mid Norfolk George Freeman and Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough James Palmer. Martin Wilby said: “We knew a lot of people felt very strongly about getting the A47 fully dualled but the widespread support for Just Dual It! has shown that this campaign crosses borders and matters to people from all walks of life. As it stands, the road is a source of regular frustration and concern. Fully dualled, the A47 would be an asset to counties in the east of England, supporting business growth, boosting tourism and improving day-to-day life for hundreds of thousands of people. “We’ve waited long enough, it’s time for the Government to commit to fully dualling this major route – and we won’t rest until they do.” George Freeman MP said: “While I am very proud that we have managed to secure the £300 million required for the first phase of A47 dualling, it is imperative that we now get the rest dualled in order to improve safety and ensure that Norfolk has the 21st century transport system it deserves. Only then can we unlock the true economic potential of our great county.” James Palmer said: “Dualling the A47 is essential for the future prosperity of the northern part of East Anglia. “I have been only too pleased to lend my support to the A47 Alliance and the Just Dual It! campaign. When I became Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough last year, I made the A47 one of my key transport priorities. I felt the Highways England proposals already on the table – the dualling of 2.5km of road from Wansford to Sutton and improvements at the Guyhirn roundabout by 2021 – were not nearly ambitious enough. “Big regional campaigns like Just Dual It! really do make a difference to decision makers in Whitehall and I stand ready to make the case for dualling the A47 as loud and as clear as possible on behalf of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.” The importance of dualling the road to the regions’ businesses was also stressed at the meeting, and their support for the campaign is seen as key to getting Westminster to invest in the road. Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber said:”The full dualling of the A47 is a ‘must have’ for Norfolk Chamber and the local business community in order to deliver greater economic growth and jobs in this region. From tourism to logistics, manufacturing to research, all sectors across our region rely heavily on the A47 as our main road artery East to West and onwards to the Midlands. Improvements to this route are vital to help us to remain accessible and competitive.” Richard Perkins, Suffolk Chamber representative to the A47 Alliance, said: “Suffolk Chamber of Commerce have been supporting their members in North East Suffolk for a long time in seeking to substantially improve the A47, which is the only trunk road serving the area and provides vital links to Great Yarmouth, Norwich and the UK in general. The creation of a fully dualled A47 is robustly endorsed by Suffolk Chamber, its members and the business community in general and will greatly facilitate the accelerated economic growth of the Energy Coast areas of Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth.” There are several ways that businesses can show their support for the campaign to get the A47 fully dualled, including:
These messages will be transferred onto a Just Dual It! postcard, which will then be hand-delivered to Westminster in the summer to evidence the strong support that exists for getting the A47 dualled.
Councillors from Norfolk County Council’s Digital Innovation and Efficiency Committee today approved the publication of a mobile phone coverage map, which has been created using the results of a study commissioned by the Council earlier this year. The survey covered 5,000km of Norfolk’s roads and 30 places on foot, capturing six million data points, looking at the quality of coverage from the four main mobile network operators (MNO) including EE, Telefonica/O2, Three and Vodafone across 2G, 3G 4G. Today the Council committed to working closely with the MNOs to identity where in the county additional mobile equipment is required and where NCC owns structures that could be used to house new phone masts. The council will also facilitate conversations with other local public sector organisations such as district councils and Police, to look for even more buildings which could be utilised. The mobile survey will be repeated in 12 months to show how much progress has been made on improving mobile phone signals across the county. Tom Garrod, Chairman of Norfolk County Council’s Digital Innovation and Efficiency Committee, said:
“We regularly hear from residents and businesses who are plagued by poor mobile phone signals in Norfolk, but it was important that we got a accurate, impartial assessment of the situation. Now that we know where the problem areas are we can start to do something about it. “This map provides us with a strong starting point to work with the mobile network operators to improve signal right across the county. In our work together to improve the signal we will be overlaying more than 200 council owned structures onto the map which potentially could be used to house mobile masts. I am confident that by working with the mobile network operators and removing as many barriers as we can, we will begin to see signal improve quickly.”
Also commenting on the release of the mobile phone coverage map, Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber said:
“We have a diverse and innovative business community in Norfolk, however if we want to be seen as a place to do business and be able to compete at a national and international level, we need more investment in Norfolk’s mobile signal infrastructure and improved services from the mobile providers. Norfolk Chamber will continue to work in partnership with Norfolk County Council and the mobile network operators to work towards greater mobile signal coverage in Norfolk.”
The Chamber Business Awards 2018 are open for entries for businesses across the UK. Here in Norfolk, we want to champion the success and excellence of our business community by helping you become national award winners.
“Finding and celebrating businesses which are delivering award-winning, innovative work and services will put Norfolk on the map as a great place to work and to do business. That’s good for the local economy and good for quality local jobs.” – Peter Treglown, Four
Has your business shone through customer commitment? Or perhaps you’ve found new and innovative ways to incorporate technology in your work. The Chamber Business Awards offers nine categories for your business to enter; if you like you can even enter all nine.
The categories are:
Small Business of the Year (Employing less than 75 full time members of staff)
Export Business of the Year
Best Use of Technology
High Growth Business of the Year
Employer of the Year
Education and Business Partnership
Customer Commitment Award
Workplace Wellbeing Award
Digital Communication Campaign of the Year
Businesses who enter the awards will compete with fellow entrants from across our region; for us that’s the East of England. Once regional winners have been chosen, they will go on to compete for the national titles.
In the past two years Norfolk has produced two regional winners. EPOS Now, who in 2017 were recognised in the ‘Commitment to People and Development’ category said:
“As a company that strives to nurture innovations and honour success, to be recognised and celebrated as one of the leading employers in the area really is a fantastic mark of our dedication to our people.” – Hayley Johnson, COO, EPOS Now
The awards are free to enter and open to Chamber members only. The deadline for applications is midnight on Friday 29 June.
To find out more about the awards, or to enter click here!
Although more than 147,000 cars rolled off UK production lines in March, this was down 13.3% on the same month in 2017 and exports also fell by 11.9%.
Highlighting the importance of the automotive industry to Britain’s economy and jobs, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said that a double-digit decline in car manufacturing for both home and overseas markets was of considerable concern.
Overall output in the first quarter (Q1) of 2018 fell by 6.3%, with 440,426 cars leaving production lines in total this year. Almost 80% of these were exported although demand from overseas customers fell by 4.0% in the quarter.
SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said: “Following recent announcements on jobs cutbacks in the sector, it’s vitally important that the industry and consumers receive greater certainty, both about future policies towards diesel and other low emission technologies, and our post-Brexit trading relationships and customs arrangements.”
He described free and frictionless trade as an absolute priority for the industry and pointed out that Britain’s vehicle and component manufacturers are important contributors to the UK economy being responsible for 13.0% of all the country’s export in goods.
For every £1 generated by the industry, Mr Hawes explained, £3 are delivered to the economy via adjacent sectors such as logistics, retail and finance, with SMMT calculations putting the total economic impact at £219 billion – 10% of UK gross domestic product.
UK GDP growth slows to six-year low as construction output falls and services output weakens.
UK real wage growth returns to positive territory as inflation continues to slow.
While US GDP growth slows in Q1, IMF upgrades its global GDP growth forecast expectations.
The UK economy grew by 0.1% in Q1 2018, the slowest rate of growth since Q4 2012 and slower than the growth of 0.4% recorded in Q4. In annual terms, the UK economy grew by 1.2% in Q1, down from the growth of 1.4% recorded in Q4. Overall, the first estimate of UK GDP for Q1 2018 supports our view that growth in the UK economy is becoming more subdued.
Pay growth is now outpacing price growth for the first time since early 2017. However, while the end of squeeze on real wage growth is an important moment, maintaining positive real wage growth could prove challenging without sustained increases in productivity and relieving the high upfront costs which restrict pay increases.
The first estimate of US GDP revealed that the US economy, the world’s largest, grew at an annualised rate of 2.3% in Q1 2018, the slowest rate of growth since Q1 2017 and lower than the growth of 2.9% recorded in the previous quarter. The slowdown was largely driven by consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of US economic output, growing by 1.1% in Q1, a sharp slowdown from the 4% increase in Q4 2017.
Today (Tuesday 08 May 2018) Norfolk County Council launches a public consultation on whether there is a need to tackle transport issues to the west of Norwich. When it announced plans to build the Norwich Northern Distributor Road (A1270) north and east of the city, many people wanted the council to fill in what they saw as a ‘missing link’ between the Fakenham Road (A1067) and the A47. Now that the Broadland Northway is open and showing that it can reduce journey times, the Council is beginning the process of considering whether transport improvements are needed to the west of the city. While building a new road between the end of the Broadland Northway (at Fakenham Road) and the A47 is one potential option, the consultation asks people to identify any options which they believe could tackle transport issues in the area. These include improving public transport and improving existing routes as well as an option to do nothing.
Commenting on the importance of the consultation, Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber said:
“The successful delivery of the Broadland Northway is a clear signal that Norfolk is embracing growth and development in order to create the jobs and houses that our region needs and has been strongly welcomed by the Norfolk business community. However to maximise the potential for this region – the missing link from the A1067 to the A47 needs to be completed as soon as possible.
“The Norwich Western Link will further help to improve journeys into and around the west of the city, support potential housing and jobs growth; provide the infrastructure to manage the additional traffic this will create, and improve quality of life for people living in the area.
Martin Wilby, Chairman of the Council’s Environment, Development and Transport Committee, said:
“The Broadland Northway is already helping to make journeys quicker for thousands of people every day, which is fantastic.
“We have had lots of informal feedback, this is the first time we have carried out a public consultation about transport issues in this area and what, if anything, people think we should do about them. It’s absolutely vital people take this opportunity to tell us about their experiences and opinions on transport to the west of Norwich so we can use this to help us come up with the best possible solution.”
The consultation will be open for eight weeks from Tuesday 08 May 2018. During this time, people will be able to respond to the consultation online at www.norfolk.gov.uk/nwl or in person at nine staffed consultation events. The details of these are as follows:
• Ringland Village Hall, Thursday 10 May • Hockering Village Hall , Thursday 17 May • Hall for all, Weston Longville, Tuesday 22 May • Easton Village Hall, Thursday 31 May • Taverham Village Hall , Tuesday 5 June • The Forum, Norwich, Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 June • Costessey Community Centre, Monday 18 June • Hellesdon Parish Office, Tuesday 26 June All the consultation events will run between 10.30am and 8pm with the exception of the event at Taverham Village Hall which will finish at 7pm. The consultation will close at midnight at Tuesday, 3 July. The council will analyse the responses over the summer and let people know the results later this year and what, if anything, it proposes to do to tackle any of the transport issues identified.
A series of recommendations that it claims will benefit both the Brexit process and wider trade priorities have been set out by think tank, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).
In a new report, it argues that the Government should be taking practical steps now to reap the benefits of an independent post-Brexit trade policy.
Several of the recommendations focus particularly on customs matters controlled by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
“As the debate continues about customs union membership at a high level, it is important not to lose sight of the tools and processes that can help businesses on the ground,” report author Victoria Hewson said.
Many of these are already available to the UK Government and should be implemented both as Brexit preparation and – whatever happens with the EU – to show that the UK is serious about global trade and competitiveness, she added.
Among a number of short-term recommendations, the IEA calls for greater transparency in order to attract new exporters to international trade, so that they are not deterred by perceived bureaucracy and uncertainty.
It is also important to build resource within HMRC in order to assist businesses that are not used to trading outside the Customs Union, the Institute argued.
HMRC should focus, the report insists, on providing IT support skills training for businesses and consider engaging external professional services to help in other areas.
In the long term, the Border Force goods functions should be incorporated into HMRC’s remit, aspects of the Union Customs Code (UCC) should be reformed, and the UK should use the flexibility available in VAT when it is no longer an EU member.
The report Under Control: What HMRC Can do to Prepare and Optimise Customs Processes for All Outcomes can be found here.
The developer behind Norfolk’s largest green energy projects hopes a deal with a local port would trigger major investment from the offshore wind power supply chain, potentially creating thousands of new jobs in the region.
As both approach a final commercial agreement that will cement a 25-year minimum residence in the port, both say today that an investment by Vattenfall to locate there could trigger major investment by the supply chain in Norfolk.
“We are making substantial progress with Peel Ports on an agreement to locate our operations base at the Great Yarmouth facility. If we build both wind farms, we expect to employ up to 150 skilled, local technicians to maintain our projects for a minimum of 25-years. But what we think is really exciting is that we know that a potential multi-billion-pound investment in our wind farms would encourage the supply chain to cluster around us and other operators off East Anglia.
“So, we want to work with other economic interests like EEEGR and Norfolk Chamber of Commerce to capture that benefit for the area and establish Norfolk as a world leading hub for offshore wind power.”
He added: “And it’s not only coastal communities that will benefit. We are also proposing significant investment in onshore infrastructure. The construction works alone would lead to securing 300-400 jobs in the region.”
Commenting on the negotiations, Neil Orford, President of Great Yarmouth Chamber Council said:
“Norfolk Chamber has been working closely with Vattenfall to ensure that the local supply chain opportunities are clearly visible to the local business community. A deal between Vattenfall and Peel Ports would signify their commitment and belief in Great Yarmouth as a key offshore energy hub.”
Richard Goffin, Port Director Peel Ports Great Yarmouth, said:
“Vattenfall’s intent to locate their operations base at Great Yarmouth is testament to the Port’s influential position in the wider offshore energy arena, which is complemented by a supportive County and Borough Council. This agreement will leverage Great Yarmouth’s position as the East of England’s most successful offshore energy hub and attract further investment in the existing world-class supply chain, bringing a host of employment and economic growth opportunities to the region.”
Both Vattenfall and Peel Ports expect to finalise their agreement by summer 2018
We have been informed today (3 May 2018) that the Central Bank of Egypt has cancelled the regulations regarding bank to bank transfer of export documentation, as per the PDF attachment.
The following regulation has been cancelled. “Import transactions concluded under documentary collections, the conclusion of those transactions shall take place only via documentary collections directly received by the banks from banks existing abroad, provided that the documentary collections directly incoming into clients’ accounts shall not be accepted.”
it has been decided that it is acceptable for trade documents to be sent directly to clients rather than through the bank in the Exporter’s country to the Egyptian bank. This applies to all exported products.
For more information, please contact Madalina Iamandei at the Egyptian-Chamber of Commerce on 020 7499 3100 or email [email protected]
Norfolk County Council is launching a public consultation next week on whether there is a need to tackle transport issues to the west of Norwich.
When it announced plans to build the Norwich Northern Distributor Road (A1270) north and east of the city, many people wanted the council to fill in what they saw as a ‘missing link’ between the Fakenham Road (A1067) and the A47.
Now that the Northern Distributor Road (now called the Broadland Northway) is open, the Council is beginning the process of considering whether transport improvements are needed to the west of the city.
While building a new road between the end of the Broadland Northway (at Fakenham Road) and the A47 is one potential option, the consultation asks people to identify any options which they believe could tackle transport issues in the area. These include improving public transport and improving existing routes as well as an option to do nothing.
Commenting on the forthcoming consultation, nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber said:
“The successful delivery of the Norwich Northern Distributor Road (NDR) is a clear signal that Norfolk is embracing growth and development in order to create the jobs and houses that our region needs and has been strongly welcomed by the Norfolk business community. However to maximise the potential for this region – the missing link from the A1067 to the A47 needs to be completed as soon as possible.
“The Norwich Western Link will facilitate easier access to both Norwich airport and Great Yarmouth port. It will further help to improve journeys into and around the west of the city, support potential housing and jobs growth; provide the infrastructure to manage the additional traffic this will create, and improve quality of life for people living in the area.
“This final piece of the puzzle will ensure that Norfolk has infrastructure that is fit for the 21st century. It will create stronger and more effective links to the Midlands and the North and will help Norfolk businesses to thrive and deliver greater economic growth and jobs. Norfolk Chamber is therefore encouraging as many businesses as possible to take part in next week’s consultation.”
Martin Wilby, Chairman of the Council’s Environment, Development and Transport Committee, said:
“The Broadland Northway is already helping to make journeys quicker for thousands of people every day, which is fantastic.
“However we’ve been hearing for some time now that many people are concerned about rat-running, congestion and other problems on roads and in communities to the west of the city. This combined with some major changes planned in the area, including dualling of a nearby stretch of the A47 and the food hub at Easton, is why the council has made delivering a Norwich Western Link between the Fakenham Road and the A47 one of its infrastructure priorities.
“While we have lots of informal feedback, this is the first time we have carried out a public consultation about transport issues in this area and what, if anything, people think we should do about them. It’s absolutely vital people take this opportunity to tell us about their experiences and opinions on transport to the west of Norwich so we can use this to help us come up with the best possible solution.”
The consultation launches next Tuesday (8 May) and will be open for eight weeks. During this time, people will be able to respond to the consultation online at www.norfolk.gov.uk/nwl or in person at nine staffed consultation events. The details of these are as follows:
Ringland Village Hall, Thursday 10 May
Hockering Village Hall , Thursday 17 May
Hall for all, Weston Longville, Tuesday 22 May
Easton Village Hall, Thursday 31 May
Taverham Village Hall , Tuesday 5 June
The Forum, Norwich, Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 June
Costessey Community Centre, Monday 18 June
Hellesdon Parish Office, Tuesday 26 June
All the consultation events will run between 10.30am and 8pm with the exception of the event at Taverham Village Hall which will finish at 7pm. The consultation will close at midnight at Tuesday, 3 July. The council will analyse the responses over the summer and let people know the results later this year and what, if anything, it proposes to do to tackle any of the transport issues identified.
The Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC) is delighted to announce that they are officially an international affiliate to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). The IBBC is now the official organisation to whom British companies and organisations will be referred by the BCC.
This relationship neatly mirrors our status with the Iraqi Federation of Chambers of Commerce and the Kurdish Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry who are close partners of IBBC. Indeed the 5 largest Iraqi chambers, namely Baghdad, Erbil, Basrah, Najaf and Karbala are full members of the IBBC.
The BCC sits at the heart of a business network that spans the length and breadth of the UK, with links to markets across the world, with 53 accredited Chambers in the UK as trusted champions of businesses, places, and global trade.
Chambers of Commerce provide a voice to the business communities they represent, amplifying their priorities and concerns. In every region and nation of the UK, Chambers of Commerce and their members work to improve the local business environment in which they operate.
The Chamber of Commerce network exists to support and connect companies, bringing together firms to build new relationships, share best practice and foster new opportunities.
Christophe Michels, MD of IBBC says ‘IBBC is delighted to have been granted this affiliate status by BCC, as this endorses our role as intermediaries and trade enablers with Iraq for all the work we do with British business in the country. It completes the circle of business with Iraqi companies, as we have an equal position in Iraq, and are thus able to bring businesses in both UK and Iraq together through this unique leverage.’
Dr Adam Marshall, Director General at BCC stated ‘We are delighted to welcome IBBC as an international affiliate of the BCC and we look forward together to strengthening relations and business opportunities between the UK and Iraq in the weeks and months ahead’.