Chamber News

There’s no hiding from it – the festive period is almost upon us! And this year we’re celebrating by expanding our Christmas breakfasts to include Norwich, West Norfolk and Great Yarmouth. Our festive networking breakfasts have always proved popular in the past, so hopefully this year everyone can join in and visit a breakfast as near to their business as possible!

It’s our usual Business Breakfasts – with a pinch of festive fun thrown into the mix. Keeping with tradition, we have asked our event featured charities to host the events and introduce the selection of exciting, Christmas themed networking activities aimed at helping delegates get to know each other a little better. The featured charities for our Christmas Breakfasts 2017 are:

• Norwich – Big C
• West Norfolk – East Anglian Children’s Hospice
• Great Yarmouth  – East Coast Hospice

There will also be an opportunity to donate gifts to the charities to support their causes. For example, this year Big C are asking for donations of biscuits, tea & coffee and squash that can brought to the breakfast, which will be offered to families affected by cancer in their centres.  

As ever, we encourage delegates to get into the spirit of things and wear their favourite Christmas jumpers! We hope to see as many of you as possible at our upcoming Christmas Breakfasts. If you wish to book on, please click on one of the following links:

Great Yarmouth Christmas Breakfast – 6th December – click here to book

Norwich Christmas Breakfast – 7th December – click here to book

West Norfolk Christmas Breakfast – 13th December – click here to book

Norfolk County Council has won £3.05 million of government funding to replace a busy staggered crossroads on the A140 at Hempnall between Norwich and Ipswich with a roundabout.

The Department for Transport made the announcement yesterday to award the money to the County Council from its National Productivity Investment Fund. 

People who use the current junction often experience queuing and long delays, particularly on the B1527 to Hempnall, and it is expected that the new roundabout will address this, leading to shorter journey times and less congestion. 

The existing junction also has a poor accident record, with eight accidents in the last five years which resulted in 11 casualties and two categorised as serious. These were linked to traffic turning onto the A140 from the minor roads and the replacement roundabout will eliminate this issue and should therefore significantly improve the safety of the junction for all road users. 

Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber said:

“This is a key business and commuter route between Norwich and Ipswich and any improvements that will make the journey easier and safer are to be welcomed.  Infrastructure improvements are at the top of many businesses list of barriers to growth – so this announcement is another win for Norfolk and will help boost jobs and economic growth.”

Martin Wilby, Chairman of Norfolk County Council’s Environment, Development and Transport Committee, said:

“It’s fantastic that we’ve won this money for Norfolk. Better road and transport links are vital to the county, leading to a better quality of life for people living and working here, improving road safety and attracting new investment and more jobs. 

“This is a junction that is clearly in great need of improvement and I’m really pleased we’ve managed to convince central government of this. I’m proud and grateful to all those who have helped to secure this funding.” Other benefits the roundabout will provide that helped Norfolk County Council secure funding from central government include supporting better regional transport connections, particularly between Norwich and Ipswich, and providing additional road capacity for proposed development nearby at Long Stratton which is set to include up to 1,800 new homes.

The total cost of constructing the roundabout is estimated to be £4.36 million, with the remainder of the money for the project set to come principally from developer funding.  Work to construct the roundabout, subject to planning permission, is planned to begin in autumn 2019 for an opening in early summer 2020.

Ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget on November 22, the Norfolk Chamber, together with the British Chambers of Commerce are urging the government to take immediate action to halt the expected 3.9% increase in business rates valuations next year, as part of a bold Budget that seeks to boost the UK’s productivity.

The UK’s leading business group, which represents almost 75,000 companies employing almost six million people in every region and nation of the UK, calls on the Chancellor to take action now to get the UK economy ready for when the country leaves the European Union.

Norfolk Chamber and the BCC propose pausing the Corporation Tax roadmap, with the tax remaining at 19% until after Brexit – with the resulting revenue ring-fenced to help ease the burden of up-front taxes and costs that hit business cash flow and undermine investment. 

The business group calls on the government to take bold action across three key areas, to help businesses deal with the challenges and opportunities that Brexit provides, kickstart a productivity surge, and ensure that the domestic economy is in the best possible position on day one of leaving the EU:

• Tackling the upfront cost of doing business – pledging not to introduce any more input taxes and other significant costs, abandoning the annual uprating of business rates for the next two years, and removing plant and machinery from business rates valuations.
• Incentivise business investment during the Brexit process – through the introduction of a ‘Brexit Special’ Annual Investment Allowance, temporarily increasing the limit to £1 million.
• Fixing the fundamentals – committing to ensuring complete voice coverage on mobiles by 2020, and kickstarting infrastructure projects vital to our economic future, from Northern Powerhouse rail and Crossrail 2, to bringing forward investment in the road network.

Chris Sargisson, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber said:

“At a critical moment for the UK economy, the Chancellor must be bold – and deliver a big budget that prioritises economic confidence and investment. 

“The best possible Brexit deal won’t be worth the paper it’s written on if conditions for growth aren’t right here at home in Norfolk. The Chancellor has a unique chance to move the dial on growth and productivity now, leaving the Norfolk and the rest of the UK in a position to succeed over the long term. Action to slash the up-front costs faced by business, to incentivise investment, and to improve mobile coverage and infrastructure would lead to a real boost to productivity, wages and trade. 

“A Budget that prioritises goodies and giveaways rather than future-proofing the economy would be a dereliction of duty by the government as a whole.” 

On business rates:

“It would be unconscionable for the government to use September’s inflation figures to slam Norfolk businesses with a huge rise in rates, particularly when they already face spiralling up-front costs. A failure to act would hit the high street, manufacturers and others hard – and undermine the sort of investment we need to boost productivity.” 

On infrastructure:

 “A sugar hit for voters would quickly fade, but the protein boost provided by increased investment in Norfolk’s infrastructure and digital connectivity would be felt for decades. Ramping up infrastructure investment across our region and getting long-planned projects off the drawing board, such as further improvements to the A47, the Great Yarmouth Third River Crossing and the Norwich Western Link would give a huge boost to business confidence and creates both jobs and business opportunities.” 

On investment: 

“Too many Norfolk companies are playing a ‘wait-and-see’ game at the moment. We need a big, bold incentive to get more firms investing – particularly ahead of the Brexit transition.” 

A few colleagues have asked if EUR1’s can be issued for the new EU Canada trade deal. I have checked with HMRC and they have confirmed that EUR1’s cannot be issued for Canada.

For consignments where the total value exceeds €6,000 exporters will have to be a registered exporter in order to make an origin declaration and you must include your registered exporter number (as the customs authorisation number) in your origin declaration.

HMRC has pre-registering all UK exporters holding a valid Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number who exported goods to Canada during 1 December 2015 to 1 December 2016. New exporters will need to register.

Exporters should check they have been pre-registered by checking the Registered Exporters database (https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/dds2/eos/rex_home.jsp?Lang=en)

Exporters code will be formatted ‘GBREX’ followed by your EORI number followed by ‘X’. For example, GBREX123456789000X. If you’ve been registered then, on entering your number, the system will confirm that it’s valid.

Exporters not on the database but hold an approved exporter number you may use that until you’re registered. Please note that approved exporter numbers can’t be used under this agreement after 31 December 2017. If you intend to continue exporting to Canada and want your customer to claim preferential duty, you must ensure you hold a registered exporter number by this date.

A guidance for exporters has been put on the GOV.UK website, which can be found here.

If you would like any more information on exporting to Canada or any other countries, please contact us on 01603 729712 or email [email protected].

Any businesses who export to Israel should be made aware that a new computerised customs system will come into force on Sunday 14 January 2018. The switchover to the new system will take place between 10-14 January, during which time no customs services will be available in Israel. Further details will be published by the Customs Directorate in due course. 

We will keep you updated as soon as more information becomes available. 

Norfolk businesses were invited to hear an economic update directly from the Bank of England at a lunch held at the Park Farm Hotel in Norwich.  Over 60 business people attended the event, including those from the manufacturing, service, public and charity sectors.

Phil Eckersley, the Bank of England’s Agent for the South East and East Anglia provided an update on the national and regional economy and the impact of factors such as inflation, global volatility and labour market factors.

There was an opportunity for businesses to asked questions of Mr Eckersley and these ranged from Brexit, access to credit and wage growth, compared to unemployment.

Norfolk Chamber member, Vattenfall is proposing to develop an offshore wind farm called Norfolk Vanguard.  The 1.8 gigawatt (GW) development area would be located more than 47km from the Norfolk Coast and would meet the electricity demand of around 1.3 million UK households.

Vattenfall held Public information days in October 2016 and also in March and April 2017 for local communities to engage with them.  Today (16 October), Vattenfall have now published a Statement of Community Consultation (SoCC), which sets out how Vattenfall will consult with stakeholders, statutory bodies and local communities.  They have also announced their Statutory Consultation Period will begin on 07 November until 11 December 2017.

The Statement of Community Consultation can be viewed at various public locations across Norfolk from today.  For full details on where to view the SoCC and the public consultation venues, please click here and go to page 17 and 18.

To keep up to date with the latest Vattenfall news, have a look at their newsletter.

Celebrating the outstanding achievements of our Norfolk Constabulary was the order of the evening at this year’s spectacular NOSCAS 2017 award ceremony held at the Holiday Inn. The awards, now in its tenth year, is a time to offer people the opportunity to nominate individuals or teams who have gone above and beyond in their role in making the Norfolk community one of the safest in the UK. The Norfolk Chamber were once again happy to sponsor ‘The Chief Constable’s Special Recognition Award’ Jason Williams, Business Manager at the Norfolk Chamber said: We have been honoured to support the NOSCAs for many years and are again proud to support the Chief Constable’s Special Recognition Award, as part of our partnership with the Norfolk Constabulary. We congratulate the winners for the contribution that they have made and their continual efforts in ensuring Norfolk is a safe place to live and work. Speaking about the evening, Chief Constable Simon Bailey said:

“It’s an honour to be hosting the tenth annual NOSCAs event. Over the last decade we have highlighted the exceptional work of many of our officers, staff and residents, and tonight is no different.

“Despite the challenges police forces face today it makes me very proud to be able to showcase examples of dedication and praise for our officers, staff and community partners for their efforts. It must be remembered that while our employees are expected to make this important work a priority, local members of the community give their time voluntarily to help keep Norfolk a wonderful and safe place to live, work and visit. 

“Finally, I wish to congratulate everyone who was nominated for an award this year. We had an extremely high standard of entries and competition was intense. I am privileged to be in a role which allows me to lead a Constabulary so firmly focused on the needs of our community.”

The winners of the award were: Police Community Engagement Officers

• Police Constable Amy Lucas (Breckland)
• Police Constable Andrew Mason (Broadland)
• Police Constable Hannah Gardiner (Gt Yarmouth)
• Police Constable Emily Carter (Kings Lynn and West Norfolk)
• Police Constable Pete Davison (North Norfolk)
• Police Constable Adam Binns (Norwich)
• Police Constable Jim Squires (South Norfolk)

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) today (Friday) publishes its Quarterly Economic Survey – the UK’s largest and most authoritative private-sector business survey.

Based on the responses of over 7,100 businesses, the survey shows that despite improvements in the Norfolk manufacturing sector, the Norfolk and the UK economy as a whole grew at a muted rate in the third quarter of 2017.

In the Norfolk manufacturing sector, the proportion of firms reporting improved domestic sales and orders both rose in the quarter to their highest level since Q4 2016. Export sales and orders also improved, as stronger recent economic growth in a number of key markets has helped support demand for Norfolk products. 

However, in the services sector, traditionally the main driver of UK economic growth, domestic sales and orders remained static in Q3, as did the sector’s expectations to invest in training, and confidence in profitability and turnover. Almost all services indicators remain below their pre-EU referendum levels, with consumer-focused businesses reporting weaker growth rates compared to B2B firms.

The results of the survey also show the prevalence of recruitment difficulties facing Norfolk businesses, which continued to increase in Q3. Almost three-quarters of manufacturers reported difficulties hiring staff, and in services, nearly two thirds reported difficulties. 

The muted results make clear the need for the upcoming Autumn Budget to provide a fillip to the economy – and begin to address some of the issues undermining Norfolk’s growth prospects, including skills gaps, high upfront costs and sub-standard infrastructure. With Brexit-related uncertainty growing, the Q3 QES demonstrates the need for action to support a competitive and enterprising business environment.

Key findings in the Q3 2017 survey:

Norfolk Manufacturing sector:

·           The balance of firms reporting increased export sales rose from +11 to +27, and export orders from +7 to +27, the highest level since Q4 2016. The balance of firms reporting improved domestic sales also rose from +12 to +19, and orders from +10 to +21.

·           The percentage balance of manufacturing firms expecting the price of their goods to increase over the next three months fell in the last quarter from +33 to +26, despite the cost of raw materials still being a key concern to most manufacturers. 

·           Concerns over exchange rates has spiked, with the balance increasing from +47 to +76.

·           The percentage of manufacturers attempting to recruit increased, rising from 68% to 83%. The percentage of firms reporting greater recruitment difficulties rose from 63% to 74%.

·           More manufacturers reported confidence in investing in plant and machinery, which rose drastically from -3 to +19.

·           Confidence in the manufacturing sector rose slightly, with +31 of firms confident that profitability will increase over the next 12 months – but turnover confidence dipped from +23 to +19.

Norfolk Services sector:

·           Exports remained fairly flat, with the balance reporting static, with export sales standing at +12 (down from +13 in the previous quarter) and orders at +2 (up from 0). The balance for domestic sales also remained static at +14 and orders dipped from +8 to +6.

·           The percentage of businesses attempting to recruit remained flat at +64. With the percentage of services firms reporting greater recruitment difficulties, decreasing from 67% to 63%.

·           The percentage balance of services firms expecting the price of their goods to increase over the next three months remained rose from +29 to +33.

·           Confidence remains static, with the balance of service firms confident of improved turnover (+32) and profitability (+21) remaining unchanged from the previous quarter. Both balances remain below their pre-EU referendum levels.

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

“The uninspiring Norfolk results we see in the third quarter findings reflect the fact that political uncertainty, currency fluctuations and the vagaries of the Brexit process are continuing to weigh on Norfolk business growth prospects.

“The Chancellor’s Autumn Budget is a critical opportunity to demonstrate that the government stands ready to incentivise investment and support growth here at home. A failure to act, or a conscious choice to provide a short-term sugar hit to the electorate rather than the protein boost the economy needs, would have significant consequences for both Norfolk and the UK’s medium-term growth prospects.

“While much of Westminster and Whitehall is distracted by Brexit, business needs action now on the home front. The solutions to some of the biggest issues currently facing our firms – including high up-front costs, a lack of incentive to invest, and a need for better infrastructure – are entirely within the power of the UK government to deliver.

“Now is the time to take bold action, and create the conditions to help the economy rebound from a period of anaemic growth. Government must demonstrate competence, coherence, and above all a clear plan to support the economy through a period of change.”

Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce, said:

“The manufacturing sector saw a welcome improvement across a number of indicators, boosted in part by stronger growth in key export markets. However, the relative size of the sector means that its contribution to UK GDP growth is likely to have remained limited this quarter.

“The services sector remains under pressure, and with most indicators broadly static in the quarter, the sector has yet to recover from the loss of momentum suffered in the wake of the EU referendum.

“The latest results also confirm that rising costs remains a worry for businesses, particularly in manufacturing. However, while still high by historic standards, the easing in a number of indicators of pricing pressures since the start of the year suggests that inflation will peak sooner rather than later, possibly by the end of the year.

“Against this backdrop, it seems extraordinary that the Bank of England are considering raising interest rates. With UK economic conditions softening and continued uncertainty over Brexit, it is vital that the MPC provides monetary stability. We’d caution against an earlier than required tightening in monetary policy, which could hit both business and consumer confidence and weaken overall UK growth. While interest rates need to rise at some point, it should be done slowly and timed to not to harm the UK’s growth prospects.”

With over 100 exhibitors and plenty of opportunities to explore across two floors of NCFC, the B2B Exhibition 2017 attracted more visitors than ever before.

Despite a turbulent year, of economic uncertainty there was a positive feeling among exhibitors who were optimistic for the year ahead. The Chamber’s Chief Executive, Chris Sargisson said:

“There is an air of optimism and positivity in Norfolk….We have some exciting businesses forming in Norfolk and we will aim to support them even more in 2018.”

The day kicked off with Managing Director of Norwich City Football Club, Steve Stone welcoming exhibitors to Carrow Road and officially opening the exhibition. Once exhibitors were back on their stands they were visited by Chris and Steve who were tasked with choosing this year’s Best Stand.

Energy consultants, Indigo Swan were crowned this year’s winners for their innovative ‘Human Fruit Machine’ game.

As well as endless networking opportunities, there was a popular programme of 20 minute masterclasses covering core areas of interests to all businesses, including networking marketing, social media and increasing sales.

With a steady flow of visitors throughout the day keen to explore the best of what Norfolk businesses are offering, the regions premier business exhibition proved once again to be an unmissable event in Norfolk’s commercial calendar.

Tag yourself and your colleagues in our event photo album here.

See the video featuring the day’s activity here.

For any businesses looking to exhibit at B2B 2018 contact [email protected] or call 01603 625977.

“The widening of the UK’s trade deficit in August is disappointing, and signifies a much weaker trading position than the average for the year, with exports falling and imports rising sharply in the month. Taken together with the recent widening of the current account deficit, the figures paint a rather gloomy picture of the UK’s external position.

“The latest trade data is further evidence that the decline in sterling’s value over the past year is doing little to boost the UK’s overall trade position. Businesses continue to report that the post-EU referendum weakness in sterling is hurting as much as its helping, with firms continuing to face higher input costs due to the weakening currency, particularly those locked into global supply chains. For those companies that rely on overseas suppliers for their production equipment, a weak pound also makes investment in growth less viable.

“Businesses want to see comprehensive trade talks begin in the EU negotiations before the end of the year, and need answers to the practical questions about our trading relationship with Europe beyond March 2019. At the same time, it is vital that more is done help firms take advantage of new trading opportunities, including greater practical assistance for exporters and tackling some of the longstanding issues at home including the chronic skill shortages and the cost of doing business in the UK.”

Tuesday, 10 October 2017: O2 has increased its 4G coverage across Norfolk this year with the mobile network operator launching 4G in over 180 new towns, villages and hamlets across the county.  The region now has 98% outdoor 4G coverage, demonstrating O2’s commitment to bring 4G to its customers in more rural areas in the region.

Overall, outdoor 4G population coverage in Norfolk has increased by 9% this year to reach 98%.

Areas upgraded this year include North Walsham, Caister-on-Sea, Long Stratton, Sandringham, Eccles and Acle, and there are plans to add more locations in the coming months.

Customers in these locations can now enjoy high speed 4G mobile internet, enabling them to stream high definition TV, shop on the go and use video calling.  For business customers, using 4G means that they can be more effective and flexible by working remotely, accessing cloud services and collaborating using apps.

Derek McManus, Chief Operating Officer O2, said: “We recognise that connectivity is essential to our customers which is why we’re investing in a range of innovative measures to ensure we give our customers reliable coverage wherever they go. 

“While it’s great that our 4G network now reaches 98% of Norfolk’s outdoor population, we’re committed to continue increasing this number.  In the next month, we’re starting work to bring 4G to East Harling, Cawston, Eccles-on-Sea and Upper Street and have ongoing plans to continue connecting our customers in rural areas across the county.”   

Chris Sargisson, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, said: “It is essential that Norfolk businesses can easily access digital communication and the ongoing focus to increase 4G connectivity across Norfolk is a real positive that will be a huge benefit to local communities, and businesses based in the region.  In particular, there is a real need to increase connectivity in our rural villages and it’s encouraging to see that O2 is working to bring 4G to these areas. We are determined to work in partnership with operators so that they can progress their 4G rollout without delay”