Chamber News

Six months after its introduction, businesses remain in the dark about how best to utilise the Apprenticeship Levy, according to a survey released today (Friday) by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), in conjunction with Middlesex University London.

The annual workforce survey of over 1,400 businesses, including those from Norfolk, found that nearly a quarter (23%) of levy-paying firms have no understanding of the Apprenticeship Levy or don’t know how their company will respond to it.

Businesses with a pay-bill of less than £3m fall under the levy threshold but can still apply for apprentice funding, yet the findings of the survey show 66% of these companies haven’t taken any direct action to use the funds or don’t know about it.

For over half of levy-paying businesses, it represents an added cost, with 56% not expecting to recover any or only a portion of their payment, compared to 36% who expect to recover all or more of their payment.

The findings reinforce the need for clearer guidance and support for businesses wanting to utilise the Apprenticeship Levy. Firms, both above and below the levy threshold, are uncertain about how to use the funds to find and train the skills they need, undermining the purpose of the system.

Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber said:

 “Apprenticeships are great way for businesses to develop the skills they need for the future, but they are not the only solution for developing people in the workplace. The current upheaval in the technical education and apprenticeship system will take time for firms to understand and adapt to. 

“The government must ensure that changes in the system do not lead to a slowdown in the overall number of apprentices recruited, or less investment in other forms of workplace training. Low awareness and understanding of the Levy has not been helped by uncertainty faced by training providers tasked with delivering apprentices to business.

“For many businesses who pay the Apprenticeship Levy, it can feel like an additional employment tax, much of which they are unable to recover, and one that is deflecting training budgets away from other important training needs.  Firms need greater flexibility on how they can use their levy monies and a system that is fully operational as quickly as possible, is simple and efficient, and that enables them to access good quality training.

“The BCC survey shows that many firms are still unaware of the Apprenticeship Levy and how it will impact on their business.  With many companies across the country facing critical skills shortages, more information and support is required to ensure businesses continue to invest in training.”

Interest rates could rise in the “relatively near term” says the Governor of the Bank of England

Last week, in the clearest indication yet that there could be a rate rise as early as November, Mark Carney suggested that it was time for the bank to “ease its foot off the accelerator”.

The next opportunity for a change in interest rates is the Bank’s monetary policy committee meeting on 2 November.  The governor also warned against “reckless” household borrowing.

He said that while overall lending to UK consumers had come down markedly since the financial crisis, there was a danger from rapid “frothy” growth in some areas of household borrowing.

“What we’re worried about is a pocket of risk – a risk in consumer debt, credit card debt, debt for cars, personal loans,” said Mr Carney

He said banks had “not been as disciplined as they should be” in their underwriting standards and pricing of this debt.

Pressed on when the Bank was likely to raise interest rates, a move that would make borrowing more expensive, Mr Carney confirmed the latest analysis from the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee.  “If the economy continues on the track that it’s been on, and all indications are that it is, in the relatively near term we can expect that interest rates will increase,” he said.

To find out what the impact of an interest rate rise would be on Norfolk and the East of England, join the Agent for the South East and East Anglia, Phil Eckersley at a Chamber lunch on Wednesday 18 October.  For more information and to book you place click here.

As the Conservative Party Conference continues today (Monday) in Manchester, the British Chambers of Commerce has called on the governing party to demonstrate competence and coherence – not division and disorganisation – in the interests of the UK’s economic well-being.

The leading business organisation – which represents tens of thousands of UK companies employing nearly six million people – has flagged on-going business concerns over the public disagreements within the Cabinet around the Brexit process, as well as an insufficient focus on supporting the domestic economy, as areas for immediate attention.

BCC Director General Adam Marshall has called on the Prime Minister and her party to shore up business confidence by ensuring that Brexit negotiations deliver a comprehensive transition period and pragmatic trade talks by the end of 2017, and by increasing attention to the many domestic issues that hold back business appetite for investment and risk.

Speaking from Manchester, BCC Director General Adam Marshall said:

“Businesspeople across Britain are growing impatient with division and disorganisation at the heart of the party of government, and have made it very clear that they expect competence and coherence from ministers as we move into a critical period for the economy.

“Public disagreements between Cabinet ministers in recent weeks have only served to undermine business confidence, not just on Brexit negotiations, but also on the many issues where firms need to see clear action from government closer to home. Action to cut the up-front cost of doing business, build key infrastructure, help firms plug increasing skills gaps, and to support investment and risk-taking must be front and centre on the government’s agenda.

“On Brexit, businesses are clear that they want a comprehensive transition period, lasting at least three years, and pragmatic discussions on the future trading relationship between the UK and the EU firmed up by the end of 2017. They will judge the government’s progress on Brexit by this yardstick – not by public speeches or pronouncements – and will take investment and hiring decisions accordingly.”

Norfolk County Council today (Monday 2 October) confirmed that the A1151 Wroxham Road – the busiest route into the heart of the Norfolk Broads – will close at 8pm on Friday, 6 October, and is likely to stay closed until 6am on Monday 16th.

The closure to all traffic – including cyclists and pedestrians – is unavoidable because a wide trench has to be cut across Wroxham Road to allow the installation of a deep drainage culvert as part of construction of Norwich Northern Distributor Road. Thrust-boring under the road without a closure is not possible in this environmentally sensitive location, which includes the nearby fishing lakes at The Springs. There will be no access to the fishing lakes during the closure.

Work will be continuing throughout the ten nights and nine days of the closure. As well as construction of the culvert, the closure will be used to complete as much as possible of the A1151 Wroxham Road roundabout on the NDR.

Diversions

Light traffic will (from Norwich direction) be diverted via Norwich Ring Road, Salhouse Road and Green Lane West. However, the 7.5 tonne weight limit on Green Lane West means that HGVs – including those serving Rackheath Industrial Estate – must continue on Salhouse Road to Salhouse and use to the B1140 to re-join the A1151 at Wroxham. The diversions will operate in reverse for traffic heading towards Norwich.

Legal Order backs up Horsford right turn ban

A right turn ban from Church Street on to the B1149 Holt Road in Horsford today (Monday) became mandatory after a Temporary Traffic Order came into force. When Holt Road south of Horsford closed in August, an advisory right turn ban was introduced to encourage Horsford-bound traffic to loop around the nearby New Drayton Lane roundabout, with the aim of reducing queues on Church Street. This has only been partially successful, so Norfolk County Council has obtained a Legal Order to make the right turn ban mandatory and enforceable by the police.

A network of Trade Envoys will help promote Scotland abroad and support the efforts of the country’s exporters.

The Scottish Government has announced that the new network will be appointed in the autumn to champion and represent Scotland’s export interests, and to strengthen local market knowledge.

Comprising senior figures from industry and public life, the Trade Envoys will take on the voluntary role for an initial period of two years.

Potentially based abroad, their duties will see them working to identify specific business opportunities in new overseas markets, make connections with businesses in Scotland, and develop their understanding of the target sectors and companies in their allotted countries.

They are also likely to be involved in leading inward and outward trade visits.

Scotland’s move to increase exports will also see the launch of two more Innovation and Investment Hubs. Following the success of initiatives in London and Dublin, the Scottish Government is to establish further facilities in Berlin and Paris. The intention is for it to help “ambitious” Scottish companies take advantage of business opportunities not only in the German and French capitals but across continental Europe.

In addition to the two new hubs, the country’s existing presence in Brussels will be strengthened in a concerted effort to help Scottish companies increase exports and explore new markets.

In the words of Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, encouraging exports is not simply a good thing to do in itself, it is also important to her Government’s aim of raising productivity.

“We want to ensure that Scotland remains an open, outward looking, internationalist country,” she explained, “and part of that is about doing even more to promote Scottish businesses overseas.”

The UK’s export credit agency, UK Export Finance (UKEF), is to double its financial support for trade with South Africa.

An additional £1.75 billion will be available for UK companies exporting to South Africa and for South African buyers of UK goods and services. The new money will take the total available to £3.5 billion.

The move was announced as International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox started a visit to South Africa and Mozambique aimed at boosting trade with the two countries.

Total trade in goods and services between the UK and South Africa (exports and imports) was £8.1 billion in 2015 according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). That represented a rise of 5.2% since 2014.

For the UK and Mozambique, total trade in goods and services was £284 million in 2015, while trade between the UK and Africa as a whole was worth £30.8 billion that year.

African investment into the UK grew by 500% between 2005 and 2014, with British investment in Africa more than doubling over the same period.

Describing the UK leaving the EU as an opportunity to forge independent trading arrangements with growing economies around the world, Dr Fox said: “That is why as an international economic department, we are making billions of pounds of additional financial support available to UK exporters and buyers of UK goods and services in South Africa.”

The International Trade Secretary also announced that UKEF is offering UK businesses wider access to government-backed overseas investment insurance (OII) which will protect those UK companies investing abroad.

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada entered into force provisionally on 21 September and is expected to save EU businesses €590 million a year.

CETA removes duties on 98% of products (tariff lines) that the EU trades with Canada. It also gives EU companies the best access ever offered to companies from outside Canada to bid on the country’s public procurement contracts – not just at the federal level but also at provincial and municipal levels.

UK companies will be particularly interested in the agreement as the Government has suggested that a future trade agreement with the EU might well “cut and paste” the CETA provisions in a bid to speed up the negotiating process.

Given that, as a leading Member of the European Parliament (MEP) pointed out, “Canada is a country with which we share values and principles so it should have been simple to agree this deal” (and yet it still took seven years to get to this stage), any short cuts will obviously be welcome.

According to the European Commission, CETA will especially benefit smaller companies who can least afford the cost of the red tape involved in exporting to Canada.

They will save time and money, the Commission has suggested, by avoiding duplicative product testing requirements, lengthy customs procedures and costly legal fees.

It has published a Guide to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) for businesses which can be found at trade.ec.europa.eu.

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said: “Things are about to change for our exporters. The provisional entry into force allows EU companies and citizens to start reaping the benefits of this agreement right away. This is a positive signal for the global economy, with the potential to boost economic growth and create jobs.”

Since the beginning of the year Norfolk Chamber, together with other strategic partners has been working with New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership to draft the new economic strategy for Norfolk and Suffolk. The strategy is the culmination of collaborative process which has sought to enrich the understanding of the Norfolk and Suffolk economy, establish a shared vision of the kind of place and economy we want the area to be and set out the means by which it will be achieved.

Back in June and July, Norfolk Chamber held a series of events across Norfolk to gather feedback and opinions from local businesses at to what they wanted to see in the strategy and much of that feedback has been incorporated in the current draft.

The first draft is now out for endorsement from key strategic partners across Norfolk and Suffolk and will be ratified by the New Anglia LEP Board on 25 October.  In parallel to the endorsement process, the strategy together with the evidence report will be checked by a professional proof reader to iron out any remaining glitches.

Some of the key targets to 2036 include:

·         30,000 new successful businesses

·         88,000 new jobs

·         Grow the economy by £17.5 billion

·         66% of the population will have NVQ3+

·         140,000 new homes

Commenting on the draft Economic Strategy, Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber said: 

“Chamber members of differing sizes and a diverse range of sectors from across Norfolk have contributed to the drafting of the new Economic Strategy.  The Strategy lays out the direction for the Norfolk and Suffolk economies through to 2036, highlighting where key strengths can be supported and where improvements are necessary and the Norfolk Chamber is happy to endorse the document.”

The finalised Economic Strategy and the Evidence Report to be published on New Anglia LEP’s website on 26 October – this will be an interactive online document, which will use linked page turning software to help direct readers to more information on specifics including programmes, initiatives, organisations and other relevant documents.

During the autumn, a range of events and opportunities will be held to raise awareness and publicise the new Economic Strategy.  Watch this website to find out more information as it becomes available.

Publishing the strategy is by no means the end – and over the next couple of months New Anglia LEP, working closely with Norfolk Chamber and other business representative groups, local authority partners and sector groups will be developing a plan of action to implement the new economic strategy.

If you have any feedback on the pre-endorsement document, or wish to add your endorsement to the Strategy, please email: [email protected]

On Wednesday, we were joined by 200 guests at our seventh instalment of our half-day technology conference, Talking Tech 2017. The event proved to be our busiest yet, filling up the fantastic venue, The Space, with people keen to hear (and see) the latest technological innovations taking place on a national and local scale.

The vibrant and spacious venue was filled with 13 exhibitors, including sponsors of the event Barclays Eagle Labs and Computer Service Centre. We were also joined by PC World, 101 Ltd, Ashton Shaw to name a few, making it our most interactive and engaging exhibition yet! After mingling over tea and coffee, the guests were then introduced to our keynote speakers by the host for the morning, our very own CEO Chris Sargisson.

We first heard from Dom Davis, who spoke about the Rise of artificial intelligence, whose impassioned presentation was both informative but light-hearted. He was followed by Dean Withey who spoke about ubisend’s innovative use of Chatbots. John Carr from Facebook then took to the stage to inform the audience about Facebook’s influence on businesses, its focus on mobile use and the emphasis the company are putting on video. Prison Voicemail and Aviva then spoke about their respective use of technological advances to achieve their goals and make waves in their industries.

The guests then took part in the four workshops provided by local experts Immersive VR, The User Story, Integro and Innershed. Following on from these interactive workshops, it was back to the auditorium for the lightning talks.

This is when local tech pioneers took to the main stage to showcase their journeys and their influence on the tech scene in Norfolk. We heard from Stacey Harris (Foolproof), Claire Riseborough (Step into Tech), Tim Robinson (Tech East), James Horne (BlueSky UAV Drones) and Peter Green (CSS Cloud Ltd).

Following from the Q+A with the audience and our lightning talk speakers, Chris then wrapped up the stimulating and interesting event and welcomed guests to the Networking Lunch, complete with a fantastic spread of sandwiches and sweet treats. This gave the guests another opportunity to visit the engaging exhibition and catch up with their fellow members of the local business community. 

The region’s premier business exhibition, B2B 2017 has once again sold out with more than 100 exhibitors! Returning to Norwich City Football club on Thursday 12th October, the exhibition will see two floors of the football club filled with leading Norfolk businesses, showcasing the latest products and services and sharing ideas that can help Norfolk businesses. This annual exhibition is a leading event in the region’s commercial calendar, attracting a diverse mix of exhibitors and hundreds of visitors keen to find new opportunities. This year is shaping up to be bigger than, with plenty of reasons to attend in 2017:

• Meet face to face with Norfolk’s leading businesses.
• We have a superb line-up of expert trainers delivering free 20 minute masterclasses on core areas that can help you and your business.
• There are lots of exclusive special offers, discounts and free giveaways
• Unique networking opportunities with business leaders, directors, entrepreneurs and decision makers

B2B 2017 is completely FREE and open to all businesses. Book your advance ticket here to beat the queues on the day and be entered into a prize draw to win one of 4 Jarrold Vouchers.

On the occasion of the visit of a high-level Finnish business delegation to London, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), and the Finnish Chambers of Commerce (Kauppakamari) on 14 September 2017 jointly called for UK and EU negotiators to minimise trade barriers – and prioritise shared economic ties beyond Brexit.

There are strong commercial links between the UK and Finland: the UK imports £2.6bn of goods and services from Finland, and exports £2.7bn of goods and services to the country.

Science and Innovation are areas of very active cooperation between the two countries, with the UK and Finland working closely together on life sciences, digital, and low carbon technologies. There are a number of partnerships between the two countries, many of which are facilitated by the EU Horizon 2020 strategy. 

The future of these projects, the long-term ease of trading between the UK and Finland, as well as the future status of Finnish nationals in Britain and British nationals in Finland, are all questions where British and Finnish businesses want negotiators to deliver clarity as soon as possible.

Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said:

“As we welcome our Finnish colleagues to London, the vibrant trade links between our countries are yet another reminder of the importance of reducing any possible future trade barriers between the UK and the EU.

“Businesses want to minimise the risk to free-flowing trade with partners like Finland, and to avoid the creation of artificial new barriers that stop companies collaborating across boundaries. The on-going Brexit negotiations must seek to provide businesses with clear answers on practical issues including customs procedures, health and safety checks, and tax rules – and guarantee the status of nationals resident on either side.

“The links between innovative British and Finnish businesses are an important reminder that the Brexit negotiations must also deliver a framework for future collaboration between the UK and the EU on science and innovation.”

Dr Risto Penttilä, CEO of Finland Chamber of Commerce, said:

“The UK has been one of Finland’s strongest allies in promoting free trade and pragmatic reforms in the EU. The objective of the Brexit negotiations must be a European wide market that includes the UK, Switzerland and the EEA countries.

“Brexit must not lead to new obstacles or increased costs for companies from the UK, Finland or other EU countries. The UK is one of our most important trading partners, and a strong British economy will benefit both Europe and Finland.

“The Brexit process has reached a point where committed political leadership is needed both in the UK and the EU. Businesses, as well as citizens, need a clear roadmap for the years to come to ensure a smooth transition.”  

We have been informed by the Iraqi Commercial attache in London, that as from 30th August 2017, all goods that have been produced outside of the United Kingdom (foreign origin) must now have a formal letter issued by the consignor confirming that the goods have been produced for thier benefit.

This letter must accompany all documents being submitted to the Embassy for legalisation.

Thank you.