In October 2016 the Government announced the expansion of Heathrow Airport. An expanded Heathrow will double the airport’s cargo capacity and increase the number of domestic connections, boosting Britain’s exporters and ensuring every region and nation of the UK can get to global markets. With up to 40 more long haul destinations, the project will make Britain the best-connected country in the world.
Heathrow has committed to maximising opportunities for British businesses, including those in Norfolk, of all sizes who could benefit from being involved in the building one of the largest privately-funded infrastructure projects in Europe.
Interested applicants should visit https://procurement.heathrow.com to register their interest and complete an Expression of Interest questionnaire before 31st July 2017. All applications will be considered by Heathrow and a list of potential sites is expected to be announced later this year.
Drivers are warned to expect delays on the A1151 Wroxham Road, with temporary signals at the site of the new Green Lane West junction tomorrow (Thurs) and Friday, and a longer stretch under 24-hour traffic lights from Tuesday (2 May).
Tomorrow (27 April) and Friday the traffic lights will be in use after the morning peak, and will be removed as early as possible in the evening. The road will be clear of signals through the bank holiday weekend.
From Tuesday (2 May) for up to two weeks, a long stretch of the A1151 close to the main NDR construction site will be reduced to one lane controlled by traffic lights. This is to allow Anglian Water to complete the diversion of a water main. The active work sites will be at either end of the coned-off carriageway, but too close to run two sets of temporary lights efficiently.
Salhouse Road closure
Temporary traffic lights will remain in use on Salhouse Road at the NDR roundabout construction site until the road is closed for up to two weeks from Monday 8 May to allow completion of the roundabout and tie-in to the existing carriageway.
Reepham Road closure
The current closure of Reepham Road during construction of the roundabout with Drayton Lane is scheduled to continue until Friday 5 May, when Drayton Lane between Reepham Road and Hall Lane (Drayton) will also be reopened. This will reduce pressure on Hall Lane and School Road, Drayton, which are being used as unofficial diversion routes.
Buxton Road closure – new dates
The closure of Buxton Road, Spixworth, originally scheduled for May, has been put back until Monday 5 June and reduced from three to two weeks. This is for the completion and tie-in of the bridge over the NDR. Pedestrian and cycle access will be maintained.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has today (Tuesday) launched ‘Brexit and Beyond’, the Chamber Network manifesto for General Election 2017.
The Chamber manifesto calls for the new government, which will be responsible for negotiating the terms of the UK’s departure from the European Union, to provide business communities with clear answers to the pragmatic and practical questions around how Brexit will affect their day-to-day operations, including hiring, customs procedures and regulation.
However, business communities across the UK, including Norfolk, send a very strong message that the election cannot – and must not – be about Brexit alone.
The next government must deliver a bold and clear strategy to support economic growth across all regions and nations of the UK. Action is needed on a range of domestic fronts, including improving the competitiveness of the UK’s business environment, upgrading physical and digital infrastructure across the country, and supporting local growth.
The Norfolk Chamber business community will judge the next government against five key criteria:
Infrastructure – revolutionise Norfolk’s physical and digital infrastructure. Ensure that the whole of Norfolk has access to super-fast broadband, better mobile connectivity, and delivering investments in the strategic schemes such as the A47 improvements, the Western Link of the NDR and the Great Yarmouth Third River Crossing, all of which will unlock the economic potential of the region.
Business Environment – deliver a globally competitive business environment. Ensure the best business environment possible with a relentless drive to improve the skills set of tomorrow’s workforce, without clobbering firms with ever-higher upfront costs.
Local Growth – unlock the potential of the local business community and maintain the place-based focus of the Industrial Strategy to ensure Norfolk’s key sectors can thrive and grow.
Trade – support Norfolk exporters to drive economic growth. Expand trade support programmes, secure continued access to existing Free Trade Agreements, develop trade policy with business, and leverage Chambers of Commerce, which are best placed to provide stable export support in all regions of the UK.
Brexit – work with businesses to secure the best possible deal with the EU. Protect the status of EU nationals in the UK, develop future customs procedures in partnership with business, create a future UK immigration system that is responsive to economic needs and skills shortages at all levels, and ensure that there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Jonathan Cage, President of Norfolk Chamber said:
“While businesses all across Norfolk want a good Brexit deal, they are very clear that decisions taken here at home matter as much – if not more – to our future growth prospects. The best possible Brexit deal won’t be worth the paper it’s written on if firms cannot recruit and train the right people, get decent digital connectivity, or get their goods to their market.
“At this election, the Norfolk business community wants a clear commitment from all parties to create the best possible conditions for growth. Westminster must stop and reverse the relentless increases in the up-front cost of doing business in Britain, and give local businesses the confidence to drive investment, job growth and exports through the Brexit transition and beyond.”
Norfolk Chamber’s priorities for the next UK government include:
Deliver frictionless future trade arrangements with the EU, and ensure that business continues to benefit from existing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).
No new upfront taxes on businesses for the duration of the next Parliament.
Develop a new UK regional funding system with maximum local autonomy, a strong voice for business and focus on economic growth.
Deliver promised investment in road and rail infrastructure, and ensure businesses in Norfolk have access to world-class digital infrastructure.
Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said:
“The key to a successful Brexit – and future economic growth – is to do everything to unlock the growth potential in our towns, cities and counties. Implementing an Industrial Strategy which harnesses the power of local areas should be a priority for the new government, alongside a commitment to secure the appropriate support and funding for its implementation.”
A surge in exports has left UK firms feeling more optimistic about selling overseas than they have in over four decades, one of the UK’s leading business groups has reported.
Export orders in the first quarter (Q1) of 2017 grew at their fastest rate in six years, while domestic orders rose more rapidly than they have since July 2014. The optimistic outlook is recorded in the latest CBI Industrial Trends Survey.
Covering the period to the end of March, the survey of 397 manufacturers shows growth in export orders rising to +22% – the highest level since the +24% reached in April 2011.
Domestic orders over the quarter rose at +20%, which was the fastest rise recorded from the +23% in July 2014.
The quarterly survey also found that, with 42% of businesses experiencing an increase in total orders and 17% reporting a decrease, the balance of +25% was the highest recorded since April 1995 (when it was +27%).
Looking ahead, growth is anticipated in total new orders (+14%), domestic orders (+7%) and export orders (+24%) over the next quarter.
However, average domestic prices (+29%), export prices (+20%) and unit costs (+41%) are also expected to rise quickly in the coming three months with the rise in unit costs being the strongest in six years.
CBI Chief Economist Rain Newton-Smith said that UK manufacturers are enjoying strong growth in demand from customers in the UK and overseas, and continue to ramp up production.
“Even so,” she added, “the combination of the weak pound and recovering commodity prices means that cost pressures continue to build, and manufacturers report no sign of them abating over the near-term.”
A new system of electronic certification (e-certification) is being used to monitor organic products imported into the EU. Describing the e-certification system as pioneering, the European Commission said it will help enhance food safety provisions and reduce potential fraud.
In addition, the Commission said, it will reduce the administrative burden for operators and authorities while providing more comprehensive data on organic imports.
The electronic system entered into force in 19 April and will run in parallel with the existing paper-based system for six months. From 19 October 2017, organic imports will be covered only by e-certification.
Following recommendations from the European Court of Auditors and a request from Member States to address concerns about monitoring the movements of organic products and the consistency of import checks, the new rules are intended to improve the traceability of organic products and tackle fraud.
The e-certification system will be integrated into the existing electronic Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES) which is used to track movements of food products across the EU.
Commenting on the new system, the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan, stressed the Union’s commitment to stringent certification and inspection measures as an important part of the EU’s food safety standards.
He added that the new rules will improve the traceability of organic products, which is an important growing market.
The legal basis of the new system is EU Regulation 2016/1842, which amends EC Regulation 1235/2008 as regards the electronic certificate of inspection for imported organic products and EC Regulation 889/2008 as regards the requirements for preserved or processed organic products and the transmission of information.
Businesses from across the UK are invited to compete in the fourteenth annual Chamber Business Awards – hosted by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
The prestigious competition is one of the showpiece events in the business calendar, recognising and promoting the best of British business through a series of regional heats, culminating in a Gala Awards Dinner, which will take place at the Brewery, London on 30 November.
Entries open on Monday 13 March and will run until Friday 30 June. This year’s Awards are being launched at the London Stock Exchange, where last year’s winner of Business of the Year, Scientifica, have won the special honour of opening the Exchange as a prize. Next year’s winners will have the same chance to do so, a rare opportunity for a private business.
Companies can enter nine categories, covering exports, small business, people development, technology, high-growth, customer service, partnerships with the education sector, social media, and health and wellbeing.
Francis Martin, President of the British Chambers of Commerce said:
“Businesses are the driving force of the UK economy, creating jobs, growth and prosperity, and helping Britain to maintain its reputation internationally. This is exactly why it is important for us to recognise and celebrate the contribution they make to their local communities and the wider economy.
“The broad spread of categories in the Chamber Business Awards reflects both the diversity of industries and skills of British firms, and the range of achievements and projects that they have been involved with.
“Each time I visit Chamber member businesses, it is inspiring to see so many companies finding innovative ways to grow their business in every corner of the UK. The Awards acknowledge the relentless efforts of these businesses and their talented employees.”
Adrian Corbin of Scientifica, Winner of the ‘Business of the Year’ award last year, said:
“Everyone at Scientifica is incredibly proud that the company won Business of the Year at the Chamber Business Awards 2016. It is an enormous achievement and a fitting testimony to all the hard work that has gone into creating such a great company.
“We are at the forefront of high-tech British manufacturing, exporting our products to more than forty countries worldwide. We employ a highly-educated and international workforce who are all committed to producing innovative products to help further neuroscience research, and the winning of this award will undoubtedly help us expand into even more markets around the world.”
UK economic growth slows in Q1 as output from consumer-focused industries weakened
UK consumer price inflation holds steady, but wage growth slows further
US GDP growth weakens as the outlook for the Eurozone continues to improve
The UK economy grew by 0.3% in Q1 2017, slower than the growth of 0.7% recorded in Q4. Weakening GDP growth in Q1 was mainly due to growth in service sector output, which accounts for over three quarters of UK economic output.
UK CPI inflation stood at 2.3% in March 2017, unchanged from February but still above the Bank of England’s 2% target. Rising prices for food, clothing and footwear were the main contributors to the change in rate.
The first estimate of US GDP revealed that the US economy, the world’s largest, grew at an annualised rate of 0.7% in Q1 2017. This was the slowest rate of growth since Q1 2014. The slowdown was largely driven by consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of US economic output.
Commenting on various Labour and Conservative proposals on worker’s rights, Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber said:
“There is little appetite within the Norfolk business community for a roll-back of employment rights. Businesses worry about the prospect of costly or bureaucratic new obligations, no matter how well-intentioned.
“Norfolk Chamber will watch closely as more detail emerges on the various proposals, to ensure that they do not give rise to expensive new obligations or unintended consequences – especially for the thousands of civic-minded local businesses who already do everything in their power to engage, support, train and reward their workforce.
“In the past, we have seen campaign-season promises on workplace rights create unrealistic expectations, and undermine relationships that have been painstakingly built up between firms and employees over many years. That must not be allowed to occur if some, or all, of these proposals become the law of the land.
“Some of the headline propositions in the Labour Party manifesto will give business communities across Norfolk real cause for concern. High personal taxation, sweeping nationalisation and deep intervention in business decision-making are not the hallmarks of an ambitious and enterprising society. However, there are some bright spots in Labour’s manifesto, notably clear and specific commitments to reform Britain’s broken business rates system, which successive governments have failed to implement.
Commenting specifically on the proposals to increase the national minimum wage which is proposed by both Conservative and Labour, Mrs Fairbank said:
“Low pay and low social mobility are a challenge to the Norfolk economy, but they won’t be solved just by driving up wage rates. The best way to get a high-wage economy is through better education, training, and investment, by schools, universities and businesses alike.”
“Whilst many companies would have the ability to increase pay, others would struggle to do so alongside pensions auto-enrolment, the apprenticeship levy, employer National Insurance contributions, and other up-front costs. Some may have to divert money from training and investment to increase pay, which could hurt their productivity. Others may stop hiring altogether.”
Commenting on the Lib Dem promise of £100-a-week for budding entrepreneurs
“Promising budding entrepreneurs an £100-a-week allowance to help with living costs is welcomed, as it will help support start up and entrepreneurial businesses, however these businesses still face many up front costs and taxes, including business rates.
“Norfolk Chamber believes that fundamental change to the business rates system is needed, including stripping plant and machinery from rates assessments that does so much to discourage business investment. We would call on a future government to re-visit the detail of reform package previously discussed to address the serious concerns business ratepayers have, and as an interim fix the appeals system which is no longer fit for purpose.”
The National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) are offering advice to businesses following the coordinated ransomware attack on thousands of private and public sector organisations on Friday.
MESSAGE FROM NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY CENTRE (NCSC)“Since the global coordinated ransomware attack on thousands of private and public sector organisations across dozens of countries on Friday, there have been no sustained new attacks of that kind. But it is important to understand that the way these attacks work means that compromises of machines and networks that have already occurred may not yet have been detected, and that existing infections from the malware can spread within networks.
This means that as a new working week begins it is likely, in the UK and elsewhere, that further cases of ransomware may come to light, possibly at a significant scale.
Our national focus must therefore be on two lines of defence.
The first is to limit the spread and impact of the attacks that have already occurred. Due to broad government and partner efforts, a variety of tools are now publicly available to help organisations to do this. This guidance can be found on our homepage – ncsc.gov.uk – under the title Protecting Your Organisation From Ransomware: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance/ransomware-latest-ncsc-guidance
We know already that there have been attempts to attack organisations beyond the National Health Service. It is therefore absolutely imperative that any organisation that believes they may be affected, follows and implements this guidance. We have set out two pieces of guidance: one for organisations and one for private individuals and SMEs which can be applicable regardless of the age of the software in question. It will be updated as and when further mitigations become available and we will announce when updates have been made on Twitter (@ncsc) and elsewhere.
Secondly, it is possible that a ransomware attack of this type and on this scale could recur, though we have no specific evidence that this is the case. What is certain is that ransomware attacks are some of the most immediately damaging forms of cyber attack that affects home users, enterprises and governments equally.
It is also the case that there are a number of easy-to-implement defences against ransomware which very considerably reduce the risk of attack and the impact of successful attacks. These simple steps to protect against ransomware are not being applied by either the public or organisations as thoroughly as they should be.
Keep your organisation’s security software patches up to date
Use proper anti-virus software services
Most importantly for ransomware, back up the data that matters to you, because you can’t be held to ransom for data you hold somewhere else.
Home users and small businesses can take the following steps to protect themselves:
Run Windows Update
Make sure your AntiVirus product is up to date and run a scan – If you don’t have one install one of the free trial versions from a reputable vendor
If you have not done so before, this is a good time to think about backing important data up – You can’t be held to ransom if you’ve got the data somewhere else.
In the days ahead, the NCSC, working closely with the National Crime Agency in support of their criminal investigation, and with international partners in both other governments and the commercial sector, will continue our round-the-clock effort to get ahead of this threat. We would like to reassure the public that resources from the Government, law enforcement and public and private sector organisation are working together to manage further disruption from the current attack and to increase protection against any further attacks in the coming days. The country’s security and law enforcement agencies are working round the clock to protect the public. Private sector efforts have made a very significant contribution to mitigate the cyber attacks so far and to prevent further disruption.
We will provide further updates as and when appropriate.”
Giving her full reaction to the Budget, Caroline Williams, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce said:
On Business Rates:
“We are pleased that those Norfolk businesses hardest-hit Norfolk by this year’s business rates revaluation will see some ease to their burden. We look forward to the money being given to councils in England being used to offer relief to the hardest hit Norfolk businesses.
“However welcome, the measures that mitigate the short-term impact of business rate rises, are little more than a sticking plaster. The radical changes needed to improve the broken business rates system will have to wait for another day.
“The government had an opportunity to re-visit the detail of reform to the appeals system but has not addressed the serious concerns ratepayers have. This will mean that more businesses seeking to correct their erroneous rates bills could lose out.
“In the longer-term, fundamental change is needed, including stripping plant and machinery from rates assessments that does so much to discourage business investment.”
On International Trade:
“There was a noticeable and disappointing absence of any new support for Norfolk exporters, or measures to encourage international trade in this Budget. As we begin the Brexit process, it’s more important than ever to get Norfolk businesses trading their goods and services with the world. The government must do more to incentivise and promote companies to be ambitious and trade to new markets. Norfolk Chamber will continue to do whatever we can to support Norfolk exporters.”
On Digital Infrastructure:
“We look forward to more details on the announcement for full-fibre broadband connection vouchers, as all businesses within our rural areas need faster and more reliable connections. The governments focus must now be on rural areas and existing business parks that still do not have superfast connections. The private sector will invest where there is a demonstrable return on investment and we would urge that the scheme is communicated effectively to the business community and providers.”
On Changes to the Tax System for the Self-Employed:
“Many Norfolk entrepreneurs and sole traders will be concerned to see significant rises to their National Insurance bills over the coming years. Especially when many of them are facing challenging economic conditions. Ministers need to ensure that these business people, who make a significant contribution to the economy, also get the recognition and benefits that correspond to their contribution.”
Businesses from across the UK are invited to compete in the fourteenth annual Chamber Business Awards – hosted by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
The prestigious competition is one of the showpiece events in the business calendar, recognising and promoting the best of British business through a series of regional heats, culminating in a Gala Awards Dinner, which will take place at the Brewery, London on 30 November.
Entries open on Monday 13 March and will run until Friday 30 June. This year’s Awards are being launched at the London Stock Exchange, where last year’s winner of Business of the Year, Scientifica, have won the special honour of opening the Exchange as a prize. Next year’s winners will have the same chance to do so, a rare opportunity for a private business.
Companies can enter nine categories, covering exports, small business, people development, technology, high-growth, customer service, partnerships with the education sector, social media, and health and wellbeing.
Francis Martin, President of the British Chambers of Commerce said:
“Businesses are the driving force of the UK economy, creating jobs, growth and prosperity, and helping Britain to maintain its reputation internationally. This is exactly why it is important for us to recognise and celebrate the contribution they make to their local communities and the wider economy.
“The broad spread of categories in the Chamber Business Awards reflects both the diversity of industries and skills of British firms, and the range of achievements and projects that they have been involved with.
“Each time I visit Chamber member businesses, it is inspiring to see so many companies finding innovative ways to grow their business in every corner of the UK. The Awards acknowledge the relentless efforts of these businesses and their talented employees.”
Adrian Corbin of Scientifica, Winner of the ‘Business of the Year’ award last year, said:
“Everyone at Scientifica is incredibly proud that the company won Business of the Year at the Chamber Business Awards 2016. It is an enormous achievement and a fitting testimony to all the hard work that has gone into creating such a great company.
“We are at the forefront of high-tech British manufacturing, exporting our products to more than forty countries worldwide. We employ a highly-educated and international workforce who are all committed to producing innovative products to help further neuroscience research, and the winning of this award will undoubtedly help us expand into even more markets around the world.”
Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber of Commerce provided a business perpsective for the Mustard TV debate on the outcome of the Spring Budget. The discussion panel included, James Wright, Liberal Democrat City Councillor, Emma Corlett, Labour County councillor and Andrew Wiltshire, Conservative, Norwich South