Chamber News

The Norfolk Chamber Planning and Development Group met with planning officers from Norfolk’s local authorities last night to debate how the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) could be used to unlock growth in the county.

The debate gave the local authorities the opportunity to outline how they intended to implement the NPPF in their areas, together with their concerns to an audience of surveyors, developers, engineers, lawyers and architects involved in the planning and development industry. Members of the Chamber Planning and Development Group highlighted areas of concern with aspects of the NPPF that they felt needed addressing from a planning industry perspective.

The local authorities have broadly welcomed the NPPF, as it was much less prescriptive than previous guidance and allows for greater accessibility and scope for regeneration and development.

The concerns surrounding aspects of the NPPF for both the development industry and the local authorities were remarkably similar, although they were being approached from different angles, therefore common ground could be sought and a way forward developed. It was agreed that Norfolk needed to be proactive to ensure the best possible environment for development was created within the guidelines. It was also agreed that the Norfolk local authority planners and the business community working together could show real leadership.

Jonathan Cage, Chair of the Norfolk Chamber Planning Group, said “Both the planning industry and the local authority planners agree that the solutions needed to be based on the private and public sectors working together to develop sustainable growth that would incorporate adaptability for social and economic reasons.”

Commenting on the opening of the Olympic Games and their potential impact on British business, John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said:

“The London 2012 Olympics is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the best of Britain and make it clear to visitors and spectators from across the globe that we are ready to trade the world.

“We believe the Olympics will provide a timely confidence boost for businesses, particularly in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, and for the UK economy as a whole. The “feel-good factor” surrounding the Games is especially critical in the wake of the very poor GDP statistics released earlier in the week.

“The relaxation of Sunday trading laws will help many businesses reap the benefits from the influx of tourists. This eight week period will serve as a useful trial to provide evidence as to whether the relaxation of Sunday trading rules on a permanent basis would provide a boost to the economy in the long term.

“However, we cannot be complacent and assume that the Olympics will be positive for all companies. There is a chance that productivity could suffer as a result of congested transport networks, staffing disruptions, plus delays and cancellations to key deliveries. Olympic organisers and government ministers must stay in close contact with business to minimise disruptions, and ensure that the Games are more of a help than a hindrance to the UK economy.

“Finally, we also must ensure that we present the best possible face to our guests, particularly at our airports. We need to be ready to welcome travellers 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to demonstrate that our doors are truly open to tourism, investment and trade. Border delays put our reputation and future prosperity at risk.”

Defra has announced* that Norfolk and Suffolk’s bid to form a Local Nature Partnership (LNP) across the two counties has been successful.

Cross-county support

The bid was put forward by a core team of representatives from the Norfolk Biodiversity Partnership, Suffolk Biodiversity Partnership, Norfolk County Council and Suffolk County Council, who have been driving forward the idea of the new partnership in a capacity building period funded by Defra.

Many sectors contributed ideas which strengthened the proposal, including environmental organisations, local businesses, tourism, health and local government and there was much support for this cross-county approach from the start.

A stronger voice for nature

The LNP, which will be known as ‘Wild Anglia’, will act at a strategic level to ensure that the natural environment is taken into account in decision making at all levels, across the two counties. It will act as an advocate for nature and will support partners such as the Wildlife Trusts and communities in delivering projects that will strengthen nature and so benefit wildlife, communities and the economy.

Wild Anglia – nature, economy, community

Through a high level board, Wild Anglia will work to promote and support activities across a range of private, public and voluntary sectors, highlighting the many advantages that a health natural environment brings to society. A Business and Biodiversity Group, with members which will include the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the National Trust, Environment Agency and Suffolk Chamber of Commerce will ensure that the economic agenda is connected with environmental goals and investment in nature.

Caroline Williams CEO at the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce said: “We are very pleased that the bid to create a Local Nature Partnership for Norfolk and Suffolk has been successful. The Norfolk and Suffolk Chambers are key partners driving the green economy forward”

Andy Wood, chairman of New Anglia LEP said: “I welcome the announcement of the Norfolk and Suffolk Local Nature Partnership; I see it as a key partner in helping New Anglia champion the green economy, which is very important to the economy of the two counties.”

Derrick Murphy, Leader of Norfolk County Council, said: “This is excellent news. Formation of the Partnership signals wide recognition that the natural environment not only plays an important part in our quality of life in Norfolk and Suffolk, but is also vital to our economies. At a time when populations are rising and there is more pressure for jobs and economic growth, the Local Nature Partnership will be a powerful advocate for the natural world, and at the same time help us to make the most of the opportunities that can go hand in hand with a healthy natural environment.”

Mark Bee, Leader of Suffolk County Council said: “As a member of the New Anglia LEP, I particularly welcome this opportunity to see real linkages being made between the green economy and the environment. I feel certain that the partnership will generate some excellent benefits for the area.”

“The Green Economy Pathfinder Manifesto was officially launched last month at the House of Commons by Lord Deben and Norman Lamb MP; this really puts Norfolk & Suffolk on the map of global green business and the natural environment right at the heart of this innovative approach. Wild Anglia is a welcome partner and we look forward to working together for both business and wildlife,” he continued.

These sentiments were echoed by Dr. Charles Beardall, Area Manager for the Environment Agency in the East of England, who said: “We recognise the opportunity this presents to achieve significant outcomes, not only for the environment but more importantly for the communities and businesses whose sustainability is dependent upon its existence.”

Wild Anglia will implement the recommendations of the Natural Environment White paper and report by John Lawton, seeking to deliver ‘bigger, better, more joined up’ areas where nature can thrive, and helping to protect the natural environment against threats such as climate change. It will reach out beyond traditional wildlife enthusiasts to reach new audiences and strive to turn ‘users’ of the natural environment (such as visitors to nature reserves) into contributors who reinvest in ‘natural capital’.

Haidee Bishop, coordinator at Norfolk Biodiversity Partnership said: “Our natural environment needs to be future-proofed. We will see changes in the distribution of species as our climate changes and we need to ensure there is enough connected natural habitat in Norfolk and Suffolk for species to be able to move and adapt. The same is true for the threats of urban and economic development. Wild Anglia will work to change the perception that the natural environment is necessarily an impediment to growth, and we will work with planners, developers and the business sector to do this.”

Wild Anglia will:

• Find sustainable and significant new funding to deliver landscape-scale projects through a portfolio of projects, where schemes are matched with private and public sponsors
• Collaborate with New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership to deliver common aims on the Green Economy
• Share good practice on existing landscape-scale projects, and encourage the development of new projects
• Create efficiencies through cross-county working
• Develop and maintain new relationships with government and the Health and Business sectors

An exciting period now lies ahead, with immediate priorities to publish a manifesto setting out Wild Anglia’s vision and route map , launch a Business and Biodiversity group, compile a ‘State of the Environment’ baseline audit for Norfolk and Suffolk and immediately to input to an exemplar green infrastructure project in North East Norwich.

• UK GDP for Q2 2012: -0.7% on the quarter, -0.8% on the year

Commenting on the preliminary GDP figure for the second quarter, published today by the ONS, Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber of Commerce said:

“The first estimate for Q2 GDP is not the news businesses wanted to hear. While many firms are faring better than official statistics may suggest, it’s time for the government to be bold and show leadership.

“The ONS figures show a much larger decline in GDP in the second quarter than most analysts expected, deepening the technical recession. We believe that the disappointing figure paints an unduly pessimistic picture of the state of the economy. While the erratic construction figures were expected to show a large decline, the falls seen in services and in manufacturing are larger than anticipated.

“Norfolk business surveyed within the BCC’s Quarterly Economic Survey show a more positive picture and we still believe this gives a more accurate indication of the underlying trends in the economy.

“It is difficult to reconcile the very positive recent labour market figures published by the ONS, with the continued declines reported in GDP. Increases in employment, and in the average numbers of hours worked, at a time when output is falling, suggest implausible falls in productivity. We believe the employment figures are more accurate than the output figures, and the GDP figures are likely eventually to be revised up.

“Regardless of the uncertainty surrounding the ONS estimate, it is clear that economic growth remains much too low and the economy is stagnating. The main aim must now to focus on measures that will help businesses grow, invest, and create jobs.”

The next update to e-z Cert will be taking place in the new few days on the exporters side of the system. You will therefore find some product enhancement changes when you log in.

The update contains the following changes:

Feature 527 To help raise awareness of exporters responsibility to check applications before submission a new preview area and tick box has been added to the submit screen.

Feature 654 For all express applications certificate letters and numbers are now being captured. This will prevent the letters being missed.

Feature 59341 As per the update to HMRC notice 827 the EUR1 declarations have been slightly amended.

Feature 108 For applications which only include uploaded documents the Applicant/Exporter can now be selected on the Submit screen. Previously it was set in the background from the default exporter but couldn’t be changed within the application.

In addition to the above changes some performance enhancements have been made in the background.

Don’t forget to feedback to us how you are finding these changes, by emailing: [email protected]

The Chancellor of the Exchequer and Chief Secretary to the Treasury have unveiled a new UK Guarantees scheme aimed at accelerating major infrastructure investment and providing enhanced support to UK exporters.

The infrastructure part of the scheme is already in place but the export refinancing facility will not be available until later this year. It will support British exporters by ensuring that overseas buyers have the long-term funding they need.

UK Export Finance will begin supporting loans by the end of the year. Up to £5 billion of loans outstanding will be supported, with the programme designed to ensure that there are minimal risks to the public finances.

Sectors supported could include aerospace, oil and gas extraction equipment, transport and telecommunications infrastructure services, hospital construction and management services, and sports infrastructure.

Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry, John Cridland, said: “Investment and exports will be the dual drivers of future growth in the UK and this scheme should help fire up both engines.”

With regard to long-term loans to buyers of UK exports, he said: “We are not alone in seeking growth through exports – our European neighbours are competing to break into the same high-growth markets. Offering loans to foreign buyers will make UK exports more attractive and help more firms enter new markets.”

Aiming to address congestion and long-term capacity issues on and around the strategically crucial A14, the Government has said that it will add a major scheme involving tolling to the Department for Transport (DfT)’s programme of major projects.

A study has confirmed that funding for the planned changes can be generated in part through tolling a length of the enhanced A14, featuring around 20 miles of new or widened road.

However, the DfT will need to do more work to determine the best solution, including what length the tolled section should be, how users would pay and what the tariff should be.

Transport Secretary Justine Greening said: “The A14 is a crucial strategic route for the east of England, vital not only for international road traffic using the port of Felixstowe but everyone who relies on it daily.”

She explained that the improvement package includes: widening the Cambridge Northern Bypass between Milton and Girton and enhancement of the Girton Interchange; provision of high standard roads for local traffic use running in parallel to an enhanced A14 carriageway between Girton and the area near the current Trinity Foot A14 junction; and construction of a bypass to the south of Huntingdon between the area near Trinity Foot and the A1, at both ends tying in with the existing A14.

For the Confederation of British Industry, Director-General John Cridland said: “As the major route for goods coming into the UK by road, linking one of our busiest ports at Felixstowe with the Midlands and the North, the A14 has been crying out for the sorts of improvements the Government is proposing.”

He said that the plans showed that the Government was looking at innovative ways of attracting private investment into the areas of infrastructure that need it most.

However, sustainable transport campaigner Sian Berry, speaking for the Campaign for Better Transport, said: “Behind the spin, the reality is that it doesn’t give the go-ahead to a large toll road through the Cambridgeshire countryside, but simply moves all the options into the next stage of consideration by the DfT.”

With rumblings of the UK heading towards losing its AAA credit rating within the next 12 months, George Osborne is now planning to pump £50 billion into reviving the floundering economy.

The new UK Guarantees scheme aims to dramatically accelerate major infrastructure investment and provide major support to UK exporters. Under the scheme, major infrastructure projects that are struggling to access private finance because of adverse credit conditions will be able to go ahead – as long as these projects are ready to start within the next 12 months.

A staggering £40 billion worth of such projects will be supported. Also, £6 billion has been set aside for a temporary lending programme for 30 public private partnership infrastructure projects that are ready to start in the next year.

A £5 billion export refinancing facility will be available towards the end of 2012 to support British exporters.

The move has been welcomed by the CBI.

John Cridland, CBI Director-General, said: “Investment and exports will be the dual drivers of future growth in the UK and this scheme should help fire up both engines.”

However, the British Chamber of Commerce is sceptical that these may be empty promises.

Dr Adam Marshall, Director of Policy, stressed: “What’s clear is that these announcements are long overdue. Business expects speedy action, rather than yet more unfulfilled promises.”

The bilateral trade agreement between South Korea and the EU will help revitalise international trade.

The EU has long argued that one of the main ways out of the current economic problems afflicting its Member States is to encourage international trade, and it worked as hard as any of the participants to revive the moribund World Trade Organization (WTO) talks. However, lack of progress over several years with regard to multilateral deals left it with little choice other than to pursue bilateral options, and one of the most important of these is the reciprocal preferential trade agreement with South Korea, which entered into force in July 2011. One year on from that date, this article examines the benefits that were forecast to flow from the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and looks at the extent to which experience has matched up to expectation.

What did the EU expect to get from the deal?

South Korea’s economy is the EU’s sixth most important trading partner outside Europe, behind the USA, China, Japan, India and Brazil. Most significantly, EU exporters of industrial and agricultural goods to South Korea will no longer pay tariffs, meaning that exporters will potentially save €16 billion annually. In addition, the FTA will open up several billion euros worth of new opportunities for EU companies in the services sectors as the Agreement will not only offer commitments on services on a par with those offered by South Korea in its draft FTA with the USA, but also go beyond those in sectors of specific EU interest. These include securing full market access for EU’s shipping firms and enabling access for EU providers of international express delivery services to the Korean market.

Under the FTA, South Korea will generally recognise European certificates and test results. Therefore, no duplicative tests or certification will be required, tackling non-tariff barriers (NTBs) in the electronics, pharmaceutical and medical devices sectors. Another important EU sector – car manufacturing – will gain from a combination of elimination of South Korean duties and NTBs. The 8% tariff on EU cars exported to South Korea will be removed, which means that, for every car worth €25,000 exported to South Korea, €2000 in duties will be saved. Of even greater significance is the ambitious NTB package under which South Korea accepts equivalence of international or EU standards for all its significant technical regulations.

The FTA includes a comprehensive chapter covering provisions on copyright, designs, enforcement and geographical indications (GIs). It also prohibits and sanctions certain practices and transactions involving goods and services which distort competition and trade between the parties. This suggests that anti-competitive practices such as cartels, abusive behaviour by companies with a dominant market position and anti-competitive mergers will not be tolerated by the EU and South Korea, and will be subject to effective enforcement action.

Finally, the Agreement includes an efficient dispute settlement mechanism to ensure the enforceability of commitments taken, as well a mediation mechanism to tackle NTBs. The procedures envisaged under the dispute settlement chapter foresee arbitration ruling within 120 days, much faster than anything available through the WTO.

One year on

The importance of the deal with South Korea is that it is the first of a new generation of FTAs intended to go further than ever before with regard to lifting trade barriers and making it easier for European and foreign companies to do business together. The reaction of EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht to the first few months of the Agreement suggests that the Commission is happy with the way things are going so far. Because of lower import tariffs for European products at the Korean border, he said that EU firms had made estimated cash savings of €350 million in duties after just nine months.

The full benefits are not apparent at this early stage, he explained, as the FTA envisaged eliminating tariffs for industrial and agricultural goods in a progressive, step-by-step approach. By 1 July 2016, the majority (98.7%) of import duties in trade value for both industrial and agricultural goods will be eliminated, but it will not be until July 2031 that all (well, 99.9%) of EU-South Korea bilateral trade will be duty-free. It will, the Commissioner suggests, be 5 or 10 years before the trade benefits of the agreement can be assessed with certainty. To get at least a preliminary view of the success or otherwise of the FTA, the Commission has compared EU trade figures with Korea over nine months – from the entry into force in July 2011 until March 2012 – with an average of the figures from the same months over the previous four years, to reflect the fluctuation in trade due to the economic crisis.

Impact on exports

This showed that EU exports to South Korea increased by €6.7 billion, or 35%. Exports to other countries also grew during this timeframe (by 25%) but the greater level of increase of exports to Korea indicates, in the Commission’s view, that the early tariff eliminations are already having some effect.

• Exports of products where the tariff was eliminated on 1 July 2011 (eg wine, some chemical products, textiles and clothing, iron and steel products, machinery and appliances, representing 34% of EU exports to South Korea) increased by €2.7 billion (46%)
• For products that were only partially liberalised on 1 July 2011 (eg cars and agricultural products, representing 44% of EU’s exports to Korea), the increase is €3 billion (36%)
• For products where there was no change to the tariff (eg some agricultural products, representing 18% of EU exports) the increase is €1 billion (23%)

Among the real success stories were pork – exports up by almost 120%, which equates to new trade worth almost €200 million – and leather bags and luggage, up by over 90%, representing €150 million in extra trade.

What’s next?

With similar deals pending with the USA, India, Canada, Japan and Singapore, a lot depends on the pioneering Korea deal being a success. So far, at least, the outlook looks to be cautiously optimistic.

• Public sector borrowing in June 2012 was £14.4bn, compared with £13.9bn in June 2011

Commenting on the public sector finance figures for June 2012, David Kern, Chief Economist at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

“The deficit in June was higher than a year ago, and confirms the challenges facing the UK in restoring its public finances. Deficit reduction will be a difficult task, and will put further pressure on both businesses and consumers over the coming months. Judging by these figures, we expect total borrowing in 2012/13 to reach £98bn – £6bn more than the OBR predicted in March.

“Although there are many calls for the government to ease the pace of the fiscal squeeze, doing so now would be a mistake. The right approach is to persevere, but combine focused deficit reduction with more forceful policies to support growth. The Chancellor has earned considerable credibility in the financial markets, and now it’s time for him to make use of that credibility to help the private sector flourish. Cutting regulation, implementing the recent announcements on infrastructure and export support, and creating a business bank would help businesses drive growth.”

The members of the West Norfolk Chamber Council met recently at Congham Hall Hotel, Grimston, King’s Lynn. Their economic round table discussion identified that many businesses in West Norfolk were steadily ‘ticking over’ and that some of the medium sized SME’s were actively looking to finance growth. Whereas the ‘micro’ businesses had no appetite to borrow money to expand and grow further at present.

A presentation on the Hanseatic economic area was given to the Chamber Council by Ostap Paparega, the Regeneration & Economic Development Manager for King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council. A briefing note will be published shortly.

Norwich Chamber Council met recently and invited Andrew Bell, CEO of Norwich International Airport (NIA) to provide an update on the airport. Andrew advised that NIA had enjoyed 4 years of double-digit growth and that they were now operating a much more streamlined business. Their offshore service was improving and a fourth helicopter had joined the fleet based in Norwich. NIA’s core route is to Amsterdam and this route was performing very well. Andrew also advised that the airport was looking to increase their Summer 2013 programme for package holiday traffic.

The Chamber Council’s economic round table discussions highlighted that Norwich businesses are finding it tough and it was apparent that some firms were finding it hard to finance their growth aspirations, as bank lending was proving difficult. Additionally businesses looking to recruit were struggling to find the right calibre of staff.

The Chamber Council also noted that at present a ballot is being undertaken on the Norwich Business Improvement District (BID) and the voting closes on 30 July 2012.