Chamber News

On Wednesday 25 March, the Norwich Opportunity Area and its partners will deliver a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style careers event, where 100 specially chosen Year 12 students in Norwich will be tackling a ‘real-life’ business problem.

But to ensure that this is a huge success we need support from the local business community in two key areas:

1. We would like a local business to help set the actual challenge!  This can be based on a past issue, or one they are facing now.  Ideally it will be linked to something topical, such as the environment, human rights or something which is relevant to one of the region’s key industries and our young people. The business that sets the task will have the collective brain power of 100 specifically selected students to create a solution.  The business would also be welcome to be one of the dragons on the day and could possibly allow the winning team to visit their business.
2. We are also looking for a number of business volunteers to mentor a student team.  They will observe the students, provide individual feedback, and help judge their final presentations and performance.

The event is part of the Norwich Opportunity Area’s drive to increase employer engagement and raise the career aspirations of our young people.

If your business has a suitable business challenge, or you can provide the event with a mentor(s) to work with the students, please can you contact [email protected]

Norfolk’s leading business to business exhibition is back for 2020 and promises to be even bigger and better. With over 900 visitors attending in 2019 The B2B Exhibition is the perfect way to promote your business, get in touch with new potential customers, and build brand awareness.

Stand bookings are now open with our Early Bird Discount available until Friday 29 May so take advantage and book now! We have created a range of packages to suit every budget and fit your needs:

• Pop-Up Space from £299+VAT
• Pop-Up Space with Electricity from £325+VAT
• Exhibition Stand from £449+VAT
• Exhibition Booth from £499+VAT

Special discounts are available to Chamber Members and charities, click here to book your stand. Every package comes with an extensive range of benefits and tools to maximise your exposure before, during, and after the event.

A highlight of the Norfolk business calendar The B2B Exhibition is now in its 22nd year. In 2019 100% of exhibitors surveyed agreed B2B helped them meet and network with local businesses, 97% agreed it helped them raise their profile, and 95% agreed it’s worth attending.

Looking for extra exposure? There are a number of sponsorship opportunities available. Built to give you maximum impact, you can snap them up from as little as £1000+VAT. Each package includes a number of enhanced benefits exclusive to sponsors to encourage visitor engagement in the run up to, on the day of, and after the big day.

We listened to your feedback, went away to think long and hard and created a range of new offerings for 2020:

• A networking breakfast the morning of the event so you can start making connections from the moment you arrive
• Budget-friendly Pop-Up Stands
• Even more sponsorship opportunities to help you gain extra exposure
• New and improved booking software so you can get the perfect spot

The B2B Exhibition 2020 returns to Norfolk Showground on Thursday 15th October 10am to 4pm. To keep up to date with all things B2B follow our dedicated Twitter: @NorfolkB2B and keep an eye on our weekly newsletter.

For more information get in touch with Philippa Bindley, Head of Customer Experience on 01603 729703 or [email protected]

The Energy Saving Trust has announced the Department for Transport has made £2 million funding available for the acquisition of ecargo bikes, to support green last mile deliveries. This funding is available to limited companies, sole traders, partnerships, charities and not-for-profit organisations operating in England. Public, community or third sector organisations are also eligible providing they meet the eligibility criteria.

The eCargo bike fund, which local businesses can use to pay for up to 100% of the cost of purchasing Ecargo bikes, is going to be awarded through Local Authorities and the Norfolk County Council are pleased to announce that they are proposing to put in an application with local businesses in late March.

Ecargo bikes allow businesses to benefit from:

• Better and often quicker access around the city being able to use bus lanes, cycle paths and Pedestrian and Cycle Zones such as Gentlemen’s Walk at all times
• Reduced fuel costs
• Zero emission transport, showcasing a modern and clean presence in the city and creating a healthier workforce
• Needing less kerb space to make deliveries and collections

The Ecargo bikes that are eligible:

• Can have any number of wheels
• Must meet the Electrically Assisted Pedal cycles (EAPCs) criteria
• Have at least 125 litre cargo volume
• Have at least 130kg minimum weight capacity (weight of rider plus luggage)

The Norfolk County Council have opened a survey to gather expressions of interest from local businesses to see how this fund can be utilised. This might take the form of

• Try before you buy scheme
• Leasing scheme
• Shared pool
• Ownership

Register your interest by completing this brief survey.

The survey will be open from 17 to 28 February 2020 with responses collated and replied to in early March. Norfolk County Council will submit the grant application in time for 27 March.

More details of the fund can be found on the Energy Saving Trust website.

Commenting on the government’s policy proposals for a points-based immigration system, Nova Fairbank, Head of Policy for Norfolk Chambers of Commerce said:

 “The speed and scale of these changes will require significant adjustment by businesses.

 “Companies are already investing heavily in home-grown talent across the county, but critical labour shortages mean firms will still need access to overseas workers at all skill levels. 

 “The new points system must be able to respond quickly to changing market needs, and the application process must be radically simplified.”

Commenting on the ONS labour market figures for February 2020, published today, BCC Head of Economics Suren Thiru said: “The jobs market remains remarkably robust, with employment levels rising despite the UK economy stalling at the end of last year. “However, the strong headline figures mask underlying problems. Lingering economic uncertainty can mean companies hire staff to fill orders rather than investing for the long-term, weakening productivity. “Slowing wage growth is a concern as it could trigger a broader slowdown in household spending, a major driver of UK economic growth. A weak economy, low productivity and high employment costs are limiting increases in pay settlements. “The forthcoming Budget must take steps to close the skills gap, with more funding for vocational and technical education and improved flexibility for the Apprenticeship Levy to better meet business needs.”

The Quarterly Economic Survey is the largest independent business survey in the UK. The results are used by the Government and the Bank of England to plan the future of the UK economy. You can have your say by completing the QES online NOW.  It takes less than 3 minutes.  The completion deadline for this survey is midnight on Monday 09 March 2020.  The Q1 results will be released at the beginning of April.

The results from the previous quarter revealed that the UK ended 2019 in stagnation, amid long-term uncertainty, rising business costs and a slowing global economy. The survey found protracted weakness across most indicators of economic health in the final quarter of 2019.

• Norfolk’s service sector indicators worsen and remain well below their historic average
• Norfolk indicators for manufacturing cashflow, home orders, and investment continue to worsen and are firmly in negative territory

The service sector, which accounts for almost 80% of UK economic output, saw a large majority of its key indicators worsen compared to Q3 2019. These indicators remain well below their historic average. 

The balance of manufacturers reporting a rise in domestic and export sales fell drastically. However, the balance of manufacturers reporting increased export orders rose from the previous negative position in Q3.

Investment intentions remain weak by historic standards – the balance of local firms in the manufacturing sector that plan to increase investment in plant and machinery dropped back to a negative position – whilst the fall was not as great, both the National and the East of England results also fell.

Cashflow – a key indicator of the health of businesses – Nationally showed a slightly improved result, but remained very weak across both manufacturing and service sectors.  Locally, both the Norfolk and the East of England service and manufacturing sectors reported decreased cashflow (-6 and -10 respectively in Norfolk and -10 and -4 in the East of England).

Key Norfolk findings in the Q4 2019 survey:

Services sector:

• The balance of firms reporting increased domestic sales fell from +8 in Q3 2019 to -7. Those reporting increased domestic orders fell from 0 to -12.
• The balance of firms reporting improved export sales dropped from -5 to -12. Those reporting increased export orders fell from -5 to -31, and all-time low.
• The balance of firms reporting improved cashflow fell from +2 to -6
• The balance of firms looking to increase investment in plant and machinery remained at -14 but rose slightly from +7 to +9 for training
• The balance of firms confident that turnover and profitability will improve over the next year increased from +10 to +26 for turnover and from -5 to -4 for profitability.  Despite these slight improvements, the figures still remain weak.

Manufacturing sector:

• The balance of firms reporting increased domestic sales fell from 0 in Q3 2019, to -20
• While those reporting increased domestic orders continued to fall from -11 to -20
• The balance of firms reporting improved export sales rose from -6 to +11
• The balance of firms reporting increased export orders improved considerably from -24 to 0
• The balance of firms reporting improved cashflow fell deeper into negative territory from -5 in Q3 to -20 in Q4
• The balance of firms increasing investment in plant/machinery fell from +10 to -10 and investment in training rose from +10 to +30
• The balance of firms confident that turnover and profitability will increase in the next 12 months fell from +38 to +10 for turnover and from +14 to 0 for profitability. This is still much lower than the post-recession average.

Take part in the first Quarterly Economic Survey of 2020 – I’ts completely anonymous and takes less than 3 minutes to complete.

On the 13th February we welcomed our members to the first West Norfolk Lunch of 2020. The room was filled with around 30 business from all over Norfolk, many travelling from Norwich to attend and of course, our local West Norfolk members ventured to the beautiful The Ffolkes Inn. 

The late morning event consisted of networking over coffee, and chats with our feature charity; EACH. The EACH stand had some beautiful pictures of their new hopsice located in Poringland as well as information on what you can do to get involved and support them. 

We were called to be seated and enjoyed a delicious two course lunch provided the fantastic Ffolke Inn staff. We then heard from the very talented and knowledgable Lucy Mowatt, Director of Method Marketing, on what is conent marketing?  Lucy explained that content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valueable, relevant and consistent content. Lucy went on to say that content can be anyting from online articles, case studies and videos to podcasts and social media updates. Content is needed for brand awareness, engagement and conversations with your potential customers and to reach a wider audience. 

Lucy gave the audience some tips on how to get started with content marketing and said that the most important thing to get started is to always do your research and know your audience, with this in place you can then begin to develop a strategy and create a plan to measure your outcomes. 

If your wanting to find out more about content marketing, you can find Lucy’s directory here.

The government is working to boost economic activity across the UK, ensuring that towns, cities and regions across the country can begin to benefit from the opportunities of leaving the EU. As part of this work, they aims to create up to 10 Freeports in locations across the UK.

The government wants to establish Freeports, which have different customs rules than the rest of the country, that are innovative hubs, boost global trade, attract inward investment and increase productivity. In doing so, they want Freeports to generate employment opportunities to the benefit of some of the most deprived communities around the UK.

The government has the following objectives for UK Freeports:

• Establish Freeports as national hubs for global trade and investment across the UK.
• Promote regeneration and job creation.
• Create hotbeds for innovation.
• The government has drawn on evidence from successful Freeports around the world to develop a UK Freeport model. The proposed model includes tariff flexibility, customs facilitations and tax measures. We are also considering planning reforms, additional targeted funding for infrastructure improvements, and measures to incentivise innovation.

To support this work, the Department of International Trade are running a formal consultation to understand your thoughts on the UK’s plans for Freeports. They aim to feed your views into the policy development process.

They want all the nations of the UK to be able to share in the benefits of Freeports. As such, they intend to work with the Devolved Administrations to develop proposals that would enable the creation of Freeports in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, in addition to those in England.

So take part in the consultation today, share your views and have an impact on the development process for this exciting opportunity for the UK. Please see the PDF below for the official Freeports Consultation document from the Department of International Trade.

For any further queries on guidance or accessibility, please email [email protected].

This consultation closes at 11:59pm on 20 April 2020.

Another year, another afternoon of discussing key topics concerning Norfolk’s future.

Friday 7th February saw the opening of The Big Debate 2020, one of our high-profile events that brings together Norfolk’s business community from across all industries to be part of change for the county, both in 2020 and beyond.

The event was held at OPEN on Bank Plain, Norwich, and saw just shy of 150 delegates to the afternoon – our largest turn out to date!

Opened by our wonderful Head of Policy here at Norfolk Chambers, Nova Fairbank, who welcomed everybody collectively and went through what’s what for the event (and where to run in case of an emergency!), she started the afternoon on a high celebrating a big year ahead for Norfolk Chambers. Nova went on to make the big announcement about our exciting new project at Norfolk Chambers, known as Norfolk’s Voice. This is a platform for sharing critical knowledge, understanding, ideas, best practice and thought leadership through the medium of video, audio and written blogs.

We then welcomed to the stage Johnathan Denby from Greater Anglia, to talk about the milestones achieved last year on the counties rail service and to announce some exciting new projects and developments both currently happening and on the horizon for the company.

A special thank you to our sponsors, Greater Anglia and Broadland Business Park, to our exhibitors Barnham Broom, Howes Percival LLP, Maids Head Hotel and WLP, for supporting the event this year. And, of course, a special thank you to our fantastic host David Powles from Eastern Daily Press & Norwich Evening News, for directing the flow of questions to the panels and keeping the afternoon diverse, positive and exciting.

David Powles has been a journalist for 20 years, working for the Eastern Daily Press and Norwich Evening News for the last 13 of them. His previous roles have included News Reporter, News Editor, Investigations Editor and Assistant Editor and he was made editor of the daily newspapers and websites in 2017, fulfilling a lifetime’s ambition, making him a perfect fit for hosting our event.

Aimed at discussing and debating the most pressing issues that our region is facing, Chambers members were given the opportunity to question this year’s brilliant panel consisting of three Norfolk MPs, an Independent Trade Expert and local business leaders coming from a wide variety of industries.

The afternoon consisted of four debates, each with a mix of panellists who covered topics identified by Norfolk Chambers that have been at the forefront of the business community. The topics, their respected panellists and some of the discussions that took place within each debate are as follows:

Skills/People

• Richard Bacon, MP for South Norfolk
• Lisa Collen, Flagship Group
• Corrienne Peasgood OBE, City College Norwich

Kicking off the debates with the topic of Skills and People, the three biggest themes from this panel were around; the general skills shortage we are currently facing within Norfolk, along with the importance of education and the providing of opportunities; mental health and the ability we have to now instil good working practise and skills to both our current and future workforce to help combat the stigma; and the retention and recognition of the talent we have within Norfolk.

Infrastructure

• Chloe Smith, MP for Norwich North
• Dale Curtis, Kickstart Norfolk
• Johnathan Cage, Create Consulting Engineers Ltd
• Johnathan Denby, Greater Anglia

The key themes discussed on this panel related to; what improvements are needed for rail-lines within Norwich and Norfolk; what more needs to be done to ensure that improvements are being made to the A47 and other key transport links, and methods, to, from and within Norfolk; and the importance of 4G/5G and general connectivity within Norfolk, especially when compared to other regions around the UK.

International Trade

• Mike Chapman, Independent Trade Expert
• Kevin Walsh, LV Shipping
• Duncan Lathwell, Natwest

Multiple topics came up during this panel, including; advice for first time exporters and what support is available to them; what is in store for future British trade, post Brexit; how we should go about maximising the port potential within Norfolk; the importance of learning the export destination’s language and/or culture when engaging in trade; and how important is air travel, especially in relation to Norwich Airport.

Sustainability

• Clive Lewis, MP for Norwich South
• Alex Durand, SaxonAir
• Ali Clabburn, Liftshare
• John Popely, Anglia Print Ltd

Finally, the debate on sustainability had some in depth discussions relating to; what support and options are needed to improve our sustainability and carbon footprint from both an individual and a business perspective; how we actually go about shifting the focus from individual actions to a larger scale of what impacts businesses can have when tackling climate change; what would happen if we did manage to hit the 2050 carbon mitigation target and where would we go from there; what opportunities do we have to use more sustainable resources going forward; and where the resources are actually coming from to make the sustainable changes such as the conversion to electric cars, vans etc.

Furthermore, Ali Clabburn spoke extensively about the success of Liftshare in reducing the company’s CO2 emissions by around 54% across 2018/19, and their objective of paving the way for other businesses to follow suit in taking action to reduce their CO2 output and have a positive impact on the environment.

The event, although debating some heavy topics and having honest discussions on the current state of affairs within the region, came to a close with both the panellists and delegates coming together to celebrate Norfolk in an energetic atmosphere that comes with being part of the business voice that will create opportunities for our county going into 2020.

The UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020, bringing us to the final stages of Brexit – a process that officially began almost three years ago.

The Department for International Trade has begun preparations for the UK’s first independent tariff policy in almost fifty years. This means that the UK will be free to set its tariff rates on all imported goods. To inform the development of the UK Global Tariff, the Government has launched a four-week public consultation on the UK Global Tariff policy, beginning on 6 February 2020 and closing on 5 March 2020.

Julie Austin, International Trade Manager at Norfolk Chambers of Commerce, encourages everyone with an interest to take part and provide their views. So, take part today, and be part of the voice that shapes what happens from the 1 January 2021.

This new policy, the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariff, will enter into force on 1 January 2021.

The tariffs will apply to all imported goods into the UK, unless in exceptional circumstances such as a preferential agreement or if tariff suspensions apply. As such, this tariff will not apply to goods incoming from developing countries that benefit under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences, or to goods originating from countries that the UK has negotiated a free trade agreement (FTA).

Regarding Northern Ireland, specific arrangements that are in place are provided by the Northern Ireland/Ireland Protocol within the Withdrawal Agreement.

In setting the tariff rates, the government will have regard to the principles set out in the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018, namely:

• The interests of consumers in the United Kingdom
• The interests of producers in the United Kingdom of the goods concerned
• The desirability of maintaining and promoting the external trade of the United Kingdom
• The desirability of maintaining and promoting productivity in the United Kingdom
• The extent to which the goods concerned are subject to competition
• The government will also seek to balance strategic trade objectives, such as the delivery of the UK’s trade ambitions and FTA trade agenda, with maintaining the government’s commitment to developing countries to reduce poverty through trade.

The consultation offers you the opportunity to provide:

• Views on a potential series of amendments to the Common External Tariff to create a bespoke UK tariff- specifically: simplifying and tailoring the UK Global Tariff policy, removing tariffs on goods imported by UK businesses to manufacture other goods, and where the UK has zero or limited domestic production
• Specific feedback on specific products or commodity codes of importance to you, including on the corresponding tariff rate
• Information on your interactions with MFN tariffs and the importance of tariffs to your sectors

Throughout the consultation respondents are encouraged to provide evidence to support their view, including the possible impact (costs and benefits) of amending or not amending the tariff on businesses, consumers and the economy.

This consultation represents a unique and historic opportunity for every business, every person and every civil society group, in every part of the UK, to have their say.

So be sure to share your views and contribute to the preparation of the MFN tariff policy that comes into force from the 1 January 2021.

It is recommended that you use a desktop or laptop computer to complete your response to this consultation.

For any further queries on guidance or accessibility you can email [email protected]. This email address will no longer be monitored once the consultation closes on 5 March 2020.

If you have any further queries regarding International Trade please do not hesitate to contact the International Trade Department at Norfolk Chambers of Commerce on 01603 729706 or email [email protected]

Following the success of The B2B Exhibition in 2019, held at Norfolk Showground for the first year, we are excited to announce a new Brand Partnership designed to enhance the profile of the show for 2020.  Our new Brand Partnership, formed with local Norwich business Ark, will see The B2B Exhibition go through a re-brand to become The B2B Show.  This re-brand will give B2B not only a new name, but a new look too, utilising elements of the recent Norfolk Chambers re-brand to make the show stand out.  Based in the Norwich Lanes, Ark have worked on a range of exciting local projects since forming including the Norwich City of Stories brand, Liftshare, UEA Innovation and Impact Awards, Visit North Norfolk, Jarrold Privilege Club and more.  Although in the early concept stages, we are excited to see how the brand forms ready to unveil it to you in the coming months. Keep your eyes on our website and social media and get ready for an exciting change. For more information on the show, click here.

What is the Apprenticeship Intermediary Service? It’s a centralised support service delivered by NSAR in partnership with the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) to help Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and other smaller business intermediaries throughout England understand the recent changes to apprenticeships and how this impacts smaller employers. By working in  partnership with you, this service aims to provide practical advice to as many smaller employers as possible until March 2020.

Why is the service needed? There are over 2,000,000 smaller employers in England and from January 2020, they have a choice in the way they engage with apprenticeships. The Government has a vision to improve the quality of apprenticeships and ensure they work for businesses of all sizes. That’s why at the beginning of the year they opened up the apprenticeship service for all businesses, not just large ones. This change will allow smaller employers, who do not pay the apprenticeship levy, to make more informed decisions when it comes to apprenticeships, ensuring they are doing what’s best for their business.

How can you help? We’re working in partnership and collaboration with local intermediaries, sharing tools and knowledge so that your network of local businesses can confi dently navigate the apprenticeship service. We want to help you to drive regional growth by encouraging business growth through apprenticeships.

How will we support you? NSAR has recruited Partnership Leads to work in regional clusters with intermediaries to deliver a schedule of information-sharing activities in each LEP region in England. These will involve a selection of co-delivered events, webinars and workshops and will cover subjects including:

• The Apprenticeship Service – what is it, how to register, how is it used?
• Making Apprenticeships Work for Smaller Employers – the Toolkit launch

We are offering webinars on the following dates to update you on the progress of the intermediary service and showcase best practice in your regions:

• January 29th
• February 26th
• March 25th

We are also running regional ‘Masterclass for Intermediaries’ workshops. These funded workshops are open to intermediary staff and will provide coaching on the changes to Apprenticeships, allowing you to pass on sustainable support to your smaller employer networks beyond the end of this project.

In addition, we have grant funding to help intermediaries raise awareness across England so get in touch today to see how you can get involved.

To get involved in the campaign, register for the webinars or sign-up for your nearest event contact us at [email protected]