Returning on Friday 7 February, 1pm – 4pm at OPEN Norwich, The Big Debate brings together local MPs and business leaders to influence change and give voice to Norfolk businesses. Following on from a successful event in 2019, 2020’s event will be split into four debates looking at topics Norfolk Chambers have identified as key to the business community right now. Attendees will be able to submit questions live at the event using Sli.do, with the ability to vote for their favourite questions to be asked directly to our panels. Our first panel on stage will look to focus on people and skills, tackling the challenge of how we recruit and retain top talent in the county. Joining us for the debate will be Richard Bacon MP for South Norfolk, Lisa Collen of Flagship Group and Becky Wilson of Pure Resourcing. Next on the agenda will be infrastructure with the aims of looking at the impact poor fundamental facilities has on businesses and how we revolutionise Norfolk’s physical and digital infrastructure. Back in November 2019 British Chambers of Commerce reported that UK businesses are even less satisfied with UK infrastructure than they were a year ago, highlighting how important it is to bring this to the debate. This topic will be debated by Chloe Smith MP for Norwich North, Dale Curtis of Kickstart and Jonathan Cage of Create Consulting and will be followed by a break. During the break afternoon tea will be served to the tables for attendees to network and continue the discussions and debates. After the break international trade will be up for discussion. We expect Brexit will be high on the agenda here, highlighting the support local businesses need to drive growth overseas as well as the impact Brexit will have and the changes coming into effect. We are pleased to have Kate Colchester of New Anglia LEP, Kevin Walsh of LV Shipping and Duncan Lathwell of NatWest joining us to answer your questions. Our final topic of the afternoon will be sustainability and climate change. Our panellists will be looking at what support is needed for businesses to improve their carbon footprints, as well as how we make radical changes without impacting business as usual and lobbying for more sustainable infrastructure in Norfolk. Answering your questions will be Clive Lewis MP for Norwich South, Ali Clabburn of Liftshare and Alex Durand of SaxonAir. Whilst questions will be coming in live from attendees, there is also the opportunity to submit any burning questions in advance of the event. If you would like to submit a question on any of the four topics, you may do so here: click here to submit questions The Big Debate 2020 is sponsored by Greater Anglia and Broadland Business Park. To book your tickets click here.
