news

On the back of the positive economic news last week of 0.8 growth – exporters are again in the news with Chamber member Rackheath based packaging manufacturer Redpack is looking to expand into Poland to exploit the potential of its growing food sector after taking a trip to check out the potential.

Find out about new markets is a good way to grow a business and if travelling is not an option the Chamber is running a series of events in Norfolk covering countries such as Brazil in November, Qatar, Russia, South Africa and Vietnam over the coming months. These are free to attend and open to all businesses.

The Chambers new International Trade Group also meets for the first time this month to debate issues affecting exporters.

One month on from the General Election, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) today (Monday) publishes a post-election survey of over 2,400 companies, which shows that while businesses have a range of views on their preferred objectives for the UK in Brexit negotiations, there is almost no support to conclude UK-EU talks without a trade deal.

Asked to consider which option came closest to their view about what the UK’s Brexit negotiation objectives should be, the survey – carried out just after the election – showed:

• 34% said remain in the Single Market and Customs Union
• 28% said a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement and a customs agreement (the government’s pre-election objectives, set at the Prime Minister’s Lancaster House speech)
• 13% said remain in Customs Union only (no hard borders or tariffs, but limited scope to negotiate trade agreements with third countries)
• 11% said remain in the Single Market only (accept EU regulations and rules in return for full access to market)
• 2% said leave the Single Market and Customs Union, and rely on WTO rules for trade (leave without a trade deal with the EU)

Respondents were also asked about a transition period, and which of the following options they believe is best for their business:

• 46% said ‘a transition period of three years’
• 22% said ‘a transition period of longer than three years’
• 17% said ‘no transition period’

Chris Sargisson, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber said:

“The results make it clear that there are a range of business views on what the UK should be seeking in a final deal with the EU, but there is near-universal consensus that a deep and comprehensive agreement is needed. ‘No deal’ isn’t seen as a viable option. Businesses in Norfolk and across the UK want a pragmatic settlement on the practical, real-world issues that affect their operations, not arbitrary political red lines. 

“By more than three to one, businesses want a transition period on the way to a final agreement with the EU. This is critical to prevent Norfolk firms facing the prospect of repeated, costly adjustments to new trading conditions. If companies have to change their business model once in 2019 and again several years thereafter, the competitiveness and investment potential of our firms will be undermined.

“Getting transition arrangements on the negotiations agenda as quickly as possible would give our businesses – many of whom are considering big investment decisions now – the confidence to press ahead.” 

One of Norfolk Chamber’s key priorities is helping to bridge the gap between business and education.  Our Young Chamber programme is designed to help create stronger business engagement with schools and support the raising of young people’s aspirations and soft skills.  There are many schools across Norfolk, who already do some great work achieving these goals, but how do you find them and what recognition do those schools receive for their hard work?

The new Young Chamber Enterprise Recognition Award is an award recognising and celebrating education establishments in Norfolk that are committed to improving the employability skills of young people in our region.

Bearers of this award will have evidenced a clear understanding of the local business needs and will be working to equip students with the necessary skills as well as creating opportunities for students to engage with local organisations.  An education establishment with the Gold Tick award has shown the most commitment to student employability outcomes and has gone above and beyond in delivering a culture of enterprise.

The awards are free to enter and aim to provide a platform to not only to recognise the work already happening within education, but to create a springboard for new relationships between businesses and education.

The Enterprise Recognition Award scheme was devised and created by the Young Chamber Board, who worked in collaboration with stakeholders from both the business community and the education establishments.  The Young Chamber Board members include: KakeCo, Aviva, and Norse Group.

Commenting on the new award initiative, Kieran Miles, Founder of KakeCo and Chair of the Young Chamber Board said:

“The Young Chamber is a fantastic opportunity to begin the breakdown of barriers between business and education. A lot of great work is being done on both sides, but we must bring these together for the success of our future workforce. By recognising the work already being done by education leaders in the county and local businesses rolling up their sleeves, we hope that the Enterprise Recognition Award will act as an invaluable tool in the region to celebrate, reward and support the development of these successes.”

Dr Simon Fox, Principal of Flegg High School said:

“We are delighted to be involved in the School Enterprise Recognition Award, and very proud to be one of the first institutions to participate in the scheme. The ability to receive recognition for all the excellent work we do to inspire young people into the world of work is a fantastic opportunity.

“The framework gives us the chance to test our own systems and provision and make sure we are doing everything we can to provide first-rate experiences for young people. It also acknowledges the strong links we have with local businesses, and let’s other organisations know we are proactive and keen to make connections, network and collaborate.”

Claire Holmes, Group HR Director at NPS Group said:

“As businesses we are proud to shout about the work we undertake with local schools within our community. We’re often asked to talk about what we do and the how we benefit local schools. I’ve heard the question time and time again ‘what are schools doing to work with local business?’ or ‘are schools doing enough?’

“In many cases, yes, they are, but where’s the forum for them to showcase this, to celebrate what they do, their innovations and to demonstrate where they excel in working with local business in the interests of their students? That is the backdrop against which we decided to develop and launch this accreditation. Many schools can be very proud of what they do, this gives the opportunity for all of the community to celebrate and share in that pride.”

Glyndwr Thomas, Finance Manager at Aviva UK said:

“I’m passionate about recognising people for the skills they have and making sure they have the chance to use them.  Bridging the gap between education and business by creating opportunities to work together and collaborate is a big challenge; so we should recognise and reward the efforts being made by education establishments.  With their excellent network of contacts, the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce is very well placed to help make the connection between education and business.”

Norwich City Council have released their latest economic barometer. The report highlighted:

Locally

• Supermarket Lidl, has lots is appeal to build a store on Bishop Bridge Road
• DigitalCity’s tech trail which helps young people find out about opportunities within the industry, has been named on the Digital Leaders 100 list
• A quarter of East of England SMEs believe a cyber attack on their business is a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’

Nationally

• The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose to 2.9% in May up from 2.7% in the previous month
• The Recruitment & Employment Confederation survey showed a sharp drop in permanent candidate numbers since August 2016
• An EEF survey showed that European export markets were still strong despite Brexit fears

For full details of the latest economic barometer click here.

Across nearly all districts of Norfolk, levels of unemployment fell in June.  Overall, the claimant count for Norfolk stood at 7,960, which was a drop of 320 claimants from the previous month.  Norfolk is currently ranked 13th in a table of local authorities in the East and south East.

Every district except Broadland recorded a fall in their claimant count rate.  Norwich recorded the largest fall in claimant numbers with a drop of 5.7%.  King’s Lynn and West Norfolk saw a 2.8% decrease – a better result than the previous month.  From a Great Yarmouth perspective, it continued a worrying trend from the previous month with a lack of a strong downward trend in claimant numbers.  Their claimant count stands at 2,895 from a total of 2,960 last month.

Ordinarily it is expected that the Great Yarmouth claimant count falls drastically in the summer months, given the local job market’s seasonal pattern.  Some on this anomaly can probably be assigned to the shift to full implementation of the Universal Credit, however a continuing trend would be a greater concern.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) today (Thursday) publishes its Quarterly Economic Survey – the UK’s largest and most authoritative private-sector business survey. Based on the responses of over 7,700 businesses in Q2 2017, the results for both sectors indicate that the UK economy grew at a subdued rate in the second quarter of 2017.

The Norfolk services sector, a key driver of economic growth, saw indicators of domestic activity, employment and investment continue to weaken slightly in the quarter. Consumer-facing industries such as retail outlets and hotels reported weaker growth rates compared to B2B businesses in the quarter.

The survey shows Norfolk export sales and orders in the manufacturing sector falling from the previous quarter.  Whilst services sector exports remained a mixed picture, with export sales increasing marginally but export orders falling by 4 points.

The balance of Norfolk firms expecting prices to rise has decreased across both sectors, but the percentage of firms reporting concern over raw material costs and pay settlements has risen.  

The findings indicate that while confidence in future turnover decreased, the effect could be short-term, as confidence in overall profitability improved. Both sectors showed an increase of investment in training.

Key Norfolk findings in the Q2 2017 survey:

• Overall, the figures for both sectors indicate static growth
• The percentage balance of manufacturing firms expecting the price of their goods to increase over the next three months has fallen slightly from the near-historic-highs reported in the previous quarter (from +55 to +33), and fell in services from +39 to +29
• However, manufacturers report continued pressure from the price of raw materials, with +82 reporting this as the cause of price increases (up from +68). Pressure from pay settlements also rose in both, rising from +20 to +27 in manufacturing and +21 to +49 in services
• In the manufacturing sector, the balance of firms reporting increasing domestic sales rose slightly from +9 to +12, as did domestic orders from +6 to +10. The balance reporting export sales fell from +17 to +11 and export orders fell from +20 to +7
• In services, the balance of firms reporting increasing domestic sales remained static and domestic orders fell from +13 to +8. The balance reporting increasing export sales rose from +6 to +13 but export orders fell from +4 to 0
• The percentage of businesses in the manufacturing sector attempting to recruit fell somewhat but remain relatively high at 68%.  Whilst the service sector increase slightly to 65% (up from 60%). Of those, the percentage of firms facing recruitment difficulties dropped but remains high in both sectors at 63% (down from 83%) in manufacturing and 67% in services (down from 81%)
• Confidence across the board dipped in the second quarter. The balance of manufacturers confident that turnover would improve over the next 12 months fell from +35 to +23, and the balance for services from +42 to +31. The balance of manufacturing firms confident that profitability would increase remained static but in services rose slightly from +19 to +21
• However, the balance of firms in both sectors reporting improved cashflow remains at historical lows, with manufacturing continuing to fall into negative territory from +2 to -15, whilst in services it rose from -6 to 0.   

Commenting on the results, Chris Sargisson, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber said:

“The latest survey results, which reflect the outlook of companies in all sectors and locations across Norfolk, indicate that for many businesses growth is static at best, and at worst, beginning to slow. 

“It’s time for the economy to be put back at the heart of the agenda, with a focus on creating the best possible environment for business growth all across the county.  Government must play its part by tackling the issues that hold businesses back, including labour shortages, weaknesses in our physical and digital infrastructure, and high upfront costs which dampen investment intentions and firms’ growth potential. Any talk of higher business taxes to pay for politically-motivated spending must be quashed swiftly, to avoid undermining business confidence further. 

“The subdued growth picture also underlines the importance of getting as much clarity on the Brexit transition as possible, as quickly as possible over the coming months.”

 Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber, said:

“The latest survey indicates that Norfolk’s economic activity remains subdued in the second quarter of 2017.

“The services sector activity stuttered a little with a number of the key balances weakening this quarter.  Consumer-focused industries were the worst performers – further evidence that rising inflation is dampening their activity.  Norfolk’s manufacturing results saw a definite slow-down and the longer-term trends suggests that the manufacturing sector’s contribution to overall growth will not be enough to offset weaknesses elsewhere.

“Rising inflation remains the key challenge for the Norfolk economy this year. Consumer prices are likely to keep rising in the coming months as the recent sizeable increases in the cost of raw materials, pay settlements and other overheads filter through supply chains.”

As we reported last month, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Bahrain have broken diplomatic ties with Qatar claiming that it supported terrorist and sectarian groups.

Effectively blockading the Gulf State, the coalition of countries demanded that Qatar close the broadcaster Al Jazeera, scale back co-operation with Iran, remove Turkish troops from its soil and end contact with groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood.

Despite being faced with the threat of further economic sanctions as the deadline set for its response was first extended and then passed, Qatar rejected all 13 demands.

With Qatar’s border with Saudi Arabia being its sole land link to the rest of the world, and a key route for food imports, the country has been relying on Turkey and Iran delivering supplies.

However, energy exports from Qatar, which is the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, have not been affected.

Speaking in London, the Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said: “What we’ve done in the last few weeks is develop different alternative for ways to ensure the supply chain for the country not to be cut off.”

He poured scorn on threats to expel Qatar from the trade and security bloc, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) arguing that decisions could only be taken by the GCC by consensus and suggesting that not all the members would support the Saudi and UAE call.

Qatar’s Trade and Economy Minister, Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, said: “All supply chains, either by air or sea are working smoothly – it’s business as usual.”

Preventing Discrimination in the Workplace

Seven years on from the Equality Act 2010, the employment law team from Steeles Law look at how the law has developed in this area, providing practical tips for ensuring equality and diversity in the workplace and avoiding costly claims in this sensitive area of HR management. This session will be delivered by expert speakers, Oliver Brabbins Director and Head of Employment and Robert Hickford, an Associate Solicitor at the firm.

The session will also cover essential recent and forthcoming developments in employment law including: Brexit’s impact on employment law – what we know so far; and a round-up of case law developments.

Norfolk Chamber members can book now for just £25+VAT.