Join us for Digital Decoded – A FREE, practical and helpful digital marketing seminar designed for local businesses.
Digital Decoded 2018 will focus on Local Search and SEO.
Hear from leading SME digital advisor Jamie Brown.
How do you win at Local Search? How do you realise your website’s true potential? How are search engines changing the way they answer queries and how can this help you get ahead?
Come along to one of our seminars and we’ll help you convert digital marketing tools into customers.
Tuesday 2nd October The Forum, Norwich, NR2 1TF
Wednesday 3rd October Great Yarmouth Racecourse, Gt Yarmouth, NR30 4AU
Thursday 4th October West Suffolk College, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 3RL
Friday 5th October Wherstead Park, Ipswich, IP9 2BJ
Two Sessions per day 8.15am & 11.30am (Refreshments from 7.45/11.00am) Seminar duration 1 hour
We are delighted to invite you to attend the Harvest Festival Service at Norwich Cathedral on Sunday 3 October at 15:30. This event is run jointly by the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association, the Norfolk Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs and Norwich Cathedral.
Along with all the traditional elements that make the Harvest Festival Service such a celebration, we are thrilled to this year to be able to sing out loud together the lovely Harvest hymns of praise.
We hope you will join us for this beautiful service and to give thanks for the many blessings that have been bestowed upon each of us and the farming community in the midst of this most difficult year.
Reservations are NOT required, there will be plenty of seating for everyone.
Due to the ongoing covid concerns we will not be serving refreshments following the service. However we would encourage you to stay after the service and take the opportunity to see Dippy the (85ft) Diplodocus on loan from the Natural History Museum and currently residing in the Nave at Norwich Cathedral.
Parking:
Please note parking in the cathedral close is limited. Alternatively you can park at the St Helen’s Wharf’s Pay and Display car park opposite the Adam and Eve pub. The sat nav postcode for this car park is Norwich NR3 1RZ.
We look forward to seeing you at this special service of celebration and thanksgiving.
As we head into the festive period the team at Norfolk Chambers would like to wish you a wonderful break. We look forward to continuing to support the Norfolk business community in 2023.
Please see above our opening hours over the festive season.
2022 has been a rollercoaster year of change, challenge, opportunity and resilience for the whole of the Norfolk business community.
We have seen political upheaval, with a grand total of three Prime Ministers in one year; rising inflation and energy costs, significantly impacting on both business and homeowners; huge supply chain and skills opportunities, with the go ahead for Sizewell C Nuclear power station and the awarding of the Local Skills Improvement Plan. Through it all, the Norfolk business community has stayed strong, resilient and indeed truly amazing!
More opportunity is coming to Norfolk, with the recently announced £600 million devolution deal (County Deal) delivering regeneration and skills powers. Businesses will be consulted on this deal during 2023 and Norfolk Chambers will work closely with Norfolk County Council to ensure the business voice is heard.
Change came to Norfolk Chambers with the passing of the torch in August 2022, as former CEO, Chris Sargisson stepped away, having brought the Chambers firmly into the 21st century, with lots of new tech innovation and a strong customer centric culture and ethos. As the new CEO, my job is to continue that journey and build and grow on the strong foundations. We have also recruited a grand total of eight new Chamber Board members, who bring a wealth of experience and talent to support the rest of the Board, myself and our amazing Chambers Team.
Our Business Climate Leaders programme, designed to support businesses on the path to net zero, has delivered a huge range of events, including a really well attended Climate Change Expo in King’s Lynn; created a BCL Board and brought together a cohort of businesses to talk about their experience and to give their knowledge and support to any and every business – all of which is free to access on our BCL Hub. Our climate change support work will continue into 2023, with new cohorts being created; more climate change events; and an online step-by-step guide to starting your net zero journey.
Co.Next launched in early 2022 to empower, engage and encourage young professionals under 35 years of age. Chaired by James Groves, MD of Indigo Swan, this group has gone from strength to strength. They have delivered a range of networking events, some amazing speakers, Mentoring Mondays and training events. The initial Co.Next Advisory Board became Alumni and a new Advisory Board is being recruited right now – so look out in January for the announcements.
Engagement Focus Groups is a new initiative launched this September 2022 to enable us to capture the thoughts, feedback and needs of local businesses in a range of market towns, villages and the main conurbations across Norfolk. We can then use the information to lobby and influence on your behalf. We started with Norwich, Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn and will be coming to Diss, Snetterton, Heacham, Holt and many others throughout 2023. These are free to attend by any business – member or non member and will be supported by Norfolk Chamber Board members and the Chambers Team – you can find the dates for the whole of 2023 on our website – it would be great to see you!
All of this activity is on top of our annual flagship events, such as B2B, Talking Tech and the Big Debate, a swathe of networking events, both face to face and online including paddleboarding, netwalking and support for our charity members. Oh, we also took our AGM on the road and held it at Banham Zoo! We are now looking for suggestions as to where we could hold it in 2023 – do let us know if you have any good ideas?
Everything Norfolk Chambers has done this year and what we will do in 2023 is aimed at connecting, supporting and giving voice to every business in Norfolk. So, a huge well done to my fabulous Chamber Team who have worked tirelessly to support the Norfolk business community and congratulations to every business on surviving the roller coaster that was 2022.
May I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy and Prosperous New Year and the Norfolk Chambers Team looks forward to supporting you in 2023.
Help your staff learn how to protect themselves and your organisation from cyber criminals both in the workplace and at home.
About this training course
Almost half of all organisations in the UK fall victim to cyber security breaches every year, and over 80% of these involve some form of human error. These incidents often lead to personal data breaches, interruption to business through Ransomware, financial loss through invoice fraud and reputational damage, so ensuring your staff have the awareness to make informed security decisions is key to prevention and detection.
This is not your standard computer based training. It’s highly interactive with attendees working together in group exercises to deeper understand why cyber security breaches happen and how to spot them.
Delivered by our experienced security consultants who have a wealth of real world experience this training will be of value to both your business and your employees personally.
No specific technical knowledge is required; however, an appreciation of how you use technology in your role will ensure maximum benefit is gained from the course.
By participating in this course, you will:
Learn what cyber security is and why everyone is a target
Learn how to prevent common forms of human error
Learn about key types of cyber incidents
Understand to protect yourself at work and at home
Urging Government to provide certainty to businesses on energy support ahead of Christmas, BCC Director General, Shevaun Haviland, said:
“Just over a month ago, the Chancellor promised businesses that they would receive a plan on the future of the energy support package before the end of the year. With 24 hours left until Parliament rises, businesses have one simple question: ‘where is this plan’?
“According to a recent BCC survey, almost half (47%) of UK SMEs said they will find it difficult to pay their energy bills when Government support ends.
“Firms deserve far better from Government than broken promises for Christmas during these incredibly difficult times. They now face an anxious and uncertain festive period, unable to plan for the New Year.
“The Government has repeatedly assured us of their commitment to confidence and stability. However, their failure to stick to their promises and provide businesses with the certainty they need does not fill anyone with confidence, nor does it promote stability.
“Government is now left with two options. They can pull a rabbit out of the hat and come up with a plan before they break for Christmas. Or they must explain why they are leaving businesses in the dark.
“Without a clear plan before January, many businesses will be left vulnerable to extortionate prices at the end of March, especially SMEs and energy intensive businesses. Those businesses will have no choice but to start preparing their workforce for potential redundancies, leaving employees vulnerable and weakening the economy further.
“Now more than ever, we need to provide businesses with confidence so they can invest, grow and power the much-needed recovery of the UK economy in the months ahead.”
More than three quarters (77%) of firms for whom the Brexit deal is applicable say it is not helping them increase sales or grow their business
More than half (56%) of firms face difficulties adapting to the new rules for trading goods
Almost half (45%) face difficulties adapting to the new rules for trading services, and a similar number (44%) report difficulties obtaining visas for staff
The BCC has sent the Government a report setting out solutions to many of the issues
New data released today from a survey of more than 1,168 businesses (92% SMEs) shows significant challenges for UK firms trying to use the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA).
The TCA was agreed on Christmas Eve in 2020 to allow tariff-free trade with the EU once Brexit took effect.
But a high proportion of businesses say they are still having major problems trying to use the deal to trade with Europe.
The BCC has sent the Government a report setting out the main issues the TCA is causing with solutions to many of the problems.
The survey also found that alongside problems with the TCA, four in five (80%) firms had seen the cost of importing increase since January, more than half (53%) had seen their sales margins decrease and almost three quarters (70%) of manufacturers had experienced shortages of goods and services.
What Businesses Say
“Customs on both sides of the EU border seem to have a separate set of rules to be able to charge different amounts for the same thing. We don’t know until it’s too late what these costs are.”
Retailer in Dundee
“Leaving the EU made us uncompetitive with our EU customers. We would have lost all of our EU trade without a base in the EU. This has cost our business a huge amount of money which could have been invested in the UK had it not been for Brexit.”
Retailer in Ayrshire
“Exporting goods into the EU since Brexit, continues to prove difficult. We have experienced a lot of our goods going missing when they reach customs control. Due to additional import costs, we have found that quite a few of our EU customers that we have dealt with for a long time, in regard to providing a qualifying service, now stay within the EU instead of the UK.”
Manufacturer in the East Midlands
“Brexit has been the biggest ever imposition of bureaucracy on business. Simple importing of parts to fix broken machines or raw materials from the EU have become a major time-consuming nightmare for small businesses, and Brexit related logistics delays are a massive cost when machines are stood waiting for parts. We used to export lesser amounts to the EU, but the bureaucracy makes it no longer worthwhile.”
Manufacturer in Dorset
Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said:
“Businesses want political leaders on both sides to move on from the debates of the past and find ways to trade more freely.
“This means an honest dialogue about how we can improve our trading relationship with the EU. With a recession looming we must remove the shackles holding back our exporters so they can play their part in the UK’s economic recovery.
“If we don’t do this now then the long-term competitiveness of the UK could be seriously damaged. It is no coincidence that during the first 15 months of the TCA we stopped selling 42% of all the different products that we used to.
“Businesses feel they are banging their heads against a brick wall as nothing has been done to help them, almost two years after the TCA was first agreed. The longer the current problems go unchecked, the more EU traders go elsewhere, and the more damage is done.
“There are clearly some structural problems built into the TCA which cannot be addressed until it is reviewed in 2026.
“But as we set out in our report to Government there are some issues that do not need to wait on months of negotiations or major reviews to be fixed.”
The BCC’s TCA Two Years On report sets out 24 recommendations to increase UK-EU trade.
Its top five proposals for quick action are:
Create a supplementary deal with the EU which either eliminates or reduces the complexity of exporting food for SMEs.
Establish a supplementary deal, like Norway’s, that exempts smaller firms from the requirement to have a fiscal representative for VAT in the EU
Allow CE marked goods and components to continue to be used in Great Britain after 2024.
Make side deals with the EU and member states to allow UK firms to travel for longer and work in Europe.
Reach an agreement on the future of the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland with the European Commission in the early months of 2023, to stabilise our trading relationship.
Join us for Digital Decoded – A FREE, practical and helpful digital marketing seminar designed for local businesses.
Digital Decoded 2018 will focus on Local Search and SEO.
Hear from leading SME digital advisor Jamie Brown.
How do you win at Local Search? How do you realise your website’s true potential? How are search engines changing the way they answer queries and how can this help you get ahead?
Come along to one of our seminars and we’ll help you convert digital marketing tools into customers.
Tuesday 2nd October The Forum, Norwich, NR2 1TF
Wednesday 3rd October Great Yarmouth Racecourse, Gt Yarmouth, NR30 4AU
Thursday 4th October West Suffolk College, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 3RL
Friday 5th October Wherstead Park, Ipswich, IP9 2BJ
Two Sessions per day 8.15am & 11.30am (Refreshments from 7.45/11.00am) Seminar duration 1 hour
Understand the key elements of security related risks and practical steps required for implementing an effective security strategy.
About this training course
Almost half of all organisations in the UK fall victim to cyber security breaches every year, often leading to personal data breaches, interruption to business, financial loss and reputational damage.
Many businesses still mistakenly consider Cyber Security a technical IT problem, but more and more are realising that Cyber Attacks such as Ransomware and business email compromise (BEC) represent a key business risk requiring visibility and focus at the executive level.
This non-technical, workshop based course is designed to help business owners and senior leadership teams to understand the key elements of Cyber and Information Security related risks, and the practical steps required for a comprehensive Cyber Security strategy appropriate to their business.
This course will include both presentation and group exercises and focuses on:
Understanding Cyber Security from a business perspective
Norfolk County Council is committed to making Norfolk a county where businesses, organisations, and communities continue to thrive together. They have done this by allowing better access to services such as rolling out better broadband across Norfolk and building major infrastructure projects to deliver vital growth to the whole of Norfolk. View their full report here 2022-23 Business Rates Report
Business
They have been supporting economic growth in Norfolk. See below some of the ways they have helped businesses this past year.
Place
Norfolk County Council have also been focussing on places, in particular the £21.4 million operations and maintenance campus is a partnership project, in collaboration with Great Yarmouth Borough Council and the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). It is estimated around 650 new jobs will be created by the new Operations and Maintenance Campus.
Norwich Western Link start of construction is currently programmed for late 2024 with the road open for use in late 2025.
Find out more in the video below.
People
Norfolk has had a full year where Apprenticeship starts have increased – for the first time, following five years of a decline. Norfolk has seen 5118 new apprenticeship starts throughout the year. Norfolk has seen over double the growth seen in national England data (8.63%).
Skills bootcamps across Norfolk and Suffolk are currently offering opportunities in a range of sectors/industries. This includes digital marketing, software engineering, web design, construction management skills, CAD for construction and domestic retrofit.
Find out more about below.
Cllr Andrew Jamieson, cabinet member for finance at Norfolk County Council discusses what business rates are, and how we use them to grow Norfolk’s economy, as part of the business rate consultation.
Simon George, Executive Director Finance and Commercial Services at Norfolk County Council gives a presentation explaining the Business Rates Consultation 2022.
Join us for Digital Decoded – A FREE, practical and helpful digital marketing seminar designed for local businesses.
Digital Decoded 2018 will focus on Local Search and SEO.
Hear from leading SME digital advisor Jamie Brown.
How do you win at Local Search? How do you realise your website’s true potential? How are search engines changing the way they answer queries and how can this help you get ahead?
Come along to one of our seminars and we’ll help you convert digital marketing tools into customers.
Tuesday 2nd October The Forum, Norwich, NR2 1TF
Wednesday 3rd October Great Yarmouth Racecourse, Gt Yarmouth, NR30 4AU
Thursday 4th October West Suffolk College, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 3RL
Friday 5th October Wherstead Park, Ipswich, IP9 2BJ
Two Sessions per day 8.15am & 11.30am (Refreshments from 7.45/11.00am) Seminar duration 1 hour
Commenting on the labour market figures for February 2019, published today by the ONS, Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:
“The fall in unemployment and strong employment levels are further evidence that the UK jobs market remains resilient, with firms continuing to recruit despite an increasingly challenging economic backdrop.
“With earnings growth holding steady, the gap between pay and price growth remains significant, providing some welcome respite to financially stretched households. However, the uplift to consumer spending from the recent improvement in real pay growth is likely to be limited by weak consumer confidence and high household debt levels.
“The increase in the number of vacancies to a new record high confirms that labour and skills shortages are set to remain a significant a drag on business activity for some time to come, impeding UK growth and productivity.
“It is therefore vital that with less than 40 days to go until the UK is scheduled to exit the EU, businesses urgently get the clarity they need on the key unanswered questions in a ‘no deal’ scenario, including the information they to need to plan for their own workforce needs such as how firms can move skilled staff between the UK and EU in the unwelcome event of a messy and disorderly Brexit on March 29.”
Commenting on the productivity statistics, Suren added:
“The decline in productivity in the final quarter of 2018 was disappointing and reflected the marked slowdown of GDP growth in the quarter.
“Sluggish productivity is a key concern for the UK economy as it continues to limit the UK’s growth potential and reflects the continued failure to tackle longstanding issues in our economy, from weak business investment, the growing skills gap to chronic underinvestment in our physical and digital infrastructure. Regardless of what happens with Brexit, addressing these vital issues would help drive the productivity gains needed to lift the UK’s long-term growth prospects.”