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The BCC has held ​its inaugural​​ ​meeting of its new Business Council alongside Cabinet Minister, the Rt Hon Michael Gove and Shadow Chancellor, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves.

The new body, compris​ing​​ ​​some of the most ​prominent ​British​​ ​business​es,​ has been brought together to work in partnership with politicians ​to drive the future of the economy​​​ at this ​​crucial​​ time​​​.​

The Business Council will focus on five key challenges and will develop policy​ proposals​ that ​will​​ ​​help ​transform the ​future of the ​UK economy. Its ​initial​​ recommendations ​will feed into a Business Manifesto in the new year that ​will​ ​aim​ to influence​​​​​​ ​​political party​​​​ ​manifestos ahead of ​the General Election.

​The Council will then work to develop follow-up papers – to help the next Government set a business-backed agenda from day one and establish a long-term strategy for growth.​

Business Council members will ​focus ​on at least one of the challenges. The​ challenge themes will​ all ​be ​chaired by ​five ​experienced business​ ​​leaders,​ working with commissions of businesses, experts, Chamber representatives and academics.

They will begin meeting in the coming weeks and will produce their first policy recommendations in early 2024.

​​​BCC President and Business Council Chair, Baroness Martha Lane Fox, said:

​​“​Now more than ever, businesses must come together to tackle the challenges facing the UK economy.​​

​​“In the face of economic disruption and with a general election looming, our new, national​ Business Council​ will help the voice of business to be heard loud and clear by policymakers.​

​​”Together in ​partnership with politicians​,​ ​it will​ find the answers to the key issues facing the UK economy, so it was great to have Michael Gove and Rachel Reeves join us​ for our inaugural event today​.

“The expertise and experience that our council members ​bring​ to the table allow​s​ for a powerful and engaging debate about the problems ​but also helps to identify the​​​​ ​solutions.

“Firms are realistic and understand the financial limitations that the Governments of both today and the next five years will be facing.

“But it’s through ​initiatives​​ ​like these that we can work ​collectively ​to make a real difference for businesses on the frontline of the economy and give them the tools they need ​to​ ​succeed​.

“This was an excellent first meeting to act as a springboard in developing practical and pragmatic policies across the five challenge​ area​s.”

The Rt Hon Michael Gove said:

“The Government is focused on the Prime Minister’s missions to grow the economy and halve inflation.

“Levelling up plays a crucial part in that which is why I’m so pleased to be meeting with leading businesses at the BCC Business Council to discuss challenges and opportunities across the country and am very grateful to the British Chamber of Commerce for their excellent work on the Business Council.

“Boosting skills up and down the country and improving digital connectivity are key tenets of spreading opportunity across the UK, and will in, turn, contribute to economic growth.”

Information regarding our International Trade Documentation process:

Documents sent to the International Trade team to be stamped are done on the day we receive them. Please be aware that due to current delays with the postal service, post may take longer to be delivered to us.

If you have urgent documents that need to be stamped please send these to the below address using next day special delivery or by courier as we have been receiving these in a timely manner.

The address to send your documents to is:

Norfolk Chambers of Commerce,

Hardwick House,

2 Agricultural Hall Plain,

Norwich,

NR1 3FS

If you have any questions about our International Trade Service, please call them on 01603 625977

What are the key changes happening to trade and how can you prepare for these changes?

• Electronic Trade documents Bill, September 2023 – Breaking: King signs off the Electronic Trade Documents Bill (tradefinanceglobal.com)
  
• Export health certificate requirements for EU imports October 2023 – Brexit: New obligations for exporters to the UK from the end of October 2023* | ASD Group (asd-int.com)
• New labelling Requirements on certain Goods e.g. cheese,meat,milk  October 2023 – Labelling requirements for certain products moving from Great Britain to retail premises in Northern Ireland under the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• Reporting requirements for Steel and Hydrogen Content in products October 2023 – EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) (pwc.com)
• New Checks on Food imports from EU February 2024 – Health Certificates required for medium risk animal products, plants, plant products and high-risk food and feed of non-animal origin from the EU.
• Safety and security requirements on imports from EU October 2024 – New border controls to protect the UK against security and biosecurity threats and ensure smooth flow of goods – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• EU ‘Place of supply’ VAT requirements from January 2025 – MHA | EU VAT changes for virtual events and online courses

There is an increasing demand for specialist skills.  New Anglia’s Digital Tech Sector Skills Plan estimates that 10,000 tech roles – both new and replacement of existing positions – will be needed in Norfolk and Suffolk by 2024.  Employers continue to report ICT/Digital skills shortages, which are adversely affecting their business.

As a result, Norfolk County Council wants to better understand what skills shortages there are in Norfolk in ICT and Digital and are asking for feedback from businesses via a short online survey. 

This survey will allow them to evidence anecdotal knowledge of employer need and solidify knowledge of employer-led demand for specific training. Without this evidence, it remains difficult for colleges and training providers to change or grow their provision, therefore this will help in delivering some targeted work with FE and HE providers and work collaboratively to support employer demand where possible.

Generating the evidence base around training/skills shortages is critical to future training provision. It will also ensure that the Skills team and stakeholders who are delivering the Sector Skills Plans are coming up with the right solutions to the most critical issues.

You have until midnight on Sunday 31 March to have your say in a short online survey.

Have your say now.

Going forward over the next few months, Norfolk County Council would also like to develop some focus groups to look at more specific ICT and digital skills issues.  If you would like to be part of these groups, please contact Nova Fairbank on email: nova.fairbank@norfolkchamber.co.uk.

British companies reminded to check packaging compliance in Germany

The German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce warns that the newly created German Packaging Register (ZSVR) has passed on some 2,000 discrepancies in reported packaging data to the relevant German authorities for legal enforcement. Affected companies can expect severe financial penalties for the breaches. The Chamber therefore advises British companies to check their German packaging obligations and license their packaging if necessary.

The new Register has been operating since January this year and since then companies have been legally obliged to report their packaging data to both their chosen recycling scheme and the Register. The Register analyses this data and passes on discrepancies for legal enforcement.

Germany’s packaging law covers sales, product, shipping and service packaging. It differs from UK regulations in a variety of ways:

• As of this year there are no more minimum thresholds – meaning internet sellers sending one parcel are also covered by the law.
• The first one to introduce sales packaging to the German market commercially is responsible for licensing it – it is not necessary to have a German business presence and it doesn’t matter if the goods are sold via distributors, retailers or directly to end-users.
• End-users can be private households but also businesses and institutions. Ultimately, if the packaging is included in the Register’s catalogue of packaging that is ‘typically discarded by the end-user’, it needs to be licensed.

To be legally compliant, British companies need to sign up with the Register https://lucid.verpackungsregister.org/ and join a German recycling scheme, which will license the packaging for a fee.

The German-British Chamber offers a Recycling Consultancy Service which helps British companies fulfil their legal obligations under the Packaging Law.

For more information on this service and about recycling obligations in Germany, please contact Jana Toon, Tel: +44 (0)20 7976 4188 or email: recycling@ahk-london.co.uk.

The BCC’s new Digital Revolution Challenge has held its first meeting to discuss ground-breaking research on how businesses are using Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The survey, by the BCC’s Insight Unit – of more than 700 firms, mostly SMEs, found that:

• Almost half of all firms (48%) have no plans to use AI technology

• Customer facing businesses (B2C) are even less likely to use AI, with 58% stating they have no plans to use it

• One in four respondents (26%) think AI is going to lead to fewer jobs in their sector, with more B2B firms (29%) predicting a negative impact

Alongside the 48% that have no plans to use AI, the survey found a further 22% were not currently using it but planned to in the future.

Businesses were also asked what types of AI they are currently using, with chatbots, such as ChatGPT, being the most popular application (18% of all respondents). Other technologies cited included:

• Machine learning data analysis (6%)
• Speech recognition (6%)
• Virtual agents for customer service (3%)
• Robotic process automation (3%)
• Natural language generation (3%)

• Deep learning or neural networks (1%)

The data also showed that companies with more than 50 employees were more likely to be currently investigating the use of AI in their operations than smaller ones, with 24% using chatbots, and only 37% stating they had no plans to use it at all.

Why firms are, or are not, using AI

Of the respondents who are currently using AI, common uses cited included coding, data analysis, language translation, content creation, and as a sounding board for ideas.

By contrast, of the respondents who have no plans to use cited the following barriers: lack of relevance, investment cost, reliability, lack of understanding, and risks around scams or privacy.

The research also found that 36% of businesses thought it was still too early to predict the impact of AI on jobs, while just one in 8 firms (12%) thought it would lead to an overall net increase in jobs in their sector.

Responding to the implications of the data, Priya Guha, Chair of the BCC’s Digital Revolution Challenge, said:

“With AI being considered so central to boosting the UK’s productivity this research on current levels of business engagement is an eye opener.

“It is certainly a concern that almost half of firms say they do not plan to use AI either now or in the future.

“But when we consider the economic conditions that businesses have been grappling with since the pandemic, it is no surprise that 51% of firms with fewer than 50 employees aren’t planning to use AI against 37% of larger businesses.

“The BCC’s Digital Revolution Challenge is clear that the benefits to business from using AI are many. It will lead to efficiency gains, improved decision-making, better customer experiences, enhanced risk management and game-changing innovations.

“It is essential for competitiveness in the modern business landscape, so we must make sure that every UK company is involved in this journey.

“Our task now is to pull together a set of clear and pragmatic recommendations, for both Government and UK companies, to make this happen.

“We have a position of responsibility here, and we must use our influence to improve awareness of the benefits of AI.

“Improving clarity and certainty amongst businesses on AI will drive confidence to use it effectively. As it stands, it is alarming that a sizeable number of firms think it is irrelevant.”