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Many companies who export to Saudi Arabia may be aware of an email being circulated by “Exportal” (a company based in Saudi Arabia) informing exporters of the new Import procedures and asking them to register for the service.

Following investigations by the Arab British Chamber of Commerce and the British Chamber of Commerce we can categorically say that this system is not applicable here in the UK and will not be for the foreseeable future.

The ABCC’s current advice and that of the BCC is “DO NOT REGISTER” or sign up to this system as it does not apply to the UK.

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) came into force in April 2010. It allows local authorities in England and Wales to raise funds from developers undertaking new building projects. The money can be used to contribute to; ‘pump prime’; or help lever in investment for a wide range of infrastructure that is needed to support new development. In order to be considered capable of being implemented a CIL must not have a detrimental effect on development (taken as a whole) in the King’s Lynn & West Norfolk Borough area.

Preliminary consultation took place with the development industry and other interested parties in January 2013, and the consultant used the information and comment as input for the Viability Assessment. The Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk has now drawn up a Preliminary Draft Charging Schedule and is consulting on this. This document outlines the possible rates of CIL that could be applied in the Borough.

The deadline for submitted your opinion is Friday 27 February 2015 at 5pm.To have your say click here.

Norfolk Chamber and Norse Commercial Services recently held a dinner with a group of Norfolk’s business leaders to debate issues being faced by the larger businesses in our county. Topics discussed included: broadband and mobile coverage; how to engage with young people and accessing skilled staff; and the opportunities along the growth corridors along of the A11, A47. These topics are all part of the campaign areas that Norfolk Chamber will be championing throughout 2015 as part of our ‘Business Plan for Norfolk’.

The group was privileged to be able to hold their dinner in The Keep at Norwich Castle and were treated to a guided tour of the work of Norfolk’s finest artists with Dr Georgia Bottinelli and a further opportunity to handle some of the Castle Museum’s artifacts with Dr John Davies.

Peter Hawes, Managing Director, Norse Commercial Services said: “The dinner was an excellent event, lovely venue and food, and interesting company. It was great to hear the views of other local business leaders, and I’m sure the Chamber will be working hard on all of the issues that were raised.”

ScottishPower Renewables has hailed a major breakthrough in efforts to reduce the costs of offshore wind after the East Anglia ONE project successfully secured a Contract for Difference (CfD) in the completive competitive auction process run by the UK Government.

The successful bid was announced today as the shareholders work towards ScottishPower Renewables’ purchase of Vattenfall’s 50% share in East Anglia ONE.

SPR will take the project forward initially as a 714 megawatt (MW) development after winning the auction with a price of £119/MWh, ensuring that East Anglia ONE will be the best value offshore windfarm ever developed in the UK.

ScottishPower Renewables, which led East Anglia ONE’s participation in the auction, has been able to bid at a price that is lower than anything previously seen in large scale offshore wind thanks to the engineering, procurement and operational efficiencies that have been introduced in to the project.

The development will see around 100 wind turbines installed in the southern North Sea. The overall investment will be in the region of £2 billion, and the project could meet the annual electricity demands of around 500,000 homes. East Anglia ONE has planning consent for up to 1,200MW, and ScottishPower Renewables may still seek to build out the full project by securing further capacity in future CfD auctions.

The East Anglia ONE project will now be developed solely by ScottishPower Renewables. Vattenfall and ScottishPower Renewables will continue to develop the rest of the East Anglia zone.

Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber said: “This is such good news. The Chambers worked closely with Scottish Power and local MPs duringthe CfD budget lobbying period last Autumn to be in a position to get this result. We congratulate Scottish Power on being able to rise to the challenge set and coming out a winner. This is great news for Norfolk and the region.”

Keith Anderson, CEO of ScottishPower Renewables, said: “We are delighted to have secured a contract to take East Anglia ONE forward, which will be one the best value offshore windfarms ever developed anywhere in the world. It signals a major industry breakthrough in efforts to reduce the costs of offshore wind. ScottishPower Renewables has been leading efforts to drive down costs for many years, and we delivered considerable efficiencies in the recent construction of West of Duddon Sands. With East Anglia ONE, we are driving the industry towards its cost reduction targets and demonstrating the long term sustainability of offshore wind.

“Final negotiations will now commence with the wider supply chain, and in the coming months we will look to secure local port facilities to support the project, as well as agreeing contracts for the major components. Overall investment to deliver the project will be in the region of £2bn, representing an opportunity to create significant UK economic benefit and creating employment opportunities for up to 3,000 people.

“We would also like to thank Vattenfall and the efforts of their team in helping to secure planning consent for the project. We will continue to work with Vattenfall on potential future projects in the East Anglia Zone.”

Gunnar Groebler, Head of BU Renewables at Vattenfall, said: “This is welcome news for East Anglia ONE. It has taken five years to reach this point since The Crown Estate awarded the lease to Vattenfall and SPR and almost nine months since being awarded development consent. Now SPR will take on sole responsibility for delivering EA1 after completing the purchase of Vattenfall’s 50% share in EA1.

“Vattenfall is committed to growing its wind business across the European markets it operates in. The divestment of our 50% shareholding in EA1 to SPR means that we can prioritise investment in the UK and the rest of our European wind portfolio. We still see a promising future for the rest of the East Anglia Development Zone – and UK offshore wind generally – and we will continue to work with SPR to deliver the remaining five projects.”

The company is now seeking to start construction in 2017, with the first turbines installed by 2019, and hopes that the project will be fully operational during 2020.

More than 90% of all expenditure on the project to date has been incurred in the UK and, during the planning process alone for East Anglia ONE, more than £15m of contracts have been awarded to local companies working on the project. A separate £17m contract was also awarded to Wood Group of Aberdeen for the construction and installation of weather monitoring masts.

ScottishPower Renewables recently completed the 389 MW West of Duddon Sands Offshore Windfarm, a joint venture with DONG Energy, and is developing the 350MW Wikinger Offshore Windfarm in Germany. Vattenfall is the world’s second largest operator of offshore wind and in the UK operates 540MW from three offshore schemes.

To coincide with the launch of National Careers Week, which focuses this year on ‘Life Skills’, a report from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) highlights that more than half of UK employers believe a lack of soft skills hinder young people’s readiness for work. This reflects the beliefs of Norfolk Chamber members

The BCC Workforce Survey,Developing the Talents of the Next Generation,found that 57% of employers cite a lack of soft skills such as communication, resilience and team working, as the main reason why young people are unprepared for the world of work. The survey also found that a lack of focus on employability and enterprise in educational institutions (53%) and a lack of careers advice (46%) impacts on young people’s prospects in the world of work.

The Chamber is proposing a number of measures to get educators and businesses working together to help young people develop the life skills they need to succeed in the world of work. This supports the wider activity that Chambers of Commerce are already doing around the country to bridge the gap between the world of education and the world of work:

• Measuring schools on their pupils’ career destinations– by focusing schools not just on ‘teaching to the test’, but also employability and life skills, we can help ensure young people have a smoother transition into work;

• A guarantee of a business governor at every secondary school– making schools more aware of local business needs and helping to build healthy relationships with their local business community;

• Promoting enterprise modules for all higher and further education students– helping students to build up knowledge of business and prepare for the world of work or entrepreneurship;

• Universal ‘experience of work’ in all schools UK-wide to improve employment prospects– ensuring that all pupils leave school with high-quality exposure to business and the core skills needed for work.

Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber said:

“For too long, many of Norfolk’s young people haven’t had the preparation or opportunities they need to succeed. We are determined to change the system and ensure that businesses, educators, and government shoulder the burden when it comes to preparing young people for work. We often hear from businesses struggling to plug skills gaps, who express frustration that young people lack the soft skills needed to succeed in the workplace. We need to work better to create a pipeline of talent, ready to become the next generation of team players, entrepreneurs and business owners.

“Employers put exposure to work and life skills like team working, determination, and the ability to communicate effectively, at the top of their wish list when looking to hire. Businesses need to play their part by providing experience of work to young people that goes beyond photocopying or making cups of tea – experience that gives a meaningful insight into working life.

“By measuring schools on pupil career destination, putting business governors in secondary schools and giving university and college students the option to take business and enterprise modules, we can help to give young people the best chance of building a successful career. National Careers Week is an excellent opportunity to highlight the range of careers available to people entering the workforce, and the skills that are at the top of the wish list for employers.”

The BCC will be running a chamber network general election campaign throughout March, with a different theme each week. The first week (2nd- 8thMarch) focuses on developing the talents of the next generation. The site goes live today Monday 2ndMarch via this link:https://www.businessplanforbritain.co.uk/. You can also follow the campaign on Twitter: #chambermanifesto

Headlines:

• UK GDP unrevised in Q4 with net trade and consumer spending helping to support growth
• Business investment declined at this fastest rate for six years
• A period of deflation is possible in the coming months, but unlikely to last

Overall, last month’s data releases confirm that the UK’s economy remains strong. However, the recovery still faces several obstacles, intensified by political and economic uncertainty. More must be done to support long-term business investment in particular if the UK is to remain among the fastest-growing countries in the G7

Economic growth in Q4 unrevised at 0.5%

The second official estimate for Q4 2014 economic growth (GDP) was unrevised at 0.5% and therefore remains the slowest rate of growth since Q4 2013. This easing in growth mirrors the results from the BCC Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) over the same period where most of the key national balances are now below the all-time high levels recorded over the last year. In annual terms, UK GDP growth was unrevised at 2.7% in Q4. The latest GDP figures confirm that, despite a recent easing in growth, the UK’s recovery remains strong.

UK exports helping to power growth

The second estimate of Q4 2014 GDP revealed that exports played a major role in driving growth in the quarter. The UK’s trade balance (exports minus imports) deficit narrowed from £13.1 billion in Q3 2014 to £10.4 billion in Q4 2014. This improvement was driven by a 3.5% rise in exports, the biggest quarterly rise since Q2 2013, which more than offset the 1.3% rise in imports over the same period. Consumer spending continues to help power growth, rising by 0.5% in Q4, the fourteenth consecutive quarter of growth.

Business investment weakens

While net trade and consumer spending rose in the final three months of 2014, business investment weakened. UK business investment fell by 1.4% in Q4 2014, the second successive quarterly fall and is the biggest drop since Q2 2009. This fall can be partly attributed to weaker investment by the oil and gas industry, amid falling oil prices. Nonetheless, the fall in business investment over the second half of 2014 is a timely reminder that more needs to be done to promote business investment and achieve better balanced growth.

UK growth likely to quicken this year

In its latest inflation report, the Bank of England expects that the UK economy will grow at a faster rate this year, compared to 2014. The central bank forecasts UK GDP to grow by 2.9% in which if achieved would be the fastest rate of growth for nine years. The Bank of England has upwardly revised its UK GDP forecast for 2016 to 2.9%, from 2.6% and for 2017 from 2.6% to 2.7%. While its growth forecast is higher than our own, their view that UK economic growth has a good chance to regain stronger momentum in the medium term is broadly in line with our own.

Supported by a strong jobs market

In the three months to December 2014, UK employment rose by 103,000 compared with the previous three months to 30.9 million, the highest number since records began. The number of people who are unemployed fell by 97,000 over the same period to 1.86 million. As a result, the unemployment rate was 5.7%, down from 6.0% in the previous three months. This mirrors the Q4 2014 QES where the backward looking employment balances rose in the quarter. However, the youth unemployment rate, at 16.2%, remains almost three times the national average.

Consumers spending power is rising

Average earnings, including bonuses, rose by 2.1% in annual terms in the three months to December 2014. This is more than four times December’s comparable inflation rate of 0.5% and means that wages have their biggest lead over inflation since April 2008. With two-thirds of UK GDP driven by consumer spending, the rise in real earnings and therefore consumer’s spending power is good news for the UK’s near term economic outlook. However, it is important to remember that wage rises can only be sustainable if they are matched by rises in productivity.