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The uninspiring Norfolk results seen in the last the Quarterly Economic survey findings reflected the fact that political uncertainty, currency fluctuations and the vagaries of the Brexit process were continuing to weigh on Norfolk business growth prospects.

We are now entering the fourth quarter – how are businesses reacting to the current economic climate? Today (Monday 06 November 2017) is the first day of the fieldwork period for the Q4 Quarterly Economic Survey (QES).

It is more important than ever that as many Norfolk businesses as possible complete the survey.

The QES is the largest independent business survey in the UK and is used by both the Bank of England and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to plan the future of the UK economy.  It is also closely watched by the International Monetary Fund.

You can have your say by completing the QES online NOW, which takes less than 3 minutes.  The completion deadline for this survey is midnight on Monday 27 November 2017.

Some key Norfolk findings in the Q3 2017 survey:

Norfolk manufacturing sector

• The balance of firms reporting increased export sales and orders rose
• The percentage balance of manufacturing firms expecting the price of their goods to increase over the next three months fell in the last quarter, despite the cost of raw materials still being a key concern to most manufacturers. 
• Concerns over exchange rates has spiked
• Confidence in the manufacturing sector rose slightly, with many firms confident that profitability will increase over the next 12 months

Norfolk services sector:

• Exports remained fairly flat, with the balance reporting static. The balance for domestic sales also remained static
• The percentage balance of services firms expecting the price of their goods to increase over the next three months remained rose
• Confidence remains static within the service sector

Norfolk Chamber has recently recruited additional members to its Board of Directors.  Four new Board members have been appointed, which takes the Board to a total of 16 members. 

Jonathan Cage, President of Norfolk Chamber said:

“We were pleased to receive such a large number of applicants for the Board.  All of an extremely high calibre, with great all round business skills and experience.  This made it very difficult to select a shortlist of candidates for interview and made the decision even tougher for the interview panel to make their final selections.” 

“Our new Board members will help give Norfolk Chamber stronger representation by size of company and by sector and will allow us to truly be the voice of our membership.  I am looking forward to working with them all to support and promote issues affecting the business community in Norfolk.”

The new members are:

• Huw Sayer – Director – Business Writers Ltd
• David Armstrong – Chief Financial Officer – Flagship Group
• Helen Lewis – Director of Research and Innovation Division – University of East Anglia
• Glen Webster – Area Business Manager – Barclays plc

The four new members were also joined by the new President of West Norfolk Chamber Council, Michael Baldwin, the General Manager of the Bank House Hotel in King’s Lynn.  Michael replaced Heather Garrod, who stepped down at the Chamber’s AGM in October, after 8 years of service.

The Norfolk Chamber Board is made up of Chamber members from across the County to ensure that members’ interests are represented at local, county and regional levels.

Norfolk Chamber members are currently being polled for their views on the referendum for Scottish independence by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). The actual referendum will be held in September 2014 and BCC would like to know whether the referendum will impact on your business wherever you are located.

There will be 15 short questions on the poll and your answers will help the BCC and the Accredited Chamber Network to best represent the interests of businesses across Norfolk and the UK in the closing months of the referendum campaign. The poll has been emailed direct from the BCC to all Norfolk Chamber members and will remain open until midnight on 17 April 2014.

Ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget on November 22, the Norfolk Chamber, together with the British Chambers of Commerce are urging the government to take immediate action to halt the expected 3.9% increase in business rates valuations next year, as part of a bold Budget that seeks to boost the UK’s productivity.

The UK’s leading business group, which represents almost 75,000 companies employing almost six million people in every region and nation of the UK, calls on the Chancellor to take action now to get the UK economy ready for when the country leaves the European Union.

Norfolk Chamber and the BCC propose pausing the Corporation Tax roadmap, with the tax remaining at 19% until after Brexit – with the resulting revenue ring-fenced to help ease the burden of up-front taxes and costs that hit business cash flow and undermine investment. 

The business group calls on the government to take bold action across three key areas, to help businesses deal with the challenges and opportunities that Brexit provides, kickstart a productivity surge, and ensure that the domestic economy is in the best possible position on day one of leaving the EU:

• Tackling the upfront cost of doing business – pledging not to introduce any more input taxes and other significant costs, abandoning the annual uprating of business rates for the next two years, and removing plant and machinery from business rates valuations.
• Incentivise business investment during the Brexit process – through the introduction of a ‘Brexit Special’ Annual Investment Allowance, temporarily increasing the limit to £1 million.
• Fixing the fundamentals – committing to ensuring complete voice coverage on mobiles by 2020, and kickstarting infrastructure projects vital to our economic future, from Northern Powerhouse rail and Crossrail 2, to bringing forward investment in the road network.

Chris Sargisson, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber said:

“At a critical moment for the UK economy, the Chancellor must be bold – and deliver a big budget that prioritises economic confidence and investment. 

“The best possible Brexit deal won’t be worth the paper it’s written on if conditions for growth aren’t right here at home in Norfolk. The Chancellor has a unique chance to move the dial on growth and productivity now, leaving the Norfolk and the rest of the UK in a position to succeed over the long term. Action to slash the up-front costs faced by business, to incentivise investment, and to improve mobile coverage and infrastructure would lead to a real boost to productivity, wages and trade. 

“A Budget that prioritises goodies and giveaways rather than future-proofing the economy would be a dereliction of duty by the government as a whole.” 

On business rates:

“It would be unconscionable for the government to use September’s inflation figures to slam Norfolk businesses with a huge rise in rates, particularly when they already face spiralling up-front costs. A failure to act would hit the high street, manufacturers and others hard – and undermine the sort of investment we need to boost productivity.” 

On infrastructure:

 “A sugar hit for voters would quickly fade, but the protein boost provided by increased investment in Norfolk’s infrastructure and digital connectivity would be felt for decades. Ramping up infrastructure investment across our region and getting long-planned projects off the drawing board, such as further improvements to the A47, the Great Yarmouth Third River Crossing and the Norwich Western Link would give a huge boost to business confidence and creates both jobs and business opportunities.” 

On investment: 

“Too many Norfolk companies are playing a ‘wait-and-see’ game at the moment. We need a big, bold incentive to get more firms investing – particularly ahead of the Brexit transition.” 

Norfolk County Council has won £3.05 million of government funding to replace a busy staggered crossroads on the A140 at Hempnall between Norwich and Ipswich with a roundabout.

The Department for Transport made the announcement yesterday to award the money to the County Council from its National Productivity Investment Fund. 

People who use the current junction often experience queuing and long delays, particularly on the B1527 to Hempnall, and it is expected that the new roundabout will address this, leading to shorter journey times and less congestion. 

The existing junction also has a poor accident record, with eight accidents in the last five years which resulted in 11 casualties and two categorised as serious. These were linked to traffic turning onto the A140 from the minor roads and the replacement roundabout will eliminate this issue and should therefore significantly improve the safety of the junction for all road users. 

Nova Fairbank, Public Affairs Manager for Norfolk Chamber said:

“This is a key business and commuter route between Norwich and Ipswich and any improvements that will make the journey easier and safer are to be welcomed.  Infrastructure improvements are at the top of many businesses list of barriers to growth – so this announcement is another win for Norfolk and will help boost jobs and economic growth.”

Martin Wilby, Chairman of Norfolk County Council’s Environment, Development and Transport Committee, said:

“It’s fantastic that we’ve won this money for Norfolk. Better road and transport links are vital to the county, leading to a better quality of life for people living and working here, improving road safety and attracting new investment and more jobs. 

“This is a junction that is clearly in great need of improvement and I’m really pleased we’ve managed to convince central government of this. I’m proud and grateful to all those who have helped to secure this funding.” Other benefits the roundabout will provide that helped Norfolk County Council secure funding from central government include supporting better regional transport connections, particularly between Norwich and Ipswich, and providing additional road capacity for proposed development nearby at Long Stratton which is set to include up to 1,800 new homes.

The total cost of constructing the roundabout is estimated to be £4.36 million, with the remainder of the money for the project set to come principally from developer funding.  Work to construct the roundabout, subject to planning permission, is planned to begin in autumn 2019 for an opening in early summer 2020.