It’s been a busy week at Commerce House. On Tuesday, we were presented with the King’s Award for Enterprise for Promoting Opportunity through social mobility by His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant for Staffordshire, Ian Dudson – one of the proudest moments in the history of Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce.

The award recognises our unwavering commitment to promoting opportunity and fostering social mobility within our community. It was a fantastic opportunity to acknowledge the incredible efforts of our team and the outstanding initiatives we have undertaken to fulfill this vision – so it was only right that we got together to celebrate!

We were joined by many familiar faces at Commerce House, including our Board, Council, Patrons and invited guests – as well as Councillor Majid Khan, Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent. Guests heard from two speakers; Charlie Beswick from our Boosting Women in Business Programme and Lucy Li from our Positive Pathways programme. Both women serve as an inspiration for anyone wanting to overcome challenges and achieve the goal of setting up a new business, and it was a privilege listening to their stories firsthand.

Congratulations must also be made to the hospitality and catering students from Stoke-on-Trent College who showcased their skills by preparing and serving an afternoon tea-themed buffet for the event. It was delicious!

I joined Staffordshire Chambers some 12 years ago, with a strong belief that business has the power to do good. From empowering individuals, fighting climate change and uplifting communities, we have ensured that Staffordshire Chambers embodies these important values and I am so proud that this work has been nationally, and now royally recognised. While my role may be changing, I have no doubt that these principles that have guided us will remain at the heart of this Chamber.

A full list of images from the presentation can be found here. Please use the password coc2.

Chamber Council

Our Chamber Council met on Wednesday and we received an update regarding the West Midlands Interchange development, which will take shape at Four Ashes in South Staffordshire. The site has been regarded as the UK’s most significant logistics development, offering up to 8 million sq. feet of capacity.  The site is close to junction 12 of the M6, with good connectivity to the UK motorway network, but it will also enjoy additional access to and from the site by rail, with links to the West Coast Mainline.

West Midlands Interchange is being developed with building design to include reduced energy consumption and aspirations to use the extensive rooftop space to house PV cells and effectively generate sufficient energy for the site. We’ll look forward to the ongoing development of this site in the coming years and hope that it will help to attract businesses and jobs into the south of our county, taking advantage of the area’s exceptional road and rail connectivity.

We end the week with our latest ‘Meet the MP’ meeting, when Jonathan Gullis, MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, meets with Chamber members to discuss a mix of topics including transport, skills and business premises. This follows our recent ‘Meet the MP’ meetings with Jack Brereton, MP for Stoke on Trent South, and Aaron Bell, MP for Newcastle under Lyme.   Any business can book a 1:1 with an MP but nothing beats coming together to discuss common business issues.  We meet with Jo Gideon, MP for Stoke on Trent Central, on Friday 10th November and if you would like to join the meeting, please contact Declan Riddell: declan.riddell@staffordshirechambers.co.uk.

As you can see – it really has been a busy week at Commerce House – but it’s times like these that demonstrate the breadth and range of the services that we offer as a Chamber. Whether it’s our award-winning flagship programmes or our representation of local businesses through our Meet the MP sessions, I am extremely proud of the support that we continue to offer to the Staffordshire business community.

If you want to talk to us about any business issues, including funding, you can call our switchboard on 01782 202222, call the Business Helpline on 0300 111 8002 or email: info@staffordshirechambers.co.uk

Newcastle Under Lyme’s Business Improvement District (BID) has secured vital funding from the Police Commissioner’s Safer Streets Fund to bolster safety and support local businesses in the town centre during the festive period.

The funding will enable the deployment of First Aid Responders on key Saturday dates throughout November and December, to include Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, with the aim of alleviating pressure on essential resources, such as Staffordshire Police and Accident and Emergency Unit at Royal Stoke University Hospital.

The Police Commissioner’s Safer Streets Fund has recognised the importance of supporting local communities during the holiday season, particularly in high-traffic areas like Newcastle Under Lyme’s town centre.

The addition comes following positive feedback from night time economy businesses after a successful initiative by Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council that provides coverage on Friday evenings from the Women’s Safe Space on the Ironmarket.

This funding provided to the Newcastle Under Lyme BID will be instrumental in enhancing public safety and ensuring that both residents and visitors can enjoy a safe and enjoyable festive season.

Charlotte Pearce, manager of Newcastle-under-Lyme BID, expressed gratitude for the funding, saying, “We are incredibly thankful for the support provided by the Police Commissioner’s Safer Streets Fund who have also supported the BID in a community art project that focuses on Violence Against Women and Girls. This funding will be instrumental in ensuring that our town centre remains a safe and welcoming place during the festive period. The first aid responders will play a crucial role in providing assistance to those in need and supporting our local businesses. By doing so, we aim to ease the burden on our valued local resources, such as Staffordshire Police and staff at Royal Stoke.”

This initiative is an excellent example of collaboration between local organisations, law enforcement, and the local authority to create a safer and more prosperous community.

A collection of images from the 2023 Let’s Do Business expo is now ready to view for free in our online gallery.

This gallery showcases the vibrant and dynamic atmosphere of last week’s Let’s Do Business expo at Uttoxeter Racecourse – an event that brought together a diverse range of businesses and delegates for a day of networking, business insights and keynote presentations from renowned AI experts.

Now, attendees and the wider business community can relive the excitement and memories of the Let’s Do Business Expo through the comprehensive online image gallery.

To access the Let’s Do Business Expo image gallery, please click here and use the password coc1 for passwords 1 and 2.

Please feel free to download and share your favourite moments with us on social media!

Staffordshire Chambers would like to extend our gratitude to all of the businesses, delegates, keynote speakers and sponsors who contributed to the resounding success of the Let’s Do Business Expo, including headline sponsors Michelin, and event sponsors IronMarket Wealth, AWD-IT, HEX Graphics, Lexus Stoke, MG Motor UK Ltd, Lookers BMW Stafford and BusinessLodge Stoke at Trent House.

To see a full list of upcoming Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce events, view our events calendar, here.

Following the first successful national week of action organised by the The National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) last year, a newly branded Safer Business Action Week is due to be held in October with police and partners across the country joining together to tackle business crime in their communities.

The Safer Business Action Week will start on Monday 16th October and will involve Business Reductions Partnerships (BCRPs) , Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and the the private security industry working with local police forces to deliver a focussed operation with joint patrols, the targeted intervention of offenders and a range of crime prevention activity including raising awareness of the local issues with the general public.

Did you know – Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce operate a business crime helpline to help support businesses who have been targeted by criminals. If you have been the victim of a business crime or would like to find out more information about how you can support victims, call 01782 900239.

Supt Patrick Holdaway, lead for the NBCC said: “The week of action is coordinated nationally but it very much focussed on local crime and ASB issues impacting retail and other businesses in the community.

“It is as much about engaging with businesses and the public as it is about identifying and catching prolific offenders. Last year’s week of action saw some fantastic results in targeting those who cause the most harm to businesses and also in building ongoing relationships between business, partners and the police.”

The party conference season has drawn to a close and we have seen the Lib Dems gunning for ‘Blue Wall’ seats in the next election, buoyed by recent bye-election successes; Rishi Sunak scrapping the northern phase of HS2 and making strategic changes that suggest a significant transformation of the Conservative party. And this week it was the turn of Sir Kier Starmer at what has been dubbed as ‘possibly his last party conference as leader of the opposition’.

Sir Kier and Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves have stressed that they are for business, opposed to tax increases and pro-development with the announcement of several new towns and an accelerated programme of building on brown field sites to solve the housing crisis.

Labour is right to say that reforming the planning system, speeding up energy grid connections and delivering the infrastructure this country needs to grow are key issues facing business.

The commitment to invest and grow the UK’s world leading green industries is also welcomed as this sector is vital to the future of our economy.

Building 1.5 million high-quality homes, creating new towns in the places people want to live, and reclaiming appropriate land to do this will unlock growth across the UK.

But it is essential that there is good quality land reserved for business too, and that councils are proactively planning for employment. All too often, firms are squeezed out of towns and cities.  Flourishing economies need the right balance of land for jobs and homes.

Planning has been a totemic issue for a long time and businesses will rightly want to see exactly how Keir Starmer plans to overcome resistance and inertia – and finally put this issue to bed.

Employers are crying out for more people with technical skills and will be keen to hear more about the proposals for new technical colleges.  Working alongside business led Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) such as ours in Staffordshire, these must help ensure people are training for in-demand skills and giving employers access to a skilled workforce.

Ultimately, businesses invest more when there is a credible long-term plan, so it was good to hear Keir Starmer thinking beyond the here and now and committing to providing the clarity and certainty that firms crave.

I was able to put some of these points to Sir Kier and Jonathan Reynolds, Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when I attended the SME Day at the conference with the British Chambers of Commerce (if you ask me nicely next time I see you, I’ll show you the picture of me talking to Sir Kier!) and I was struck by the fact that everyone was very pro business and especially interested in the issues facing smaller companies.

I’m sure there is lots of issues raised through conference season that will be of concern or for which you would like to add your voice to Staffordshire and the British Chambers of Commerce representations to Government.

You can do this by contacting our policy advisor, Declan Ridell – declan.riddell@staffordshirechambers.co.uk

My final Let’s do Business as CEO

It was fabulous to see so many members and friends at Let’s do Business at Uttoxeter Racecourse on Thursday. Let’s do Business was the first event I attended after my appointment as CEO back in 2011.

I had started in the job that week and remember walking around anonymously trying to take it all in, seeing strange faces and names on exhibition stands that were new to me.

Wind on twelve years and it’s difficult to get through the door and into the exhibition without stopping to chat and hugging with people I have got to know and who have become a part of my life.

This sums up, to me, the warmth and cohesive nature of the Staffordshire Chambers community and the incredible feeling of togetherness. I feel privileged to be a part of it.

As well as being one huge networking event Let’s do Business has become an annual affirmation of the fact that we are all working together to achieve our goals and that everything will work out because we have each other’s backs and best interests at heart.

And long may it continue!

If you want to talk to us about any business issues, including funding, you can call our switchboard on 01782 202222, call the Business Helpline on 0300 111 8002 or email: info@staffordshirechambers.co.uk

Staffordshire Chambers is thrilled to unveil the official exhibitor map for Let’s Do Business, the region’s biggest business show, which returns to Uttoxeter Racecourse this Thursday, 12 October.

As the countdown to the event continues, the map provides a sneak peek into the dynamic and diverse range of businesses that will be showcasing their products and services to over 1,000 delegates.

Let’s Do Business is an annual highlight for Staffordshire’s business community, drawing professionals, entrepreneurs and decision-makers from across the region to connect, network, and explore opportunities for growth.

Whether you’re looking to discover new suppliers, explore innovative technologies or establish valuable business connections, Let’s Do Business has something for everyone.

This year’s expo will also feature a full day of captivating keynotes and thought-provoking panel discussions with some of the world’s most renowned experts in the field of AI and data revolution. It’s the perfect opportunity to learn how to harness the power of programmes such as ChatGPT for your business. Find out more about each speaker, here.

To view the exhibitor map in full, please click here.

Last-minute delegate tickets are available free of charge via Eventbrite, here.