Record crowds at Staffordshire Business Festival
It’s been a busy week for local businesses who flocked to Uttoxeter Racecourse for the return of our Staffordshire Business Festival.
The two-day festival boasted a hat-trick of brilliant events, including: the Speaker Summit, Broaden Your Markets and the return of the hugely popular Let’s Do Business expo.
Sara Williams, CEO of Staffordshire Chambers, said: “We welcomed a record number of guests to the festival across both days and have had some fantastic feedback from businesses.
“The three headline events offered something for all businesses – kickstarting on day one with our Speaker Summit. All four speakers offered a fantastic insight into their respective areas and it was great to hear more about their stories. I would like to thank them all for joining us on the day.
“Our Broaden Your Markets events offered a timely insight into the UK economy while helping businesses to consider ways in which they can expand their international operations. I would urge any business interested in expanding their import or export operations to get in touch with Allison Tomlinson, our International Trade Centre Manager by emailing allison.tomlinson@staffordshirechambers.co.uk
“Let’s Do Business, as it always is, was a real hit with businesses of all sizes. All stands were fully booked and it was great to see Uttoxeter Racecourse packed full of a range of companies who were all looking to do business!”
A full gallery of images from the Festival will be released in the Chamber newsletter next week.
The Chamber has a line-up of exciting events planned for the remainder of 2022, including our hugely-popular Chamber Quiz and the recently-announced Brunch Networking and Business Spotlight session in Partnership with Aston Marina .
Find out more by viewing our events calendar, here.
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Stafford Chamber of Commerce sets up new home in newly-refurbished Shire Hall
Stafford Chamber of Commerce has moved into its new base in Stafford after becoming an anchor-tenant of the newly-refurbished Shire Hall.
Shire Hall, situated just off Market Square in the centre of Stafford, is a Grade II listed building which, following its full refurb, will now play host to around 20 local businesses.
Hosting a diverse range of companies ranging from start-ups to international traders – it’s hoped that the building will become a thriving hub for Stafford businesses.
Stafford Chamber of Commerce Manager Declan Riddell said: “The office is now open for client meetings and Chamber events and we can’t wait to welcome our members to the space in the coming weeks and months.
“It’s placed perfectly in the heart of Stafford and has ample short and long stay car parking just a short walk away – and is also a walkable distance from Stafford station.
“We will continue to offer our award-winning support to the local business community, whether it’s a fledgling start-up entrepreneur or long-established enterprise.
“Shire Hall is a jewel in the crown of Stafford landmarks and we’re very proud to call it home.”
Described as “one of the finest public buildings in Stafford”, Shire Hall was constructed in 1798 and served as a courthouse and art gallery.
Find out more about Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce, here.
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Over 5 billion phones set to be thrown away in 2022 as e-waste levels hit alarming highs
Businesses and households are being urged to recycle their unwanted ‘e-waste’ in light of a new study that estimates that 5.3 billion mobile phones will be thrown away in 2022 alone.
Research conducted by the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Forum (WEEE) suggests that electrical and electronic waste will grow to 74 million tonnes a year by 2030 – a problem described as one of the ‘fastest growing and most complex waste streams that affects both human health and the environment’,
Old electronic devices such as laptops and phones, known as e-waste, can offer many important resources that can be recycled for use in electronic devices such as wind turbines, electric car batteries or solar panels – crucial for the transition to low-carbon societies.
In July of this year, Staffordshire Chambers launched a new charitable e-waste initiative in partnership with the Stone Group and the Elm Group to help tackle growing e-waste levels across the county.
Businesses and individuals can hand over their old electronic devices to be securely wiped using MOD-approved software, before being re-used or recycled for parts.
In return, Stone Group will make a charitable donation to support the work of A Child of Mine, a charity that provides emotional and practical support to bereaved parents and families.
Find out more about the initiative, here.
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Top tips to help your business use less energy this Autumn
With energy bills in the news, businesses of all sizes are keeping a close eye on how much they’re using day-to-day.
We know that business owners are working flat out to keep their business running and might not think they have the time to start thinking about their energy usage. However, there are some simple hacks out there which can help businesses to cut their costs as the colder months draw in.
For instance, did you know that in a single three-bedroom house, turning the thermostat down by one degree can save 10% annually, according to the Energy Saving Trust. So, imagine what dialing down the temperature by one degree in your offices could do for your business.
Here are five more simple and effective ways for SMEs to reduce their energy consumption this autumn:
- Let’s start with a straightforward one! Don’t forget to switch off electrical equipment overnight
- Identify and defeat draughts and install wall insulation to stop heat disappearing
- Keep radiators, heaters and air vents clean to help them work more efficiently
- Make sure your thermostat is working correctly to make sure your boiler isn’t generating more heat than it needs to
- And consider a smart meter, which could help your business avoid spending more on energy than it needs to, by providing insights on how you’re using it
Smart meters offer SMEs a range of benefits which could come in helpful at the moment.
They could help make your budgeting and forecasting more accurate as you only get a bill for what you’ve used, and they could give you valuable insights into how your business uses energy, day, and night. Plus, they automatically send readings to your energy supplier – so you shouldn’t have to.
Firms with 10 employees or less could be eligible for a smart meter. To find out more please click here. You can also contact your energy supplier or broker.
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Sara’s Blog: Joining the BCC Board and Baroness Lane-Fox
I am very pleased and excited to announce that I have joined the board of directors at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
I have been involved with the Chamber movement for almost 25 years now – with the past 11 years spent at Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce.
The time has whizzed by and I have enjoyed every minute, learning so much about an area I knew little about and working with amazing people who run and work in incredible businesses. My highlights stretch from tasting my first cheese oatcake up to winning the BCC Chamber of The Year Award in 2021.
I would never have imagined just what an adventure I was embarking on when I started working at Liverpool Chamber of Commerce back in the late 1990s in the early days of the Blair government.
I have witnessed the highs and lows of economic ‘boom and bust’ and I have seen business support from the government come and go. Who remembers Business Link and the TECs, latterly the Learning and Skills Council? They came and they went whilst Chambers of Commerce carried on doing what they do best, representing local business at the highest level, giving advice and guidance, providing a network and various forum for all types and sizes of business, and offering services and skills training for continuous business improvement.
Staffordshire is one of 53 Accredited Chambers which make up our UK network. They are all trusted champions of businesses, places, and global trade. Together, representing tens of thousands of businesses of all shapes and sizes, which employ around six million people across the UK.
The BCC also has a powerful international network with over 130 British Chambers of Commerce and business groups located in every continent of the world and directly linked to UK-based Chambers of Commerce.
As a newly elected board member I will have the great privilege and honour to work alongside the newly elected BCC president, Baroness Martha Lane-Fox CBE.
Baroness Lane-Fox co-founded Europe’s largest travel and leisure website, lastminute.com in 1998. She is a passionate internet activist and was a Digital Champion for the UK from 2009-2013, helping to create the Government Digital Service. She is a director of Twitter and chair of WeTransfer, and she co-founded and chairs LuckyVoice, which has revolutionised the karaoke industry. She is the Chancellor of the Open University and was also made a crossbench peer in the House of Lords in 2013.
Having founded and run her own businesses, she knows first-hand the challenges firms are up against right now. And it is because Chambers provide invaluable support to ensure businesses can expand, invest and trade, that I believe she will lead a board committed to business survival and growth in such challenging times.
Baroness Lane-Fox, who is President for the next two years has commented that she is: “Very excited to be joining the BCC family and looking forward to meeting with Chambers and hearing from businesses across the UK.”
I will certainly be taking her up on this and inviting Baroness Lane-Fox to Staffordshire to meet and address local businesspeople as soon as possible and using the connections that the BCC Board will give me to further promote the interests of Staffordshire businesses – and introducing them to the addictive Staffordshire oatcakes.
If you want to talk to us about any business issues, including funding, you can call our switchboard on 01782 202222 or call the Stoke and Staffs Growth Hub Helpline on 0300 111 8002 or email: info@staffordshirechambers.co.uk
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Employers needed to support delivery of Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIPs)
Local businesses are being urged to join the Chambers’ LSIP Employers Forum to help address the skills challenges and barriers that local firms are facing when recruiting or upskilling their staff.
Skills shortages are regularly highlighted by businesses as a key recruitment issue, and LSIPs, funded by the Department for Education, aim to put the voice of local employers at the heart of the learning and skills system to build a stronger, more dynamic partnership between employers and education providers.
Your input will support the creation of an LSIP for Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire with set actions that local stakeholders such as businesses, colleges and universities will need to achieve – including changes needed to make post-16 technical education or training more responsive and closely aligned to local labour market needs.
This will, in turn, help to alleviate pressures on the skills challenges that businesses are facing in our area – boosting their productivity and the growth of the local economy.
The board will meet on the fourth Friday of every month from 8.30-10am and it is vital that we have representatives from businesses of all sizes, locations and sectors.
If you are interested in taking part, please email suzanne.quinn@staffordshirechambers.co.uk
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Less than one month left for VAT businesses to be ready for Making Tax Digital filing
HM Revenue and Customs is reminding businesses that from Tuesday 1 November they will no longer be able to use their existing Value Added Tax online account to submit VAT returns.
By law, all VAT-registered businesses must now sign up to Making Tax Digital (MTD) and use compatible software to keep their VAT records and file their returns.
MTD’s aim is to help businesses get their tax right first time by reducing errors, making it easier for them to manage their tax affairs by going digital, and consequently helping them to grow.
More than 1.8 million businesses are already benefitting from the service, and more than 19 million returns have been successfully submitted through MTD-compatible software so far.
In less than one month, businesses who file their VAT returns on a quarterly and monthly basis will no longer be able to submit them using their existing VAT online account, unless HMRC has agreed they are exempt from MTD.
If businesses do not file their VAT returns through MTD-compatible software, they may have to pay a penalty. Even if a business currently keeps digital records, they must check their software is MTD compatible and sign up for MTD before filing their next return.
Find out more, here.
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QES Survey: Sara’s reaction
The latest QES results show a significant decline in key economic indicators, with firms citing weakening structural business conditions and confidence as huge causes for concern.
This comes as little surprise in light of events during recent weeks and months, but it paints a real picture for the business community – that firms here in Staffordshire and across the country are caught in the pincer movement of soaring inflation and rising interest rates.
Key findings from the survey include:
- Four in ten businesses believe their profitability will reduce over the next 12 months
- Fewer businesses are reporting increased sales; only 33% of firms reported increased domestic sales, down from 41% last quarter.
- Measures for inflation remain at record highs as 84% of firms say it is a growing concern for them
There has been a sector-wide fall in domestic sales that, coupled with rising inflation, is making for a toxic mix – and businesses must be supported.
Both measures are heading towards levels not seen since the onset of the Covid crisis.
While the energy support packages have alleviated some immediate pressure on firms, confidence has taken a further hit following the market reaction to the mini-budget. The devaluation of the pound has also added a huge cost base for businesses reliant on imports.
Businesses now desperately need to see economic stability in order to rebuild the confidence to invest.
More than ever, it is vital that the Government roll out a long-term plan to support firms of all sizes – and time is certainly of the essence. The Chamber network is making a plea to Government to provide more certainty by bringing forward the publication of their Fiscal Plan. The sooner they do this, the sooner markets and businesses will understand what the long journey to stability looks like.
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SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – Positive Pathways
Our Positive Pathways team are attending the Stoke-on-Trent City Council Aspiration Summit today – helping local job seekers to develop their employability skills while linking employers up with refugees from our Positive Pathways programme.
The free event is a chance to meet some of the city’s top employers and find out more about the jobs they have on offer.
During October, we’re focusing on SDG 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth, and are highlighting the positive impact that this project is having on employment in the local area.
SDG 8 Promotes sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
Through our Positive Pathways programme, we help to connect refugees who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution with local employers who are looking to recruit across a number of different sectors.
Many of our participants have now found employment opportunities in the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire area.
Find out more about how your business can help work toward SDG 8, here.
Find out more about Positive Pathways, here.
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Business confidence declines significantly – Quarterly Economic Survey Q3 2022
The BCC’s Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) for Q3 2022 shows a significant decline of key economic indicators, with weakening structural business conditions and confidence a cause for concern.
The QES is the UK’s largest independent survey of business sentiment and a leading indicator of UK GDP growth. The survey took place between August 22 and September 16, prior to the Government’s energy support package for firms and the mini-budget announcement.
The survey of over 5,200 firms – 92% of whom are SMEs – reveals there have been significant declines for indicators of business sales, cashflow, and profit expectations.
All indicators of business conditions and confidence have fallen significantly from Q2 positions.
More businesses are now seeing their cashflow decreasing, instead of increasing. One in three (32%) firms reported reduced cashflow over the last three months, while 23% reported an increase.
Indicators for business confidence have plummeted; less than half (44%) of firms expect their turnover to increase over the next 12 months, while 25% expect a decrease. Those expecting an increase is down ten percentage points from 54% in Q2.
Profitability confidence has dropped to an even lower level; only one in three (33%) businesses believe their profits will increase over the coming year, while 39% now expect a decrease. This is the lowest level since Q4 2020 at the height of the Covid crisis.
Unsurprisingly, firms are not upping investment in their business. Only 22% reported an increase to plant/equipment investment in the past three months, while 57% reported no change, and 22% reported a decrease.
Business activity is taking a hit, with fewer firms reporting increased sales.
Only 33% of firms reported an increase in domestic sales over the past three months, a sharp decline from the Q2 level of 41%. 24% of firms reported a decrease in sales.
The outlook is particularly bleak for the retail and wholesale sector. The sector is now in its second quarter of negative territory; with far more businesses reporting a decrease in sales rather than an increase. 25% of retail/wholesale firms reported an increase in domestic sales, while 39% reported a decrease.
Alongside the retail and wholesale sector, other sectors are also struggling; almost three-quarters (71%) of hospitality businesses reported they are operating below capacity.
Inflationary pressures are showing no signs of letting up.
The percentage of firms expecting their prices to rise over the coming months (62%) remains close to last quarter’s record high. 84% of firms also cite inflation as a growing concern to their business – by far the highest level on record. A rising proportion (37%) are also worried about interest rates.
Responding to the findings, Sara Williams, Staffordshire Chambers CEO, said:
“The latest QES results show a significant decline of key economic indicators, with firms siting weaking structural business conditions and confidence as causes for concern.
“This comes as little surprise in light of events during recent weeks and months, but it paints a real picture for the business community – that firms here in Staffordshire and across the country are caught in the pincer movement of soaring inflation and rising interest rates.
“There has been a sector-wide fall in domestic sales that, coupled with rising inflation, is making for a toxic mix – and businesses must be supported.
“Both measures are heading towards levels not seen since the onset of the Covid crisis.
“While the energy support packages have alleviated some immediate pressure on firms, confidence has taken a further hit following the market reaction to the mini-budget. The devaluation of the pound has also added a huge cost base for businesses reliant on imports.
“Businesses now desperately need to see economic stability in order to rebuild the confidence to invest.
“More than ever, it is vital that the Government roll out a long-term plan to support firms of all sizes – and time is certainly of the essence. The Chamber network is making a plea to Government to provide more certainty by bringing forward the publication of their Fiscal Plan. The sooner they do this, the sooner markets and businesses will understand what the long journey to stability will look like.”
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