Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce is the voice of the local business community. We’re here to represent the views of our member businesses, on a range of topics. We give our members the chance to come together and meet political leaders and key decision-makers.  Last Friday, we invited the MP for Stafford (Theo Clarke, MP), to meet a group of member businesses at our office in the heart of Stafford, at Shire Hall Business Centre.

We know that Staffordshire is a great place to do business and this is epitomised by Stafford, which enjoys exceptional transport connectivity (particularly by rail) and a highly skilled workforce.  The local population is growing and there is a need to strike the right balance in building new homes but also making sure that there is a sufficient supply of employment land across the area.

You’ve probably noticed the expansion of both residential and commercial developments across the area.    A good example of this is the new housing development at Marston Gate on the A34, north edge of Stafford, sitting over the way from the new Pets at Home distribution centre.

Ms Clarke’s constituency centres on the urban area of Stafford but spans a wide area, from parts of Shropshire in the west, across to Great Haywood and Hixon in the east.   The businesses who joined us at last week’s meeting came from different parts of the constituency.

Our Stafford Chamber Local Area Advisory Board (LAAB) is a representative group of member businesses from across Stafford Borough and in recent months, the LAAB has developed a list of key priorities for Stafford. These included a call for a focus on developing the centre of Stafford.

Boarded up commercial premises can become such an eyesore in any town and we support action or legislation, to ensure property owners cannot simply board up premises. Bringing health service provision into the centre of town would boost footfall for retailers and hospitality businesses.

Thriving town centres need easy access in and out and this aspiration is supported by improved public transport and secure cycle storage.  A mix of commercial premises will bring employees into town and they’ll also spend their money at local retailers and hospitality venues.

Stafford Station Gateway and the Institute of Technology (IoT) are exciting developments which will help to grow our County Town but we’re keen to play our part in pushing for town centre improvements.   Work to transform Market Square is taking shape and once completed in the autumn, it should create a space for a real mix of vibrant events.

Other topics discussed, included electric vehicle charging and the transfer of surplus energy generated by a business, with infrastructure not in place to allow this to be transferred to the Grid.

Ms Clarke listened carefully and spoke with all present, before opening up a wider discussion and agreed to take away some of the key points that were raised. We’ll look forward to getting an update.

Ms Clarke was joined by Nigel Huddleston, – Minister of State at the Department for Business and Trade.  Some of our members have experienced frustrations with exporting to the EU and we took the chance to raise these with the Minister.  He agreed to personally look into what has happened and will also get back to us with an update.

If you would like to learn more about the key business priorities for Stafford, please contact me:declan.riddell@staffordshirechambers.co.uk

Train passenger numbers continue to climb after the pandemic. Trains bring people to and from work and they also move people for work. It’s so important for a rail network to run smoothly, with reliable services getting people to their destinations on time. The customer experience of rail travel is key to ensuring repeat travel and keeping more of us out of our cars and choosing the train.

We were disappointed to hear of recent Department for Transport (DfT) proposals to withdraw Wi-Fi on trains. Rail passengers need Wi-Fi connectivity to allow them to browse the internet for work or leisure.   Wi-Fi will allow work on the move, updating reports, ready for that meeting when the train reaches its destination.

We ran a poll of Daily Focus readers and more than 70% of respondents supported our view in challenging any proposals to withdraw Wi-Fi. We have written to the Department of Transport to express our concerns about these proposals.

We have also written to East Midlands Rail to challenge suggestions to withdraw some services on the Crewe-Stoke-Derby route.     Known as the ‘North Staffordshire Line’, we see this as a key rail artery linking the east and west of our region, with local stations at Kidsgrove, Longport, Stoke-on-Trent, Longton, Blythe Bridge and Uttoxeter.

When HS2 services eventually reach Crewe, this line will play a pivotal role in moving passengers between North Staffordshire and the Cheshire railway town.   Removing services from the timetable will damage passenger confidence and create uncertainty.

I’ve recently attended two rail conferences, one in Birmingham and one in Crewe and thanks to exceptional rail connectivity in the county, the journey by rail to each conference, was an easy one to make.

Avanti West Coast Partnership (WCP) held its Annual Stakeholder Conference in Birmingham, with the message that the recovery plan is working.   A new cohort of drivers have been recruited and are being trained.   A new Hitachi fleet of trains is being rolled out and the company is more than half way through a programme of refurbishing its Pendolino fleet.

Avanti WCP runs services along the West Caast Mainline, between London, West Midlands, North Wales, the North West of England and Scotland.   In Staffordshire, Avanti services stop in Stafford, Stoke-on-Trent, Tamworth and Lichfield.

The High-Speed Rail Group held its conference at Crewe Hall, with the theme of ‘delivering HS2 in full, spreading prosperity’.   One of the speakers felt that being connected to a high-speed network drives growth and carbon benefits.

We are disappointed by the decision to pause the start of constructing Phase 2A of HS2 (between Fradley and Crewe) and it was refreshing to hear one of the speakers describing this stretch as “the link that drives levelling up.”.

Mark Thurston, CEO of HS2 was another guest speaker and whilst acknowledging the pause in construction of Phase 2A, said he’s “determined to hit the ground running in 2025”, when construction will hopefully resume.

HS2 is key to addressing Government objectives of levelling up the UK economy and from a Staffordshire perspective, we hope Europe’s largest construction project will bring jobs, training and apprenticeship opportunities to our county.

HS2 is more than just tracks and trains.  Construction workers will need accommodation, food and personal protective equipment, to name just a few items on what will be a lengthy shopping list.

Transport is a key enabler for our local economy and if you would like to join the discussion and share your views around transport, please contact:bdeclan.riddell@staffordshirechambers.co.uk

Our Chamber forums are a great way for our members to come together and shape our policy and lobbying work. Chamber forums are also a perfect opportunity to grow learning and knowledge of a specific topic. In last week’s Energy, Environment & Sustainability forum, we received an update from Malin of Hattrick, on the topics of greenwashing and green hushing.

We’re all being asked to play our part in trying to limit the impact of climate change on the planet. Businesses are becoming aware of the benefits of having ethical credentials. Reports suggest that ethical spending in the UK went up by almost 25% between 2019 and 2020, in a market which has an estimated value of £122billion. Businesses need to appeal to the demands of their ethical consumers but some are being accused of “greenwashing”. This can be described as a public relations ploy, which is used to make a company or a product appear to be “green” or environmentally friendly, without significantly reducing environmental impact.

Greenwashing will raise the profile of a company’s public image. It will aim to appeal to the ethical values of customers and suggest that buying the product, will neatly align with those values. Greenwashing can often include the likes of nature related imagery and bold claims. Vague claims about the product and “green solutions can leave us bamboozled and distract us from the real issues at hand.

In order to avoid being accused of ‘greenwashing’, some businesses are choosing to remain quiet about their environmental agenda. They may choose to sit quietly instead of highlighting their sustainable initiatives. This is known as green hushing. The most common reason for green hushing is the fear of criticism for not doing enough, and the fear of being accused of greenwashing. This can lead to reputation damage and savvy consumers opting to take their business elsewhere.

Our Energy, Environment & Sustainability forum is tasked with exchanging information on energy, environmental concerns and sustainability within the private sector. The forum helps to drive our policy understanding on energy efficiency and environmental sustainability and promote the development of a sustainable economy in Staffordshire. It’s one of eleven policy forums that we co-ordinate, with each forum meeting up three to four times a year.

Being a member of our Chamber policy forums is a great way to join your fellow members in helping to shape our policy and influence as a Chamber. It’s also a great way to grow your network contacts and with meetings typically held once a quarter, it won’t involve too much in the way of time commitment. Meetings are usually held at our Commerce House office in Stoke-on-Trent and once a meeting has finished, you’ll be very welcome to move to our Members’ Lounge, grab a brew and work from here for the rest of the day!

If you would like to join any of our policy forums, covering the topics of :

• Charity
• Digital
• Energy, Environment & Sustainability
• HS2
• HR, Employment & Skills
• Manufacturers’
• Money Matters
• Planning & Infrastructure
• Rural business
• Social value and procurement
• Transport

….please contact me on:

declan.riddell@staffordshirechambers.co.uk

….The fall of the Berlin Wall….

….UK music charts dominated by Jive Bunny….

….Port Vale join Stoke City in the second tier of English football, to reignite “El Ceramico” sporting rivalry!….

It was also a year that saw the launch of the British Chambers’ of Commerce (BCC) Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) and a third of a century later, QES is still recognised as a valuable source of business trends across the regions and country as a whole. QES is the largest and most representative independent business survey of its kind in the UK and is closely watched by policymakers such as the Treasury, the Bank of England and the Office of Budget Responsibility. It also attracts a significant amount of media attention.

QES covers a number of specific topics, starting with the UK Market and questions on whether current and future sales are up, down or unchanged. Businesses are asked about current and future changes in workforce numbers.   The survey moves on to look at questions on cashflow and investment, before closing with an update on business confidence.

Surveys are open during a three week period, from Monday 15th May to Friday 2^nd June and can be completed as a paper copy or online:

https://forms.office.com/e/UP2HAthvfg

The surveys can be completed anonymously and once submitted, all responses are collated and shared with the British Chambers’ of Commerce, who will announce headline results in July. From a Staffordshire perspective, we can use the data to make a comparison on trends between national and local data. With the QES aggregated from businesses sourced by the Chamber of Commerce network from across the UK, it continues to be one of the UK’s largest and most representative private business surveys.

QES covers both the manufacturing sector (25% of respondents) and services sector (75%).and a high proportion of respondents from both sectors, are exporters. The survey covers businesses of all sizes, with the vast majority of respondents falling in to the Small and medium sized enterprises (SME) category of under 250 employees. Each quarter, the QES is made available before official statistics (such as GDP growth), and so provides an up to the minute picture of business sentiment.

Your views can make such a difference, so please take the time to complete the latest QES and please encourage your business contacts to do the same. Getting a good mix of survey responses, will help to build a picture of what’s happening here in Staffordshire and will also feed in ai a national level. It takes less than 90 seconds to complete and once again, here’s the online link:

https://forms.office.com/e/UP2HAthvfg

If you have any questions, please contact: declan.riddell@staffordshirechambers.co.uk