I am really looking forward to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Global Annual Conference which is now less than three weeks away.

It takes place on 17^th May at the QEII Centre, London and this year’s theme is ‘Building British Business’ and there are still some tickets available if any business people would like to attend: Global Annual Conference 2023 (britishchambers.org.uk)

Keynote speakers at this year’s conference include leader of the opposition, Sir Kier Starmer, Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, a senior Treasury Minister (yet to be confirmed) and President of the BCC, Baroness Martha Lane-Fox. Not a bad line up in the same room in one day!

Chambers of Commerce can rightfully claim to be the true voice of business, representing all sectors and all sizes of business and the Global Annual Conference is one of the few events that bring all 53 accredited UK Chambers of Commerce, as well as visitors from Chambers from overseas, together under one roof – with many of their members and patrons as well.

Although Chambers of Commerce may differ slightly in the way they operate, dependent on the economic bias of their areas, they do all share the same goal: to protect and represent our businesses and to build a thriving community where every person has opportunities to prosper.

Perhaps the theme should be ‘Re-building British Business’ after the battering we have all taken over the past few years. A key element of work that all Chambers share is holding the Government to account – needed now more than ever – and to drive them to give business the support needed, rather than give us hollow rhetoric. This is especially true as the next General Election appears on the horizon.

The conference will be centred around four key breakout sessions for thought-provoking discussion amongst peers across the Chambers’ network. The four sessions are:

• Skills – seeking opportunities to increase access to skills and people.
• Green Innovation – promoting green innovation and decarbonisation.
• Growth – removing barriers to start and grow a business; and
• Trade – increasing the number of businesses trading internationally.

Certainly, all themes that have occupied much of my in-tray of late.

Our lobbying and representation is based on hard evidence, gleaned from our quarterly economic survey and, uniquely at Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce, through the workings of our sector forums who meet regularly to discuss key issues and come up with strategies to maximise our advantage and ultimately benefit our communities.

Just to recap, the forums are: Digital; Energy, Environment & Sustainability; Employment & Skills; Manufacturing; Money Matters; Planning & Infrastructure; Rural Business; Social Value and Procurement; Transport; HS2; and sector groups for manufacturers, professional firms and charities.

Forums are open to any member, and you can attend as many different ones as you like according to your specific interests.

I will be visiting the conference with several of our patrons and some members of the Chamber team. If you would like to join us on the day contact Lily-May Hamilton at the Chamber lily-may.hamilton@staffordshirechambers.co.uk

More details on the BCC Global Annual Conference here: Global Annual Conference 2023 (britishchambers.org.uk)

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

Staffordshire-based Legionella and Fire Safe Services has launched its Energy Saving/Net Zero Division and, through an aligned partnership with Water Tank manufacturers, Mixergy, is now working with Birmingham City Council installing energy-saving water tanks.

Local authorities across the UK are facing the critical challenge of tackling the fuel poverty crisis while reducing their carbon emissions. Funded retrofit programmes are offering a unique opportunity for councils to upgrade their housing stock to help their tenants to live better now while getting ready for the energy transition ahead.

Following their declaration of a climate emergency in 2019, Birmingham City Council set an ambitious target to reach net zero by 2030, 20 years ahead of the UK government’s 2050 target. To support this programme, they recently announced plans to retrofit a large number of properties in the Birmingham region to test thermal efficiency approaches, reduce carbon emissions, and provide energy savings for their tenants.

Legionella and Fire Safe Services are currently working in conjunction with Equans UK & Ireland and Fortem Solutions. Providing a minimal disruption installation, including all carpentry and essential fire-stopping works and also knowing installing these tanks reduces the risk of Legionella with monitored correct temperatures and built-in bacteria cleansing cycles.

Legionella and Fire Safe Services delivers service excellence to all clients from the experienced engineers and field-based supervisors. This ensures all aspects of the installations are to the highest standard.

Employment numbers for the already 60 strong team is likely to increase by another 35, from specialist trades through to administrating team members, for this division alone in 2023.

Steve Morris, Managing Director of Legionella and Fire Safe Services, said: “We are very proud to have recently launched the Legionella & Fire Safe Energy Saving / Net Zero Division. A major part of this division is our MIXERGY cylinder range. Since coming to market, MIXERGY are rapidly making huge inroads into the hot water cylinder market with technology on the forefront. We have installed these to over 260 council properties in 2022 with a further 600 planned for 2023. Birmingham City Council, the largest local authority within the UK have committed to strategic vision of the future to install these at appropriate properties over the coming years. Legionella & Fire Safe are proud to be an integral part of this journey.

From our early installations the energy saving numbers are simply quite incredible. On average each small flat is saving around £550 per year through smart technology.

We are in an aligned partnership with Mixergy & Birmingham City Council, where Legionella & Fire Safe are known as the social housing experts. Our turnkey solution for retrofit installs including all fire stopping compliance work and legionella compliance.”

Legionella and Fire Safe Services has come a long way since it was set up in 2017 .It has secured major contracts in several industries since then, including local authority, retail, education, manufacturing and hospitality, and is leading the way in innovative new products and processes.

The Company which has a Legionella Compliance Division, a Fire Division and a Construction Division, has also  been recognised for its employees wellbeing, “We are nothing without our People”  taking exceptional care of their employees and also offer some great perks and benefits, has a Legionella Compliance Division, a Fire Division and a Construction Division.

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) labour market figures are showing no easing up of the number of vacancies, creating a headache for employers and a real barrier to economic growth.

Businesses are crying out for people to fill job vacancies at all skill levels, and this must be the number one focus for government if it’s serious about economic growth.

There are still a huge number of vacancies, currently sitting at 1.134 million, and this is stopping firms in their tracks.

And it was announced by Staffordshire County Council this week that the number of job vacancies in the county has increased to more than 30,000 – up nearly a third in just a month.

Latest figures show that in Stoke-on-Trent the number of unfilled positions had leapt by 34 per cent to 8,700. This is just above the number of work-related benefit claimants (8,510).

In the rest of Staffordshire, the number of vacancies jumped up 26 per cent to 21,900 between December and January compared to the previous month. This is far higher than the number of work-related benefit claimants (14,700).

It means firms are struggling to meet the orders on their books, and it puts any plans for growth far out of reach.

I have heard this message from many businesses in our area who are also seeing the effect this pressure is having on wages, currently at the highest rates seen in the private sector outside of the pandemic. However, a sharp rise in rates of pay is still being outstripped by inflation. This has been identified by the Bank of England as a factor in its decisions to raise interest rates to tame inflation.

Government plans to get the UK’s untapped labour force into employment are a step in the right direction, but we need to see more action to address the barriers that are holding people back.

The Spring Budget represents a golden opportunity for the Chancellor to ease the pressure on family members who have been squeezed out of the labour market by punishing childcare costs.

Older workers need carefully tailored careers advice, job seeker support and rapid re-training opportunities to help bring their skills and experience back to the workforce.

Businesses can help by adopting flexible working policies wherever possible and supporting staff training needs.

And crucially, something I mentioned only last week, Government should reform the Shortage Occupation List to help firms fill urgent job vacancies from outside the UK when they cannot recruit locally. The List should include jobs at all skill levels where there is clear evidence of a national shortage.

The full ONS labour market statistics can be viewed here: Labour market overview, UK – Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

If you would like to raise any issues around employment difficulties contact our policy advisor Declan Riddell: declan.ridell@staffordshirechambers.co.uk

Better news now – Severn Trent are offering free water-efficiency audits for businesses to help make sure their water facilities are up to date and not leaking.

The initiative is part of Severn Trent’s Green Recovery Programme , offering businesses the chance to check their facilities are working efficiently and, where any upgrades or repairs are needed, the company will fix internal leaks free of charge.

Severn Trent, which serves thousands of firms and homes across Staffordshire and beyond, says a typical leaky toilet or dripping tap could cost a business up to £300 a year.

They understand many businesses are facing uncertainty and upgrading their water facilities may not be on the top of a business’s list of priorities. It is pleasing therefore that they are offering to do all of this at no charge.

Severn Trent will undertake a full ‘health’ check of the water facilities, and make sure money is not being wasted, and that your business is running as efficiently and watertight as possible.

Businesses often lose money through urinals, which often flush regardless of use. By installing sensors, savings of up to £3,000 could be made depending on business size. Also fixing something like a leaky toilet could save up to 400 litres of water a year, which would be money businesses would pay for, but not be using.

For more information, and to sign up click here: Supporting Local Businesses | Green recovery | Wonderful on Tap | Severn Trent Water (stwater.co.uk)

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

Recent growth and expansions has led to the opening of a new Innovation Centre for additive masterbatch manufacturer, Wells Plastics.

The Stone-based business, regarded as the country’s largest independent manufacturer of specialist additive masterbatch, welcomed local dignitaries and innovation partners to the official opening of the new ‘Wells Plastics Innovation Centre’, with a ribbon cutting by the Mayor of Stone, Councillor Jonathan Powell.

Dr Gary Ogden, Technical Manager, said: “We believe that this Innovation Centre over the next few years will provide further development and innovation within the field of additive masterbatches helping processers and users of plastics improve the performance and functionality of these important materials.

“This includes laboratory twin screw extrusion, film blowing and injection moulding, as well as a significant range of analytical instruments and techniques for measuring and characterising polymers and additive systems.”

Carl Birch, Sales and Marketing Director, provided a history of Wells Plastics to the guests, including the recent growth and expansions, encompassing the new Raw Material Warehouse, Innovation Centre, recent MBO and attaining Gold EcoVadis certification.

Carl said: “The issue with polymers remains a human behavioural one, not a material one, how we use, reuse, collect, recycle and finally dispose of these essential materials is ultimately down to us.”

Philip Law, Director General of the British Plastics Federation, commented: “The BPF’s congratulations go to Wells Plastics on the opening of its very well-equipped Innovation Centre.

“This is a great statement of the technical support provided by Wells Plastics to both the UK plastics industry and in export markets. Wells have nominated circularity as a key innovation theme and this can only help customers meet the challenging targets which are emerging globally”.

It’s great news for businesses in our area that road improvements to the A50 and A500 are being discussed at the highest level.

A roundtable meeting with senior officials from the Department for Transport and National Highways (DTNH) took place last week in Parliament to discuss proposed improvements along the A50 and A500, which connects Staffordshire with the East Midlands, potentially creating up to 12,000 jobs across the region.

The plans discussed include nine individual improvement schemes which aim to reduce congestion, boost the economy and save motorists time and money.

Areas highlighted for improvement include where Junction 15 of the M6 meets the A500, Sideway roundabout in Stoke-on-Trent, roundabouts at Blythe Bridge and Sudbury and junctions and slip roads at Uttoxeter.

Midlands Connect, the region’s sub-national transport body which put the masterplan together, believes the route is of “national significance” and the benefits upgrades could bring to the area could be £12 billion.

Staffordshire Chamber, Local MPs, council leaders and businesses are asking for the project to be included in the upcoming Road Investment Strategies and other schemes along the route to be included in future rounds, covering the period 2025 to 2040.

These proposed improvements tie in nicely with the new £43 million Etruria Valley Link Road (EVLR) which I spoke about in my blog two weeks ago.

The 1km road connects the Wolstanton junction on the A500 with Festival Park and St Modwen Park Stoke Central and opens up huge development opportunities on former steelworks land to the north of Festival Park including the Ceramic Valley Enterprise Zone.

It was also encouraging to hear that green transport and decarbonisation were a part of the discussions. This transport corridor is set to become a national hub for the manufacture of hydrogen engines for vehicles from cars to aeroplanes, in addition to plant and machinery. And streamlining the route will support our collective ambition to ensure we can become a global centre of excellence in this sector in the future.

The Chambers’ Transport Forum will play an active role in the development of these new roads, keeping up the pressure on the Government and DTNH to ensure proposals are implemented and not watered down.

The forum’s priorities are issues such as: ensuring businesses have access to transport infrastructure and services to facilitate trade and employment; ensuring transport policy supports businesses and employment needs in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire and formulating the Chambers responses to local and national planning consultations.

Staffordshire Chambers has a well-documented history of lobbying for improvements to all our roads, especially the A500.

The Chamber was instrumental in the campaign to replace the old junctions north and south of Stoke with grade separated junctions.  The new junctions were completed in 2006, 29 years after the A500 or D Road, as it is known locally, opened.

In the 1990s the Chambers published two reports entitled ‘Bottle kilns to bottlenecks’ and ‘A500 – finishing the job’, which put forward the argument for these much-needed improvements.

Prior to 2006 traffic had to navigate two roundabouts causing tailbacks at peak times, adding to the time and cost of journeys for business.

It is also difficult to imagine the heavy traffic, pollution and long journeys prior to 1997 when the improved A50 dual carriageway opened. Until then the A50 was a single carriageway road running from Uttoxeter via many villages to Meir through Longton and Fenton to join the A500.

Improved and efficient transport infrastructure is key to the evolution and growth of Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, and we don’t intend to let up on the pressure to ensure plans are implemented to fulfil our ambitions to be at the forefront of the green economic revolution.

If you would like to get involved with or know more about the Transport Forum contact Declan Riddell: declan.ridell@staffordshirechambers.co.ukIf 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