Southern Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Almost everyone who legally works in the UK is entitled to receive a minimum level of pay. This is called the national minimum wage. You can be paid more than the minimum wage but you must not be paid less.The amount is set by law. It goes up on 1 October each year.

The Government is committed to the delivery of world class public services for all, and over the past decade has made substantial investments in order to realise this vision. Although many public services are rightly provided exclusively by the public sector, increasingly both central and local government, including devolved administrations, are engaging and working in partnership with private and third sector providers to find ways of ensuring our goals of excellent, fair and cost effective public services are achieved.

Crime against business is a problem that is not only affecting many companies’ ability to do business but is also blighting the communities in which they are situated. 80% of businesses indicated that crime against business is a problem in their local area. Businesses sit at the heart of
communities providing jobs and opportunities while contributing to development and economic growth. Crime that affects businesses is not therefore an invisible phenomenon but a serious threat to local jobs and the viability of an area.

This booklet is a guide for all companies to the rules governing public disclosure of accounts. This should be read together with the Companies Act 2006 and the relevant regulations which are available to view on www.opsi.gov.uk

• The Small Companies and Groups (Accounts and Directors’ Report) Regulations 2008
• The Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008
• The Companies Act 2006 (Amendment) (Accounts and Reports) Amendment) Regulations 2008
• The Partnerships (Accounts) Regulations 2008
• The Companies Act 2006 (Commencement No. 5, Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order2007 May

The challenges of globalisation and climate change have brought increased prominence to planning for emergencies. Unexpected events such as those outlined within this publication highlight the importance of advance planning for support to business in the recovery phase from an emergency. In responding, all parts of society have a role to play in getting back to normal. This report sets out the important role that Chambers of Commerce can play in support of business affected by disasters

This model policy has been developed for use by employers. It can be used by organisations in all sectors but employers are encouraged to amend and apply the policy in a way that is appropriate to the size and structure of their organisation. It may be particularly relevant for small and medium sized organisations to omit or amend some of the practical steps around implementation. Larger organisations may wish to include more detail in some sections.

On 30 June the Government signed 150 Local Area Agreements (LAAs) with local councils and their partners – 150 unique pledges to local people to improve public services and the quality of life. As a planned and shared commitment between central government and local authorities and their partners, LAAs provide a basis for taking the next steps in the improvement of public services. They reflect real prioritisation and greater coordination at a local level. Detailed information on the LAAs negotiated, including the local priorities of each area, is available online.

The issue around developing a fair and meaningful mechanism to raise local taxes from the business community and ensure that they are spent in an obvious and beneficial way for business has been around for several years.

The issue has recently been thrown into much sharper relief following a number of different initiatives and proposals being discussed on the back of the Lyons Inquiry into Local Government (March 2007) and the Sub National Review (SNR).

There are a number of initiatives that appear to be further advanced and more certain to be introduced eg Business Rate Supplements (BRS) and others that can, at best, be described as theoretical work pieces eg Tax Incremental Financing.  

This paper will identify what attributes an “ideal” local business taxation system would have; investigate the current and additional fund raising schemes currently in situ ready to be introduced or still being discussed and identify activity going ahead to ensure that in the current economic climate businesses are not being unfairly used to supplement funding shortfalls and that they are free to continue to be the real generators of economic wealth in the UK.

The Chamber network was consulted in December 2008.

The Q3 QES results are alarming. Virtually all the key national balances have worsened, and many are in negative territory. Coming after worrying Q2 results, the Q3 results point to the UK being in a recession. All the Q3 domestic balances, sales as well as orders, have moved deeper into negative territory, for both manufacturing and services. All firm sizes, in both sectors, show negative Q3 balances, a very disturbing and unusual situation. The collapse in confidence is a very troubling development. All the confidence balances, turnover as well as profitability, fell to record lows in Q3, for both manufacturing and services. The export situation is mixed, but trends are disappointing overall. Manufacturing export balances plummeted in Q3. Service export balances rose slightly, but remain relatively weak. Investment balances in plant and machinery moved into negative territory for both sectors. Cashflow balances remain negative. Overall, the Q3 results point to a worsening economic outlook and rising unemployment.

Results from the Quarter 1 2010 British Chambers of Commerce Economic Survey – published a day ahead of the MPC’s April rate setting decision – show that the UK’s upturn is still on course and the economy has not slipped back into recession. However, the recovery is weak and serious risks of a setback remain.

Data from over 5,500 businesses show that the service sector’s performance is improving, with most indicators now positive and making gains on the previous quarter. The results in manufacturing are disappointing with too many key measures worsening, and several still in negative territory.

Highlights from the Q1 QES include:

• Confidence, although weak by pre-recession standards, is firmly in positive territory confirming businesses’ resilience in the aftermath of the recession.
• Exports have mostly improved and remain strong for manufacturing. Export orders grew from +17 in Q4 to +21 in Q1 – a highlight of this quarter’s survey.
• Worryingly, critical indicators such as investment in plant and machinery and cash flow are still negative across both sectors.
• In manufacturing, the key domestic measures point to stagnation in Q1 - with sales barely positive and orders still negative. In services, both sales and orders have turned positive.
• Employment over the last three months in manufacturing has recorded a large decline. It has moved back into negative territory from +3 in the fourth quarter to -16 in Q1.

The international financial crisis and the recession it has caused around the world, and now in the UK, is having a real impact on individuals, families and businesses. The Government is acting because extra support is needed to get us through the downturn. So a range of new help is being made available for those who need it from homeowners with difficulties paying their mortgages, or people seeking employment or training, to small businesses with cashflow problems and larger
businesses needing working capital.

You may be able to benefit from Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) funding if you work in a land based business or a rural Tourism enterprise. Eligible businesses include farmers, growers, foresters, primary producers, rural tourism businesses and other small rural business or community organisations.

The purpose of this consultation is to seek broad consensus on the direction of future development in Tamworth. We would like your views and suggestions on the Core Strategy Vision, the spatial objectives, a sequential approach to managing growth and draft Core Policies.
We are still in the early stages of producing a Core Strategy and no final decision has yet been made about the future development of the Borough. We need your feedback to inform the final decision. Following this consultation exercise a Draft Core Strategy will be published in the summer which will form the basis of the intended submission document which will then be subjected to an examination in 2010. To this end our aim is to have a document that will be supported by all those with an interest in the Borough and we would welcome the opportunity to discuss any issues and concerns you may have.

The Chamber, through British Chambers of Commerce are pressing Government to reintroduce schemes from the 80’s and 90’s that allowed workforces to work share and claim Job Seekers allowance for the time they aren’t working.

Please see the downloadble Fact Sheet for Employers for advice and guidance.

Job centre Plus is organised on a regional basis. For help from Job centre plus for Staffordshire companies and individuals, call Carol Hemming and ask to speak to one of her team, which covers Staffordshire on 01782-382164

For companies and individuals elsewhere in the West and East Midlands adjoining areas, the contact numbers are as follows:

Black Country: 01902-435163
Coventry & Warwickshire: 02476-232958
Birmingham & Solihull: 0121-255-8351
Derbyshire: 0115-8985961

This is the sixth annual report examining how the UK regulatory system works in practice and
whether it follows the Government’s own guidelines. In the last decade, regulation has become a major UK industry. Tens of thousands are employed not in commerce to grow GDP but to interfere in that process. Each regulation has a purpose and many contribute to national well being but “better regulation” in practice has come to mean “more regulation”. The Impact Assessment system designed to control the volume may have improved quality at the margins but the original purpose of Regulatory Impact Assessments ((R)IAs), namely challenging the need for the regulation and the serious consideration of alternatives, has not been met. The National Audit Office has reached similar conclusions.

Due to the unacceptable increases in congestion on our major roads and the lack of a strategic direction from the government the British Chambers of Commerce commissioned the Imperial College London to conduct a study into the inter-urban network.

The report was designed specifically to look at solutions to the problem with the intention of guiding the BCC’s own policy on this issue.

On 20th February 2009 the BCC called its Chamber Transport group together to discuss the proposals. The following position paper records the findings of the transport group.