Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “The Leader of the Opposition is right to focus on business conditions that would help small and medium-sized firms. Businesses will welcome the focus on digital skills, investment in R&D and the need to make Brexit work. However, despite the warm rhetoric, what firms really need are concrete, costed proposals and meaningful detail on delivery.” On Skills: “The…
UK business investment is expected to decline this year despite the prospect of record economic growth, according to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) economic forecast. The leading business group predicts UK GDP growth for 2021 of 7.1%, which, if realised, would be the strongest outturn since official records began in 1949.1 Following robust GDP growth…
Commenting on ONS GDP figures for Q2 2021, published today, Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: “The latest data confirms a robust rebound in output in the second quarter as the UK economy unlocked and restrictions eased. “The increase in output in the second quarter largely reflected a striking rise in household spending…
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Responding to an update on possible self-isolation exemptions for key workers in critical services, Hannah Essex, Co-Executive Director of the BCC, said: “While the announcement of a process which may exempt select critical workers from self-isolation in England will be a relief to some businesses, it will leave many more still facing critical staff shortages and lost revenue as the…
Responding to the announcement of the new UK approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol, William Bain, Head of Trade Policy at the BCC, said: “Businesses in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland need durable, workable, negotiated solutions on compliance with the Protocol to ensure the continued two-way flow of goods East-West and North-South. The UK and EU governments need to work together to find…
Proportion of UK exporters reporting increased export sales (27%) rises from Q1, but proportion reporting decreased sales (28%) remains historically high Manufacturing exporters were more likely to see rising sales than exporting services firms B2C services exporters more likely to see sales fall, but neither B2C nor B2B seeing significant sales growth Respondents cited issues with UK-EU TCA as a major barrier to growing…
Commenting on ONS Labour Market statistics for July 2021 published today, BCC Head of Economics, Suren Thiru, said: “The significant rise in payroll employment suggests that UK jobs market continued to improve as the economy gradually reopened. “Surging demand for labour amid the economy unlocking, the rapid vaccine rollout and continued government support helped drive higher payroll employment…
Reacting to the Prime Minister’s statement today, Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the BCC, said: “This is a much-needed step on the road to normality and we welcome the Prime Minister setting out the direction of travel in advance of reopening. “But businesses in England still do not have the full picture they desperately need to plan for unlocking. “Much remains in the balance, firms do not yet know the future of self-isolation rules, if testing will remain…
Significantly more firms reporting improvements in key indicators, such as domestic sales and business confidence with some measures returning to pre-pandemic levels However, these rises come from the lowest base in the 31-year history of the QES, and business conditions remain fragile The balance of manufacturers expecting to increase their prices hits the highest level in the history of the QES dataset, while the proportion of businesses citing inflation as a…