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BCC Welcomes Labour Tax Roadmap Plans
2nd February 2024Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce said: “It is a very tough time for businesses at the moment and they urgently need stability and long-term certainty. “We welcome today’s announcement from the Shadow Chancellor that she will publish a tax roadmap for business, if…
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Rate Hold Gives Business Some Stability
2nd February 2024Reacting to the latest Bank of England interest rate decision, David Bharier, Head of Research at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “Today’s decision to hold the interest rate at 5.25%, the same level since August last year, will give some respite for businesses. However, the current level is…
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BCC Publishes Blueprint To Drive Net-Zero Transition
31st January 2024Among the recommendations in the report are: A new public body to oversee delivery of core climate policies Strengthened resources for independent Climate Change Committee A robust Green Industrial Strategy from Government A permanent cross-sector approach to green jobs from policymakers Quicker Government action on financing the transition to net-zero…
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Most SME Exporters Seeing No Improvement
30th January 2024BCC’s Trade Confidence Outlook for Q4 2023 sees SME exports continuing to languish Half of all SME exporters (50%) saw no change in overseas sales, and 24% reported a decrease. Only a quarter of exporting SME firms (26%) saw their overseas sales rise in Q4. BCC indicators show exports have consistently…
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Common Sense Approach To Product Marking Welcomed
25th January 2024Responding to the Government’s latest announcement on conformity assessment marking, BCC Head of Trade Policy, William Bain, said: “Business will welcome this common-sense approach to showing that products sold in Great Britain have met safety, health and environmental rules. Crucially, it will help keep costs down for firms and…
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BCC Welcomes UK Supply Chain Strategy
18th January 2024BCC Welcomes UK Supply Chain Strategy Responding to the release of the Government’s Critical Imports and Supply Chain Strategy, William Bain, Head of Trade Policy, at the British Chambers of Commerce said: “This strategy provides a substantial and compelling picture of the reliance an open trading economy, like the UK’s,…
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Surprise Rise In Inflation As Uncertainty Remains
18th January 2024Responding to the latest inflation figures from the ONS, David Bharier, Head of Research at the British Chambers of Commerce said: “Consumer price inflation remains stubborn with a slightly higher than expected growth rate of 4% in December 2023, and no change in core inflation at 5.1%. However, producer…
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Business Pressures Persist As Labour Market Cools
16th January 2024Responding to the latest labour market data from ONS, Jane Gratton, Deputy Director Public Policy at the British Chambers of Commerce said: “Today’s data confirms labour market conditions are continuing to cool, with wage growth and the number of vacancies falling once again. However, labour costs remain a huge…
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Quarterly Recruitment Outlook: Hiring Headaches And Labour Costs Loom Large
16th January 2024Over three quarters (76%) of firms attempting to recruit faced difficulties Firms in the hospitality sector remain the most likely to report challenges in hiring staff (82%) 68% of companies say labour costs are a financial pressure 59% of companies attempted to recruit in the quarter The latest Quarterly Recruitment…
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Uncertain Times Ahead For Global Trade
16th January 2024Reacting to the ONS trade data for November 2023, William Bain, BCC Head of Trade Policy, said: “The positives are there was a pick-up in some export sectors in goods trade with the EU, particularly in automotive sales. Services also remained steady for a further month, with only very small…
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