Today Lord Adonis announced the Governments plans for high-speed rail. The Government white paper outlines plans for  a Y shaped network, from London to Birmingham and then splitting off to the West up to Manchester and East up to Leeds, reducing journey times from Leeds to London to just 80 minutes.

This announcement is fantastic news for our region. High speed rail plays a pivotal role in the long-term economic vision for Yorkshire, and the planning and development needs to take place now to ensure that HSR becomes a vital part of our future. We have seen the impact of HSR in delivering growth and inward investment for other regions in Europe and it’s great news that the Government understands the vital importance of a 21^st century infrastructure for both business and the people of Yorkshire. The plans for high-speed rail have come on along way since Network Rail recommended the line to be routed only to the west of the country. Lobbying by the Chamber and other groups has no doubt helped influence this decision by showcasing the benefits of delivering the line through Yorkshire. 

The next step now is to turn plans into action. The Chamber will continue to work with Lord Adonis and other political parties to secure cross party support for the plans, as well as ensure continued investment in existing transport links to improve connectivity for businesses in the short-term”

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The British Chambers of Commerce’ Quarterly Economic Survey (Q.E.S.) is underway for the third quarter and the Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber is asking all of its members to participate, in what is considered to be one of the country’s most extensive measures of business trends at a local, regional and national level

The Q.E.S results will reveal whether or not the economy has continued in its growth after official GDP figures for the 2009 Q4 revealed it grew by a rather anaemic 0.1%. While business confidence does appear to have improved over the past few months, some are now saying that like at the beginning of the recession the media was accused of talking down the economy, they are now talking up the economy and recovery in fact remains extremely fragile.

So what is the real economic outlook? Click the link below to take our QES and let us know.

www.britishchambers.org.uk/qes                

The Chamber code for Leeds based members is 47 and for York and North Yorkshire based members it is 48. For all members the password is 'economy'.  

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Leeds, York & North Yorkshire Chamber wish to explore the potential perceived benefits and demand for a Chamber Foundation Degree in Leadership & Management. Benefits may include:

• A degree designed by industry for industry to develop managers into leaders. • A practical approach that makes a real difference to day-to-day performance of managers. • Opportunity for Chamber members to make contributions via masterclasses. • Assessments designed to address real work issues and activity. • Enabling managers to understand wider business strategies. • Flexible modular delivery to suit your business needs. • Employees gain a recognised qualification to support existing skills. I would therefore be most grateful if you would complete the following short survey (8 questions) which I can assure you will be held in strictest confidence. The Foundation Degree survey is located on the following url: http://www.surveypirate.com/Survey.aspx?surveyid=11708&hash=xyoZzl1HebWBuF8Cr4KYpg==

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Leeds York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the decision by the MPC to hold UK interest rates at 0.5% as per today’s announcement.
  Commenting on today’s decision, Gary Lumby, President of Leeds Chamber of Commerce said:
  “Over the next 12 months the MPC will be faced with the crucial task of balancing low interest rates and low inflation. In the short term, the Chamber expects rates to remain on hold, however inflation has already started to rise and we expect to see further increases as energy and food prices rise and on the back of the money already pumped into the economy. However we expect this to be a modest increase followed by a period of low interest rates and low inflation.   “This recession has been like no other witnessed previously, so although the economy has now officially returned to growth it is difficult to predict how exactly the country will recover other than it will be slowly. As far as the business community is concerned we need the MPC to recognise that low interest rates play a pivotal role in economic recovery and businesses leading the country out of recession”.  

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Apprenticeship Week, which is organised by the National Apprenticeship Service, will celebrate the talents of apprentices. It will see apprentices, employers, providers and those involved with apprenticeship programmes come together to celebrate the value of apprentices.

National and regional activities will take place and each day of the week will have a different focus. Activities this year will include employer events, job swaps and apprenticeship challenges. Your Chamber has recruited five Apprentices in the last twelve months, all of whom have brought energy and talent to our business. Two are now full-time members of staff and the fresh ideas they contribute never fails to amaze us. To hear more about recruiting an apprentice yourself, call our Employment and Skills team on 0113 247 0000. The search is also on for apprentices and businesses to take part in the National Apprenticeship Awards. The closing date for entries in Friday 26 February 2010. Visit www.apprenticeships.org.uk for further information.

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This has been established to explore what impact the process of obtaining non-planning consents is having on the development industry and to explore whether the process of doing so is delaying or discouraging businesses investment. I have attached a copy of the formal “Call for Evidence” and “Terms of Reference” from BIS which provides more information.

Although there is no agreed definition of ‘non-planning consents’, for the purpose of this Review they are considered to be “any consents a developer has to obtain alongside or after, and separate from, planning permission in order to bring a development into its first operational use”. This may include the following:

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  • Operational consents (i.e. environmental permits or those associated with hazardous substances);
  • Land Acquisition consents (i.e. CPO);
  • Heritage consents (i.e. Listed Building or Conservation Area consent);
  • Road, Railway and Waterways consents; and
  • Building Standards and/or Health and Safety consents.

The call for evidence is clear that the Review will not consider issues arising from the process of obtaining planning permission itself, which were addressed by the Killian Pretty Review. However, it will be interested in the interaction between the process of obtaining planning permission and the need to get other consents.

The Chamber property forum has been asked to submit a response and although I am conscious some will already have responded independently, nevertheless please feel free to send your comments to mark.goldstone@yourchamber.org.uk

The deadline for responses is 10 February, so please can you let the Chamber have your views by February 3rd.

For more information please click here.

Terms of Reference

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Today’s announcement that the UK economy grew in the 4^th Quarter of 2009 reflects what many of our members are telling us. Business confidence is beginning to return and the market is improving.

The Chamber’s latest QES results also reported signs of growth in both the manufacturing and service sectors, however many feel that the recovery is fragile and as growth in the 4^th quarter was only measured at 0.1%, the Chamber believes there is still a significant way to go before we see full economic recovery.

Stimulating sustainable economic growth is a key priority for the Chamber, which is why we will continue to lobby the Government and other political parties to make business success their number one priority in the forthcoming election campaigns, and introduce policies which will help business. Red-tape and tax increases, such as the planned rise in National Insurance, are major barriers to business growth. We need to see commitment from all the political parties that they will remove these burdens and let the wealth creating private sector drive this country towards recovery

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Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce met with Lord Adonis, Secretary of State for Transport, after he requested a meeting specifically to hear the Yorkshire business community’s views on transport infrastructure, and in particular, on high-speed rail (HSR).

It is a refreshing change to meet with a politician who has come to listen and has an understanding of the complex issues. This meeting was a great opportunity for us to put forward the views of our members and the regional business community, knowing that what was said will be taken on board by Lord Adonis and will be used to influence his future decisions.

The Chamber welcomes his plans to introduce a long-term strategy for UK rail infrastructure, and put an end to the stop-start approach that we have seen in the past.

We have agreed to continue working together with Lord Adonis, our members and local partners to raise awareness of the needs of our city-region and ensure that these needs are met. The Chamber has given Lord Adonis our full support in his challenge to secure all party support for the modernisation of our rail networks and ensure that in the run up to the election political parties put aside self interest and work together to ensure that HSR and other vitally needed transport infrastructure projects become part of a vision that is a viable option for UK plc

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Before Christmas the Chamber asked our members what their new year resolutions are for 2010. Interestingly, a third of respondents said that their resolution is to become more involved in the local community and build on their CSR strategy – which is great news because in a recession this is usually one of the first budgets to get cut.

At the Chamber we have actively supported charities for year, and in 2010 we will be working particularly closely with Jane’s Appeal, the charity which was established by the late Jane Tomlinson to raise money for children’s and cancer charities.

So, does your business get involved in the local community and what benefits have you seen? We would be really interested in hearing your experiences (and yes, you can use this as an opportunity to show off how much you have raised!).

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The past few weeks have been extremely busy for the Chamber. As well as the usual Christmas festivities we have been busy organising meetings with two high profile politicians – Vince Cable, Shadow Chancellor for the Liberal Democrats and Greg Hands, Shadow Treasury Minister for the Conservatives.

Vince Cable is probably wiser than the three wise men put together, although unfortunately he did not come to the meeting bearing neither Gold, Frankincense nor myrrh - only words of wisdom about the British economy.

Comparing this recession to the equivalent of an ‘economic heart attack’, Mr. Cable told guests that he believes that the Government must consider all the possible circumstances which could potentially affect our economic recovery and develop  flexible and adaptable policy. He told guests that in his party’s view the best remedy for economic recovery is through long-term investment, particularly in the country’s infrastructure. He said that ‘the country needs to define the future that we want beyond this crisis’, and in turn, infrastructure must be a priority as the UK still lags behind much of the developed world. He argued that a new financing mechanism for infrastructure must be put in place, such as the Liberal Democrat’s proposed Infrastructure Investment Bank, which would release capital to developers through private savings and Government Bonds, which would then be invested in projects such as High-Speed Rail, Renewable Energy and High-Speed Broadband. 

Greg Hands MP told guests that his party intends to tackle the issue of red tape with a ‘one in, one out’ policy on regulation, which is welcomed by the Chamber as a reduction in red tape is an issue that we have lobbied heavily on for sometime. He told the business people present at the meeting that his party was firmly committed to cutting red tape, above and beyond the ‘one in, one out’ policy on regulation. He told guests that making Small Business Rate Relief automatic to reduce the level of red-tape is now official Conservative policy and he also said that his party is fully in favour of devolving power and funding to the Leeds City Region in order to remove the layer of bureaucracy that comes with taking infrastructure, development and investment proposals to Whitehall.

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