Business Must have a Strong Local Voice - Somerset Chamber of ...

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Rupert’s ReviewYou can find the Somerset Chamber of Commerceon Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.administrator.As Somerset Chambermembership and our associatedactivities grow, so has ourdedicated team, and the way wesupport our members.Sometimes I find it hard to believethat just 7 years ago when I joinedthe Chamber there were no fulltime staff – just a part-time CEOand a “very” part-timeThrough steady growth in membership and increase inrevenue from significant project work with IntoSomerset and Hinkley Supply Chain, as well as hostingthe Somerset Business Awards (SBA) and the Somersetin Business Conference (SIB) being the two mostimportant business events in the county, the Chambernow needs a team of experienced and committed staffwho can help our members get full value from theirmembership.This month I would like to introduce 3 new faces to theChamber – 2 to support our recruitment drive and 1 toassist the delivery of our Hinkley Supply Chain work.Julie Evans and Alistair Powell have joined our salesteam and are tasked with making significant progressin hitting our membership target of 700 by the end of2015. Both of these individuals are known to theSomerset business community and are both veryexperienced in the field of sales. Julie has particularexperience in the life of Chambers and Business Linkfrom her previous work in the Midlands and now runs avery successful sales business near Yeovil. Alistair willbe familiar to many in the area for his astute attitude tohelping businesses increase their sales activities, so itis great to have him with us “practicing what hepreaches”. We would like to hear from anyone who canrefer to us a business that would be value being amember of the Somerset Chamber.The third new member of the Chamber family isSusannah Jones who is graduating from ExeterUniversity this summer with a degree in Physics &Astrophysics. Susannah joins us at a very exciting timefor her with the Hinkley Point C project about to get realtraction. She will be focussing on managing the supplychain database and supplier matching activity, somembers registered on the supply chain may well behearing from Susannah in the weeks and monthsahead.Finally, in an attempt to increase our value to memberseven more, we are working on developing newmembership categories that reflect the needs of ourmembers and correlate more to the benefits ofChamber membership. Historically, there have beenmore than 10 membership categories that cannotsupport our members most effectively. I know that byhalving the number of categories, we can provide thelevel of targeted service that our members willappreciate and value. These changes will come intooperation from 1 st May 2013 and will only affectmembers when membership comes up for annualrenewal. To coincide with this change we will also beintroducing the opportunity to pay membership bydirect debit which has been requested by a number ofmembers recently.We know Somerset Chamber membership is right formost businesses so we want to make it easy to becomea member, easy to renew membership and easy to getreal tangible benefit from being part of the SomersetChamber – and hard to leave us!Our PatronsA big thank you to the Patrons of the Somerset Chamber of Commerce whose continuedsupport is vital to the growth of the Chamber.2FRONT COVER IMAGE COURTESY OF A & B PHOTOGRAPHY
Heseltine ReviewBusiness must have a strong local voiceWhen Lord Heseltine delivered his ‘No Stone Unturnedin Pursuit of Growth’ report in November 2012 he setout over 80 recommendations, covering topics asdiverse as local government reorganisation, the roleand capacity of business representative organisationsincluding Chambers, and the rules around foreignacquisition of UK companies.Its headline message was that empowering local areasto take charge of their development was essential tothe future competitiveness of the country. ForChambers of Commerce, the key recommendationswere to localise over £50bn in public-sector funding inEngland via a ‘Single Pot’, alongside an enhanced rolefor Chambers of Commerce as a ‘one-stop shops’ forthe delivery of business support at a local level.The response from Government to Lord Heseltine’sobservations was to accept all but five of hisrecommendations including the following issues ofparticular interest to the accredited Chamber networkand their membersRole of Chambers: The Government recognises that acentral role of Chambers is to represent the interests ofbusiness, in addition to delivering services;Legal status of Chambers: the Government rejected therecommendation that Chambers should be givenenhanced legal status by legislating for basic statutoryfunctions;Single Pot: The Government favours an approach tolocalising funding that is centred on ‘Local GrowthDeals’ – a competitive process in which LocalEnterprise Partnership areas would submit bids intocentral government to release funding from a ‘SingleLocal Growth Fund’ from April 2015 to resourcestrategies for local growth. At this stage, it hasconfirmed some transport, housing and skills fundingwill be incorporated;Chambers as a first-stop shop for business support andaccess to ‘Single Pot funding’: At the local level, theGovernment believes Local Enterprise Partnerships arebest placed to aid the creation of strong and stablelocally based private sector support networks forbusiness, working with Chambers other local partners.Increasing Chamber membership: Government agreesthat businesses should be made better aware of theadvantages of 'membership of local chambers andother relevant business support bodies and theservices they provide'. Local authorities will be'encouraged' to share information on local businessespaying rates with 'Chambers and other business bodies'so they can work proactively to increase membership;Rupert Cox, Chief Executive of the Somerset Chamberof Commerce commented:“We are pleased that Government has recognised notjust the legal status and independence of eachChamber, but the significant contribution thatChambers such as the Somerset Chamber ofCommerce can make to the local economy – and thevalue to a business of Chamber membership.We look forward to working with Chamber colleagues,local authorities and the Heart of the South West LEPto make sure that investment from the “single pot” ismade where it will make a difference – allowingSomerset businesses to grow and thrive for the benefitof the wider economy.”Join the Somerset Chamber of CommerceMembership offers support andadvice to help you increase yourprofits and also helps the Chamberincrease its influence.Membership includes: Effective business lobbying andrepresentation at local, regional andnational levels through accreditation tothe British Chambers of Commerce andmembership of the South WestChambers of Commerce. A range of FREE services providedthrough the British Chambers ofCommerce. Access to nine exclusiveChamber offers from national andlocal Premier Providers. Business Networking events with theopportunity to network with up to 2,000Chamber Members from acrossSomerset and throughout the SouthWest. Informative seminars to share knowledgeand best practice including Meet-the-Buyer events. Initial FREE publicity for new Members inChamber News and on the websitewww.somerset-chamber.co.uk.For more details please call01823 444924, emailmanager@somerset-chamber.co.uk orvisit www.somerset-chamber.co.uk.3
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