POLICY MATTERS
POLICY MATTERS
The UK’s latest flagship Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) makes for sombre reading for businesses. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has just released the results
of its latest survey which questioned thousands of businesses throughout the country about their experience of trading in Quarter 4 of 2020 and their expectations for the first quarter of 2021. The survey revealed that following the sharpest decline in the history of
the QES in Quarter 2 of 2020, all the key indicators in the final quarter of the year remained substantially worse than pre-pandemic levels, with nearly half of firms reporting decreased sales. BCC head of economics Suren Thiru said: “Our latest results indicate
that economic activity was strikingly downbeat in the final quarter of 2020 as the re-introduction of tighter coronavirus restrictions, including a second lockdown, weighed heavily on the key drivers of growth. “The services sector endured a particularly difficult quarter, with
consumer-facing businesses most severely exposed to the renewed restrictions. “Though the vaccine rollout provides real optimism, with the UK facing
a sustained period of tougher lockdown restrictions to tackle the new variant of Covid-19, the risk of a double-dip recession in the first quarter of this year is uncomfortably high.”
CHRISTOPHER JONES, the Chamber’s policy manager represents your views to the people who matter
EXPLORING THE RESULTS FROM THE Q4 2020 QES
Manufacturers and service firms
reported drops in export orders, export sales and domestic orders during the final part of 2020. Service firms were most severely hit, having seen their domestic sales fall by nearly a quarter, their export orders drop by 28% and their export sales reduce by more than a fifth. More than 40% of firms
surveyed reported a decrease in their cash flow with only 21% reporting an increase. More than a third of respondents continued to report decreased
investment in plant, machinery and equipment, with only 17% reporting an increase, highlighting longer-term concerns for the economy. Fieldwork for the Quarterly Economic Survey for Quarter 1 of 2021 is
open from now until 8 March. If you want to contribute visit
www.britishchambers.org.uk/page/quarterly-economic-survey-2 Members will also directly receive a link to complete the survey from the Chamber Communications team.
NEW EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS WELCOMED
Milton Keynes Chamber is delighted to welcome three newly appointed non-executive directors to its executive board.
Imelda Galvin, group chief operating officer – MK College Imelda studied at Trinity College in Dublin before she moved to London to cut her teeth in the corporate world of financial consulting, first at Deloitte then at KPMG. Imelda joined MK College as Chief Operating Officer in 2016, where her commercial acumen has been instrumental in achieving the College’s operational ambitions. She is a Chartered Accountant, and the College’s executive project sponsor for the South Central Institute of
Technology, where partners including Microsoft, Evidence Talks, KPMG and McAfee have committed to shaping digital futures through real-world learning.
Shalom Lloyd, Founder – Naturally Tribal Skincare Ltd An award-winning, senior business professional, with over 24 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with a BSc and MSc in Pharmacy from the Ukrainian Academy of Pharmacy in former Soviet Union, and an MBA from the University of Liverpool. Shalom is the Founder of Naturally Tribal Skincare, a natural chemical-free skincare company built on valuing healthy, ethical and sustainable
living whilst empowering African women. She is also the Chief Strategy Officer at Emerging Markets Quality Trials (eMQT), an organisation focused on diversity in Clinical Trials providing the global pharmaceutical industry access to patients in Africa. Shalom is a Department of International Trade Export Champion and Mentor.
Nick Lygo-Baker, Founding Director – Paradigm CX Nick is a leading expert in customer experience and a specialist in operationalising customer insight. He is an accredited member of the Market Research Society and Certified Customer Experience Professional. He provides growing
SMEs and large businesses with Customer Strategy and Customer Research Solutions (Voice of Customer and Employee, Mystery Shopping and Journey Mapping). Nick was listed in the top 25 CX professionals and top 150 Global Thought Leaders and Influencers in 2020. Now an international best- selling co-author of Customer Experience 2, Nick is proud to be a member of the Milton Keynes Chamber and to serve on the board.
Joining the existing board -
Jacqui Wilkins, president; Darren Millis, vice president; Steve Robinson, and Scott Jones - the new non-executive directors are an exciting addition and offer a strong, experienced and knowledgeable advisory panel. Jacqui said: “I am absolutely
delighted to welcome Imelda, Shalom and Nick to the Milton Keynes Chamber board. “As a board we have a strong
vision to further embed the Chamber into the Milton Keynes business community. I’m sure they’ll make valuable contributions to the Chamber’s future success.”
4 inbusinessFEBRUARY/MARCH 2021
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32
