Policy Update 18th June 2024

Welcome to this week’s policy update.

As ever please do get in touch with me, [email protected] , if you’d like to discuss the following, or other, business issues, put forward your views and/or provide real life examples that we can use in advocacy activity.

Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness Councils are recruiting local business leaders and representative bodies to join the brand-new Cumbria Economic Growth Board. This is part of the new arrangements which resulted in both local authorities assuming the functions and responsibilities of the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (CLEP). ?

The newly formed Economic Growth Board will provide a strong business voice in strategy development whilst ensuring that decisions are taken in the best interests for people and places in Cumbria. This is a fantastic opportunity to represent the?views of local businesses as part of regional decision making, and help deliver our vision for Cumbria and shape its future. Successful candidates will inspire confidence in the local business community and have strong networking experience. Applicants will demonstrate the necessary strategic leadership, talent and skills to operate effectively at Board level and have passion and commitment to work collaboratively in the best interests of Cumbria, its people, environment and economy. ?

The Councils are keen to build a diverse Economic Growth Board that is representative of our community, diverse business sectors and geography. They are dedicated to supporting a fully inclusive culture and welcome applications from all sections of the business community, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability.?They would also welcome applications from wider public, private and voluntary sector partners with links to the wider business community and representatives of key economic growth sectors. ?

Darren Crossley and Angela Jones, the two respective directors in Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness Councils with responsibility for economic growth said: “The Cumbria Economic Growth Board is an exciting new board which demonstrates ambition and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to deliver strategic economic growth and exploit those opportunities for the people in Cumbria. It is essential that the Board reflects the communities and businesses that we serve, geographically, sectorally and size-wise and we are therefore very interested to hear from business leaders and representative organisations who feel that they can add value and provide visionary leadership.”

If you think that you have the expertise, ambition and skills to be a member of the new Cumbria Economic Growth Board please see the following job profile?for further information on the role and how to apply: Job profile ( cumbria.gov.uk ) The deadline for applications is 7th?July.?Board appointments are for a three-year term, with the option for re-appointment for a further three-year period.

In the coming months, applications will be sought to join sub-groups to provide leadership for themes to deliver local and inclusive growth across Cumbria. If you are interested, please do keep a look out for this. ?

Thanks as ever to Ginny Murphy, Cumberland Council, for producing the June Labour Market Briefing which contains the employment, unemployment and earnings data released by ONS this morning, together with the latest available data on NEETs, job postings, business start-ups and Companies House records.

Key headlines for Cumbria:

• The number of payrolled employees resident in Cumbria fell slightly, by 184, to 224,612.? Despite this, there are 1,528 more payrolled employees than a year ago.
• Median payrolled earnings in Cumbria were ￡2,286 which is 96% of the UK average.? Median earnings were above the UK (103%) ?in West Cumbria (former Allerdale, Barrow, Copeland areas) but below (96%) in East Cumbria (former Carlisle, Eden, South Lakeland areas).? Payrolled earnings growth year on year in Cumbria was 6.4% which is above the UK rate of growth (5.2%).
• There were 6,910 claimants actively seeking work in May, 10 more than the revised April figure but this is a smaller increase than nationally (0.1% v 2.2%).? The count rose in Carlisle (+10) and in South Lakeland (+50) but fell elsewhere.? The actively seeking claimant rate was 2.3% in Cumbria in May, unchanged from April, and it remains below the national rate of 3.9% in all former district areas.
• There were 40,833 claimants of Universal Credit in May (seeking work, in work, not available for work).? This is an increase of 458 from April and 4,922 more than a year ago.? The number of claimants fell in the searching/planning/preparing work group (-3) but rose in the working group (+216) and the no work requirements group (+247).? The claimant rate for all UC claimants was 13.7% which is lower than the national rate of 16.5%.? Almost three quarters (72%) of UC claimants had been claiming for over 12 months in May, 2,210 more than a year ago.
• There were 365 young people (aged 16/17) classed as NEET in April, 3 fewer than in March – 243 of these were resident in Cumberland and 122 in Westmorland & Furness.? The NEET rate was 3.6% in Cumbria, well below the national rate of 5.1%.? The rate was 4.2% in Cumberland and 2.7% in Westmorland & Furness.
• There were 8,609 active online job postings in May, up slightly from April (+147) with increases in all former district areas except Barrow and Copeland.? The number of newly posting vacancies also fell in Cumbria but rose both regionally and nationally.? Occupations most in demand were those most commonly associated with the hospitality sector - cleaners & domestics, care workers, sales assistants and kitchen & catering assistants.
• There were 528 small business start-ups in the quarter ending April which is similar to last quarter and only slightly down on the same quarter last year.
• There were 306 new Companies House incorporations in April, an increase of 48 from March and 115 more than in April last year.
• There were 30,908 active companies in Cumbria at the end of May (according to the FAME database), 301 fewer than in April and there were 186 companies newly recorded as dissolved/in liquidation during the month.

Key national headlines:

• The UK employment rate was 74.3%, a fall of 0.5pp from last month and 1.9pp lower than before the pandemic.
• The UK unemployment rate rose to 4.4%, up from last month and 0.3pp higher than before the pandemic.? ?This is the highest rate since September 2021.
• The UK economic inactivity rate (those not working or available for work) was 22.4% which is up 0.6pp from last month and 1.7pp higher than before the pandemic.? This is the highest rate for almost a decade.
• The number of vacancies in the quarter to May (measured via a business survey) was 904,000, down 12,000 from the previous quarter.
• The total workforce jobs estimate was 37.2m, up by 431,000 from a year ago with health and social work showing the largest increase.
• Payrolled employment decreased by 3,000 on the month but increased by 167,000 on the year.
• Annual growth in regular earnings (excluding bonuses) was 6.0% and annual growth in total earnings (including bonuses) was 5.9%, both unchanged on the previous quarter.? When adjusted for inflation, regular pay growth was 2.3% and total pay growth was 2.2%.? Public sector pay growth was 6.4% and private sector pay growth was 5.8%.? (NB: the National Living Wage was increased in April).
• There were an estimated 17,000 working days lost because of labour disputes in April.

Armed Forces Week is fast approaching and with it Reserves Day, which will be taking place on 26th June. As part of the wider Armed Forces Week, the day was created to highlight and recognise the valuable contribution Reservists make to the Armed Forces. A downloadable toolkit is available to help employers plan internal and external communications to mark the day. You can download it here: Reserves Day 2024 - Employer Toolkit ( armedforcesday.org.uk )

The team at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) continue to be busy working on your behalf, although this is impacted by election activities. This week:

• Shevaun Haviland, Director General, and Anne-Marie Martin, Director of Memberships UK & International, are meeting with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
• Shevaun and Anne-Marie are also meeting with the Victorian Chamber (AUS) of Commerce.

Last week, the Office for National Statistics released trade data for April. You can read more here UK trade - Office for National Statistics ( ons.gov.uk ) and BCC’s comments on analysis on what the data means for traders here: Goods Imports Up And Exports Down In April? - British Chambers of Commerce .

Last week also the BCC made a submission to the Treasury’s consultation on technical aspects of the proposed UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism in terms of imports and supply chains to the UK.

The European Commission has announced?provisional countervailing duties (tariffs)?on imports of China-produced electric vehicles. This will apply from?4th July, with the highest duties of up to 48%. The UK has yet to initiate any similar review of China subsidies on the electric vehicles market. You can read more here: Electric vehicle value chains in China ( europa.eu ) .

The awarding organisation and educational charity NCFE, is seeking industry experts and sector specialists to join the Technical Education Advisory Board. This is an opportunity to shape T Level development through a voluntary commitment of 10 hours work across the year.?If you’re interested in joining the board, please contact [email protected] from NCFE. You can find out more here:?Home | NCFE .

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has launched a pilot scheme for the Flexible AI Upskilling Fund.?This scheme will subsidise the cost of AI skills training for SMEs in the professional business services sector. ￡6.4 million of grant funding is available in the 2024-25 financial year. Eligible businesses can apply for funding for up to 50% of the cost of the AI skills training. This is training which supports employees to develop their technical skills and/or understanding to develop, deploy, or use AI in their role. The application window closes on?18th August.?You can find out more here: Flexible AI Upskilling Fund pilot - GOV-UK Find a grant ( find-government-grants.service.gov.uk ) .

Unlocking Global Markets: Mastering International Trade and E-commerce?webinar on 16th July. Are you ready to expand your business beyond the UK's borders? Dive into the dynamic world of international trade and e-commerce with our expert-led webinar designed to equip you with the tools and knowledge to succeed in the global marketplace.?Discover how to leverage e-commerce to reach international customers, understand the latest trends and opportunities in international trade and get your questions answered by BCC’s panel of experts. You can find out more and register here: Unlocking Global Markets: Mastering International Trade and E-Commerce - British Chambers of Commerce . This event is kindly supported by DHL.

If you’re a business owner in Westmorland & Furness don’t forget to respond to help ensure your views and insight inform future economic support strategies and policies by completing the Council’s?annual business survey. The survey runs until 28th June. Businesses in Westmorland & Furness will receive the survey by post and are encouraged to take part digitally by scanning the QR code.

Tickets are running low but there are still a few left for the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC's) Global Annual Conference 2024. So if you haven’t yet, book your tickets? now. The Conference is on 27th June at the QEII Centre in London. You can find out more and book here: GLOBAL ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2024 - British Chambers of Commerce . Tickets are ￡120 + VAT for Chamber Members and ￡250 + VAT for Non-member.

Suzanne Caldwell, Managing Director