February Policy & Business Briefing

Suffolk Chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey

The results of Suffolk Chamber of Commerce's last Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) were very worrying, with significant declines reported across most business measures.

We have been sharing these in meetings with Suffolk's eight MPs to alert them to the very real squeeze being felt by the county's business community, not least the growing negative impact of corporate taxation increases.

To keep up the pressure and to further add to the growing evidence base, please may you complete this latest QES - which will be of great use in lobbying Government ahead of the Spending Review due in early summer.

Broken down

“Broken Down: the economic impact of the A14 in Suffolk” was compiled by Suffolk Chamber’s A14 Improvement Group and is based on research conducted throughout November 2024 comprising responses from a sample of over 350 local firms of all sizes and from across a broad range of market sectors.

The main findings are:

87% have been negatively impacted by A14 disruptions over the previous 12 months.
51% cited increased costs as a result of A14 disruption
49% reported negative impacts on client retention and customer satisfaction.
32% mentioned the impact on staff, including additional childcare costs and pressures on staff retention and recruitment
81% felt the Orwell Bridge was the area of most significant disruption, followed by knock-on delays (46%) and Copdock Interchange (39%)
81% are concerned about future capacity constraints on the Orwell Bridge and A14 corridor will impact their business
Of this 81%: 85% feel that, if there are no significant improvements in the next decade, their investment plans in Suffolk will be either considerably or moderately impacted and 83% feel that their job numbers in Suffolk will be negatively impacted

Many of the companies that responded shared specific details of the impact of Orwell Bridge closures and other delays along the route had on their bottom line. These ranged from several hundred pounds per delay to one company that estimated its annual loss was over £80k!

The Broken Down report lists a number of actions that need to be taken to address the negative impacts on business activity and confidence:

Short-term (up to the Comprehensive Spending Review):

Confirmed funding for upgrades to Ely and Haughley rail junctions to be announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review, as once completed, these projects will remove 98,000 lorry journeys per year from the local and regional roads system
Research to be commissioned to more precisely quantify aggregate costs per hour of delays on A14 to Suffolk (and national) economy
National Highways to invest in an automated messaging service to provide wider reach for accidents and closure alerts
Ipswich Borough and Suffolk County Councils to extend the remit of the Ipswich Transport Taskforce to cover the A14 and other roads outside of the Borough boundaries to investigate possible diversion routes for smaller commercial vehicles

Medium-term (next 12 months):

National Highways to start deploying its traffic officers to major A14 incidents in addition to Suffolk Police to improve implementation of diversions and traffic flow
National Highways to bring forward investment plans for the Copdock Interchange into the RIS3 period (2025-2030)

Long-term (next 24 months):

A Government Taskforce be established to investigate building additional capacity into the sub regional roads system in and out of Felixstowe as maintenance interventions to the Orwell Bridge increase as the structure nears the end of its expected lifespan

Suffolk Chamber has already received support from a number of the county’s MPs for its Broken Down research and report.

Suffolk LSIP events - Putting employers at the heart of local skills planning

Over the past two years Suffolk Chamber has been working to put employers at the heart of skills planning and has prepared the Norfolk and Suffolk Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) in partnership with Norfolk Chambers of Commerce, employers, Suffolk and Norfolk further education colleges, the University of Suffolk, other training providers and Suffolk and Norfolk county councils.

Suffolk Chamber has arranged a number of events across Suffolk to update employers on the progress of the LSIP and discuss what needs to be done next to tackle the skills challenges that Suffolk faces. The events are also an opportunity to find out more about:

existing skills initiatives
what businesses are already doing to tackle skills challenges
improving careers education for young people

There have already been well attended and successful events in Stowmarket, Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds. The last event is in Lowestoft:

12.03.2025 | East Coast College, Lowestoft | 8.30-10.30 am Book here

The event is free of charge and breakfast will be available.

Your Local Chamber Forum

Suffolk Chamber's East Suffolk Forum met at PCE Automation in Beccles on 5th February.

Ollie Cook briefed East Suffolk Chamber members on the growth of PCE into a multi-national company, whilst remaining a family business that is deeply rooted in Beccles. Members then heard from Martin Westhorp of Hillfarm Oils, about a successful family farm diversification that is evolving to widen the market for its cold pressed rapeseed oils.

Hearing about the growth of successful businesses in a market town and on a farm led to discussion about the challenges and opportunities of the rural economy.

Mat Waters of Lovewell Blake and chair of Suffolk Chamber's East Suffolk Forum said 'Many who visit Beccles for its market town qualities don’t always appreciate the number of innovative businesses selling their products and services around the world but who are still proud to call themselves local. Having a growing business like PCE offering skilled career progressions to increasing numbers of local people, keeping them in the area, will only help the businesses within the town’.

You are most welcome to take part in forthcoming West, Central and Ipswich Forum meetings:

West Suffolk Forum, Wed 26/03/2025 8:30 - 10:00am, Rougham Estates Book here

Central Suffolk Forum, Tues 8/4/2025 4:00 - 5:30pm, Bishop & Miller Auctioneers, Stowmarket Book here

Ipswich Forum, Wed 21/5/2025 8:30 - 10:00am, OCS, Ipswich Book here

All events are free of charge for Chamber members and breakfast or light refreshments will be available

Water Saving Fund

Essex & Suffolk Water is offering businesses in a specific water-stressed part of Suffolk access to a fund to help reduce the amount of water they use.

The Hartismere water resource zone, which covers Eye and surrounding areas (see map), is currently under a moratorium, which is a temporary stop on new non-domestic water connections due to concerns over the levels of supply and demand in the area.

To help, the water company is offering a “Water Saving in Business Fund” specifically for businesses in the area. You may want to pay for a survey or consultant to give you expert advice on how to reduce your water use, or you may already have ideas you want to put into action.

Your project must:

Be within the Essex & Suffolk Water Hartismere water resource zone and deliver water savings.
Save mains tap water and start to demonstrate a measurable, sustainable reduction in water use (litres/day saved).
Include monthly project updates and provide a written case study/report at the end of the project.

Your project will be assessed based on a number of factors, including, but not exclusive to:

Innovation
Funding required
Cost per litre of water saved
Amount of water saved
Wider benefits, such as community, social, or environmental and others.

The closing date for applications is 7 March 2025. 

To find out more about the Water Saving in Business Fund, visit; Water Saving in Business Fund or get in touch with Essex & Suffolk Waer at savingwater@nwl.co.uk .

Multisector AI Platforms for Cross-Sector Solutions

On 26^th March at the University of Suffolk, Innovate UK In collaboration with Connected Innovation is looking to bring together businesses and researchers across a range of sectors including local authorities to explore the development of transferable AI platforms that can support different sectors solve broad issues, such as:

Supply chain management
Waste reduction and processing
Decarbonisation

The objectives of this event are to:

Help businesses review their models and identify necessary changes to incorporate AI platform-oriented solutions e.g. changes in issues related to cost, risks, data, cyber and governance.
Capture and share best practices in the use of AI-platforms that can benefit other businesses.
Develop a comprehensive report for Innovate UK and UKRI to influence future funding directions.

This event 9am to 4:30pm on 26^th March at the University of Suffolk may be a great opportunity for you if you are currently working on supply chain management, waste reduction and processing, and decarbonisation. This event is well suited for technical specialists, key decision makers, and innovation leads across all sectors and industries.

Register for the event here

Disability Essentials and Disability for Managers training

Disability Essentials and Disability for Managers are free online short bitesize courses for everyone in the workplace. The courses are available until 31st May 2025.

The courses are designed to ensure people are confident and comfortable in their engagement with disabled people - they combine legal expertise with the lived experience of disabled people. The courses are a time and cost-efficient way of providing everyone with the knowledge they need. The modules cover;