News

Two thirds (67%) of women who have had childcare responsibilities in the last 10 years felt they missed out on career progression as a result More than eight in ten (86%) women disagree that there is sufficient support for people with caring responsibilities for elderly or disabled relatives or friends Almost half (43%) of women feel they will miss out on career opportunities as a result of menopause

The BCC has long been calling for a negotiated solution to the trading difficulties caused by the initial version of the protocol.

​The challenges facing UK exporters in 2023 are significant and it will take a concerted effort by our global network, working alongside the UK Government, to positively shift the dial.

The BCC is calling on the Chancellor to use his Spring Budget to relieve cost and recruitment pressures on business as new research shows: Two thirds of businesses (65%) plan to raise prices due to cost pressures. Almost half (47%) say paying energy bills will be difficult when the current business support package ends. More than half (52%) are consistently experiencing difficulties recruiting staff. Concerns around regulation and taxation are regularly troubling a third of firms (30%).

Fewer than one in 10 SMEs (8%) fully understand what the Government’s 2050 Net Zero target means for them.    BCC and Lloyds Bank have joined forces to raise awareness - as one in five businesses think using green tech will harm their productivity, with costs and disruption cited as reasons 

Commenting on the ONS inflation figures for January 2023, BCC Head of Research, David Bharier, said: “A further easing in the rate of inflation to 10.1% continues a very slow move out of the peak. "

Businesses are crying out for people to fill job vacancies at all skill levels, and this must be the number one focus for government if it’s serious about economic growth.    There are still a huge number of vacancies, currently sitting at 1.134 million, and this is stopping firms in their tracks

The BCC has set out four goals the Chancellor must hit during his Spring Budget. Issues of childcare, energy costs, business rates and green funding must be solved to unlock firms' growth potential.

The increase in UK export values for the year is testament to the efforts of businesses and Chambers amid exceptional cost, energy and supply pressures. But we still have some way to go before we get back to where we were in 2018.   The new Department for Business and Trade must be laser-focused on improving export performance over the coming months and we look forward to helping them do that.

“Today’s GDP estimates, while indicating the economy technically avoided a recession, show some worrying developments. Production output fell by 0.2% in Q4 2022, eight of the 14 service sectors saw contractions, and monthly GDP fell by 0.5% in December."