Advocacy and Lobbying
Introduction
The Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce has been lobbying government and other stakeholders throughout the pandemic to secure additional support for local businesses.
Lobbying Key Messages
The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures have caused an economic shock unlike any on record. Throughout the pandemic, the GBCC has worked hard to lobby stakeholders in our members’ interests.
Business Research and Engagement:
Covid-19 has become a significantly less pressing issue for firms now than a year ago, however some firms are still facing challenges associated with the pandemic
The ‘New Normal’: Living with Covid-19 and what it means for businesses
This guidance, which replaced the ‘working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance’, has put the onus on individual firms to make decisions about their Covid regulations without legislative support from the Government.
Living with Covid-19 – what does this mean for businesses in Greater Birmingham?
Firms across the country are understandably keen to see the removal of restrictions bolster consumer confidence and further revitalise an economy that has been shaken to its core over the past two years.
Plan B: A Blueprint for Business Support
The Plan B measures introduced by Government are being implemented at very short notice during a critical trading period for our non-essential retail, hospitality, live events and travel industries, and their supply chains.
The Final Hurdle?: Areas for urgent action on Covid-19 Business Support.
This report follows up on the recommendations that we made in our previous lobbying document Keep Business Moving II. In particular, it explores the announcements made by Government since we published our last report back in April and sets out the actions that still need to be taken to help businesses survive the next few months.
Keep Business Moving II: Following the announcements made at the March Budget, the GBCC has published a new report which explores existing gaps in the support mechanisms the Government has produced to help businesses during the Covid-19 crisis and make a series of recommendations on how these issues can be tackled.
#BackOurBusinesses: The GBCC are calling for urgent Government action across 10 critical areas in order to ensure that businesses impacted by COVID-19 can survive and thrive. This report has been created with GBCC members and features a number of local business case studies.
Ensuring COVID Safety and Supporting Birmingham’s BusinessesThe COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted businesses across all sectors. This report, produced by the GBCC in partnership with Birmingham City Council (BCC), details research undertaken to help BCC support businesses in adapting to the changing trading landscape as national restrictions began to ease across the UK.
On the 9th December 2020, the GBCC and 50 of our members, partners and stakeholders wrote to the Chancellor calling for urgent action on grant support and a number of key areas outlined in the #BackOurBusinesses report.
Previous Publications Include:
Keep Business Moving: A GBCC Action Plan explores how Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic are impacting on the region’s firms and what can be done about it. It includes:
- Action Plans for national government & local stakeholders on areas requiring urgent intervention for business survival & longer term efforts for business revival
- Messages from our members on how COVID-19 is impacting them & the support they need
- Evidence of the key ways in with COVID-19 is impacting businesses
What happens after December 2nd?: A stakeholder briefing paper calling for urgent action on clarity for businesses on COVID-19 regulations following the 2nd December 2020 & action on additional support for the most impacted businesses.
Unprecedented Times: combines in-depth analysis of data on local business performance with recommendations on government interventions. This publication was launched on the 30th June 2020.
Mind The Gap Unprecedented Times replaced the GBCC’s previous lobbying document Mind the Gap. Between the 23rd April and 29th June the GBCC released 6 versions of Mind the Gap
Stakeholder Engagement
The GBCC continue to work with local stakeholders and nationally via the British Chambers of Commerce to secure cross-sector and cross-party support for the interventions that businesses need. Most recent achievements include:
- Achieving local cross-party and sector support for our response, together with Birmingham City Council, to tier 2 restrictions & the additional support businesses need (read our statements 13th October: click here, 30th October: click here)
- Achieving over 50 successful appeals or automatic reviews for local businesses on the Local Authority Discretionary Business Grant Scheme
- Securing amendments to the Job Support Scheme, introductions of tier 2 grants and introduction of the extension of the furlough scheme through national lobbying activity by the British Chambers of Commerce together with a range of other business organisations and stakeholders
There is much more to do and the GBCC remains committed to standing up for our members’ interests throughout this challenging period.
If your businesses is falling through the gaps in Government support please contact KBM@Birmingham-Chamber.com