The East Midlands Cyber Resilience Centre has teamed up with Derbyshire Constabulary to deliver free cyber security guidance to local businesses within Derbyshire in a new community outreach campaign which will see the team visiting numerous towns across the county over the summer months. The campaign, which has the full backing of the Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster, will see members from the Cyber Resilience Centre, Derbyshire Constabulary’s Cyber Crime Unit and Safer Neighbourhood Officers taking to the streets and talking to local business owners, promoting the Cyber Resilience Centre and its benefits to Derbyshire businesses and local services. The East Midlands Cyber Resilience Centre (EMCRC) is a police-led initiative which utilises the skills of its business and university partners to help small and medium sized organisations to better protect themselves against online threats by offering advice, guidance and the necessary services to make themselves more secure. Small to medium sized organisations seldom prioritise cyber security, often believing it to be unimportant or too expensive. They may be of the belief that they won’t be targeted by cyber criminals because they’re a small enterprise, when in fact the figures point to a small business in the UK being successfully attacked every 19 seconds. It’s hoped that by partnering with Derbyshire Constabulary our business communities will be confident that this police-backed campaign is important, trustworthy and worthwhile, leading them to take advantage of the EMCRC’s free community membership. The campaign begins on Tuesday, June 13, in Derby city centre, aided by the Derby City Centre Safer Neighbourhood Team. During the summer months, the EMCRC team – together with local SNTs and members from the Cyber Crime Unit – will visit towns such as Chesterfield, Matlock, Bakewell, Ashbourne, Ripley, Alfreton and Swadlincote amongst others, encouraging businesses in each area to bolster their cyber resilience via their free community membership, dispelling the myth that basic cyber security measures are expensive. Detective Inspector Colin Ellis from the EMCRC, said: “This is a really important campaign which will, by raising awareness of online crime, help to better protect our business communities and important local services. That’s why the Police and Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster and Derbyshire Constabulary are fully supporting us. “Cybercrime is not just a big business problem. On a daily basis it affects far more of our small businesses, charities, schools and other organisations, but these attacks don’t get the media coverage that the big businesses get. That’s why it’s important to make our local businesses aware of the threat of cyber-crime and help them become better protected.” For more information on the East Midlands Cyber Resilience Centre and to access free community membership, visit their website at www.emcrc.co.uk

The headline NatWest East Midlands PMI® Business Activity Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors – posted 50.8 in May, down slightly from 51.5 in April, to signal only a marginal expansion in output at East Midlands private sector firms. Greater business activity reportedly stemmed from a sustained uptick in new orders. The rise in activity was the fourth in successive months, but was the weakest in this sequence of growth. Moreover, the rate of increase was slower than the UK trend, with only Yorkshire & Humber and Scotland recording softer upturns, while Wales posted a decline. Private sector firms in the East Midlands registered a fourth successive monthly expansion in new business during May. The pace of growth accelerated to the second-fastest since March 2022, despite being only marginal overall. Anecdotal evidence suggested that greater new orders were due to stronger demand conditions and increased customer referrals. The rate of expansion was slower than the UK trend, however, despite the pace of growth at the UK level easing. Output expectations across the East Midlands private sector remained upbeat in May, as the level of business optimism posted slightly above the long-run series average. Hopes of a pick up in client demand, and planned investment in new products and machinery reportedly drove positive sentiment. Although the degree of confidence slipped to a three-month low, it was broadly in line with the UK average. May data signalled a marginal uptick in workforce numbers at East Midlands firms. Alongside reports of greater ease in hiring following increased availability of candidates, companies stated that employment rose amid new business growth. That said, the pace of job creation slowed from that seen in April, reflecting the wider UK trend which also indicated only a marginal rise in staffing numbers. Private sector firms in the East Midlands signalled an eighth successive monthly decrease in the level of outstanding business in May. Survey respondents noted that lower backlogs of work were due to sufficient capacity and muted growth of new orders. The rate of contraction slowed to the weakest since November 2022. The pace of decline was quicker than the UK average, despite softening. Cost burdens faced by East Midlands private sector firms continued to increase during May. The rate of inflation picked up fractionally but was the second-slowest since February 2021. Nonetheless, the pace of uptick was sharper than the series average and broadly in line with the trend seen across the UK as a whole. Hikes in input costs were often linked to greater wage bills and higher prices for some raw materials including timber and concrete. May data signalled a softer but still marked uptick in output charges at East Midlands companies. Anecdotal evidence commonly highlighted the pass-through of increased costs to clients as driving the rise in selling prices. Although steeper than the long-run series average, the rate of increase in output prices was slightly weaker than the UK trend. Some firms noted that efforts to drive new sales sparked a slower rise in charges. Rashel Chowdhury, NatWest Midlands and East Regional Board, said: “Firms in the East Midlands continued to register expansions in output and new business in May, however, rates of growth remained muted and only marginal overall amid challenges posed by the cost-of-living crisis and ongoing inflationary concerns. “Nonetheless, some resolution to issues faced earlier in the year with regards to firms’ ability to hire meant that employment grew again, as capacity shortages in certain areas were plugged. “Inflation remained a key concern for firms and their expectations regarding future output levels and demand conditions. Cost pressures were sticky in May, as the latest data signalled a reversal of the recent downward trend in input price inflation. Efforts to drive sales in the face of strain on margins, however, led to a softer uptick in charges.”

From supporting out-of-work people to find sustainable jobs to creating workplaces where employees feel they “belong,” new thinking is needed from businesses to plug major skills gaps, says East Midlands Chamber. The business support and representation network for Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire is embarking on a strategy to support firms with their people needs by gathering intelligence from employers, facilitating the sharing of best practices and creating new toolkits. A key milestone in this work was the East Midlands People and Skills Summit, held in partnership with Loughborough University at its West Park Teaching Hub (Thursday 8 June). More than 200 delegates heard from speakers including Baroness Nicky Morgan, the former Education Secretary who now chairs The Careers and Enterprise Company, a national organisation that helps to bring employers closer together with educators in developing careers education. Naomi Clayton, director of the Learning and Work Institute, also discussed research into why the UK has a shortfall of about one million workers compared to pre-pandemic trends because of rising economic inactivity levels – in which people have left the labour market for reasons such as long-term sickness, caring duties, studying and early retirement. East Midlands Chamber director of policy and insight Chris Hobson said: “People are a critical ingredient to businesses realising their growth ambitions, yet many have faced major challenges in finding the skills they need from one of the tightest labour markets we have ever seen. “In 2023, we are in a position where a multitude of changes are unfolding – whether it’s in technology, ways of working or the make-up of our society and workforce – which means we must adopt new thinking to how we recruit and retain our people for business needs. “The Chamber has a key role to play in helping firms navigate these areas, and the East Midlands People and Skills Summit was a major milestone in this body of work, with the insights we learned helping us to determine the practical business support tools we can create. “These cover how they can tap into the young talent coming out of our schools, colleges and universities, but also includes how we engage those people who have left employment since the beginning of the pandemic. “We must also consider how to create a sense of belonging within workplaces, which engages a more diverse workforce with the ability to bring new ideas, perspectives and skills to an organisation – ultimately benefitting the bottom line.” East Midlands Chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey showed that while six in 10 East Midlands businesses attempted to recruit in the first three months of 2023, almost three-quarters (73%) of those struggled to fill roles. Other key activity within its people and skills focus includes dedicated research into inclusive workplace policies across East Midlands employers, a roundtable about how to support more businesses in this area, and the launch of a Collective Skills Intelligence Observatory that provides a data-led approach to help companies and educators understand skills needs and delivery in local areas.

Thompson & Richardson has been welcomed as the latest Community Ambassador at the East Midlands Cyber Resilience Centre (EMCRC).

Founded in 1964, the Thompson and Richardson Group are Lincolnshire’s leading insurance broker. Their size enables them to negotiate excellent terms from the insurance market and gives them significant access to the London Market, which is vital to offering the complete insurance package.

The Thompson & Richardson Group provide a professional insurance broking service to corporate, commercial and personal clients.

They will become the latest Community Ambassador to join the Centre, and as a Top 50 Insurance Broker, they will help highlight the importance of cyber insurance, something that many businesses overlook but which should be a vital aspect of their cyber security framework.

In addition, their affiliation with the EMCRC will grant members access to a cyber insurance specialist to coincide with the offerings of existing Community Ambassadors who provide resilience services in IT, retail and education.

Community Ambassadors are local companies who understand the importance of cyber resilience and who want to spread that message as wide as they can.

They do vital work, supporting the EMCRC’s message through raising awareness of its aims and objectives and directing their customers, business communities and supply chains to take advantage of the EMCRC’s free membership and affordable services.

DI Colin Ellis, MD and Police Lead at the EMCRC, said: “I’m really pleased that T&R have joined us as one our community ambassadors. As well as offering a range of useful insurance experience, they will also offer our members expertise around cyber insurance which is critical to cyber resilience.

“T&R recognise the important work that the EMCRC have set out to achieve and they were keen to come on board – which is really pleasing.”

Thompson & Richardson are another great addition to the EMCRC’s Community Ambassador group, and it shows the EMCRC’s ambition as a Centre that it wishes to partner with outstanding businesses and organisations.

But the EMCRC’s ambition doesn’t end there. It is seeking the support of other distinguished businesses and motivational business leaders by joining not just as Community Ambassadors, but as Community Members, Friends of the Centre or Board members. EMCRC now has the scope for businesses to join on various levels of affiliation.

If you would like to support the EMCRC’s work and join its community, or feel you can bring equal skill, vision and ingenuity to the Centre in other areas, then please contact the EMCRC via its website or contact Colin Ellis via his LinkedIn account.