Commenting on the Prime Minister’s announcement that Covid-19 tests will be scrapped for fully-vaccinated travellers arriving in England, East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire) said:“East Midlands Airport is arguably the greatest single economic asset in our region, so scrapping Covid-19 tests for fully-vaccinated travellers arriving in England will give it another catalyst to look ahead to a strong year of travel. “With passenger numbers being a fraction of what they were pre-pandemic, it’s vital for the region that these recover as quickly as possible, starting with a buoyant 2022. “This in turn will continue to fuel the exciting developments we’ve witnessed surrounding the airport, creating a hub of economic activity linked to the manufacturing and logistics industries that has been central to replacing many of the jobs that have been lost elsewhere. “For businesses, they can now look forward to being able to re-establish connections with international suppliers and customers that have been difficult to maintain over the past couple of years. “Our post-Brexit economic hopes rely on forging a new era of global trade, and this requires giving our firms, in particular our region’s innovative manufacturers, true access to the rest of the world without restrictions. “Employers in many sectors, but particularly those in the hospitality trade, will also welcome an end to the staff shortages that quarantine periods has caused to their operations while they have attempted to reopen.”

North Lincolnshire Council will end its contribution to climate change and become carbon neutral by 2030. The pledge comes as part of a new policy set to be approved at the council’s Cabinet meeting today, Monday 24 January. The ‘Green Future’ proposals are designed to enable the council, together with residents and businesses, to make positive changes to create a cleaner, greener, healthier and more sustainable North Lincolnshire. Cllr Rob Waltham, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: “This is one of the most important pieces of policy we will be responsible for – it sets a vision which will protect North Lincolnshire now and for future generations. “We already have an enviable track record when it comes to protecting and enhancing the environment; slashing our carbon emissions in the last decade, planting over 85,000 trees and re-establishing vast areas of urban wildlife habitats – but we can and will go further. “It embeds environmental protections and enhancements into everything we do and across all that we are responsible for – and is designed to protect and create jobs, taking advantage of new green technologies and the emerging industries.” The new policy is designed to enable every part of the council, each resident and community, together with all businesses, to play an active and involved role in achieving the best possible environmental outcomes for North Lincolnshire. In a consultation, 99 per cent of respondents agreed with all the aims set out, which are designed to achieve decarbonisation, environmental protection and enhancement, personal wellbeing and economic growth. Cllr David Rose, cabinet member for environment, said: “This touches every single community, every single business and every single resident. “It recognises we all play our part in making our area a cleaner, greener, healthier and more sustainable and attractive place to live, work and visit.” From 2009 the council reduced its carbon footprint by more than 60 per cent, making savings of £12m in the process. In 2019 alone £1m a year in savings was made from its energy bills through a variety of projects, including replacing every streetlight with low cost, energy efficient LEDs. The new policy is developed across four themes; net zero and sustainable energy, resources, waste and water management, natural environments, a shared responsibility and vision.

Confidence amongst small firms in the East Midlands is the highest in the UK, despite another challenging quarter for businesses in the region. According to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) quarterly Small Business Index, confidence in the East Midlands has improved slightly in Q4, following a stark drop in Q3, which puts the region’s businesses back into the top spot of most positive of all UK regions. The reading currently stands at 15%, compared to 0% at the end of Q3. Investment intentions, employment intentions and predicted net gross profit were still holding up amongst small firms at a time when the ‘work from home’ message and international travel restrictions were still in place. Other key headlines from the report:

• Confidence in business performance shows quarter-on-quarter improvement, as well as being a vast improvement compared with this time last year.
• The number of small businesses increasing headcount (13%) is similar to the proportion reducing staffing levels (12%).
• In the East Midlands, 60% of small firms increased the average salary awarded across their business over the last 12 months, with 55% increasing wages by 2% or more.
• 52% of small businesses in the East Midlands said that their growth aspirations in the next 12 months were to grow either rapidly (increase turnover/sales by over 20%) or moderately (up to 20%).

In East Midlands, the domestic economy (48%), consumer demand (30%) and appropriately skilled staff (30%) are the greatest perceived barriers to growth over the coming twelve months. There are significant opportunities for small businesses in the East Midlands to create jobs, but we must ensure that we protect small firms from cost pressures, tax hikes and supply chain issues. FSB East Midlands five key recommendations are:

• Every big business/government organisation should be abiding by the prompt payment code as 18,000 East Midlands businesses could be forced to close this year due to late payment
• Increase the small business rates relief ceiling to £25,000, which would take 200,000 more firms out of this regressive tax
• An increase in the Employment Allowance from £4k to £5k to mitigate the National Insurance Increase from April
• The Government should learn lessons from the botched roll-out of the SME Brexit Support Fund and launch a new fund. This should have similar aims but a more sensible eligibility criteria, reasonable application deadlines and a genuinely international focus

Clare Elsby, FSB East Midlands Policy Chair, said: “Confidence in the East Midlands remains extremely fragile despite us sitting at the top of the confidence polls, and our Small Business Index shows that there is pent up ambition and this needs to materialise. “The ambition to invest in the business, to create jobs and to carry out business abroad are key to recovery. However, there remains uncertainty and many businesses in hospitality, retail and leisure are still reeling from a ‘Golden Quarter’ that did not happen due to the Omicron variant. “Now that the end of Plan B restrictions are in sight, we need clear and consistent messaging and support from Government giving many small businesses confidence to plan and get our economy firing on all cylinders again. The National Insurance ‘Jobs Tax’ in April will disincentivise many small firms from growing – and so an increase in the Employment Allowance would provide some welcome support but we also need to see action taken to get small businesses paid on time.”

Family law specialists, Family Law Group, has announced that 2022 will see the transfer of ownership to its staff, by becoming an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT). This is the first step in empowering the firm’s lawyers to drive the business forward and to support the strategic growth plan to become the largest family law firm in the country. The aim is to grow to 15 offices, creating up to 100 new jobs, and launch a national telephone advice line, in the next five years. 75% of the group, which currently has over 130 employees across 10 offices, will now be owned by the EOT, and all staff, regardless of seniority, will receive equal annual bonuses based upon the firm’s performance. Whilst the day to day running of the firm will remain with the existing management team, as an employee-owned business, any decisions taken are now done for the benefit of all staff. Simon Leach, director at Family Law Group, said: “I am delighted that we have been able to finalise the transfer of ownership of this firm to the most important people within it, its highly talented staff. This move is about empowering our lawyers to take ownership of the firm in respect of its direction and commitment to our core values and purpose. They will now have a greater input in to the day to day running of the firm, and the decisions that are made as we grow. “My values align very strongly with those of the Cooperative Movement. I can think of no better application of such principles than a firm of solicitors whose product is the very people who will benefit from the EOT, namely, our lawyers and those who support them in their work. “As a firm, we have already grown considerably over the last 4 years. We now have 10 offices and over 130 staff. It is imperative that we ensure our model is right to not only retain the lawyers who contribute to our success, but also to be able to attract the highest quality talent to our growing business. “The move to an EOT is a way of ensuring the longevity of our firm. We really value our staff, and this was one way of demonstrating that. In the long term as we grow, we intend to become 100% employee owned.” Deb Oxley, Chief Executive of the EOA (Employee Ownership Association), said: “We congratulate Family Law Group on its move to employee ownership – sustaining its values and independence for the longer term. “Businesses that give employees a stake and a say, build trust and shared responsibility, therefore uniting leaders and employees behind a common purpose. This leaves the business in a better position to flex and adapt – key qualities needed to help the UK Build Back Better.” Established in 2005, Family Law Group has over 130 employees across 10 offices in Nottingham, Chesterfield, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Wellingborough, Derby, Loughborough, Peterborough, Bedford and Cambridge.

Experts have suggested that the property market may be returning to normal after a turbulent couple of years. Danny Luke has been examining the number of property sales that fall through before completion, suggesting that the figures can offer an insight into the health of the property market. Danny, from quick house sale company Quick Move Now, explains: “We usually expect between one-in-three and one-in-four property sales to fail before completion. Between July and September of this year, when people were rushing to get their sale completed before the stamp duty holiday deadline and there was a shortage of properties on the market, just 11 percent of property sales fell through. “Although, on the face of it, a low sale fall through rate would appear to be good news for the property market, the usually low figures made it clear that the market was not operating under usual circumstances and was experiencing an imbalance. “By the end of 2021, the fall through rate had returned to a more expected level, with 34 percent of sales failing to complete. This indicates that the market is beginning to return to more normal conditions. “If we want to understand what’s happening to the market, it’s important that we also study the reasons for failed sales. Although fall through rates have returned to more normal levels, the reasons for the failed sales give us an insight into the psychology of home buyer and sellers. Of the sales that fell through in the last three months of 2021, 50 percent were the result of the buyer changing their mind or attempting to renegotiate their offer. This would indicate that buyers are feeling under pressure to make high offers and then reconsidering how much they’re happy to pay when the sale is in progress and the pressure eases a little. “A further 28 percent of fall throughs were due to gazumping or because the seller felt the sale wasn’t progressing quickly enough, so it seems buyers are right to feel the pressure when it comes to price and speed.”