October– December 2016
Quarter 3
1
1
Welcome
This report brings together key business, economic and labour market intelligence to
provide a regular insight into the current state of the Norfolk economy. Data is correct to
31st December 2016.
0.5%
National Gross
Domestic Product
(QoQ% change JulySept 2016 )
0.25%
1.2%
6.9%
Interest Rates
(Current rate Dec
2016)
Consumer Price
Index
(annual % change
Nov 2016)
UK House Prices
(annual % change
to Oct 2016)
Source: ONS, Bank of England.
Map above shows number of starts by district for 2015/16 - FE Data Library
The latest data released by Government has
shown that growth in Apprenticeships across the
Eastern Region was highest in Norfolk last year
with regional growth only around 1%. In particular,
in Norfolk we have seen a significant rise in
Apprenticeship starts at Level 3 and above, which
is excellent news given we know this is the level
identified for major job creation in the future.
The story however is not all good news. There
has been a general decline in Engineering and
Manufacturing Apprenticeships across the county.
2013/14
2014/15
2015/16
6,270
7,290
7,670
This is largely related to the slow
down in oil and gas production and a
reduction in retail as a result of the
move to more online sales. The
service industries continue to be the
areas where a lack of applications
from learners poses the biggest
barrier to growth or starts.
Health and Social Care and Business
Administration continue to be the
strongest performers with more work
required to develop scientific,
engineering and mathematics based
Apprenticeships locally.
Quick Links
Norfolk Economic
Snapshot
Business
Infrastructure
Skills
Funding
2
Norfolk Economic Snapshot
Employment
Data Source: NOMIS.

The labour market in Norfolk
stays in good shape. It continues
the upward trend of increased
employment levels, getting
closer to the regional rate,
narrowing to a 0.5% gap.

At 76.6%, the County has a
higher rate of people in
employment compared to the
national average of 73.8%.
However, Norfolk still lags
slightly behind when compared
to the regional average of 77%.

Year on year comparison shows
employment rates in almost all of
the districts has increased.

At 3.1%, Norfolk’s
unemployment level continues to
remain below the regional
average of 3.7% and national
average of 5.1%.

The rate of claimants for main
out of work benefits (10.9%) is
lower than the national rate
(11.5%).
Source: NOMIS.
Data Source: NOMIS.
Economic Strategy - Facing Future
Challenges
Norfolk Strategic Growth Group – made up of
the chief officers of all local authorities in
Norfolk – is to commission a new, evidencebased economic growth strategy for Norfolk.
The strategy will take a different approach
towards economic development with a narrower
focus on key areas for investment with the aim
of making a step change in the county’s
economy.
Norfolk currently has high employment levels
but remains predominantly a low wage, low skill
economy with productivity levels that are
starting to diverge from regional and national
averages. The challenge for the strategy is to
set out how to reverse these trends by
rebalancing the economy towards more
knowledge intensive businesses, whilst
maintaining high levels of employment.
Work has started in conjunction with the
district authorities to produce an evidence
base and work on the strategy itself will
begin in January 2017.
The strategy will be developed in parallel
with the new Strategic Economic Plan that
is being led by the New Anglia Local
Enterprise Partnership. This plan covers
the whole of Norfolk and Suffolk and is due
to be completed by September 2017.
3
Business
BUSINESS UPDATES
Offshore Energy Sector
The benefits we hope to derive from offshore
wind investment are starting to materialise in
Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.
The decisions by some of the Round 2
windfarms in the Southern North Sea such as
Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon to establish
their long term operations and maintenance
bases locally has been extremely welcome.
These are significant facilities creating long
term, sustainable jobs putting the area on the
map. Plus, in the past 12 months Galloper
and Scottish Power have successively chosen
Great Yarmouth to be the construction and
assembly port for the Galloper and EA1
windfarms. This has heralded a £7m
investment in the port, with significant more
investment to come.
For the past few years discussions with
developers and component manufacturers
have focused on the potential of attracting one
or more component manufacturers to the
town. This is where the major job growth will
come from and discussions have revealed
that it is visibility of a long enough pipeline of
subsidies that will be the main decision
driver.
Advanced
manufacturing
Businesses from
across Norfolk and Suffolk gathered at The
Future of Making Things event which took
place near Thetford on the 23rd November.
The event provided the opportunity for
organisations to discuss how to embrace the
‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ - the term used
to describe the modern mix of advanced
manufacturing with smart technology.
The event was jointly organised and funded
by Norfolk County Council working in
partnership with Autodesk, New Anglia LEP
and Hethel Innovation Ltd.
Government has
recently provided
much greater visibility
and certainty with a
new round of
“Contract for
Difference” funding £290m due to open in April 2017 for projects
to be delivered in either 2021-22 or 2022-23.
Further rounds totaling £730m will be
offered before the end of the next
parliament and visibility of funding for
another 4GW of capacity after 2020 has also
been offered. In total, the British, Dutch and
German governments are bringing forward
over 11 GW in auctions to be completed by
2020; with a further 20 GW between 2020
and 2030. To give some context, East Anglia
One is 0.7GW.
However, in return, Government is expecting
substantial reductions in the levels of
subsidy offered and wants to see vigorous
cost cutting and innovation within the sector.
Both Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft are well
placed to respond.
Business team email: [email protected]
Norfolk County Council has also helped to
establish The Greater Norwich Manufacturing
Group (GNMG) which is a new forum, bringing
together businesses from the manufacturing
sector as well as partner organisations.
It aims to encourage better networking, sharing
of best practice, supply chain development and
collaborative working . The next meeting is
scheduled for 25th April 2017 and will have a
focus on skills. To learn more or join the GNMG
visit http://www.naame.net/
manufacturinggroups/gnmg/
The Group is part of a wider network of
manufacturing clubs across Norfolk and Suffolk
known as New Anglia Advanced Manufacturing
and Engineering group (NAAME). Further
details can be found here http://
www.naame.net/
4
Infrastructure
A47
The A47 Alliance Steering Group met in
early December to keep up the momentum
on A47 improvements. They heard that
progress with the Roads Investment
Strategy 1 schemes (dualling Wansford to
Sutton, Easton to N Tuddenham and
Blofield to Burlingham, plus junction
improvements at Guyhirn, Thickthorn
(A11) and in Great Yarmouth) are currently
on track for consultation on options early
next year.
The A47 Alliance is gearing up its activities
to influence the trunk road programme for
2020 to 2025. As part of this, Norfolk
County Council is meeting Highways
England early in the New Year to press
home its work on business cases for its
two priorities: Acle Straight and Tilney to
East Winch dualling. Highways England’s
Route Strategy is due to be published in
March, which will provide the first major
opportunity for people to feed in their
views about the future programme. In the
shorter term, Highways England will
complete renumbering of the A12 to the
A47 before the Easter holiday. There are
also safety schemes planned for the Acle
Straight to help improve the safety of the
road.
Housing
The chart compares the number of houses
completed across Norfolk in the last financial
year against the combined annual targets of
Local Plans (this is expressed as the residual
target i.e. it takes account of under-delivery in
the previous years covered by each Local
Plan). In common with the national position, it
demonstrates housing delivery falls well short
of the amount needed. There is generally a
large stock of planning permissions but these
are not being implemented sufficiently quickly
by the development industry. A number of
initiatives are currently being discussed by
partners to try to address this problem.
Infrastructure and Economic Growth Team
supports growth and helps remove
infrastructure constraints in key areas such as
transport, housing and planning.
MIPIM UK
Local authorities from Norfolk teamed up
with New Anglia LEP and around 30
business ambassadors to attend MIPIM UK
in London to promote a range of
development opportunities and raise Norfolk
and Norwich’s profile to a national and
international audience of property investors.
An investment prospectus (http://
www.newanglia.co.uk/wp-content/
uploads/2016/10/Invest-East-FINAL-Webversion-1.pdf ) was produced which included
sites from both Norfolk and Suffolk under the
Invest East brand.
The event was attended by over 3000
participants, with 350 exhibiting companies
and 1500 visiting companies. There was
strong interest in the Norfolk offer from those
attending the event including Gavin Barwell
MP, Minister for Housing. He was impressed
by the partnership approach, and the range
of development opportunities on offer.
The IEG team at Norfolk County Council are
following up on around 40 leads generated
at the event with a range of investors and
property professionals.
Infrastructure team email:
[email protected]
5
Skills
Employment and Skills Team comprises the Apprenticeships Team, the Skills
Development Partnership and the ESF Facilitator teams. The focus is on raising skills levels
within Norfolk for the benefit of both the individual and the economy.
ESF Project
SkillsReach has been awarded an ESF
contract by the Skills Funding Agency to
develop Sector Education and Skills
Plans over the period up to March 2018.
Working in close partnership with New
Anglia LEP, this project seeks to
understand the growth needs of eight key
sectors and articulate the education and
skills interventions required to optimise
that growth potential. New Anglia LEP
has identified the following sectors to be
covered through this project:
Agriculture & AgriFood Tech
ICT Digital
Energy
Life Sciences and bio-technology
Adv Manufacturing and Engineering
Ports and Logistics
Financial and Insurance Services
Tourism and Culture
For more information visit www.newanglia.co.uk/sector-skills-plans
Future funding opportunities
Five calls for proposals are expected to
be published in January 2017 to fund
projects delivering:
An integrated Employment Service to
address both employment and health
issues
 Youth Pledge - provision for young
people out of work or training and
engagement with employers to offer
placements or apprenticeships
 In work Pay and Progression in the
Health and Social Care sector

If you are interested in knowing more
please contact
[email protected]
Employment and Skills team email:
[email protected]
The Prince’s Trust - free courses for
young people
The Prince’s Trust, supported by Norfolk
County Council, is providing free training
courses for young people who are aged 1630 and looking for work.
The Get Started programme includes short
courses that engage and develop young
people through themes such as sport or the
arts and support them into further education,
training or employment.
The ‘Get Into’ programme includes short
courses that develop young people’s skills,
gives them work experience in a specific
sector and supports them into jobs.
To find out more visit
www.norfolk.gov.uk/jobs-training-andvolunteering/training/the-princes-trust
6
Funding
Economic Programmes Team provides
support to the Council and other partners to
access external funding, with the aim of
increasing funds spent in Norfolk. It has
specialist expertise in European funding.
Funding Success for Norfolk Businesses
25 rural businesses so far have benefitted
from EU investment through a £9m
business growth initiative.
Over £950,000 has been invested in
businesses in Norfolk and North Suffolk
through LEADER, which enables ‘Local
Action Groups’ (LAGs) from across the
private, community and public sectors to
allocate EU funding, supported by the Rural
Programmes Team at Norfolk County
Council.
Projects supported so far include a £22,347
grant from the Wensum and Coast LAG to
Branthill Farm Micro-brewery to set up a
new brewery to complement their real ale
shop.
EU Rural Funding Event
On Tuesday 10th January 2017, businesses
from across the East of England attended an
event at Red Lodge Millennium Centre to
hear about EU rural funding opportunities.
Another business to receive LEADER
support is Buxton Potato Company, which
was awarded £13,866 by the Broads LAG
to develop a new potato processing facility,
enabling them to develop more product
lines and grow the business.
For more information on LEADER, visit
www.norfolklags.co.uk.
Current Funding Opportunities
National Calls for business development,
food processing and tourism infrastructure
investment in rural businesses are expected
to be launched under the Growth
Programme during January. Check for
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/
growth-programme-grants-for-the-ruraleconomy updates.
The Interreg France (Channel) England
Programme has a call for projects
opening on 2nd March 2017 for one month.
The event showcased the LEADER
Programme, and the rural funding calls soon
to be launched under the Growth
Programme (see adjacent box).
Economic Programmes team email:
[email protected]