Local businesses invited to Brexit meeting

With one year to go until Britain exits the EU, businesses across the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent area are being invited to give their views on the opportunities and challenges ahead and ensure their input is heard on the crucial decisions being made.

On Wednesday March 28, businesses and other interested parties are invited to come together for an update on the thinking that has already been done about Brexit’s implications for the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire economy by local partners from the public and private sector.

The event will take place from 1pm to 3pm at the County Buildings in Stafford town centre, with a working lunch and refreshments provided.  Places are limited, so to RSVP please email peter.barker@staffordshire.gov.uk

Businesses will be asked to offer their ideas on how plans for the future of the local economy can be strengthened.  The views of business will be vital to making a success of Brexit for the region.

Co-hosted by Staffordshire County Council, the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, the Federation of Small Businesses, and the Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce, the meeting will bring together businesses from a range of perspectives.

The keynote speakers include Councillor Alastair Little, who chairs the All-Party Member Group on External Affairs at Staffordshire County Council.  The group has developed a new report into impacts of Brexit for the area and is asking interested businesses to comment and help to shape this further.

Joining him on the panel will be David Frost CBE, Chairman of the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, Sara Williams, Chief Executive of the Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce and Karen Woolley, Development Manager for Staffordshire and West Midlands, Federation of Small Businesses.

Cllr Little said: “Staffordshire has a thriving economy with near full employment and a successful mix of global leading business and smaller enterprises. It is a priority for the county council and our partners to support continued business growth and the creation of better paid jobs. Brexit will be a huge change for the whole of the UK and we are determined to make the very best out of it for Staffordshire businesses and to remain a premier county to locate new business ideas. All views are vital to us as we shape our plans for the future and I’d urge as many as possible to attend our event.”

Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership chairman David Frost CBE said: “It is clear that the local economy will be impacted by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, but as yet we are unsure what the effects will be, both positive and negative.

“We need to be prepared and, as such, it is important to get a clearer understanding of the issues that concern business.”

The expert keynote speakers will set up a conversation, under Chatham House rules, about how the local economy and the wider UK can get the best from Brexit, and the views businesses offer will be used to develop practical recommendations.