STUART ELFORD
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Stuart Elford, CEO of Devon & Plymouth Chamber, on the support offered to businesses during the pandemic and the help for those returning to work
The past two months have contained some of the most difficult weeks of my working life - and I’m sure I’m not alone.
We’ve been on the phone with countless companies during this unforgiving crisis talking about everything from making ends meet and when they’re going back to work to how they’re supposed to run a business while overseeing a home school in the living room.
But I’ve also had the great privilege of working with businesses who have shown extraordinary innovation in the face of extreme challenge – firms who have fought lockdown by pivoting into brand new digital directions or launching new in-demand products and services.
Our role as a Chamber of Commerce has also had to change. We’ve had to overhaul our events programme and switch to a series of virtual events aimed at giving businesses the best, most relevant advice. I’m delighted to say we’ve also had a lot of lobbying success - the furlough scheme and its recent extension was as a direct result of campaigning by British Chambers of Commerce.
We’ve also battled hard for the support for the self-employed and we haven’t forgotten company directors. The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme was suitable for some but not for all, so we campaigned hard for a better scheme with a 100 per cent guarantee. The Government listened and responded with the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.
We’ve been holding some great events recently, and I’d like to thank everyone who attended.
It was wonderful to get such positivity coming across from you all about what your plans are and how you’re coping during this time. We also received some lovely testimonials about the value of these events.
We’re planning events which are specifically aimed at returning to work, and we’ll have experts in health and safety to talk to you about keeping yourself and your employees safe.
Sir Gary Streeter, chairman of the
All-Party Parliamentary Group for the South West, has agreed to appear on a panel and take your questions, giving us the view from Westminster.
We’ll also be holding events around Mental Health Awareness Week - we mustn’t forget the strain currently placed on managers, on furloughed staff and on people working in isolation.
Please keep engaging with us, because together we’re a really strong voice for this region. We’ll need each other as we come out the other side of this difficult time, so thank you for your continued support. For more information please contact Devon & Plymouth Chamber of Commerce 01752 220471 E: reception@devonchamber.co.uk W: https://devonchamber.co.uk/ Thank you for reading