British Chambers Of Commerce Research Articles

The Crisis at the CBI

AbstractThe Confederation of British Industry (CBI) experienced a reputational crisis after a number of allegations of sexual harassment. Leading members of the organisation resigned and its resources were depleted. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) attempted to fill the void. The organisation survived a confidence vote, but the result may be a permanently weakened organisation. Apart from the 2023 crisis, there are deeper structural problems in business representation.

Mind the gap [Engineering Skills

When it comes to determining whether the UK has enough engineers to do the jobs it needs, there is no shortage of surveys that suggest it has to do a lot more to get them. Based on data from the British Chambers of Commerce, the Open University concluded in June 2022 that almost 90 per cent of large employers and more than two-thirds of small and medium-sized enterprises are facing skills shortages. The majority of employers said the shortages are piling pressure on staff and reducing output and profitability. In engineering specifically, the 2021 Skills Survey conducted by the IET found two-thirds of those questioned reported gaps they were having trouble filling.

Public law status Chambers of Commerce: does Britain need them?

There have recently been considerable changes in the British Chamber of Commerce system, leading to the creation of a network of Approved Chambers and Chambers of Commerce, Training and Enterprise (CCTEs). However, the question of whether British Chambers of Commerce should move further towards the dominant Chamber model of mainland Europe, based on public law status, continues to be debated in academic and practitioner circles. This paper assesses the case for and against such a move, in order to contribute to the understanding of the likely impact of recent changes and possible future reforms to the British Chamber system. Various aspects of British, French and German Chambers are discussed, compared and contrasted in order to consider whether a move to public law status on the part of British Chambers would be in Britain’s best interests.

Explaining the Membership of Voluntary Local Business Associations: The Example of British Chambers of Commerce

BENNETT R. J. (1998) Explaining the membership of voluntary local business associations: the example of British Chambers of Commerce, Reg. Studies 32, 503-514. This paper presents an analytical model which seeks to explain the size of Chamber of Commerce membership and the depth of market penetration. This model is applied to British Chambers of Commerce which are a largely voluntary system of private law bodies. The model demonstrates high explanatory power for the size of Chamber membership, particularly arising from the service levels and size of potential market (number of potential business members). The model of market penetration is less satisfactory in terms of variance explained, but demonstrates the importance of the same explanatory variables. The models also confirm the importance of differentiating two different, but overlapping, types of Chamber in a voluntary system. Large Chambers, those 'approved' as quality service providers by the national Association of British Chambers Commerce (ABCC)...

CIVIL AVIATION

SINCE we wrote last month, Civil Aviation has come definitely into the forefront of the news. An (or should it be “ The ”?) Independent Committee on The Future of Civil Aviation has published its First Report; the Joint Air Transport Committee of The Association of British Chambers of Commerce, The Federation of British Industries, and The London Chamber of Commerce has issued a “statement ” ; and a “ full‐dress ” debate on the subject has been held in the House of Commons, in which both the DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER (MR. ATTLEE) and THE SECRETARY, OF STATE FOR AIR (SIR ARCHIBALD SINCLAIR) took part. Could the most publicity‐seeking ask for more ?

The Canadian Tariff

part of either the statesmen or people of Canada, but was the fruit of a purely opportunist move in the political game. In 1858 there was held in Toronto a Protectionist Convention which deputed a committee to make representations to Mr. Cayley, .the Inspector General of Finance, for the establishment of higher duties, and in the Budget of 1858 their demands were partially met. It fell to Sir Alexander Galt who added further duties in 1859 to vindicate against the protests of British Chambers of Commerce and the Colonial Office the right of Canada to set up and maintain her own tariff system. His despatch of October 25, 1859, is a constitutional document of the highest importance and its most pregnant passage runs as follows: