I WAS delighted to welcome more than 50 business leaders from across Herefordshire and Worcestershire to the Chamber’s annual Bank of England Breakfast on Friday 28 September.

Held at The Courtyard in Hereford, the morning featured an insightful presentation and Q&A session from Graeme Chaplin, the Bank of England Agent for the West Midlands and Oxfordshire.

Graeme provided guests with useful insider knowledge into the changing remit of the Bank of England’s responsibilities in the years since the global financial crisis.

Graeme went on to discuss the major functions of the Bank of England and the work it undertakes to create stability in the financial sector.

In addition to setting interest rates to hit inflation targets, the Bank of England has further responsibilities and statutory powers to regulate the financial sector. Working in association with accredited Chambers of Commerce across the UK, the Bank of England monitors results of the Quarterly Economic Surveys (QES) conducted throughout the year.

The QES is the largest and most representative independent business survey of its kind in the country. The results help Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce to assess how businesses in the two counties are performing on a range of key indicators, and understand firms‘ biggest concerns.

The results from our latest QES, based on evaluations from 573 businesses, will be available on our website at hwchamber.co.uk from Monday, October 15.

I’d like to thank all those who attended the resourceful morning last week, and I look forward to welcoming you again in September 2019 – following the transition period and the UK formally leaving the EU.

On a final note, I would like to encourage firms to pre-register for our Autumn Business Expo next Thursday, October 11, to save time on the day.

To find out what’s on and to register your attendence, please visit hwchamber.co.uk/events/business-expo.