London stands tall as a global city making positive change across the world

James Watkins, Head of Policy and Public Impact at London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, talks to Sarah Dale about new initiatives adopted by the LCCI to benefit London and its business community and their work to forge stronger international links

James Watkins has recently returned from a “moving and emotional” business trip to Ukraine to build on the work LCCI Chief Executive Richard Burge and his team started in January.

“What struck me most was how determined the people are, their resilience and their positivity,” said James, Head of Policy and Public Impact at LCCI.

Igor Bartkiv, Ukraine Project Officer at LCCI, accompanied James on the trip, which included visits to Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv.

“Our trip was to build on the incredible visit by Richard in January,” said James, who has been inspired to learn Ukrainian to further assist his work with the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce.

“We achieved a number of successes. We signed an agreement which will bring the UK and the UAE together to support Ukraine; we are working with the Ukrainian Government and SMEs in Ukraine on how to engage with the UK market; we have agreed to develop an online platform to bring Ukrainian and British businesses together; and we are working with another Ukrainian Government department to work on identifying Joint Venture projects.

“It was a very practical visit, but it was very emotional too to be honest. The resilience of the people is remarkable. I have never been to a country at war before, so I knew I had to be mentally prepared before I went. In Lviv, there was an air raid warning because a Russian missile struck nearby.

We were talking to small business owners when the news of another missile attack came through. We went for a walk in a park in Kyiv and there was another air raid warning, but there was nowhere for us to go so we kept walking. A woman was singing Hallelujah and a ballet dancer was dancing and they just carried on. Normally, there would be applause, but everyone just stood together and took a moment.”

The LCCI and Liverpool Chamber of Commerce are working together to hold regular webinars for Ukrainian businesses in addition to face-to-face meetings in Krakow, Poland and Dubai. of poor air quality and the tragic case of Ella Adoo Kissi-Debrah who lived near the South Circular Road and died as a consequence of poor air quality, and we believe it is right to take action he said.

The Chambers formed strong links through working together during Eurovision, which was held in Liverpool in May.

Another way the LCCI is hoping to support the Ukrainian business community is by working with London Fashion Week in February to showcase Ukrainian fashion designers.

Further afield, 12 London-based businesses went with Marta Kozlowska, Head of International at the LCCI, to Bangalore in India for a Start-Up Festival. This global approach to working with businesses has led the LCCI to offer an international membership.

“London is a global city and it is about recognising our responsibility as such,” he said.

In London, the economic landscape is “looking good”, says James.

“It should not be seen as an extra tax during the cost-of-living-crisis. At the same time, we needed to look at the practicalities of the scheme.”

Mayor Sadiq Khan’s announcement to widen access to financial help to every Londoner with a non-compliant vehicle from 21st August and extending the “grace period” of the scheme so business owners can comply has been hailed a success.

“We lobbied for the vehicle scrappage scheme to be available to small businesses and that now covers three vehicles per firm,” he added.

“We were also pushing for a grace period because the Chinese Government has put a delay on the release of rare earths which are used in micro chips used in the production of electrical vehicles. One of the other suppliers of rare earths is Russia which has been hit by sanctions. Now as long as you can show proof that you have bought it, you will be given a grace period.”

They are also lobbying against the “stringent cuts” to Arts Council funding.

“We can fall into the trap of talking down London, but fundamentally, London contributes over 20% towards UK GDP and it’s still the base for Fintech, the pharmaceutical industry, some American films are filmed in Soho, most of the gaming is designed here. London is still driving the economy forward, thanks to the entrepreneurialism of our business community doing an incredible job. Our members are optimistic and so am I.”

The LCCI has recently become an officially accredited Living Wage employer.

“We felt that, as a team, to be successful we have to be ethical and have to do the right thing and lead from the front,” said James.

“We are really proud to be a Living Wage employer and we believe passionately that it is the decent thing to do and that it is good for the economy too.”

As well as supporting its members, one of the key roles of the LCCI is to lobby the Government on issues that are pertinent to the business community such as the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), cuts to arts funding and Government support for SMEs.

“The LCCI has always accepted the evidence the Mayor of London has provided regarding the effects

“The arts in London provide £46 billion of revenue in the UK which is quite staggering,” he said.

“Just before Christmas, the Arts Council announced the stringent cuts. This was very harmful. London is the gateway for tourists across the UK. To cut the arts in London is levelling down the whole country. We have written to the Arts Minister and the Arts Council to urge them to reverse the cuts and, at the very least, to stop any further cuts.”

Another issue the LCCI is keen to tackle is the safety of female Chamber members who have expressed rising concerns following the high-profile criminal cases against some Metropolitan Police officers. They are working with both the Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police to ensure misogyny and racism have no place in any community.

“We are in a dialogue with the police and recently set up a business crime group looking at the safety of women, cyber and IT crime, retail crime and financial fraud,” he said.

“We will be working with the police and local authorities to ensure the safety of all our boroughs. I do genuinely think we are moving forwards to generate positive change.”