1. Chamberlink July Aug 1-30.qxp_Chamberlink 29/06/2021 11:53 Page 24
Business News
UK economy shows signs of bouncing back The UK economy grew by 2.3 per cent in April - its fastest monthly rise since July last year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed. Customers spent more on the high-street as non-essential shops re-opened and people bought more cars and caravans. The ONS said there was also more spending in pubs, cafes and restaurants as restrictions eased. But the UK economy is still 3.7 per cent below its pre-pandemic peak. The service sector grew by 3.4 per cent in April 2021, at the same time as restrictions on hospitality eased across England. Output in the production sector fell by 1.3 per cent in April 2021, the first fall since January 2021, as well as total exports of goods, excluding
Raj Kandola: Consumer spending will fuel recovery
precious metals, which also fell slightly by 0.6 per cent in April 2021 after two consecutive months of growth.
‘No doubt consumer spending will continue to fuel a recovery’ Raj Kandola, head of policy at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “It’s reassuring to see that economic output continued its upward trajectory throughout April as we saw nonessential retail businesses reopen, schools stay open for the whole month and an easing of restrictions for hospitality businesses. “Clearly, we are now seeing a release of that pent up demand and
no doubt consumer spending will continue to fuel a recovery especially if the good weather stays in place and the country enjoys a good run at the Euro 2020 championships.” More figures released by the ONS also indicated a welcome boost in job vacancies in accommodation and food services. The total number of job vacancies between March to May
2021 was 758,000, only 27,000 below its pre-pandemic levels recorded in January to March 2020. Between March and May 2021, accommodation and food services vacancies grew by a staggering 265.5 per cent. Figures also showed a slight bump to the employment rate in the West Midlands by 0.3 per cent from November to January 2021, to 74.2 per cent.
Geoff Thomas
Mike Hopkins’
Trio win awards in Queen’s Honours list South & City College principal Mike Hopkins, ex-England footballer Geoff Thomas and LoveBrum co-founder and chair Tim Andrews have both recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Mr Thomas, a blood cancer survivor and now a Cure Leukaemia ambassador, has received an MBE for his work in raising money for charities. Mr Hopkins has also been awarded an MBE for services to education. Mr Hopkins and Mr Thomas are both part of the Tour 21 team who are completing all 21 stages of the Tour de France ahead of the professionals. They are planning to raise more than £1m for Cure Leukaemia, the first official charity partner of the tour in the UK. Cure Leukaemia recorded a £1.7m fundraising shortfall in 2020 due to the pandemic and The Tour 21 team have already raised more than £753,000 towards their target. All funds will be invested in the national Trials Acceleration 24 CHAMBERLINK July/August 2021
Programme (TAP) which has been solely funded by Cure Leukaemia since January 2020. Mr Hopkins was born in inner-city Birmingham and went to school and university in the city. He became the principal of South Birmingham College (SBC) in 2007, prior to which he was the vice principal for three years. Mr Hopkins has worked with the West Midlands Combined Authority to secure millions of pounds worth of funding to provide construction training to unemployed people across the region and recently invested over £2m in a new engineering centre and a National Express Training Academy, in direct response to the region’s skills priorities. Mr Hopkins said: “I feel very humbled and honoured as I have never sought any such personal recognition, I have simply done the best I can throughout my career. My focus has always been our students and staff and my recognition is really a recognition of what our staff and students have done.”
South & City College Birmingham is a patron of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce. Chamber CEO Henrietta Brealey said: “Mike is a wonderful ambassador for the region who has dedicated his career to improving the lives of young people. He is also a fantastic supporter of the Chamber and the wider business community. “This honour is richly deserved and the Chamber team send him our congratulations. “We also send our congratulations to all those across the region who were recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.” Alongside the cycling duo, Mr Andrews has been awarded an MBE for his services to charity and the community of Birmingham. As well as his charity work, Mr Andrews is chairman of Hollywood Monster, a graphics firm that is the largest in its sector, with 70 employees and a turnover of £10m. He is also a non-executive director for digital agency Lightbox, is shareholder at Work From Here and was previously CEO of Birmingham City Ladies Football Club.
