Quick and critical action needed to rebuild Black Country supply chains - Chamber boss

Corin Crane said: "All Black Country businesses want for 2022 is the chance to sell their goods and services with as little interference as possible, so finding a way to keep the economy active, while keeping the hospitals empty will be the biggest challenge we face next year.

"The countries that do this best will be the ones whose economies grow the quickest. Restrictions need to be balanced with financial support and with plans announced in good time – no more last minute changes to lockdowns."

Mr Crane added: "We also need quick and critical intervention to rebuild our supply chains – the issues around HGV drivers, shipping costs, micro-processor shortages, the Northern Ireland negotiations, inflation, delays at ports and new trade deals mean that our local businesses are dealing with too many issues that can make them uncompetitive.

"Deal with these issues and the Black Country economy bursts into life – all of those innovators, makers, creatives, professionals, entrepreneurs, graduates and school leavers are ready and waiting. The world will be watching the West Midlands as the Commonwealth Games demonstrates the best of brand UK and we’ll make sure that the Black Country takes centre stage at the Aquatics Centre in Sandwell."

He stressed that there were some other big pieces of work coming to fruition in 2022.

"With the Metro extension rolling on towards Merry Hill, Dudley is bidding for city status and continuing its focus on innovation with the Very Light Rail Centre and Institute of Technology.

"Wolverhampton will be continuing its excellent work as a UK leader in sustainable construction and green technologies, Sandwell is becoming a national leader in community wealth building and has ground breaking plans for its town centres and Walsall’s sprints towards its goal of becoming the healthiest town in Britain," he added.

The chamber's new president Sarah Moorhouse said 2021 had been anything but a traditional year.

"The work of the chamber regionally spans two centuries and, as we mark our 165th Christmas, we remain the only organisation with a national reach and reputation delivering hyper-local business support to businesses of all sectors and sizes. As inheritors of this rich legacy, we continue to champion Black Country businesses and have seen many business cycles and challenges come and pass.

"With many of us now operating in radically different ways than we were two years ago, the passion, innovation and enthusiasm displayed daily by our members leave us in no doubt that the region will flourish as we look to a future beyond the pandemic," she said.

Highlights from the last 12 months saw the chamber launch its biggest campaign in its history, Black Country 2.0 as it campaigned fiercely for those struggling with the impact of Covid-19 and helped businesses to understand Brexit.

"We once again held in-person events, welcomed back the fourth Black Country Business Festival, created the first business economic conference which, when combined with our ongoing virtual calendar, saw over 1,700 attending 150 different activities.

"In addition, we continued to develop the skills of 600 individuals across 63 training programmes and launched a new director and board development series to equip, enable and empower those leading our fantastic regional firms. We continued to bring people together and established the Black Country ThinkTank which is set to shape our campaigning activities over the next 12 months," she added.

In 2021 the chamber supported more than 400 businesses to trade internationally and issued over 6,000 documents taking Black Country goods and services to every corner of the world.