Paul Scully, a senior member of the UK government, visited Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter to meet with representatives and members of the National Association of Jewellers (NAJ) last week.
On May 12, Mr Scully, Under Secretary of State in the Department for Business,
Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), met with NAJ Principal Officer, Ben Massey and members of the Association.
Caption: Andrew Morton, Paul Scully and Ben Massey at Weston Beamor
The visit was planned to help BEIS learn more about the jewellery sector and the challenges manufacturing, supply and retail elements of the trade are facing.
Ben Massey, NAJ Principal Officer, said, “It was a great opportunity to highlight the very real issues that the jewellery sector is faced with.
“Recruitment and retention of people, import and export pressures, particularly with Ireland and removing barriers for consumers to visit jewellery stores, were key points members presented.
“Mr Scully was keen to understand the process of how a piece of jewellery goes through
many hands before it reaches the customer.”
During his visit, Mr Scully whose responsibilities include retail, consumer goods, personal care as well as hospitality, weddings, nightclubs and pubs, visited Weston Beamor, JQ Diamonds and Han Goldwyn.
Caption: Brian Craddock, Paul Scully and Ben Massey at Han Goldwyn
