I was asked to respond to the launch of the IFA’s Business Barometer last night at the House of Commons. The top two concerns were regulation and cashflow.
The line I took was that regulation consistently came out at the top of concerns amongst small businesses. It was promising when Regulatory Reform appeared in the name of the Department (though it should have been Regulatory Reduction), but of course that lasted less than two years. I’m not aware of any tangible results.
If I was running the next Government I’d make some spectacular early decisions early on this subject. There are times when doing something, anything, is important.
Cashflow of course is a common problem. Actually I thought it was encouraging that respondents were talking about cashflow: at least it means people are thinking deeper about the issues rather than simply blaming the banks.
85% of the respondents saw opportunities arising from the recession. I admire their optimism: we shall see how it survives the forthcoming squeeze on public sector budgets.
I’d be interested to know how your views and experiences fit with this survey.