Most UK firms poised to restart after lockdown
Almost 90 per cent of British businesses say they will be ready to restart operations in three weeks or less of the government lifting coronavirus lockdown restrictions, according to a new survey.
6 May 2020The British Chambers of Commerce's (BCC) latest 'Coronavirus Business Impact Tracker' also found that a quarter of all companies would not need any notice at all to resume operations, with a further 35 per cent saying they could restart within a week.Smaller businesses said they could return to something approaching normal more quickly than larger firms, with 64 per cent of firms employing fewer than 10 people saying they would need less than one week, compared to half of respondents with more than 50 employees.Only seven per cent of the 540 firms surveyed said they would need three to six weeks' notice before they could restart.Adam Marshall, BCC director-general, said: “Over the coming days, business communities will require clear forward guidance from government on plans to re-open parts of the economy, transport networks, schools and local services.
“Our results show that businesses’ ability to restart quickly varies by company size, and by sector.“For these reasons and more, it will be crucial for the government to maintain and evolve support for businesses, to give as many firms as possible the chance to navigate a phased return to work.“While the fight against coronavirus must remain the top priority, the communication of plans for the easing of restrictions must also begin immediately. The Chamber Network will continue to work constructively with governments across the UK to plan a coherent path forward.”With the government expected to announce on Sunday the first phase of easing lockdown restrictions, the survey found that some 68 per cent of business-to-business service firms said that they would need less than one week compared to 50 per cent of business-to-consumer service firms.It also found that 74 per cent of respondents had accessed the government’s Job Retention Scheme and had furloughed a portion of their staff. "Encouragingly, since the scheme’s online application portal opened on April 20, the vast majority of respondents (59 per cent) have submitted a claim and received payment from HMRC. This week’s results do not report any firms being rejected," said the BCC.
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“Our results show that businesses’ ability to restart quickly varies by company size, and by sector.“For these reasons and more, it will be crucial for the government to maintain and evolve support for businesses, to give as many firms as possible the chance to navigate a phased return to work.“While the fight against coronavirus must remain the top priority, the communication of plans for the easing of restrictions must also begin immediately. The Chamber Network will continue to work constructively with governments across the UK to plan a coherent path forward.”With the government expected to announce on Sunday the first phase of easing lockdown restrictions, the survey found that some 68 per cent of business-to-business service firms said that they would need less than one week compared to 50 per cent of business-to-consumer service firms.It also found that 74 per cent of respondents had accessed the government’s Job Retention Scheme and had furloughed a portion of their staff. "Encouragingly, since the scheme’s online application portal opened on April 20, the vast majority of respondents (59 per cent) have submitted a claim and received payment from HMRC. This week’s results do not report any firms being rejected," said the BCC.
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