Almost 80% of small firms in the South West support deficit reduction - survey

17 June 2010

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Almost 80% of small firms in the South West support deficit reduction - survey

More than three quarters of smaller businesses in the South West support rapid moves to pay off the national debt, new research has found.

In a survey carried out by the Forum of Private Business, 79% of the region's small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) said reducing the deficit should be one of the new Government's main priorities.

By comparison, 41% said that introducing fairer taxes should be a priority and just 12% called for public procurement to be made more accessible.

Tax simplification emerged as the second most popular choice, finding favour with 63% of business owners polled from Gloucestershire to Cornwall. Meanwhile, stronger regulation of the banks and utility companies was the third most popular priority for the new Government, on 61%.

Forum spokesman Phil McCabe said: "This research shows that most small business owners in the South West appreciate the need to tackle the UK's record public debt and are behind the new Government's efforts to do so.

"Like everyone else, the region's business owners will undoubtedly suffer some pain from big spending cuts, but they are used to managing budgets and know how crippling large debts can be if left to fester. However, it's important that crucial small business support services aren't sacrificed in the drive to cut costs as SMEs, in the South West and elsewhere, will be crucial to Britain's economic recovery."

Mr McCabe added: "Business owners in the South West also seem particularly keen to see Britain's convoluted tax system simplified. The UK has one of the most complicated tax regimes in the world but the new Government has said simplifying tax will be one of its priorities, so hopefully businesses in the South West will see action on this issue soon."

When asked how business support could be improved locally, reducing local taxation emerged as the most popular choice among small firms in the South West, finding favour with 56% of those surveyed. The next most popular choice for business owners in the region was addressing parking and transport issues – 35% of respondents to the Forum's survey listed this as a problem.

The third biggest concern for South West firms was crime prevention after 28% of those surveyed listed it as a problem.

The figures emerged through the Forum's quarterly Referendum ballot, which was sent out to Forum members just before the general election.
The survey also asked owners of small firms which political party they felt best understood their businesses.

As elsewhere, the Conservative Party was the most popular choice among small business owners in the South West, attracting the backing of 64% of respondents. The Liberal Democrats emerged as the second most popular choice, finding favour with 6% of those surveyed, while UKIP were in third, on 5%.

Encouragingly, only 18% of Forum members in the South West said they felt no political parties at all understood their businesses. This figure was as high as 38% in other regions of the UK.

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