We would like to say a big thank you to the approximately 500 Buckinghamshire businesses that have responded to the surveys that we have sent out over the last few weeks.

We thoroughly review all of the responses to these surveys and analyse what you have been telling us.

We are identifying common issues and sharing them with central government, via the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and local leaders on a weekly basis. This includes highlighting the types of businesses that are slipping through the support net.

Your responses are vital to our understanding of the challenges and issues facing Buckinghamshire businesses.

These recent surveys include those for directors of small companies, those who have used the Job Retention Scheme, and those in the tourism and hospitality sector. These surveys are still open for responses, so please do follow the links here and at the end of the article to submit a response if you have not yet done so.

Below are some key findings from our surveys so far:

COVID-19 Business Impact Survey

• 50% of all respondents have lost domestic customers as a result of COVID-19.
• 25% of respondents have experienced supply chain problems.
• In terms of impact, loss of income is cited as businesses’ main concern over the coming months (40%), followed by possible cessation of trading (30%).

Job Retention Scheme / furloughing survey 

• 89% of respondents felt that the future success of their business was being damaged by furloughed staff not be able to work at all.

Director Dividends Survey

• 83% of respondents report that their turnover is substantially lower than normal.

Take part in our surveys

Please do continue to respond to our surveys, as they really do help us to help you.

We have three surveys still available for responses.

Tourism and hospitality sector survey > Please share your experiences in our tourism & hospitality survey so that we can share your responses with government.

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme survey > If you are a business owner who employs staff, please share your feedback on the government’s Job Retention Scheme. Your views will help us inform government partners of Buckinghamshire business needs.

Directors of small businesses survey > We want to hear from directors of small businesses who rely on a combination of wages and company dividends. Please take our short survey to enable us to understand your challenges.

COVID-19 Business Support Hub

Please keep visiting our COVID-19 Business Support Hub for all the latest information and support available to businesses, both via government and non-government sources.