More than half of Scottish businesses say local government is not doing enough to support business growth

The survey, conducted by global credit company Creditsafe and completed by 755 business leaders, revealed that over half (53 per cent) believe their local government to be failing them in terms of business support. 

Speaking of the results, Creditsafe’s UK CEO Chris Robertson, said: “It’s been a memorable year for businesses in Britain, with Brexit dominating the media headlines and uncertainty around our role in the EU still rife. 

“The Business Census is intended to provide a snapshot of the state of UK business based on experience, as opposed to just statistics. The impact of economic uncertainty on the optimism of business leaders for 2019 will undoubtedly gain the attention of business bodies and the government, who should take note of these less tangible, yet still important, impacts of their actions.” 

The Census also found that 69 per cent of UK businesses have been affected by bad debt, and 37 per cent have been victims of fraud. Just 3 per cent of UK businesses expect blockchain to play a role in their company’s growth in 2019, mirroring industry concerns that disillusionment with the technology could lead to a ‘blockchain winter’. 

With environmental concerns also dominating the press, a surprising 51 per cent of businesses surveyed do not plan to invest financially in environmental initiatives in 2019. 

Despite their fears, 90 per cent of UK businesses expects to grow in 2019. 

UK economic growth has been under pressure since a strong performance this summer, with the Bank of England expecting a 0.2 per cent increase in GDP for the final three months of 2018 and forecasting a similar rate for the first quarter of 2019.