Business Insights and Conditions Survey questions: 1 November to 14 November 2021

These questions are for Wave 43 of the fortnightly Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) dispatched on the 1st November. These are the most up-to-date survey questions.

Which of the following statements best describes your business's trading status?

• Currently fully trading

• Currently partially trading

• Paused trading but intends to restart in the next two weeks

• Paused trading and does not intend to restart in the next two weeks

• Permanently ceased trading

Where in the UK are your sites temporarily or permanently closed, if any?

• Northern Ireland

• Scotland

• Wales

• East of England

• East Midlands

• Greater London

• North East of England

• North West of England

• South East of England

• South West of England

• West Midlands

• Yorkshire and The Humber

• Not sure

• Do not have any sites

• None of our sites are temporarily or permanently closed

How does your business’s turnover over the last month, compare to normal expectations for this time of year?

• Turnover has increased by more than 50%

• Turnover has increased between 20% and 50%

• Turnover has increased by up to 20%

• Turnover has not been affected

• Turnover has decreased by up to 20%

• Turnover has decreased between 20% and 50%

• Turnover has decreased by more than 50%

• Not sure

What was the main reason for this change to your business’s turnover over the last month?

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

• End of the EU transition period

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the end of the EU transition period

• Other

• Not sure

What are your expectations about turnover for the next month?

• Expect turnover to substantially increase

• Expect turnover to increase a little

• Expect turnover to stay the same

• Expect turnover to decrease a little

• Expect turnover to substantially decrease

• Not sure

Which of the following best describes your business's exporting status?

• Exported in the last 12 months

• Exported more than 12 months ago

• Never exported and do not have goods or services suitable for export

• Never exported but have goods or services that could be developed for export

• Not sure

Has your business exported goods or services in the last 12 months?

• Exported goods only

• Exported services only

• Exported both goods and services

• Not sure

How does your business’s exporting over the last month compare with normal expectations for this time of year?

• Exporting more than normal

• Exporting as normal

• Exporting, but less than normal

• Not been able to export in the last month

• Not sure

How does the cost of exporting over the last month compare with normal expectations for this time of year?

• Cost has increased

• Cost has stayed the same

• Cost has decreased

• Not sure

How does the time spent on exporting over the last month compare with normal expectations for this time of year?

• Time spent has increased

• Time spent has stayed the same

• Time spent has decreased

• Not sure

Have you experienced any of the following challenges with exporting goods or services over the last month?

• Additional paperwork

• Basing some staff in an EU member state to be allowed to work

• Change in transportation costs

• Closure of infrastructure used to export goods or services

• Customs duties or levies

• Destination countries changing their border restrictions

• Disruption at UK borders

• Finding information on how to export

• Lack of hauliers to transport goods or lack of logistics equipment

• Reduced demand for products and services

• Time taken for checks at the border

• Work permit or visa restrictions, or lack of mutual recognition of professional qualifications

• Other

• Did not experience any challenges with exporting

What was the main cause of these exporting challenges?

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

• End of the EU transition period

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the end of the EU transition period

• Other

• Not sure

Which of the following support options has your business benefitted from, to help with exporting challenges?

• Customs and tariffs

• Export licences

• Financial support

• Finding new markets

• Finding new overseas contacts or customers

• Information on exporting

• Legal support

• Transport and distribution

• Understanding markets and demand issues

• Other

• None of the above

Which of the following best describes your business's importing status?

• Imported in the last 12 months

• Imported more than 12 months ago

• Never imported

• Not sure

Has your business imported goods or services in the last 12 months?

• Imported goods only

• Imported services only

• Imported both goods and services

• Not sure

How does your business's importing over the last month compare with normal expectations for this time of year?

• Importing more than normal

• Importing as normal

• Importing, but less than normal

• Not been able to import in the last month

• Not sure

How does the cost of importing over the last month compare with normal expectations for this time of year?

• Cost has increased

• Cost has stayed the same

• Cost has decreased

• Not sure

How does the time spent on importing over the last month compare with normal expectations for this time of year?

• Time spent has increased

• Time spent has stayed the same

• Time spent has decreased

• Not sure

Have you experienced any of the following challenges with importing over the last month?

• Additional paperwork

• Change in transportation costs

• Closure of infrastructure used to import goods or services

• Customs duties or levies

• Destination countries changing their border restrictions

• Disruption at UK borders

• Finding information on how to import

• Lack of hauliers to transport goods or lack of logistics equipment

• Suppliers not continuing to trade

• Suppliers not customs ready

• Time taken for checks at the border

• Other

• Did not experience any challenges with importing

What was the main cause of these importing challenges?

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

• End of the EU transition period

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the end of the EU transition period

• Other

• Not sure

Which of the following support options would your business benefit from, to help with importing challenges?

• Customs and tariffs

• Finding new alternative supply chains

• Finding new overseas contacts or customers

• Import licences

• Information on importing

• Legal support

• Transport and distribution

• Understanding markets and demand issues

• Other

• None of the above

Is your business experiencing any challenges when trading with customers in other UK nations?

• Yes

• No

• Not sure

• Not applicable

Has the overall choice of suppliers for sourcing your business's materials, goods and services changed since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic?

• Choice of suppliers has increased

• Choice of suppliers has not changed

• Choice of suppliers has decreased

• Not sure

Has the number of businesses, selling similar goods or services as your business, changed since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic?

• Number has increased

• Number has not changed

• Number has decreased

• Not sure

Has your business been affected by recent increases in wholesale gas prices?

• Yes, production has been affected

• Yes, suppliers have been affected

• Yes, both production and suppliers have been affected

• No, my business has not been affected

• Not sure

• Not applicable

Are your business's gas costs fixed or hedged?

• Yes, expiring by December 2021

• Yes, expiring by March 2022

• Yes, expiring after March 2022

• No, gas prices are variable

• Not sure

• Not applicable

Does your business's fixed price contract or hedging cover all or only part of your gas costs?

• All gas costs fixed or hedged

• More than half of gas costs fixed or hedged

• Less than half of gas costs fixed or hedged

• Not sure

Are your business's electricity costs fixed or hedged?

• Yes, expiring by December 2021

• Yes, expiring by March 2022

• Yes, expiring after March 2022

• No, electricity prices are variable

• Not sure

• Not applicable

Does your business's fixed price contract or hedging cover all or only part of your electricity costs?

• All electricity costs fixed or hedged

• More than half of electricity costs fixed or hedged

• Less than half of electricity costs fixed or hedged

• Not sure

Has your business received any government-backed loans or finance agreements during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic?

• Yes

• No

• Not sure

Has your business received payment from any of the following grants or schemes in the last month?

• Additional Restriction Grant

• Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)

• Kickstart Job Scheme for young people

• Recovery Loan Scheme

• Sector-specific grant

• Small business grant

• Super-deduction

• Other

• Not sure

• Not received any of these grants in the last month

Did the support received from any of the initiatives or schemes help your business to continue trading?

• Yes, it helped us to continue trading

• No, it did not impact our ability to continue trading

• Not sure

How long do you think your business's cash reserves will last?

• No cash reserves

• Less than 1 month

• 1 to 3 months

• 4 to 6 months

• More than 6 months

• Not sure

How much confidence does your business have that it will survive the next three months?

• High confidence

• Moderate confidence

• Low confidence

• No confidence

• Not sure

Over the last month, how did your business's debt repayments compare with turnover?

• Repayments were more than 100% of turnover

• Repayments were between 50% and 100% of turnover

• Repayments were between 20% and 50% of turnover

• Repayments were up to 20% of turnover

• Not sure

• Not applicable

How much confidence does your business have that it will meet its debt obligations?

• High confidence

• Moderate confidence

• Low confidence

• No confidence

• Not sure

• Do not have any debt obligations

What is your business's risk of insolvency?

• Severe risk

• Moderate risk

• Low risk

• No risk

• The business is insolvent

• Not sure

In the last two weeks, approximately what percentage of your business's workforce were:

• Using a hybrid model of working

• Working from home

• Working from a designated workspace

• On sick leave or not working due to coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms, self-isolation or quarantine

• Made permanently redundant

• Other

Which, if any, of the following skills has your business had a high demand for in the last 12 months?

• Advanced digital skills

• Basic digital skills

• Customer service skills

• Management or leadership skills

• Manual skills

• Transferable skills

• Other

• None of the above

Which, if any, of the following skills does your workforce require extra support of training in?

• Advanced digital skills

• Basic digital skills

• Customer service skills

• Management or leadership skills

• Manual skills

• Transferable skills

• Other

• None of the above

Is your business using, or intending to use, increased homeworking as a permanent business model going forward?

• Yes

• No

• Not sure

• Not applicable

Why is your business using, or intending to use, increased homeworking as a permanent business model going forward?

• Ability to better match jobs to skills

• Ability to recruit from a wider geographical pool in the UK

• Ability to recruit from a wider geographical pool internationally

• Improved staff wellbeing

• Increased productivity

• Reduced carbon emissions

• Reduced overheads

• Reduced sickness absence

• Reduced wage bill

• Other

• Not sure

Why is your business not intending to use increased homeworking as a permanent business model going forward?

• Concerns with integrating new starters into the workplace

• Difficulties managing staff remotely

• Negative impact on working culture

• Not suitable for our business

• Reduced communication

• Reduced productivity

• Reduced reliability and retention or staff

• Security concerns

• Other

• Not sure

When do you expect your workforce to return to their normal place of work?

• Within the next month

• Between 1 and 3 months

• Between 4 and 6 months

• More than 6 months

• Workforce already returned to their normal place of work

• Not expecting workforce to return to their normal place of work

• Not sure

• Not applicable

What percentage of your workforce do you expect to return to their normal place of work in the time period you selected?

• Above 75% of the workforce

• Between 50-75% of the workforce

• Between 25-49% of the workforce

• Less than 25% of the workforce

• Not sure

Has the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic affected your business's plans to expand?

• Plans are more ambitious

• No change in plans

• Plans are less ambitious

• Plans have been postponed or cancelled

• Not sure

• Not applicable

Please tell us anything else about your business's current situation relating to topics covered in this survey

• Comments