Business Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Survey questions: 20 April to 3 May 2020

These questions are for wave 4 of the Business Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Survey for the period 20 April to 3 May 2020. Respondents are asked to respond to the questions between 18 May to 31 May 2020 based on their experiences from 4 May to 17 May 2020. These are the most up-to-date survey questions.

Is your business currently trading?

• Yes, the business is continuing to trade
• No, the business has temporarily closed or paused trading
• No, the business has ceased trading permanently

Did your business restart trading in the last two weeks after a temporary closure or pause in trading?

• Yes, the business started trading again in the last two weeks
• No, the business had not temporarily closed or paused trading in the last two weeks

Is your business continuing a temporary closure or pause in trading that started in the last two weeks?

• Yes, the closure or pause started in the last two weeks
• No, the closure or pause started more than two weeks ago

At the time of temporary closure or pause in trade, roughly what percentage of your business’s workforce were furloughed or made redundant?

• Put on furlough leave
• Made redundant
• Other

When your business was still trading, where was most of its business activity carried out?

• UK
• Outside the UK
• Not sure

Where in the UK did your business carry out its business activity?

• England
• Scotland
• Wales
• Northern Ireland
• Not sure

Where in England did your business carry out its business activity?

• North West
• Yorkshire and The Humber
• East Midlands
• West Midlands
• East of England
• Greater London
• South East
• South West
• Not sure

Was the financial performance of your business within normal expectations in the last two weeks?

• Yes, it was within normal expectations
• No, it was outside of normal expectations

Was your business’s turnover within its normal range in the last two weeks?

• Yes, turnover was within the normal range
• No, turnover was outside the normal range
• Not sure

In what way was your business’s turnover different in the last two weeks?

• Increased by more than 50%
• Increased between 20% and 50%
• Increased by up to 20%
• Decreased by up to 20%
• Decreased between 20% and 50%
• Decreased by more than 50%
• Not sure

What do you think were the main causes for your business’s turnover being outside its normal range in the last two weeks?

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
• Other

Please explain in more detail why this affected your businesses turnover.

What are your expectations about your business’s turnover in the next two weeks?

• Expect it to substantially increase
• Expect it to increase a little
• Expect it to stay the same
• Expect it to decrease a little
• Expect it to substantially decrease
• Not sure

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

• Yes
• No
• Not sure

Does your business expect to start exporting goods or services in the next two weeks?

• Yes, the business expects to start exporting
• No, the business does not expect to start exporting
• Not sure

Has your business exported goods or services during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak?

• Yes, the business has exported during the outbreak
• No, the business has not exported during the outbreak

How has your business’s exporting of goods or services been affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the last two weeks?

• The business has stopped exporting in the last two weeks
• Exporting has not been affected
• The business is exporting, but less than normal
• The business is exporting, but more than normal
• Not sure

Where does your business normally export to?

• EU
• Outside EU
• Not sure

Which countries in the EU does your business normally export to?

• Germany
• Netherlands
• France
• Other
• Not sure

Which countries outside of the EU does your business normally export to?

• China
• Hong Kong
• USA
• Other
• Not sure

Does your business normal export directly or through a distributor?

• Exports directly
• Exports through a distributor
• Not sure

Does your business expect to start exporting goods or services again in the next two weeks?

• Yes, the business expects to start exporting
• No, the business does not expect to start exporting
• Not sure

Has your business experienced any of the following challenges with exporting over the last two weeks?

• Coronavirus-related transport restrictions
• Increases in transportation costs
• Closure of infrastructure used to export goods or services
• Destination countries changing their border restrictions
• Other
• Did not experience any challenges with exporting

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

• Financial support
• Support on understanding market and demand issues
• Support on finding new markets
• Support on finding new overseas contacts or customers
• Support with transport and distribution
• Support with legal issues
• Support with customs and tariffs
• Support with export licences
• Other
• None of the above

Let us know anything else that you think may help us understand your business’s exporting in the last two weeks.

What are your expectations about your business’s exporting of goods or services in the next two weeks?

• It will get much harder
• It will get a little harder
• It will stay the same
• It will get a little easier
• It will get much easier
• Not sure
• Not applicable

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

• Yes
• No
• Not sure

Does your business expect to start importing goods or services in the next two weeks?

• Yes, the business expects to start importing
• No, the business does not expect to start importing
• Not sure

Has your business imported goods or services during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak?

• Yes, the business has imported during the outbreak
• No, the business has not imported during the outbreak

Has your business’s importing of goods or services been affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the last two weeks?

• The business has stopped importing in the last two weeks
• Importing has not been affected
• The business is importing, but less than normal
• The business is importing, but more than normal
• Not sure

Where does your business normally import from?

• EU
• Outside EU
• Not sure

Which countries in the EU does your business normally import from?

• Germany
• Netherlands
• France
• Other
• Not sure

Which countries outside of the EU does your business normally import from?

• China
• Hong Kong
• USA
• Other
• Not sure

Does your business normally import directly or through a distributor?

• Imports directly
• Imports through a distributor
• Not sure

Does your business expect to start importing goods or services again in the next two weeks?

• Yes, the business expects to start importing
• No, the business does not expect to start importing
• Not sure

Has your business experienced any of the following challenges with importing over the last two weeks?

• Coronavirus-related transport restrictions
• Increases in transportation costs
• Closure of infrastructure used to export goods or services
• Destination countries changing their border restrictions
• Other
• Did not experience any challenges with exporting

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

• Financial support
• Support on understanding market and demand issues
• Support on finding new alternative supply chains
• Support on finding new overseas contacts or customers
• Support with transport and distribution
• Support with legal issues
• Support with customs and tariffs
• Support with import licences
• Other
• None of the above

Let us know anything else that you think may help us understand your business’s importing in the last two weeks.

What are your expectations about your business’s importing of materials, goods or services in the next two weeks?

• It will get much harder
• It will get a little harder
• It will stay the same
• It will get a little easier
• It will get much easier
• Not sure
• Not applicable

Was your business able to get the materials, goods or services it needed from within the UK in the last two weeks?

• Yes, we have been able to get what we needed
• Yes, but the business had to change suppliers or find alternative solutions
• No, the business not been able to get the materials, goods or services we needed
• Not applicable

Please explain why your business was not able to get the materials, goods or services needed.

Where does your business carry out most of its business activity?

• UK
• Outside of the UK
• Difficult to say

Where in the UK does your business carry out its business activity?

• England
• Scotland
• Wales
• Northern Ireland
• Difficult to say

Where in England does your business carry out its business activity?

• North West
• Yorkshire and The Humber
• East Midlands
• West Midlands
• East of England
• Greater London
• South East
• South West
• Difficult to say

How did the prices of materials, goods or services bought by your business change in the last two weeks, compared with normal price fluctuations?

• Prices increased more than normal
• Prices decreased more than normal
• Some prices increased; some prices decreased
• Prices did not change any more than normal
• Not sure
• Not applicable

Please give more details about the prices of materials, goods or services that changed.

What are your expectations about changes in prices of materials, goods or services that your business needs for the next two weeks?

• Expect prices to generally increase
• Expect prices to generally decrease
• Expect prices not to change
• Not sure
• Not applicable

How did the prices of goods or services sold by your business change in the last two weeks, compared with normal fluctuations?

• Prices increased more than normal
• Prices decreased more than normal
• Some prices increased
• Some prices decreased
• Prices did not change any more than normal
• Not sure
• Not applicable

Please give more details about how prices changed.

What are your expectations about prices of goods or services that your business will sell over the next two weeks?

• Prices will generally increase
• Prices will generally decrease
• Prices will stay the same
• Not sure
• Not applicable

Has your business’s ability to access financial resources changed in the last two weeks?

• Yes, access to finance has increased
• Yes, access to finance has decreased
• No, access to finance has stayed the same
• Not sure

Has your business applied for any of the following initiatives?

• Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
• Business rates holiday
• Deferring VAT payments
• The HMRC Time to Pay Scheme
• Accredited finance agreements
• England-only government funded small business grants or loan schemes
• Devolved government-funded small business grants or loan schemes in Wales, Scotland and Northern

Ireland

• The business has not applied for any of these initiatives

Of the initiatives applied for, which has your business received?

• Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
• Business rates holiday
• Deferring VAT payments
• The HMRC Time to Pay Scheme
• Accredited finance agreements
• England-only government funded small business grants or loan schemes
• Devolved government-funded small business grants or loan schemes in Wales, Scotland and Northern

Ireland

• The business has not received any that we applied for

Please describe your experience of applying for these initiatives.

Did the funding received from these initiatives help your business continue trading?

• Yes, it helped us to continue trading as normal
• Yes, it helped us to continue trading, but at a lower capacity than normal
• No, it was not sufficient to enable us to continue trading
• Not sure

Is your business intending to apply for any of the following initiatives?

• Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
• Business rates holiday
• Deferring VAT payments
• The HMRC Time to Pay Scheme
• Accredited finance agreements
• England-only government funded small business grants or loan schemes
• Devolved government-funded small business grants or loan schemes in Wales, Scotland and Northern

Ireland

• None of the above

Please describe any other support from Government that you think could help your business.

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

Was your business's workforce able to meet the demands of the business in the last two weeks?

• Yes, the workforce could meet the business's demands
• No, the workforce could not meet the business's demands
• Not sure

Which of the following measures has your business taken to cope with the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on your workforce?

• Increased working hours
• Decreased working hours
• Laying off staff in the short term
• Recruiting staff for the short term
• Other (please describe)
• No measures have been taken

In the last two weeks, roughly what proportion of your business’s workforce was working in the following ways?

• Working at their normal place of work
• Working remotely instead of at their normal place of work
• Other

In the last two weeks, roughly what proportion of your business’s workforce was furloughed, off sick due to coronavirus or made redundant?

• On furlough leave
• Off sick or in self-isolation due to coronavirus (COVID-19) with statutory or company pay
• Made redundant
• Working as normal
• Other

Do you expect your business’s workforce size to change over the next two weeks due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak?

• Expect workforce size to increase
• Expect workforce size to decrease
• Expect workforce size to stay the same
• Not sure

Were there any other unexpected changes to financial or operational activities for your business in the last two weeks?

• Yes, there were other unexpected changes
• No, there were no other unexpected changes

Please give more details about any other unexpected changes to financial or operational activities.

Are you expecting any other financial and/or operational activities at your business to be affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak over the next two weeks?

• Yes, the business expects other financial and/or operational activities to be affected
• No, the business does not expect any other financial and/or operational activities to be affected

Please give more details about what other financial and/or operational activities at your business you think will be affected in the next two weeks.

Let us know anything else that you think may help us understand your business’s current situation.