1. Introduction

These questions are from wave 2 of the Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey for the period 23 March to 5 April 2020. Respondents were asked to respond to the questions between 6 April and 12 April 2020 based on their experiences from 23 March to 5 April 2020.

These questions relate to the analysis and data presented in the Coronavirus, the UK economy and society, faster indicators: 16 April 2020 release.

If you are a survey user and want to see the most up-to-date questions, see the Latest questions for the Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey page.


More about coronavirus

  • [Find the latest on coronavirus COVID-19) in the UK.
  • All ONS analysis, summarised in our coronavirus roundup.
  • View all coronavirus data.
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    2. Section 1: Financial performance of your business

    What is the current trading status of your business?

    • Continuing to trade

    • Has temporarily closed or paused trading

    • Has permanently ceased trading

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

    • Put on furlough leave

    • Made redundant

    • Other

    Was the business’s financial performance outside of normal expectations in the last two weeks?

    • Yes

    • No

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

    • Yes, it was within the normal range

    • No, it was outside the normal range

    In what way was your business’s turnover outside its normal range in the last two weeks?

    • Turnover was substantially higher than normal

    • Turnover was a little higher than normal

    • Turnover was a little lower than normal

    • Turnover was substantially lower than normal

    • Not sure

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

    • Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

    • Other

    Please explain in more detail why the business’s turnover was affected.

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

    • Yes, exporting was affected

    • No, exporting was not affected

    • Not sure

    • Not applicable

    Please explain in more detail how the business's exporting has been affected.

    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

    Was your business's importing of materials, goods or services affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the last two weeks?

    • Yes, importing was affected

    • No, importing was not affected

    • Not sure

    • Not applicable

    Please explain in more detail how your business’s importing has been affected.

    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 we have had to change suppliers or find alternative solutions

    • No, we have 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

    Which of the following initiatives is your business interested in using, if any?

    • Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

    • Business rates holiday

    • Deferring VAT payments

    • The HMRC Time to Pay Scheme

    • Small businesses grant or loan schemes

    • Accredited finance agreements

    • Not sure

    • None of these

    How confident are you that your business has the financial resources to continue operating throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak?

    • Confident

    • Not confident

    • Don't know yet

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    3. Section 2: Operational performance of your business

    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 its workforce?

    • Increased working hours

    • Decreased working hours

    • Laying off staff in the short term

    • Recruiting staff for the short term

    • Other

    • 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

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    4. Section 3: Other financial or operational changes

    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, I expect other financial and/or operational activities to be affected

    • No, I do not expect any other financial and/or operational activities to be affected

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

    Why do you think your business will not have any issues due to coronavirus (COVID-19) over the next two weeks?

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

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    Manylion cyswllt ar gyfer y Erthygl

    Rob Kent-Smith
    faster.indicators@ons.gov.uk
    Ffôn: +44 (0)1633 651 618