Latest questions for Business Insights and Conditions Survey Wave 123

These questions are for Wave 123 of the fortnightly Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) dispatched on 16 December 2024. 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

Which of the following factors, if any, is your business concerned about impacting supply chains over the next 12 months? 

• Artificial Intelligence 

• Climate change 

• Cyber attacks 

• Increased barriers to trade 

• International conflict 

• Market distorting practices 

• Sanctions 

• Shipping disruption 

• Other 

• Not sure 

• Business is not concerned about factors impacting supply chains over the next 12 months 

How does your business expect these factors to impact supply chains? 

• Increased costs of sourcing materials 

• Increased labour costs 

• Increased transportation costs 

• Shortage of inputs 

• Other 

• Not sure 

• Business does not expect these factors to impact supply chains 

Which of the following actions, if any, did your business take to increase supply chain resilience in the last 12 months? 

• Demand management 

• Diversification of suppliers across a broader range of countries 

• Improved relationships with key suppliers 

• Increased awareness of supply chains 

• Onshoring 

• Relocated existing sourcing to another country 

• Stockpiling and surge capacity 

• Other 

• Not sure 

• Not applicable 

Which of the following actions, if any, does your business plan to take to increase supply chain resilience over the next 12 months? 

• Demand management 

• Diversification of suppliers across a broader range of countries 

• Improve relationships with key suppliers 

• Increase awareness of supply chains 

• Onshoring 

• Relocate existing sourcing to another country 

• Stockpiling and surge capacity 

• Other 

• Not sure 

• Not applicable

Has your business gone through a collective redundancy consultation in the last 12 months?  

• Yes 

• No 

• Not sure 

• Not applicable 

Approximately, how many redundancies did your business make following this collective redundancy consultation process? 

• More than 120 

• Between 100 and 119 

• Between 60 and 99 

• Between 20 and 59 

• Between 1 and 19 

• Not sure 

Approximately, how many redundancies was your business considering before the collective redundancy consultation process? 

• More than 120 

• Between 100 and 119 

• Between 60 and 99 

• Between 20 and 59 

• Between 1 and 19 

• Not sure 

Has your business gone through the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) process in the last 5 years? 

• Yes 

• No 

• Not sure 

Approximately, how often has your business gone through the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) process in the last 5 years? 

• Once per year 

• Every 2 years 

• Every 3 to 5 years 

• Other  

• Not sure 

• It was a one time occasion 

Approximately, what proportion of your employees were transferred by Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) the last time your business went through the process? 

• More than 75% 

• Between 50% and 75% 

• Between 25% and 49% 

• Less than 25% 

• Not sure

Is your business concerned about the impact climate change may have on the business? 

• Yes, very concerned 

• Yes, somewhat concerned 

• No, not concerned 

• Not sure 

Which of the following actions, if any, has your business taken to protect the environment? 

• Has a climate change strategy  

• Has a net zero or greenhouse gas emissions target  

• Has a net zero or greenhouse gas emissions target which includes supply chain  

• Has a nature or biodiversity strategy  

• Has a nature or biodiversity target  

• Has a nature or biodiversity target which includes supply chain  

• Monitors climate-related risks  

• Monitors nature or biodiversity-related risks  

• Publishes an annual sustainability report  

• Other  

• Not sure  

• None of the above 

Which of the following actions, if any, has your business taken to reduce carbon emissions? 

• Adjusting heating and cooling systems  

• Electrifying your vehicle fleet  

• Installing a smart meter  

• Installing charging points  

• Installing your own renewable electricity or heating  

• Insulating your buildings  

• Introducing a cycle to work scheme  

• Switching to LED bulbs  

• Other 

• Not sure  

• No actions have been taken to reduce emissions

Which of the following artificial intelligence technologies, if any, does your business currently use? 

• Autonomous vehicles  

• Data processing using machine learning  

• Image processing using machine learning  

• Robotics 

• Text generation using Large Language Models  

• Visual content creation  

• Other  

• Not sure  

• Business does not currently use artificial intelligence technologies 

What does your business currently use artificial intelligence technologies for? 

• Develop a new product or service  

• Explore a new market  

• Improve business operations  

• Provide, or personalise, products or services to customers  

• Other  

• Not sure  

• Not applicable 

How did your business adopt these artificial intelligence technologies? 

• Developed in-house 

• Outsourced to external providers or third parties  

• Through purchase of external software or ready-to-use  

• Other  

• Not sure  

• Not applicable 

Which of the following artificial intelligence technologies, if any, does your business plan to adopt within the next three months? 

• Autonomous vehicles  

• Data processing using machine learning  

• Image processing using machine learning  

• Robotics  

• Text generation using Large Language Models  

• Visual content creation  

• Other  

• Not sure  

• Business does not plan to adopt artificial intelligence technologies in the next 3 months 

What does your business plan to adopt artificial intelligence technologies for? 

• Develop a new product or service  

• Explore a new market  

• Improve business operations  

• Provide, or personalise, products or services to customers  

• Other  

• Not sure  

• Not applicable 

In the last three months, which, if any, of the following factors have prevented or delayed your business from adopting artificial intelligence technologies? 

• Cost  

• Difficulty identifying business use cases 

• Employee concern about any potential impact of using artificial intelligence technologies  

• Level of expertise in artificial intelligence 

• Product or service availability  

• Security concerns  

• Uncertainty about government regulations or industry standards  

• Other  

• Not sure  

• Business has not attempted to use artificial intelligence technologies 

• Business has not been prevented or experienced delays in the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies

Is your business currently either fully or partly owned by a private equity firm or fund? 

• Yes 

• No 

• Not sure 

Has your business ever received private equity funding? 

• Yes  

• No 

• Not sure

Has long do you expect your business's cash reserves will last? 

• Less than 1 month 

• 1 to 3 months 

• 4 to 6 months 

• More than 6 months 

• Not sure 

• Business has no cash reserves 

What is your business's risk of insolvency? 

• Severe risk 

• Moderate risk 

• Low risk 

• No risk 

• Not sure 

• The business is insolvent 

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

• High confidence 

• Moderate confidence 

• Low confidence 

• No confidence 

• Not sure  

• Business does not have any debt obligations

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

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