Businesses 'to cut staff and training budgets'

Businesses will cut working hours and training costs to deal with the economic downturn, a new survey has revealed.

Of the 400 UK businesses polled by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), 43% said that they expected their turnover to fall by up to 50% over the next three months.

As a result, 28% said that they would be reducing working hours; over a fifth said that they did not plan to carry out training over the next six months and 18% said that training was on hold.

Asked about grants for training, 23% said that there were so many barriers in place that there was no point trying to access Government funding. However, 34% said that they were able to access funding in spite of such barriers and 17% said that there were no barriers.

Steve Hughes, economic adviser to the BCC, said:"The dangers facing the business community are plain to see in these results. Confidence in the economy is non-existent, and this requires an incisive response from Government.

"When the Chancellor gives his Budget in April, it must include measures to ease cash-flow difficulties and promote the retention of jobs. Cutting National Insurance Contributions, freezing the minimum wage and slashing business rates would all help hard-pressed businesses."