Giles Watling, MP for Clacton, has thanked all of those who participated in his recent Covid Recovery Survey. 520 responses were received in total, which included 139 responses from local businesses and self-employed business owners.
Having reviewed the submissions, Giles has now written to the Chancellor, Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP, to pass on a copy of the results, and to call on him to act where the data suggests this is necessary.
Giles has also written to Tendring District Council and Essex County Council, to pass them a copy of the results, and to ask them to be mindful of this when distributing new funding pots from the Government in the coming months. Further, Giles has asked them to provide a direct contact for businesses that are in need of additional support.
Speaking about the survey results, Giles said:
“I am extremely grateful to those who took the time to participate in the survey and pass on their thoughts. This data will be extremely valuable and has already informed the discussions I have had with Ministers.
“The findings were extremely interesting, some expected and some not. I was pleased to read that, because of the furlough scheme, the number of people involved in local businesses has mostly stayed the same (60%) and, where staff are employed, the majority have not faced layoffs (78%).
“However, I was concerned that 24% of local businesses stated that, without further Government support they did not expect to continue trading, with many not expecting to see out the year. Helping these businesses will be my immediate focus, and I will be pushing Essex District Council and Tendring District Council to support them with the new funding announced by the Government in the Budget.
“Once again, thank you to all those participated in my Covid Recovery Survey. This is incredibly useful data, which will help shape our local recovery from the pandemic.”