Key issues local businesses highlighted to Buckinghamshire Business First (BBF) in February 2024 included :
- Outsourcing: Several manufacturing companies have commented on losing subcontracted work or overflow work from bigger companies due to work being outsourced to China.
- Supply chain: Difficulties within supply chains, including increased lead times and product availability, are affecting a variety of production sectors.
- Skills and recruitment: A construction supply business, looking to expand, has cited the continuing difficulty in recruiting 'work ready' and skilled people in south Bucks.
- Net Zero credentials: There continues to be a steady interest from businesses wishing to calculate their carbon footprint, as a way of adding credibility to tender documents and quotations.
- Trading conditions: Trading remains tough for many with costs (particularly staffing costs) continuing to rise, amidst uncertainty at home (impending election) and abroad (conflicts).
BBF use this 'on-the-ground' intelligence to inform local business support activity, and share it with central government on a monthly basis to inform national policy.
