Clearview National September 2016 - Issue 178 | Page 87

BUSINESSNEWS

SMES SHRUG OFF BREXIT
CONCERNS TO INVEST AND GROW

VOLUMES UP
Figures released by alternative
lender, Just Cash Flow PLC, show
application volumes for its finance
facilities were running at 28%
higher than in the week leading
up to the Brexit vote.

POSTPONING DECISIONS
Director, John Davies, says: “In
the run up to the referendum,
differing reports about which
way the vote was going to go was
causing a tremendous amount
of uncertainty, with all sorts
of doom and gloom forecasts
being made. The one thing all
businesses hate is uncertainty
and we weren’t surprised to see
SMEs postponing investment
decisions.”

Accident rate
improvement
»»RESULTS FROM THE
British Plastics Federation
(BPF) Annual Accident Survey
for 2015, which gathers
information that will assist the
BPF in supporting the plastic
industry within the field of
health and safety, shows a
reduction on accident rates
for BPF members for its fifth
consecutive year, with cuts
being the most common type
of accident in 2015.

‘It is encouraging
to see a steady
downward trend
in accidents’
Injuries caused by knives
and those due to generic
cuts amounted to over 22%
of accidents, making cuts the
major cause of accident in
the plastic industry for BPF
members. Sharp edges, contact
with machine blades, trimming
tools and cardboard packaging

were among the major causes
of non-knife related cuts.
The survey, completed
by a total of 125 firms, also
indicates that “handling, lifting
or carrying” appear to be
another predominant cause of
accidents within the industry,
with a share of 16.7% of the
total. Closely following are
accidents caused by impacts
against stationary object
(16.4%) and slips/trips/falls
(15.5%).
Alan Brown, Chairman of
the BPF’s Industrial Health and
Safety Committee, says: “It is
encouraging to see a steady
downward trend in accidents.
By sharing this information
and experience we can all
benefit to reduce the problem
areas.”

‘one thing all
businesses hate
is uncertainty’

and conversations we are having
with business owners reveal a
different story.”

SIGNIFICANT INCREASE
“We expected this cautious
approach to continue for some
time while all the speculation
about the ramifications of
Brexit continued. However, the
significant increase in application
volumes we are now experiencing

GET ON WITH GROWING
“They are saying, ‘a firm
decision has been made and
Brexit will be Brexit, it is going
to take time but we can’t put our
lives on hold while the politicians
debate what it will look like - we
need to get on with growing our
businesses.’”

Government action
needed to stave off
construction recession
A significant programme of capital
investment by the Government is
now needed to tackle the threat of a
construction recession - as revealed by
the statistics from the Office for National
Statistics (ONS) released in July - according
to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
»»BRIAN BERRY, CHIEF
Executive of the FMB, said: “The
construction industry has grown
steadily over the past few years
and for the sector to experience
two consecutive quarters of
negative growth demonstrates the
powerful effect uncertainty and a
lack of confidence can have.
“The Government must now
take bold action and do everything
in its power to prevent these
preliminary estimates by the ONS
from becoming more concrete or
sustained. A firm commitment
to invest public funds in capital
projects such as house building and
infrastructure would go a long way
to assuaging fears that demand will
dive in the wake of Brexit.

“The country’s housing crisis
and the enormous skills shortage
our sector faces owe much to
how the construction industry
suffered during the last economic
downturn – it’s pivotal that
we learn from those mistakes
and find a way to keep Britain
building.”

C L E A RV I E W-U K . C O M » S EP 2016 » 87