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LONDON’S COUNCILS
and
their relationship with small businesses
London Borough of Bexley
A Report for the
Greater London Region of the Federation of Small Businesses
by the
FSB’s London Policy Unit
December 2010
Survey Results – Bexley
Introduction
On October 20th 2010, the Government announced the results of its Comprehensive Spending Review. Government
departments and local authorities have all been forced to make significant cost savings to help tackle the nation’s
structural deficit.
This has meant that for some time to come, many of the services and facilities which have been available to help small
businesses and the self-employed will no longer exist or be significantly reduced in scope.
In particular, the key functions which local authorities undertake in assisting economic development and job creation in
the area need to be assessed to ensure the best possible value for money and to ensure that they are addressing the key
needs of local businesses and residents.
Against this backdrop, the Federation of Small Businesses felt that it was important to identify the key local issues which
needed to be addressed and the perception which business has of the level of engagement which exists between Councils
and the business community.
In the autumn of 2010, we therefore undertook survey work, asking 660 VAT-registered business owners in London about
the importance of a range of business issues and of their relationship with their local Council.
Methodology
We used an independent research agency, The Demand Generation, to conduct a Survey with the aim of ascertaining the
key issues and the levels of satisfaction with local councils in the 32 London boroughs and the City of London.
Care was taken to ensure that the breakdown of this data, by both number of employees and business sector, matched
the London business profile as closely as possible (using Business Link defined profiles).
A total of 20 completed surveys were required for each of the boroughs, equating to a total of 660 completed surveys.
Surveys were conducted by telephone between 24th September and 1st November 2010.
For each business, it was necessary to confirm that the respondent was the primary contact for dealing with the local
Council and to then confirm in which London Borough their business was located. Each contact was then asked a short
series of questions that had been drawn up by the FSB specifically for this survey.
About the Respondents
Like all the other boroughs we surveyed 20 businesses in the borough of Bexley.
Industrial Sector
SECTOR (percentages) A
cco
mm
od
atio
n &
fo
od
Art
s, E
nte
rtai
nm
ent
&
Rec
reat
ion
& O
ther
Bu
sin
ess
Ad
min
istr
atio
n &
Sup
po
rt
Co
nst
ruct
ion
Edu
cati
on
Fin
ance
& In
sura
nce
Hea
lth
Info
rmat
ion
&
Co
mm
un
icat
ion
s
Mo
tor
trad
e, t
ran
spo
rt &
Sto
rage
Pro
du
ctio
n
Pro
fess
ion
al, S
cien
tifi
c &
Tech
nic
al
Pro
per
ty
Ret
ail
Wh
ole
sale
London business profile* 5.2 8.7 8.1 9.8 1.4 3.2 3.6 11.8 3.7 4.0 21.7 5.0 8.4 5.5
London survey respondents
3.3 7.5 7.4 8.5 1.1 2.4 2 10.5 6.6 6.5 22.9 4.6 9.4 7.3
Bexley business profile* 6 6 8 23 1 1 3 8 8 7 13 2 9 4
Bexley survey respondents
0 5 10 10 0 0 0 5 20 20 15 0 10 5
* Business Link data headings
Size of Business
Employee Numbers
SIZE 0-4 5-9 10-19 20-49 50-99 100+
London business profile*
78.9 10.8 5.4 2.8 0.9 1.1
Bexley survey respondents
53.4 23.6 13.6 5.7 2.6 0.8
Bexley business profile
79 11 5 3 1 1
Bexley survey respondents
70 10 15 1 0 0
* Business Link data parameters
The large sample involved in the survey (660 respondents) and the close match between the sectoral profile of
respondents and the profile of London’s business community as a whole (as per the Business Link IDBR 2009 Research)
suggests that the survey can be seen as robust statistical reflection of London’s business community. In addition, the local
respondents broadly represent Bexley’s businesses both in terms of size and sector.
Survey results
All respondents were initially asked to choose their top two priorities within their local borough, with regard to issues over
which the council had responsibility. The responses were combined to demonstrate their main concerns.
On a London-wide basis it is very clear from these results that the top concern for business in London is parking with
almost exactly half of all respondents choosing this as one of their top two priorities. The second priority was waste
collection, closely followed by crime. It is striking that these figures broadly mirror survey work undertaken by the FSB of
its London members 12 months ago.*
* FSB Members Survey Agenda: 2010; London Policy Unit, November 2009.
We gave the respondents an option of ‘other’ and no single suggestion gained more support than the 10 topics suggested.
However, there were some key areas which were suggested across all 33 boroughs, such as, post office provision/closures,
street/traffic management and maintenance, and anti social behaviour.
When analysed by sector and size, parking, while important for all business, was particularly relevant for those businesses
with 5-9 employees, and obviously most important for those sectors involved in delivery (e.g. retail, wholesale and
construction).
In Bexley it is clear from the chart that transport is a major issue for businesses – both the crucial issues of parking which
severely impacts on local businesses as well as other parking issues.
It is also striking the crime is significantly more important to respondents as an issue (mentioned by 35%) compared with
the London-wide average. Indeed, the rating for crime was one of the highest levels found in Outer London boroughs.
The FSB has called for actions which could help address many of the concerns highlighted by the survey respondents and
we look forward to continuing to work with the Council to address these issues.
Council engagement with local businesses
We asked respondents to identify which of the following five statements best reflected their relationship with their local
council.
I have had no contact with my local council about issues which affect my business;
I have contacted them about local issues affecting my business but got nowhere;
I have contacted them about local issues and they were sympathetic;
They have contacted me to ask for my views on local issues affecting my business;
I do not believe they are interested in local issues which affect my business.
It is perhaps alarming that, London-wide, most businesses have had no contact with their local council about the issues
that affect them. This would suggest either a lack of knowledge about the ways that local authorities and their decisions
impact businesses. It is however, more likely that this reflects a general sense of disillusion about political structures and
institutions.
When analysed by size it is striking that while only 6% of respondents said they had been contacted by their council to ask
for their views, 50% of businesses with over 250 employees had been consulted. This obviously suggests that councils are
engaging with bigger businesses, and not their smaller counterparts. Equally, larger businesses had found local authorities
sympathetic to their needs. Conversely, small businesses were more inclined to believe the council was not interested in
their views on local issues.
Certain industrial sectors, especially arts, entertainment & recreation, and manufacturing (production) have had more
constructive dialogue while the motor trade, retail, wholesale and property had the least favourable opinions and
experiences of council engagement.
In Bexley, the situation is particular worrying. Not only had 60% of respondents had no contact with their council, those
who had proactively contacted the Council were more likely than not to feel that they had got nowhere by doing so.
Bexley clearly has work to do in engaging with their local businesses and the Council should, among other things, work to
the spirit of the FSB’s Small Business Engagement Accord.
Which council service should not be cut?
The survey was undertaken at the time of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) and intense speculation about cuts
in public services. We were anxious to ascertain which services provided by councils should not be cut.
London-wide the top three areas were:
1. Waste collection
2. Crime
3. Street lighting and other streets maintenance
Professional, scientific and technical businesses, and the education sector were particularly keen to see transport links
maintained, and accommodation, the motor trade and retail were particularly concerned about any potential cuts in
policing.
The London top 3 broadly matched the responses from businesses in Bexley. Key areas here, where services should not be
cut or where charges should not be increased, were led by local policing (mentioned by 60% of respondents, reflecting the
large number who cited crime as a key concern) and waste collection (15%).
What things could the council do to make life easier?
This was also offered as a free form answer and the results are consequently less easily quantifiable. However, we can
identify certain actions which the council could do to benefit the business community. These included on a London-wide
basis:
1. Improved traffic management and parking
2. More procurement opportunities
3. Less red tape
4. Improve street appearance and safety (less road humps, more CCTV etc)
5. Reduced business rates
Locally, Bexley businesses reported that key areas for council action included improving the look of the borough, greater
support in ensuring small businesses did not pay more business rates than necessary, tackling vandalism and anti-social
behaviour, improved recycling and waste collection provisions and a less rigorous regulatory regime. These are all areas
where the FSB has proposed measures to support the business community.
Such measures can be found at http://www.fsb.org.uk/LondonManifestos2010 .
Conclusions
There are difficult times ahead. However it is vital that local councils consult with and listen to their business community.
This will avoid expensive mistakes by making sure that what is spent is being spent on the right things to help business
operate effectively and continue to support the local economy and local residents.
The FSB looks forward to working with Bexley Council to address many of the issues identified in the survey. We believe
that an increase in the Council’s engagement with local businesses would help deliver improvements for local residents,
the business community and the development of the wider Thames Gateway.
For more details contact:
Chandra Sharma Chairman, South East London Branch, Federation of Small Businesses
01689 896 646 [email protected]
Steve Warwick Chairman, Greater London Region, Federation of Small Businesses
07958 676209 [email protected]
Nick Winch London Policy Manager, Federation of Small Businesses
07917 628985 [email protected]
www.fsb.org.uk/london
