As the UK government reels from figures highlighting a stagnating economy, its Business Minister, Mark Prisk was more upbeat about UK Enterprise growth, describing it as ‘Resilient` and on the brink of recovery.
Mark Prisk, a minister for the Department for Business Innovation and Skills announcing the figures from the latest publication of the Business Population Estimates report states that while “This has been a difficult period, these figures show the resilience of British business and so it is encouraging to see that the number of businesses at the start of 2010 had increased.”
A plank of the coalition government’s recovery story has been that Private Sector Enterprises would create the jobs and wealth needed for economic recovery. However on scrutinising the figures released today that there number had grown by 1% which is equal to 48,000 enterprises a year, it appears that behind them a different reality emerges.
While this number has indeed risen, what has driven them has been a surge in sole trader businesses the most unlikely to start hiring staff and contribute less than 10% of Britain’s private sector revenues. At the same time it appears that the number of companies with employees fell by over 34,000, whilst the number of registered businesses dropped by 119,000.
Of concerns being voiced is the construction industry which fails to score a mention in the release of this report. In the latest unemployment figure this industry was single out as showing no sign of recovery but accounts for over 1 in 4 of private sector businesses, totalling 899,000.
If decline continues, the number of businesses will inevitably begin to drop. A reduction of 4% of the number of construction businesses equates to 36,000- negating any gains touted by Minister Prisk.
Disturbingly what figure the report sites are estimates, giving way to accusations that policy rather than accountability is shaping the figures coming from ministers on the behest of the executive, after calls by major economists to move to a plan b.
In this heady mix of statistics are people’s lives that are not so resilient in the face of claiming welfare and being vilified for doing so. Relying on a government to be honest with them in the face of a financial crisis would seem to be the antipathy of what the government has revealed of itself here. When announcements of a recovery are slated again, maybe the public should ask why there children are so angry when clearly if we will not trust a person who breaks promise’s then why is this government allowed to go on….
