Official Statistics

DCMS Coronavirus Impact Business Survey - Round 2 - Report

Published 23 September 2020

1. DCMS Coronavirus Impact Business Survey - Round 2 - Report

These are the key findings from the second of three rounds of the DCMS Coronavirus Business Survey. These surveys are being conducted to help DCMS understand how our sectors are responding to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. The data collected is not longitudinal as responses are voluntary, meaning that businesses have no obligation to complete multiple rounds of the survey and businesses that did not submit a response to one round are not excluded from response collection in following rounds.

The indicators and analysis presented in this bulletin are based on responses from the voluntary business survey, which captures organisations’ responses on how their turnover, costs, workforce and resilience have been affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The purpose of the survey is to highlight the characteristics of organisations in DCMS sectors whose viability is under threat in order to shape further government support.

1.1 1. Experimental Statistics

This is the first time we have published these results as Official Statistics. An earlier wave of the business survey can be found here.

We have designated these as Experimental Statistics, which are newly developed or innovative statistics. These are published so that users and stakeholders can be involved in the assessment of their suitability and quality at an early stage.

We expect to publish a third round of the survey before the end of the financial year. To inform that release, we would welcome any user feedback on the presentation of these results to evidence@dcms.gov.uk by the end of November 2020.

1.2 2. Data sources

The survey was run simultaneously through DCMS stakeholder engagement channels and via a YouGov panel.

The two sets of results have been merged to create one final dataset.

Invitations to submit a response to the survey were circulated to businesses in relevant sectors through DCMS stakeholder engagement channels, prompting 2,579 responses.

YouGov’s business omnibus panel elicited a further 1,288 responses. YouGov’s respondents are part of their panel of over one million adults in the UK.

A series of pre-screened information on these panellists allows YouGov to target senior decision-makers of organisations in DCMS sectors.

1.3 3. Quality

One purpose of the survey is to highlight the characteristics of organisations in DCMS sectors whose viability is under threat in order to shape further government support.

The timeliness of these results is essential.

There are some limitations, arising from the need for this timely information.

Estimates from the DCMS Coronavirus (COVID-19) Impact Business Survey are currently unweighted and should be treated with caution when used to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 across the UK economy.

Each business was assigned the same weight regardless of turnover, size or industry.

Survey responses through DCMS stakeholder engagement are likely to contain an element of self-selection bias as those businesses that are more severely negatively affected have a greater incentive to report their experience.

Due to time constraints, we are yet to undertake any statistical significance testing or provided confidence intervals.

2. Key Results - Financial Resilience

2.1 Viability:

Across all DCMS sectors, 55% of respondents reported that they expected to be able to continue trading as a viable entity for six months or less given the available government support announced up to that point. This is a similar result to the first round of the survey.

2.2 Revenue Impact:

75% of respondents reported monthly revenue being less than half of normal expectations for this time of year. This is a similar result to the first round of the survey.

Restrictions on opening (23%), cancellation of contracts (23%), and reduced spending from customers (18%) were the most commonly cited reasons for the decrease in revenue.

Table 1 - Proportion of respondents citing contributing factors to revenue loss throughout the Coronavirus outbreak

Contributing Factor	Proportion of respondents citing it as a contributor
Restriction on operations opening	23%
Cancellation of orders or contracts	23%
Reduced spending from customers	18%
Partial restriction of operations to comply with social distancing guidelines	15%
Delayed payments from customers	5%
Employees being unable to travel internationally	4%
Being unable to acquire goods or services required to operate	2%
Reduced Government funding	2%
Reduced donations	1%

2.3 Trading Status:

65% of respondents have paused trading at some stage since March 2020. 10% of respondents reported permanently ceasing trading during the coronavirus outbreak. Here it is important to consider self-selection bias, with heavily-affected businesses more likely to volunteer a response to the survey.

3. Key Results - Mitigating Measures

3.1 Government Support:

40% of respondents cite accessing government support packages (excluding CJRS, which we ask about separately) as a mitigating measure they are taking in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

61% of eligible respondents have successfully applied for the Self Employed Income Support Scheme. 30% of eligible respondents have accessed the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.

Table 2 - Proportion of respondents taking mitigating measures related to staffing in response to the Coronavirus outbreak

Sector	Proportion of respondents that have accessed government support packages, excluding for furloughing employees
Events and Exhibitions	46%
Tourism and Hospitality	48%
Performing Arts	42%
Creative Industries and Publishing	34%
Film, TV, Video, Radio and Cinema	29%
Museums, Galleries and Heritage	56%
Sport	37%
Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise	24%
DCMS Sector Average	40%

3.2 Redundancies:

21% of respondents reported having made at least one redundancy since March 2020. Sectors with the highest proportions of firms reporting redundancies were Events and Exhibitions (29%) and Tourism and Hospitality (28%). The DCMS average from the first round of the survey was 8%^{[footnote 1]}.

3.3 Furlough Scheme:

46% of respondents have furloughed at least one employee in response to the Coronavirus outbreak. 42% of respondents with at least one employee currently furloughed reported that they expected to make further redundancies once the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) ends.

Table 3 - Proportion of respondents taking mitigating measures related to staffing in response to the Coronavirus outbreak

Sector	Furloughing employees using CJRS	Reducing staff hours	Making employees redundant
Events and Exhibitions	58%	36%	29%
Museums, Galleries and Heritage	58%	56%	19%
Tourism and Hospitality	57%	45%	28%
Sport 42%	39%	20%
Performing Arts	39%	30%	18%
Film, TV, Video, Radio and Cinema	36%	18%	10%
Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise	31%	31%	9%
Creative Industries and Publishing	27%	17%	11%
DCMS Sector Average	46%	32%	21%

1. When making comparisons between rounds of the survey, it is worth remembering that we have not yet used any statistical techniques (such as confidence intervals or statistical testing) to formally differentiate between changes that are and are not likely to be due to chance. As such, any comparison between the rounds must be made with caution. ↩