Clearview Midlands September 2014 - Issue 154 | 页面 96

businessNEWS

UK economy back
at pre-crisis level
The UK economy has returned
to pre-crisis levels by expanding
0.8% in Q2 of 2014.
On an annual basis gross
domestic product (GDP)
expanded by 3.1%.
The figures show the economy is
now worth 0.2% more than it was
at its peak in 2008, the Office for
National Statistics (ONS) said.

‘now worth 0.2%
more than it was
at its peak in 2008’
The service sector is the only
part of the economy that has
passed its previous 2008 peak,
although that accounts for almost
80% of UK output.

Other key sectors, however,
including construction, industrial
production and manufacturing,
have yet to outstrip levels reached
in 2008.
The UK economy is forecast to
be the fastest growing among the
G7 developed nations, according
to the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) which predicted the
UK would expand by 3.2% this
year, up from a previous forecast
of 2.8%.
George Osborne said we had
reached a major milestone in our
long-term economic plan.
But shadow chancellor, Ed Balls,
said: “With GDP per head not

‘productivity from those in work
remains weak, along with the face the
population as a whole has grown’
set to recover for three more years
and [with] most people still seeing
their living standards squeezed
this is no time for complacent
claims that the economy is
fixed.”

Output per head is not expected
to reach its pre-crisis level until
2017, partly because productivity
from those in work remains weak,
along with the fact the population
as a whole has grown.

UK’s broadband not
up to speed, says FSB
The government should adopt much more ambitious targets for rolling
out high speed broadband for businesses across the UK, says the
Federation of Small Business (FSB) in a report published on 14 July.
With an estimated 45,000
firms still on dial up, and
many more struggling with
speeds lower than 2 Megabits
per second (Mbps), the FSB
says it is clear that - while
the residential market may
be seeing the benefits of high
speed broadband - this is often
not the case for the business
community.
It calls for the UK’s
forthcoming digital
infrastructure strategy to
recognise this issue and put small
businesses at the front and centre
of future rollout plans, so that
they can enjoy the benefits too.

96

SEP 2014

Almost every (94%) small
firm views a reliable internet
connection as critical to the
success of their business. The
current Government targets of
24Mbps for 95 per cent of the
population and 2Mbps for the
remaining five per cent will not
meet the future demands of UK
businesses. For example, even in
areas where households have high
speed broadband, some businesses
still struggle to send digital
invoices, upload large files or even
communicate with clients via the
internet.
The FSB’s new report, ‘The
4th Utility: Delivering universal

broadband connectivity for
small businesses across the
UK’, highlights the scale of the
problem and sets out what small
businesses want to see change.
Commenting, John Allan, FSB
National Chairman, said:
“The fact that we have around
45,000 businesses still on dial
up is unacceptable and many
more throughout the country,
even in London, are receiving
poor service. Evidence from our
members shows this clearly is a
problem affecting all corners of
the UK, rural areas and cities
alike. We want to see the UK
Government show ambition

with its broadband targets and
put business needs at their
centre. Leaving five per cent of
the population with a 2Mbps
connection in 2017 is not good
enough.”

‘Almost every (94%)
small firm views
a reliable internet
connection as critical
to the success of
their business’
www.fsb.org.uk

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