Business Impact Survey - September 2020

About the survey

Thank you to the 142 businesses who provided feedback to the Haringey Business Impact Survey – September 2020.

The Haringey Business Impact Survey ran from 12 August to 20 September 2020. The purpose of the survey was to better understand the ongoing impact of the pandemic on businesses in the borough and inform our response to business support both in the immediate lockdown and long-term recovery. 

Businesses were asked to respond to a series of questions including:

• the impact of COVID-19 on the business
• the employment impact and outlook
• engagement with government support
• future areas of concern

Key findings

• The sector that relied most heavily on the furlough scheme was Retail, Hospitality and Leisure, with 122 of 163 employees being furloughed (75%)
• 55% (78) of respondents selected ‘No’ when asked if they were able to trade during the lockdown, and of these, 84% needed to temporarily close or pause trading
• 117 out of 139 respondents (84%) asserted that they needed further support to sustain their business
• Only 6 respondents (4%) reported that their turnover had increased
• Of 139 respondents, 73 (53%) received one of the Government business grants.
• The most popular option for further council support was ‘Helping to produce a post-pandemic recovery/growth plan’ with 42.3% placing it as their first choice

Back to top

How we have addressed the concerns raised

In response to the concerns raised, a number of steps have been taken to address them: 

Creative sector support

• We launched the Made in Tottenham website (external link) in November 2020. This directory aims to support the local creative economy, freelancers and businesses by offering business advice and guidance, skills and training and a platform for news, events and opportunities.
• Our first 10 shop shutters were painted during October-November 2020 as part of the Shutter Gallery project, an ambitious initiative that has brought together local businesses and artists, to highlight the boroughs creative talent.

Communication

• We introduced special Business Bulletins to keep businesses up to date with the latest changes to government guidance on grants and Tier restrictions.
• We added translated copies for some of our key releases such as vaccination and testing information.

High Street support

• We supported Tottenham Green Market to re-open in a COVID-safe way once a month.
• We have continued to coordinate the High Street Network (made up of town centre business network chairs throughout the borough).
• We promoted local businesses through our Christmas Advent Calendar initiative and the new Haringey Business Directory.
• We helped to organise and deliver Christmas events and light switch-ons (both physical and virtual).
• We launched our COVID-Safe and Live-Shop-Local campaigns aimed at boosting customer confidence and encouraging Haringey residents to support their local businesses.

Grants

• In response to clear feedback that grants eligibility criteria could be confusing, we simplified our grants process in December 2020 to create a single form to determine eligibility for all the available grants.
• We created a dedicated inbox for our Local Restrictions Support Grants (LRSG@haringey.gov.uk) to make it easier for businesses to raise queries about the grants process and their application status.

Brexit

• We launched a Brexit Business Advice service in December 2020, working with expert EU consultants, to provide free hands-on support to any Haringey business that requires it during the transition period.

Back to top

Download the survey analysis document

• Business Survey feedback - September 2020 (PDF, 377KB)

Back to top

Haringey Business support team

If you need business support or advice our dedicated business support team are here to help. They are working closely with trader groups and individual businesses to ensure they are aware of the latest support and guidance.

If you have any questions, email the team at business@haringey.gov.uk

Back to top