It’s exactly a month since Andy Burnham moved into Downing Street, to become the UK’s ninth Prime Minister of the 21st Century. In the last four weeks, Mr Burnham has made a number of policy announcements and is facing a very sizeable ‘to-do’ list but if you had the chance to meet with Mr Burnham, what would be your most pressing business issues and concerns?
It’s something of an understatement to suggest that businesses have faced great uncertainty during the first half of 2026, with the threat of a trade war and the outbreak of conflict in the Gulf leading to a spike in oil prices, causing an inflationary uptick.
We’re keen to get a sense check on business confidence and outlook here in Staffordshire, as we launch our latest Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) – Q3, 2026.
Every three months, all 51 UK Chambers’ of Commerce roll out the QES, which is the longest running independent survey of business sentiment, having started life in 1989.
QES provides a measure of the levels of business confidence and outlook and is widely acknowledged by the likes of the Bank of England as a really useful indicator of how the economy is performing.
In the last year, QES responses have picked up a slowdown in business confidence, with labour costs and energy costs ranked as the top two pressures forcing businesses to raise prices
Throughout much of last year, QES responses picked up a trend of more businesses reporting a pause on investment in plant, machinery and staff training. In our last QES (Q2 – 2026), there was a noticeable drop in the number of businesses planning to recruit new staff, as well as more businesses reporting a reduction in workforce.
As we head towards the final quarter of 2026, how are your levels of business confidence? Please share your feedback by taking the time to complete our QES.
Survey responses can be completed anonymously, and results are compiled and shared with the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), who will publish an overall summary of national results. Here at Staffordshire Chambers’, we’ll be analysing results in the county and making both regional and national comparisons.
The QES comprises a short bank of questions, most of which have a simple tick box response. It takes little more than 60 seconds to complete and by taking part, you’ll help to paint a picture of local and national economic performance. We’re keen for QES responses to be reflective of a wide mix of business sectors and business sizes.
As a special thanks to those of you who complete a QES, we will be making a random draw to select a survey, with the person who completed the survey being offered a voucher to spend at Lunar. For just 60 seconds of your time, you could be in with a shout of having a great night out, on us!
Please spare us a minute of your time. Your response can be really valuable and we hope that Mr Burnham will take close notice of the results!
Click here to open QES – Q3 – 2026:
