The Forum of Private Business has called for urgent government action to maintain growth momentum following promising GDP figures.

The Forum of Private Business has called for urgent government action to maintain growth momentum following promising GDP figures.

Commenting on the 1 per cent GDP growth, Forum senior policy adviser Alex Jackman says,  'While great news, 1 per cent is still weak growth, particularly as its likely the Olympic boom will have positively distorted that figure.  

'We've just come out of a double-dip recession and noone wants to see a triple-dip materialise, so the government has to act now – the time for talk is over. The Coalition must slash business red tape: we need to deregulate, deregulate, deregulate to keep this growth momentum going.'

Jackman adds that the UK economy must now be tweaked for sustained growth into the months and years ahead, and this must be achieved in part by helping small firms grow and to continue creating more jobs for the private sector.  

David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce says that while both manufacturing and services have recorded increases over the quarter, the construction sector recorded another large decrease of 2.5 per cent, meaning that the sector is more than 10 per cent smaller than it was a year ago.

He adds, 'The GDP estimate must be put in context. The 1 per cent figure for Q3 is affected by distortions in the second quarter due to the Jubilee and Olympic ticket sales. Compared to a year earlier, the figures show that the economy is stagnant, with growth for 2012 currently at 0.3 per cent, three percent below the level seen at the beginning of 2008, when the recession started.'

John Longworth, BCC director general continues, 'The government still has work to do to ensure than an economic recovery is sustainable. There are still challenges ahead, with weak global growth and the ongoing Eurozone crisis creating difficulties for many firms.

'Ministers must listen to calls from businesses to help them get the finance they need, and support to find new international markets for their products and services. With the right measures over the medium to long term, for example investment in infrastructure, the creation of a British Business Bank, and meaningful deregulation, the government can put the UK economy firmly back on the road to recovery.'

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