After the government’s refusal to scrap the 2p increase in fuel duty – planned for October –, lobbying groups such as the Forum of Private Business (FPB) and the Freight Transport Association (FTA) are calling for more decisive measures.

‘We are desperate and the government must realise that,’ says Bill Hockin of Devon-based William C Hockin Transport ‘This is the perfect storm, with foreign competition from European hauliers, who pay less tax than us in the UK, and rising fuel costs. If this situation continues, it will cripple us, if not ruin us.’

Further rises have been proposed for 2009 and 2010. The FPB argues that the government’s plan to increase fuel duty amounts to another tax, ‘showing it to be out of touch with the UK’s small-business community’.

In a statement, the FTA’s external affairs director, Geoff Dossetter, said that fuel now constituted 40 per cent of most firms’ vehicle operating costs.

‘The government has failed to demonstrate that it has understood the serious impact of oil price rises to UK industry and has so far shown no interest in tackling the problem,’ said Dossetter. ‘The price of oil is dramatically changing these processes to the detriment of all, seemingly without any concern from the government, which has done nothing to help except to postpone its proposed 2p-per-litre duty increase from April until October.’

Hockin added: ‘There is only so long I can ask my customers to pay more, before they will turn away. I have been in business for 40 years and this year is by far the worst I have ever known.’

It is a move that would potentially affect small businesses but the survey illustrates that such an increase is necessary, says TUC general secretary Brendan Barber.

A report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found that Britons see a wage of £13,400 as the minimum needed to enjoy a reasonable 'basic' standard of living.

Barber calls the survey, which was based on the opinions of representatives of all socio-economic groups, 'useful evidence' in the fight for raising the minimum wage.

However, he adds that people should be 'cautious' about basing a whole argument on one survey.

Last time the minimum wage was raised, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) described the increase as 'appropriate' because it was in line with inflation.

According to the FSB, previous above-inflation rises had caused problems for smaller firms whose profits were threatened, particularly in areas such as leisure, hotels and catering.

Just over half of businesses (52 per cent) are passing on their increased costs to customers, according to research by Bibby Financial Services.

Of the businesses surveyed, 79 per cent of owners / managers said they were feeling the effect of rising fuel costs on their business, with just over a third (35 per cent) looking for ways to diversify and grow their business in order to cope with higher prices.

While a quarter (26 per cent) are already trying to reduce costs by cutting how much time they spend on the road, one in five is under pressure from employees to increase fuel allowances (19 per cent).

A north / south divide is also evident, with 83 per cent of owners/managers in the north of England citing the rising fuel costs as the key transport issue affecting their business, ten per cent more than those in the South.

Region by region, it is those businesses in the more rural area of East Anglia that are feeling the greatest effect of the fuel crisis (96 per cent), along with industrial areas such as the East Midlands (90 per cent) and the North West (89 per cent).

Around a third of businesses in the Midlands and the South (27 per cent) are already responding to the fuel crisis by reviewing their company vehicles and making plans to introduce more efficient models – nine per cent more than in the North (18 per cent).

David Robertson, chief executive of Bibby Financial Services, said the majority of businesses are yet to take action: ‘Owners and managers must take steps now to fortify their cash flow and reduce the risk of the fuel crisis on their business from being any greater than it already is.’

Nearly all of the 150 companies contributing to the research said bosses had difficulties in managing absence (97 per cent).

Helen Clarke, managing director of Jaluch, said that ‘employers are experiencing a lot more long-term sickness absence due to illnesses like stress or depression than ever before’.

Twenty per cent of respondents said that generous sick pay policies don’t encourage staff to return to work as soon as they are well. Seventeen per cent of companies with fewer than 2,000 staff had no sickness policy in place.

Clarke added: ‘The problem is exacerbated because mounting employment legislation is leaving bosses reluctant to manage staffing issues.’

A report published by the CBI reveals that while it may feel safer for businesses to 'stick to what they know best', innovation and new ideas can ensure 'continued dynamism' within a firm.

Richard Lambert, CBI director general, says: 'successful innovation comes down to people, not just processes, and that trusting your customers and giving your ideas time to develop is vital.

'When you act, you must move fast and learn from your failures, but don't beat yourself - or others - up when things go wrong.'

The survey also shows that market forces and company culture are the main drivers of innovation, with a positive attitude towards creativity and risk essential.

Last month, City experts told Caterersearch.com that the credit crunch was stifling innovation in the services sector because new businesses were unable to raise the finance to start trading.

Karen Gill founder of Everywoman explains that the situation today is not one of 'blatant sexual discrimination', but a disparity between male and female salaries as well as the unequal proportions of men and women in high-ranking roles.

She comments: 'In some instances, we're going backwards, we're regressing, because people think we're doing ok. It's imbedded in culture, and we've stopped fighting. I think we've stopped putting it at the top of the agenda.'

Ms Gill says that women can often feel excluded from masculine practices in the boardroom such as aggressiveness and confrontation.

Ex-Apprentice contestant and HR consultant Jo Cameron told HR Zone that female professionals often lose out because they have not learnt 'the language of the boardroom' and are often too modest in meetings.

According to a report to be released tomorrow by the University of Durham, students are more likely to choose 'easier' subjects which may not be as useful to employers in some small business sectors.

David Frost, director general of the BCC, describes the revelations as 'terrible news' for the economy and small business as the British economy is already 'riddled with skills shortages'.

He comments: 'If the UK is to globally compete as an advanced industrial nation we will need a stream of highly skilled individuals with qualifications in both science and technology. If we do not do this we will become a second division economic power'.

Last week, the government pledged £300 million in funds assigned to help address skills shortages in the manufacturing, construction and hospitality industries.

The FSB says that the Local Authority Business Growth Incentive (LABGI) has helped those wishing to start their own firm and should be extended and improved.

Under the scheme, local authorities have been given cash rewards for promoting enterprise in their area.

Roger Culcheth, FSB local government chairman, calls the scheme a 'great success' and calls for funds to be ring-fenced to support future small businesses.

He explains: 'Extending and improving the existing LABGI scheme would be a shot in the arm for the 4.5 million small businesses that generate over half of the UK's wealth.'

Last week local government minister John Healey announced that nearly £300 million would be distributed among 371 councils as a result of their promotion of enterprise in their area.

Research by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers found that both profitability and the volume of business has fallen for finance firms.

CBI chief economic adviser Ian McCafferty says: 'Profitability in the sector is being badly hit, so firms are trying hard to trim costs by planning to cut back on training and marketing for the first time in a number of years.'

He adds that current problems will 'echo throughout the wider economy' for the rest of 2008 and into 2009.

Of those financial companies questioned, 91 per cent believe it will be more than six months before the economy has recovered from the economic slowdown.

The survey shows that in the three months to early June, some 20 per cent of firms said the amount of business they had done had increased, while 55 per cent claimed it fell.

In addition, some 44 per cent of financial services firms said profitability in the sector had fallen, compared with 18 per cent of respondents in March.

Last week, the CBI reported that sales in the retail sector grew at a much slower pace than official figures from the Office for National Statistics showed.