Insider Media Limited

More than 70 per cent of companies in Coventry and Warwickshire have said the government’s looming public sector cuts will "certainly" have an affect on them, or will have the potential to. That’s according to a survey by the region’s chamber of commerce.

The government’s spending review will be published on 20 October, when it is expected to announce a raft of measures to save money in order to slash the UK’s deficit.

According to the poll of 160 companies, the service sector fear cuts more than manufacturing businesses.

Forty-five per cent of service-based businesses said the cuts in public spending would definitely have a direct impact while 30 per cent said there was potential for an impact. Just a quarter of the companies from the service sector surveyed thought there would be no impact.

In manufacturing, 24 per cent of companies – nearly half the figure from the service sector – thought the cuts would have a direct impact.

Thirty-eight per cent said there would be no impact and 38 per cent said there was the potential for the cuts to affect them.

Graham Aylott, policy officer at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “We all know the cuts are coming and there is very little argument that something needs to be done about the deficit – the UK’s credibility as a place to do business would have been seriously tested had it been allowed to carry on as it was.

“But the cuts will hurt and business will undoubtedly be affected. Some members feel the government is cutting too much too soon and many fear the affect it will have on their company.

“Obviously, we will have to wait and see the exact details of the spending review before we know exactly how companies across Coventry and Warwickshire are going to be affected.

“But what is absolutely certain is that we don’t want firms to struggle along without highlighting difficulties.”