Publication - Research and analysis

Rural Scotland Business Panel Survey

Published: 7 June 2022
From: Director-General Net Zero
Directorate: Environment and Forestry Directorate
ISBN: 9781804355305

This report presents findings from the second Rural Scotland Business Panel Survey carried out in February and March 2022.

Supporting documents

Appendix A – Additional variation

2. Optimism and performance

Table A.1 – Employment performance in last six months – by size (figures marked with * are higher than the average)
	Number of staff
Employment change	0-4	5-10	11-24	25+
Increased	7	20*	28*	40*
Decreased	19	18	24	20
Stayed the same	73*	62	48	40
Don't know	1	-	-	-
Base	1,534	506	284	178

Table A.2 – Employment performance in last six months – by growth aspiration (figures marked with * are higher than the average
	Growth aspiration
Employment change	Striving for growth	Aiming to stay the same	Aiming to downsize
Increased	19*	7	6
Decreased	20	15	30*
Stayed the same	61	77*	63
Don't know	-	1	-
Base	1,174	1,086	219

Table A.3 – Employment performance in last six months – by markets sold to (figures marked with * are higher than the average
	Markets sold to
Employment change	Scotland	Rest of UK	Outside the UK
Increased	12	14*	12
Decreased	19	19	24*
Stayed the same	68	67	63
Don't know	-	-	-
Base	2,422	1,373	706

3. Costs

Table A.4 – Response to cost increases – by markets sourced from (figures marked with * are higher than the average
	Markets sourced from
Response to cost increases	Scotland	Rest of UK	Outside the UK
Increasing prices	53	55*	57*
Scaling back production or services	14	14	15
Changing our product or services	18	19*	22*
Doing more online	24	26	26
Using cash reserves	28	28	33*
Postponing investment plans	30	31*	31
Postponing recruitment plans	21	22*	25*
Exploring new markets	35	38*	45*
Working with new suppliers	33	37*	42*
Collaborating with other businesses	29	30*	32*
Seeking external finance	12	13*	14
None of these	12	11*	10
Base	2,423	2,112	979

Table A.5 – Response to cost increases – by markets sold to (figures marked with * are higher than the average
	Markets sold to
Response to cost increases	Scotland	Rest of UK	Outside the UK
Increasing prices	52	51	57*
Scaling back production or services	14	13	13
Changing our product or services	17	20*	19
Doing more online	25	31*	32*
Using cash reserves	27	25	29*
Postponing investment plans	29	28	29
Postponing recruitment plans	20	19	21
Exploring new markets	34	40*	47*
Working with new suppliers	32	34*	34
Collaborating with other businesses	28	33*	33*
Seeking external finance	12	12	14*
None of these	13	12	10
Base	2,626	1,488	755

5. Workforce

Table A.6 – Workforce actions (figures marked with * are higher than the average)
	Growth aspirations
Actions	Striving for growth	Content	Aiming to downsize	Total
Up-skilling or re-skilling current workforce	58*	44	29	50
Investing in technology	46*	36	18	39
Making pay and rewards more competitive	45*	31	17	36
Collaborating with other businesses	34*	27	18	30
Changing our working practices	26	22	16	23
Recruiting staff with different skills	27*	11	9	19
Offering apprenticeships	23*	14	6	18
Recruiting from different markets	17*	5	6	11
Providing accommodation for staff	10	6	3	8
None of these	12	27*	43*	21
Base	1086	908	166	2184

Table A.7 – workforce actions (Figures shown are those that are higher than the average)
	Markets imported from			Markets sold to			Total
Actions	Scotland	Rest of UK	Outside the UK	Scotland	Rest of UK	Outside the UK	Total
Up-skilling or re-skilling current workforce	50	52	54*	49	53*	56*	50
Investing in technology	39	42*	47*	39	47*	48*	39
Making pay and rewards more competitive	37	40*	42*	36	36	38	36
Collaborating with other businesses	30	32	32	30	35*	35*	30
Changing our working practices	23	25	26	23	26*	27*	23
Recruiting staff with different skills	20	20	22	19	22*	23*	19
Offering apprenticeships	18	19	21*	17	18	19	18
Recruiting from different markets	11	12	13	10	11	14*	11
Providing accommodation for staff	8	8	10	8	10*	12*	8
None of these	20	18	17	21	18	17	21
Base	1969	1738	818	2210	1205	622	2184

Table A.8 – Actions relating to supply chains – by growth aspiration (figures marked with * are higher than the average
	Growth aspiration
Employment change	Striving for growth	Aiming to stay the same	Aiming to downsize
Using more locally sourced supplies	52*	45	44
Using more supplies from inside the UK	51*	45	43
Using less or greener forms of transport	26*	21	19
Moving to greener supply chains	28*	19	21
Reviewing our routes to market	26*	17	14
Reviewing our distribution network	20*	12	13
Stockpiling goods	20*	16	10
None of these	17	27*	27
Base	1,236	1,199	256

Contact

Email: socialresearch@gov.scot

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