A total of 900 payments were handed out to local firms to help them survive the enforced closures and restrictions imposed during the pandemic.

But against that backdrop Chamber of Commerce president Mark Spragg has told the Inverclyde Task Force – a body set up to address the social and economic imbalances the area faces – that a majority of them have suffered a big downturn since March 2020.

He was presenting the findings of a survey of members to those attending a top-level meeting that included Scottish Government business minister Ivan McKee.

The minutes said: ‘Mark concluded that the pressures for Inverclyde include supply chain and associated costings, labour/skills shortages, and lack of available funds.

‘Mark also highlighted that there is a high level of congestion driving in and out of Greenock.”

The Chamber of Commerce president told the meeting he is unable to locate his own business here because it is unsuitable.

Business survey findings presented to the task force showed that of the 65 firms who responded, almost two-thirds reported a decline in business of more than ten percent.

Sixty-four percent said they faced difficulties obtaining supplies, 57 percent had not increased employee salaries in the last 12 months and just under fifty percent reported problems with recruitment.

Mark Spragg – ICC President

Almost 70 percent of those businesses surveyed say the growth has been hampered by skills shortages, insufficient demand, transport links, and lack of connectivity.

But the task force was told Brexit has had little impact on exports.

Nearly 30 percent of companies felt their current facilities did not provide value and a third felt poorly connected while poor housing was cited as a problem in the area.

The task force was told that there are about 2,000 businesses locally with less than nine employees.

The main business clusters cover health and social care, shipping/marine, small retail, small professional, and materials/construction.

The survey will now be presented to the full council as part of a wider report on the Inverclyde Task Force, which is chaired by MSP Stuart McMillan.

Three task force meetings have taken place since June last year.

All three have had ministerial presence and the group is supported by senior civil servants from both the UK and Scottish governments, plus leading officials from public sector agencies, as well as local stakeholders such as West College Scotland and the Chamber.

The officials have now been instructed to look at housing in Inverclyde after it was flagged up as an issue affecting business by Liz Cameron, who is from Inverclyde and heads up the Scottish Chamber of Commerce.

This article appeared in the Greenock Telegraph.