Over nine out of ten businesses have been left disappointed by the recent Budget announcement, with just 5% believing that Alistair Darling’s proposals will create an environment for their businesses to develop, according to the Forum of Private Business (FPB).

The FPB survey discovered that 87% don’t think the Chancellor’s measures will increase business and consumer confidence, whilst 70% of respondents said they expected a more realistic budget to be delivered after the general election. Only 10% of FPB members rated the budget as ‘good’ or ‘very good’, with 52% branding it ‘average’ and 38% describing it as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’.

Some 45% of respondents believed the Budget had a negative impact on employment due to the planned hike in National Insurance rates.

Phil Orford, FPB’s chief executive, said: “This research appears to support our initial assessment of the Budget - overall, it fell far short of what we were hoping for and there was a sense that it was very much a budget for the election.

“Judging from the feedback our members have given us, smaller firms don’t feel that the Chancellor laid the foundations for a better environment in which to do business. At the same time, they’re not taking the Budget too seriously because of the imminent election.

However, just under 9% of those surveyed stated that they felt the Budget was designed to encourage short-term recovery, with around 19% stating the Chancellor’s measures would have a positive impact on both cash-flow support and business investment.

Meanwhile 18% said the Budget would have a positive effect on business growth support and 14% thought it would improve access to finance.

Orford said: “However, there were some specific measures included in the Budget which should help some SMEs – things like the creation of a credit adjudicator for small firms, the extension to HMRC’s Time to Pay scheme and new targets aimed at helping small businesses get more public sector contracts.

“As long as they are administered properly, these schemes should provide tangible, on-the-ground support to smaller firms and the Forum’s members appear to appreciate that.”