Not one respondent to a recent survey by the Forum of Private Business believed banks’ support for firms had improved. The organisation’s latest Economic Downturn Panel reveals half of businesses believe financial help from banks has not increased, while the remainder believe it has got worse. A key issue for business owners on the panel was lack of information available about the government’s Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) scheme, launched in January to assist small businesses looking for loans. This finding is supported by research by The British Chambers of Commerce, with 90% of respondents to a recent survey unaware if their banks even offered the scheme. Eileen Lawson, secretary general of the National Hairdressers’Federation, said: “The EFG scheme is designed to guarantee lending to viable businesses to ensure they get the investment and working capital they need. But as these surveys show, lack of information, bureaucracy and other misgivings are a direct result of the government’s inadequate communication”.