TWO-THIRDS of Huntingdonshire businesses are suffering skill shortages, according to a survey by Huntingdon MP Jonathan Djanogly. About 10 per cent of the 2,400 companies canvassed responded to the poll, which has led to the MP pressing Chancellor Gordon

TWO-THIRDS of Huntingdonshire businesses are suffering skill shortages, according to a survey by Huntingdon MP Jonathan Djanogly.

About 10 per cent of the 2,400 companies canvassed responded to the poll, which has led to the MP pressing Chancellor Gordon Brown to do something about it.

Mr Djanogly said: "Some of the results were in line with what I had expected.

"I was, however, alarmed that so many local businesses are clearly having problems finding new staff who possess the training and qualifications they require.

"That 66 per cent found this a problem is an issue to take very seriously, especially as 74 per cent consider that the problem is getting worse, not better."

More than half of the respondents felt the Government had little understanding of the business community, and more than one-third expected their profitability to reduce over the coming year.

Overwhelmingly, they called upon Whitehall to provide more support for small companies investing in new technology.

Seven in 10 complained that transport links had worsened in the past five years, with just seven per cent saying they had improved.

Sixty per cent thought the extra money spent on public services, such as health, education and the police, had made no difference. Nearly 30 per cent thought they had made services worse.