Unless you've been sleeping under a rock in the last week (or have been completely engrossed in the most uninspiring start to a World Cup in recent history), you will have noticed that the Government delivered a triple blow to Sheffield. In a day of announcements which aimed to trim £2bn from the budget deficit, three Sheffield projects were either cancelled or delayed; an £80m loan to Sheffield Forgemasters to fund their expansion into the Civil Nuclear sector, £13m to fund the purchase of the Outokumpu site and £12m towards Sheffield's new retail quarter, Sevenstone.

As Richard Wright - a Chamber board member - said on ITV's Calendar programme, we must apply good business sense to what are three very different projects. Regardless, these changes in spending commitments are a significant blow to our economy.

Sheffield Forgemasters are members and we know they will continue to be a success story, with or without a Government loan. However, it is a disappointing move from a Government which needs to encourage manufacturing and exports. The loan would have created a supply chain in South Yorkshire that would have helped secure the future of manufacturing for the next 25 years. It would have also made the UK a major exporter in this particular sector, boosting the country's coffers whilst creating more business opportunities for our members.

Is Sheffield simply seeing early signs of what is still to come for the rest of the UK? Certainly, there will be a lot of pain involved in whatever changes this Government makes. What we will be urging is not to trim back on measures that improve the business environment and as a result the overall economy; infrastructure and support for exporters particularly.

We will be writing to the Business Secretary over the coming week to request a meeting, in order to press on him the importance of supporting businesses across Sheffield.

On 3^rd June the new Business Secretary, LibDem seer of economic meltdown Vince Cable, outlined his priorities in his first speech since being appointed.

The challenge facing Mr Cable is stark. The public purse is empty and businesses will be expected to fill it, something Cable made clear when emphasising the necessary links between the Treasury and his own Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

The speech was not, by his own admission, a list of specifics. In the coalition's first major paper soon after the agreement was made it gave some clear wins for business; cancellation of the planned rise in employers' NI, a 25% target for the Government to procure from small business, a clear focus on deficit reduction including an independent review of public sector pensions and support for apprenticeship schemes.

In this speech, the themes were broader. Multiple references to Adam Smith seemed like an attempt to liken himself to the great economist. A grand claim indeed; he was probably safer when he opened by saying he's a better dancer than Peter Mandelson.

Pleasingly, he said he would focus on getting publicly-supported banks to achieve their lending commitments. He said he would be tough on regulation and that ‘radical' steps would be taken to remove and stop unnecessary and costly regulation. Unnecessary form-filling and lack of finance are both big issues for our members. However, we have heard it all before. The acid test will be the Government's ability to follow through.

Disappointingly there was no mention of exports or international trade. Many of our members depend on exporting their goods and services. Indeed, it is one of Sheffield's great strengths. This Government has a role to support it.

The theme running throughout was one of ‘capabilities, not companies'. Cable wants to invest in skills, education, infrastructure and science, then let businesses get on with the job. For how this will play out in terms of specific measures we shall have to wait and see.

For me, and all the staff at the Chamber, the focus will be on ensuring that whatever happens is for the benefit of our members and for Sheffield.

The most important survey that we do with our members is the Quarterly Economic Survey. This goes out to members of every accredited Chamber in the UK and is the biggest and most representative business survey in the country. We use it to assess how our members are performing and it allows us to compare between cities and over time.

The fieldwork for Quarter 1 2010 has now begun and we hope you will take just four minutes to complete the online survey. It's multiple choice and easy to fill out.

You can do it at http://www.britishchambers.org.uk/qes. Our Chamber ID is 46 and the password is economy.

I hope you'll take a few moments to ensure that Sheffield businesses are properly represented. That way we can truly be the 'voice of business' for the city. The deadline is Friday 12th March.