Federation of Small Businesses members from across the region had a chance to put forward a variety of issues and concerns when they met five local MPs in Parliament.

The 10 strong FSB team - which included members from Gloucester, Cheltenham and the Cotswolds plus Bristol and Weston-super-Mare - visited Parliament and enjoyed a frank, open and positive discussion as part of its ongoing work with key politicians and stakeholders to keep small business issues firmly on their radar.

The subject of the skills crisis facing many small businesses who are unable to get the staff they need in an increasingly competitive market was one of the dominant issues discussed as was the ongoing local issue of problems with the physical and digital infrastructure such as road connectivity (especially the A417) and mobile/broadband.

The FSB members also raised issues about late payments, apprenticeships, the rising cost of running a business and, inevitably, Brexit.

Four Gloucestershire MPs were able to attend - Richard Graham (the Gloucester MP who hosted the event), Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswolds), Alex Chalk (Cheltenham) and David Drew (Stroud) along with South Gloucestershire's Chris Skidmore from Kingswood - and all enthusiastically engaged with FSB members and asked a lot of questions about the current small business environment during a packed morning of discussion.

The MPs were also particularly pleased to hear that on the day of the visit the FSB had just published its latest quarterly business confidence report which shows that confidence is bouncing back among SMEs - especially in the South West.

Russell Warner - the FSB's Gloucestershire area lead who chaired the meeting - said it was a great success. 

''It was great to see the region's MP discussing and, on the whole, agreeing on the main issues faced by small businesses in the region.

"In particular, they all agreed with the need for the missing link of the A417 at Birdlip to be sorted and we would encourage all businesses to ensure that their own views are heard in the ongoing consultation.

"It is important that the business community responds to the consultation so that there is a clear message in the importance of filling this infrastructure gap and the impact it is having on economic growth."