British companies are too confident and under-prepared about the risks that threaten their business, the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and Cabinet Office conclude after analysing survey results published today.

The report shows that the proportion of companies with a business continuity programmes, at 47pc, is almost unchanged from the 1992 level, although 76pc acknowledge that a disaster contingency programme is critical to their business.

The CMI and Cabinet Office conclude that the attempts to protect operations are "haphazard and untested" with the majority "failing to protect their people, property and data." They complain that the low level of protection is surprising, and suggests businesses are "still only paying lip service to contingency planning."

A third of companies with disaster plans do not test them, and less than 30pc took account of the effect on the business from the loss of key people, although 35pc experienced disruption on this score over the last year. Three out of four acknowledged that computer problems would have a significant impact on costs and revenue, but only 39pc focused on the loss of technology in their contingency planning.

Despite 46pc of the survey respondents recognising the impact of extreme weather on their operations, just 29pc had drawn up plans to cope with any disruption. Only one in three of new recruits are said to be briefed about disaster planning when they join.

The survey, now in its ninth year, cited corporate governance as the biggest driver behind business continuity programmes, followed by the government and customer demand along with auditors and insurers. Public sector businesses are rated ahead of the private sector in planning for trouble.

Almost 80pc of businesses carrying out a disaster dummy run said shortcomings had emerged but 9pc admitted they had failed to take any steps to remedy the weakness uncovered during the exercise.

Bruce Mann, director of civil contingencies at the Cabinet Office, said that while the survey had identified improvements too many organisations did not have effective business continuity arrangements in place.