FSB calls for better delivery
Small business organisation urge the UK government to turn promises into reality
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is calling on the government to make 2006 a year of delivery on measures to help SMEs.
The FSB has urged the government to value the contribution that small businesses make by ensuring adequate SME representation on decision-making bodies and delivering a business environment in which they can thrive.
Carol Undy, national chairman of the FSB, said: “This year should be when the government finally delivers on its promises. This means giving small businesses more say in decision making; stemming the flow of new regulations and simplifying existing ones.”
Last year the Department of Trade and Industry announced plans to cut red tape by £1bn by 2010 (CRN, 5 December), however the FSB said it wanted to see action now.
Robert May, managing director of VAR Ramsac, said: “The rate that new legislation changes is incredible. I recently heard a statistic that claimed since this government came into power, the equivalent of one piece of legislation per day has been introduced.”
However, Pierre Lams, co-founder of Handheld PCs, said: “When we set up Handheld three years ago I didn’t feel that there was a lot of red tape to go through. We have now grown from two employees to 11 and still the amount of red tape is not onerous.”
Lee Bevan, managing director of Leapfrog Computers, added: “To help small businesses the government should give five-year’s grace on VAT to small business start-ups. This would give the business a chance to grow.”