smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

The government must ensure that all dealings with small businesses are consistent, transparent and accountable, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has suggested.

Commenting on the Draft Regulators' Compliance Code and the Draft Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions bill the FSB have called on decision makers to ensure that small enterprises are dealt with in an equitable manner.

Meanwhile, with the average small business owner spending more than 28 hours a week filling in forms, the FSB are supporting government plans to reduce the amount of paperwork.

John Walker at FSB says: 'We welcome the Government signalling its intention to reduce the administrative burden on small businesses but we have heard similar noises in the past.'

He adds: 'It is time for action to follow words so that small firms can spend less time filling in forms and more time creating jobs.'

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory reform has been urged by the Forum of Private business to do more to make small businesses sufficiently aware of the forthcoming regulatory changes.