Rising costs 'fault of government'

Cost increases across the UK are the fault of the government, it has been claimed.

According to reports by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the government is being blamed by the country's base of small businesses, who believe that state policies are behind the increased inability to manage rising costs.

The view is held by almost 90 per cent of those polled by the FSB, an organisation with a membership base of more than 215,000.

"With the end of a period of relative stability, small business confidence in the government has plummeted in the last couple of years," said John Wright, national chairman of the FSB.

"Employment, tax and fuel policies have left many small firms feeling that their concerns are not being taken seriously enough."

In total, the organisation questioned more than 9,000 separate business owners.

The FSB, an organisation established in 1974, represents the interests of those individuals who have their own business.