Small businesses 'need more guidance from govt'

The government has been urged to make sure that the small business community is kept informed of all legislative changes in the UK.

According to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the sheer volume of available information can often leave small firms and sole traders overwhelmed and unsure of which regulations and procedures apply to them.

Spokesperson for the organisation Simon Briault said that small business owners could benefit from improved guidance on alterations to employment law or changes in other areas, such as taxation.

Commenting on the government's responsibilities, he said: "We think that they need to make a special effort to publicise these changes to small businesses."

Doing so would enable the country's businesspeople to "make sure that they are complying with the law and don't get caught out because they didn't know about something", Mr Briault added.

FSB chairman John Wright recently described chancellor Alistair Darling's decision to modify the changes to capital gains tax as "very good news indeed".