FSB calls for changes to regulation

Date: 2nd October 2009

Bureaucratic red tape is keeping people from starting their own business, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) claimed today.

The industry group has released a new report, calling for immediate simplification of maternity law, discrimination law and health and safety legislation.

According to the FSB, 27 per cent of businesses that want to expand feel "scared" to do so due to "complicated" regulations.

Meanwhile, official government figures show that six in ten business people see the current rules as an "obstacle to success".

The FSB indicated that numbers of business start-ups would increase with a regulatory overhaul - while 258,000 new jobs might also be created.

John Wright, the group's national chairman, said: "We cannot and must not underestimate the burden that unnecessary regulation puts on small businesses.

"We know that small firms want to employ more staff and the government should be making it easier for them to do so, especially as we pull ourselves out of recession and into recovery."

The National Enterprise Academy, a government-backed institution which will train future entrepreneurs, was launched in London last month.