Government 'making life more difficult', say small firms

Most small businesses believe the Government is making tough times even tougher, a new poll has found.

The survey by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) received responses from 9243 small business owners, who had been asked: "Do you believe that the Government's policies to tackle rising costs are making life easier or more difficult for your business?"

Some 85.5% said that the policies were making it more difficult, with just 1.6% feeling that the Government was helping.

Commenting on the survey, the FSB's national chairman John Wright said that small business confidence in the Government had plummeted in the last two years.

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

"All we see is government consulting big business, with small businesses being left out of the loop," he added.

Last week, the FSB said that four out of five small firms were planning to curb their growth in the face of rising fuel costs. The federation has called on the Government to use higher-than-expected revenues from North Sea oil to offset the price inflation.