Craft Business

The Forum of Private Business (FPB) has posted a petition on the 10 Downing Street website encouraging the Government to place the smallest businesses at the heart of its decision-making process. The petition coincides with the launch of the FPB’s ‘Think Smallest First’ campaign, which aims to champion the most vulnerable of small firms. "This is the perfect opportunity for the owners of small businesses to make their voices heard on the issues that really affect them," said the FPB’s campaigns assistant Jane Bennett. "I urge all owners of small businesses to sign the petition to help get the FPB's 'Think Smallest First' campaign off to a flying start." The petition, available via a link at http://www.thinksmallestfirst.org, calls on MPs to ‘make a difference’ to small businesses, particularly when formulating new regulation and introducing tax policies.

In a survey carried out in 2007, a huge 97% of respondents said that the UK had become a worse place in which to do business as a result of the Government’s tax regime. In addition, the FPB’s members voted health and safety as the most onerous administrative burden they face (30.3%); followed by PAYE and National Insurance (25.1%); maternity and paternity issues (11.0%); dismissal and redundancies (9.4%); and absence/sickness (7.4%). members of staff each.