Proposals in the Bill, which is currently at its second reading in the House of Commons, would enable the Government to deliver reform of outdated or over-complicated legislation more quickly and make EU legislation easier for UK organisations to deal with.

‘Regulation is a large burden on small businesses,’ said John Walker, FSB National Policy Chairman, ‘Our members tell us that remedying this situation must be a priority for Government and we support this Bill as part of the solution to achieve that.’

An FSB survey of its members revealed the following:

• Small businesses spend an average of 28 hours per month filling in forms.
• Administrative burdens for small businesses are five times more costly and five times more time-consuming than for large firms.
• Small firms spend almost five per cent of their annual turnover on compliance.
• The annual cost of payroll administration is £288 per employee in firms with between one and four but only £5 in a business with over 5,000 employees.