Red Tape 7 Hour Week for UK SMEs

According to the latest data from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), small firms spend an average of seven hours a week dealing with regulations and paperwork.

The FSB believes that not only would a reduction in red tape, something that’s often promised and rarely delivered, help small firms grow, but would also allow them to participate more effectively in their communities and in delivering training.  FSB research reveals SME would use the ‘lost’ seven hours a week as follows:

• 58% of business owners would spend time training staff or working with schools;
• 50% would spend more time developing their business ;
• 39% of business owners would devote more time to their local communities;
• 37% would like to spend more time with their families.

Meanwhile the EU is expected to announce later this week a raft of small business initiatives, including deregulation.  Some, however, like the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT), are doubtful that these policy papers will presage much real action, particularly when it comes to reducing the regulatory burden and improving access to the European patent system.

It’s estimated that a concerted effort to reduce red tape could result in gain of 150 billion euros across the EU.