AUGUST TRADE NEWS Bad weather blamed for shopping centre delay Chester council  not supporting retailers New rules 'won't help save retail centre' Irish shoppers look abroad for bargains British consumers spend more on beauty products Yorkshire town gets behind plastic bag reduction scheme Rising obesity prompts calls for VAT rule changes eBay restructures fee scheme to make fixed-priced sales cheaper Online sales boom despite slowdown Music retailer goes out of business Matalan named and shamed for how it treats wholesalers BCC slams higher parking charges proposals Booming wholesaler moves to new warehouse Market traders told to only 'shout quietly' London's retailers show growth despite gloom Counterfeit goods dealer sentenced to prison UK's smallest town protests supermarket plan More retailers and wholesalers going out of business Online retail sector predicted to expand rapidly Henley retailers protest development plans Retail sales continue to slow Tiffany appeals US court's eBay ruling Report criticises electricity suppliers' treatment of small businesses MK retailers protest Tesco expansion plan Yorkshire retailers protest supermarket move Manchester wholesaler shut down over fraud worries Businesses welcome plans to reduce red tape Rate hold accepted by small businesses Internet sales put pressure on the high street Huge counterfeit goods haul in Somerset Irish entrepreneur online retail plans Wholesaler sector set to struggle Staycations could help British retailers Retailers 'gloomy' about economic outlook Retailers report footfall continues to decline as consumers cut back Hidden door reveals huge counterfeiting operation in Manchester shop No recession for the UK this year East London wholesaler goes into receivership London mayor reveals plans to support small retailers Toy retailers defy gloom Retailers urged to embrace online sales Trade News Archive August 08 July 08 June 08 May 08 April 08 March 08 February 08 January 08 Subscribe to our newsletter   Go to The Wholesaler UK Directory 8th August 2008 Businesses welcome plans to reduce red tape The Forum of Private Business (FPB) has welcomed the government's recent plans to try to reduce the burden of red tape and regulation placed on small businesses in the country. Earlier this week, ministers unveiled plans to put in place regulatory targets for government departments to slash the requirements for small companies to deal with regulation. Phil Orford, the FPB's chief executive, said that the move showed that the government was beginning to realise the importance of supporting small companies across the country. He added that the FPB had recently launched a Think Smallest First campaign which aimed to force ministers to "take action to ensure that micro-businesses - those with fewer than ten employees - are considered first in the development of new and changing policies". Despite the positive reception the government's drive to tackle red tape, the FPB revealed that it still had some reservations with the new policy. "In the past, government impact assessments have underestimated time and requirements for small businesses," explained FPB research manager Thomas Parry. "Our own research has shown that the time required by our members to unravel the complicated tangle of red tape and do what is expected of them as owners and managers is significantly more than the government's estimations."   (c) 2008 Adfero Ltd. Sponsor of August Trade News Pioneer TV Brackets   Comment on this news story To comment on any story please click on the above link, put the story title in the subject line and please provide your name, trading style ie. retailer or wholesaler and the town where you trade.