SmallBusinessNewz

It's not great that businesses have been saddled with another problem; credit restrictions are liable to act more like a brick than a straw on the figurative camel's back.  Still, a new report from the Forum of Private Business at least indicates that the restrictions may be less harmful than we thought.

The FPB surveyed its members and stated afterwards, "63% of respondents said health and safety regulations are a 'significant' barrier, while 61% cited employment law.  With finances tighter, 60% reported that the cost of complying with other legislation was a barrier to growth, while 55% identified the cost of fuel and 54% tax . . ."

Business rates, late payments, skills shortages, the cost of materials, unfair competition, the transport infrastructure, and even local parking restrictions were all judged to be more important than credit restrictions, too.  Just 13 percent of respondents cited access to finance as a barrier.

This makes the credit crunch look pretty insignificant, which, all things considered, is quite nice.  Despite everything that's going on, small businesses (or at least small businesses that are FPB members) seem to have gathered about as much cash as they could want from the banks.

Finally, just in case you're curious, access to finance was judged to be a slightly bigger problem than public sector procurement and crime.