Successfully starting up a new business is harder now than it was before Labour came to power, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) director general has said.
David Frost told BBC Radio Five Live this morning that a survey of his organisation's members showed that excess regulation and a lack of education and training had made life much more difficult for small companies operating in the UK.
"Particularly when you're growing a business the regulatory burden, no matter what the government may say about cutting, is still there, not least of course in employment legislation, [for example] the constant changes in maternity rights and paternity rights," he said.
"What [our members] are saying is there is so much legislation coming through, how am I supposed to understand this and deal with it?"
"It's not just regulation, but education and skills are also a big issue," he added.
"No matter what money is being invested in education we have too many young people coming to us for a job who just have not got the basic work skills."
Mr Frost's comments come before trade and industry secretary Alistair Darling addresses delegates at the BCC's annual meeting later today.
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