A GROUP representing small firms today welcomed Government plans to cut red tape – but said it had reservations about the details of its proposals.

The Forum of Private Business has called for decision-makers to “think small first” in order to cut the administrative burden of new and changing regulations on small businesses.

It said it was “encouraged” by a Government pledge to take action.

But it said officials were underestimating the time it took owner-managers to unravel “the complicated tangle of red tape” and do what is expected of them.