§ Lord Pearson of Rannochasked Her Majesty's Government:
How they reconcile the statement that "71 per cent. of firms say they are enjoying greater trading opportunities with Europe owing to the single market" (Baroness Chalker of Wallasey, 7th June 1995, HL. Deb., col. 1349) with the results of the survey conducted by the Federation of Small Businesses in July 1994 and the vote at the federation's annual general meeting on 24th March 1995.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Chalker of Wallasey)The figures quoted in my Answer to my noble friend's question on 7 June came from a recent CBI survey involving over 500 companies. But the Government do not rely solely on this survey in assessing business opinion and are aware of the particular concerns of small businesses about excessive regulation. We want to cut back regulatory burdens wherever possible, both at the national and the European level.