So Vince Cable, the Business Secretary no less, has been fined £500 for not registering for VAT on his freelance income which, according to The Sun, was between £127,000 - £192,000 in 2009 -2010. So, the man known for campaigning against tax evasion has himself now been found to have evaded tax, although Mr Cable's aides have said it was not done intentionally and was reported by his personal accountants as soon as it was found.

When asked by The Sun, Mr Cable’s accountants’ Myrus Smith said, “When it became clear that Mr Cable's earnings had breached the level at which VAT was payable, an offer to settle immediately and in full was made to HMRC and this was duly accepted.”

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) will be launching it Real-Life Entrepreneurs campaign, which will be encouraging the coalition to enact policies that will bring about tangible improvements for the economy and job growth. This follows the recent reports showing slow growth and unemployment on the up.

The FSB will be telling the Liberal Democrat Conference, taking place this week, that the government needs to create a stable environment for small businesses to grow. After all so many people are taking a risk to start their own business and, the government hopes, giving the economy a boost, and yet there are many barriers to them doing so.

According to the FSB the government can look at six measures to assist these new businesses. One of those most often cited by SMEs is regulation, which the government needs to re-examine to reduce the burden for businesses. Other areas that have been identified are improving cash flow and routes to finance.