BUSINESSES in Yorkshire and the Humber want more information about European Union membership before deciding whether the UK should be a part of it.

That was the findings of the first comprehensive study of members of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the result of which have been announced today.

It is the first time the FSB has carried out such an extensive piece of research on small businesses’ opinion on the forthcoming referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union (EU), having received responses from 6,263 of its members.

Nationally 47 per cent of members said they would vote "yes" the UK should remain a member of the EU, 40.9 per cent voted "no", while 10.7 per cent said they were undecided.

FSB members in Yorkshire and the Humber were more likely to vote against EU membership with 48.7 per cent saying they would vote "no".

Chris Longley, Yorkshire and Humber Area FSB National Policy Committee representative, said: "Regardless of what a firm’s current position is, it is clear from the research there is a widespread desire from members in Yorkshire and Humber for more neutral and accessible information about the EU on which to form their views."

FSB members in Scotland were most likely to vote "yes" with 59.9 per cent saying they were in favour of membership, along with 66.3 per cent of members who exported to the EU, and 56 per cent of importers from the EU.

Among members who would currently vote for the UK to remain a member of the EU, the most popular outcome was the transfer of EU powers back to UK, while for the FSB members who would vote for the UK to leave the EU, the most popular outcome was improving trade links with rest of the world.