New measures to reduce burden of red tape for businesses

The Government has announced new measures to reduce the burden of red tape for businesses.

There will be a moratorium to exempt start-up businesses and firms with fewer than 10 employees from new domestic regulations for three years.

There will also be a public audit of nearly 22,000 statutory instruments currently in existence to see if they are still useful or necessary. Businesses will be invited to voice their opinions on these regulations and say how the system could be improved.

The intention is that unnecessary or excessively burdensome regulations will be removed unless the Government department responsible for them can prove that there is a good reason why they should be retained.

Business secretary Vince Cable said: “A moratorium for the smallest and genuine start-up companies from regulations alongside the removal of obligations for flexible working and giving time off to train will be a real boost to businesses. It will let them concentrate on growing their company, not thinking about dealing with the latest request from Government.”

There will be extensive consultation with businesses and other groups before the proposed moratorium is introduced to ensure that it doesn’t result in any unintended consequences.

We shall keep clients informed of developments. In the meantime, please contact us if you would like more information about regulatory issues.