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March 11, 2016

Government pledges to cut even more red tape

Government pledges to cut even more red tapeBusiness secretary Sajid Javid has announced new measures to help deliver the Government's commitment to cut a further £10 billion of red tape.

He said that "hundreds of businesses" have responded to the Government's Cutting Red Tape reviews so far, and that the Government would be taking "decisive action based on their experiences". He has promised specific improvements on regulations governing issues such as waste management and energy storage.

In addition, the previous "One-in, Two-out" rule designed to cut unnecessary legislation is to be replaced by a "One-in, Three-out" strategy for all new legislation, Javid said.

"Whenever we need to introduce new rules, we will consider their impact and make savings elsewhere," he said. "Through the Enterprise Bill, we are extending the scope of our deregulation target to cover the actions of regulators, going further than ever before to tackle troublesome red tape."

A new Cutting Red Tape review has also been launched to look at unnecessary burdens placed on businesses by local authorities. The review aims to save businesses and local authorities time and money. Regulators, businesses and stakeholders can respond to the open consultation on which regulators to bring into scope.

Sajid Javid said: "This Government is delivering on its commitment to free firms from £10 billion of heavy-handed over-regulation and build a more productive Britain."

However, while the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) welcomed the latest initiative, it said the Government could do more.

Sandra Dexter, FSB National Vice Chairman, said: "Today's review excludes the complex and burdensome tax system, the most often cited example of onerous red tape highlighted by our members. FSB calls on ministers to bring tax measures into the scope of future reviews. Overall, deregulation should be proportionate, based on robust evidence, and with a clear small business focus to ensure it does not just benefit larger firms."

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