News

July 06, 2012

The burden of red tape is easing say businesses

The burden of regulation is beginning to lift, according to the fifth Business Perceptions Survey (2012), a report carried out independently for the National Audit Office and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). It finds that fewer firms cite regulation as an obstacle this year, compared with recent years.

The report states that more than half of businesses expect the burden to stay the same or decrease. Key findings from the report include:

• 41% of businesses say that the balance of regulation is about right;
• 55% of businesses feel that the level of regulation is an obstacle to their business, but this is a reduction from a peak of 62% in 2009;
• 46% of businesses think the burden of regulation will stay the same over the next 12 months;
• One in nine businesses has made contact with an organisation to make a suggestion on improving the regulatory regime.

Business and enterprise minister Mark Prisk said: “Reducing the burden of regulation for business is at the heart of the Coalition Government’s ambition to make the UK one of best places to start and grow a business. This report suggests that businesses can now see progress, but there is clearly more to do. We are committed to this process.”

According to BIS, the reforms in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, the Red Tape Challenge and Focus on Enforcement campaigns are beginning to have an impact, as they continue to give businesses the opportunity to say exactly how they feel about regulations and how they are enforced.

The survey was jointly delivered by the newly-formed Better Regulation Delivery Office and the Better Regulation Executive within BIS. Both organisations say that they will use the report’s findings to guide regulatory reform activity, looking at the way regulations are designed and delivered.