Ministers choose retail sector for first "Red Tape Challenge"
The government has chosen the retail sector for the first in a series of “Red Tape Challenges” aimed at cutting unnecessary regulations.
The public will be asked to comment on existing regulations through a dedicated website. The first such challenge – running from 7 April to 5 May – seeks their views on: consumer information; restricted goods; weights and measures; hallmarking; vehicles, parts and fuel; trading with the enemy (restricting trade with certain countries); trading requirements; and Sunday trading.
Ministers will have three weeks from the closing date “to work out which regulations should be kept and why”.
After the retail sector, these challenges will cover (in date order):
- Hospitality, food and drink
- Road transportation
- Fisheries, marine enterprises and internal waterways
- Manufacturing
- Healthy living and social care
- Media and creative services
- Utilities and energy
- Rail and merchant shipping
- Mining and quarrying
There will be six cross-cutting themes across all the campaigns, covering: employment law; pensions; company law; equalities; health and safety; and environment legislation. Departments will be expected to comment on these every four months.
Number 10 claimed that excessive regulation was “burdening businesses, hurting our economy and damaging our society”.
In a letter to all government ministers, the Prime Minister said: “We need to tackle regulation with vigour both to free businesses to compete and create jobs, and give people greater freedom and responsibility.
“Of course we need proper standards, for example in areas like fire safety and food safety. But it is hard to believe that we need government regulations on issues such as ice cream van musical jingles, or the display of bed prices.”
The Prime Minister claimed the government was pursuing an “ambitious” deregulation agenda, citing: the new “one-in, one-out” rule, where ministers are required to identify an existing piece of regulation to be scrapped for every new one proposed; a beefed-up role for the Regulatory Policy Committee to review the costs and benefits of new regulation proposals; and a three-year moratorium on domestic regulation for very small firms and start-ups.
Cameron added: “These things are about stopping unnecessary new regulations. But we also need to tackle the stock of existing regulation. Today, there are over 21,000 statutory rules and regulations in force, and I want us to bring that number – and the burden it represents – down. Indeed, I want us to be the first government in modern history to leave office having reduced the overall burden of regulation, rather than increasing it.”
The Prime Minister added that the government would change its approach to deregulation. The starting point will be that a regulation should go or be achieved in a different, non-government unless there is a clear and good justification for government being involved, he said, rather than ministers having to make the case for abolition.
Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell has also written to all permanent secretaries across government. He said: “This is a great opportunity for the civil service to help drive changes in the way that government delivers its policy goals – abolishing unnecessary regulations and using creative approaches to achieve the government’s objectives in non-regulatory ways.
“I will be ensuring that all government departments engage with businesses and the public through this challenge, and present creative and credible options to Ministers on how they can deliver the government’s ambitious goals on deregulation, to promote enterprise and enhance personal freedom and responsibility”.
The Red Tape Challenge is the latest initiative by the government to reduce regulations. Last week, Decentralisation Minister Greg Clark published details of new powers under the Sustainable Communities Act for councils to ensure that requests from their local communities to remove unnecessary regulations are properly considered by the government.
A review by the Department for Communities and Local Government meanwhile identified 1,294 statutory duties on local government, with Clark calling for comments on what should be kept and which ones should be repealed.
However, a report by The Times in March claimed that just two Whitehall departments – one of which was the DCLG – oversaw a reduction in regulation in the last six months of 2010.
Philip Hoult
