Government bins business red tape

Business will be freed from the burden of red tape under a package of sweeping reforms to regulation, the UK Government has announced.

The range of measures to be included in the Growth Review that will allow businesses to grow include:

• a public audit of almost 22,000 statutory instruments that are currently on the statute book; and
• a moratorium to exempt businesses with fewer than ten employees and genuine start ups from new domestic regulation for three years.

For the public audit, the legislation will be grouped into themes on a dedicated website and businesses will be asked to tell the Government what they think of those regulations and how to improve the system.

The intention will be that any overly burdensome or unnecessary regulations are removed unless Departments can prove there is a good reason for them.

Other measures, identified as part of the growth review into regulation include:

• Repealing the regulations extending the right to request flexible working to parents of 17 year olds for all businesses, which was due to be introduced on 6 April 2011; and
• Not extending the right to request time off to train for firms with less than 250 people.