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Cable outlines plans to cut ‘deluge’ of red tape
Further details on how the Government plans to cut the volume of regulation facing UK firms have been outlined by the Business Secretary Vince Cable.
Mr Cable has confirmed that a new Cabinet ‘Star Chamber’ will lead the drive to reduce red tape and foster a new ‘one-in, one out’ approach to law-making in Britain.
He also announced an immediate review of the 200 new laws which had been approved by the previous Government but are yet to come into force. These include regulations such as the Equalities Bill, under which fathers would gain the right to claim up to six months of a mother's maternity leave.
The Government estimates that implementing all 200 of these regulations would cost £5bn annually before April 2011 and £19.1bn per annum thereafter.
Outlining the plans, Mr Cable said: ‘The deluge of new regulations has been choking off enterprise for too long.
We must move away from the view that the only way to solve problems is to regulate.’
‘We need to reduce regulation and at the same time meet our social and environmental ambitions,’ he added.
‘This demands a radical change in culture away from the tick box approach to regulation only as a last resort. It’s a big task but one worth striving for.’
General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress, Brendan Barber, said: ‘Better regulation is a laudable objective but attempts to end important protections for vulnerable workers will fail the Government's own fairness pledge.’