A new report
published today by the Government shows that around £4 million of
regulatory burdens will be cut from British businesses between
January and June 2012.
The Third Statement of New Regulation, which measures the success
of the One-in, One-out rule, shows that there is a cumulative net
reduction of regulation since January 2011. It also shows that the
number of regulations which reduce a cost on business continue to
outweigh the number which put a new cost on business.
Business and Enterprise Minister Mark Prisk said:
“The One-in, One-out process is one of the best tools we have to
cut the costs and burden of regulation on our businesses. The
system is starting to deliver results, capping the costs to
business and then driving them down. But we know that changing the
culture of regulation in Whitehall is a long-term job, and all of
us in Government have to, and will, continue to root out any red
tape which poses more of a hindrance than a help to UK businesses.”
The new statement also shows that Departments have started to
remove legislation as a result of the Red Tape Challenge and
deregulatory measures designed to reduce the burden on business
are in the pipeline for later this year.
Lord Curry, Non Executive Chair of the Better Regulation
Executive, said:
“Economic growth is crucial and all Departments should be aware
that everything they do impacts on the growth agenda. The business
community is looking for evidence and Departments need to
recognise that any regulation they introduce will affect business
in some way.
“In the Better Regulation Executive we are really pleased to see
that culture change across Whitehall is beginning to bite. It’s
more evidence that the One in, One out rule really works. We need
to continue to see more of the same.”
The latest statement of new regulation has been published four
weeks ahead of the April Common Commencement Date (6 April) to
give businesses more certainty about regulations that are coming
in on that date. The Fourth Statement is planned to be published
up to eight weeks ahead of the October Common Commencement Date
and the Fifth Statement up to twelve weeks ahead, to provide
clarity for businesses and help them plan for the future.
Notes to Editors
1. The Third Statement of New Regulation can be found here: http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/bre/better-regulation-framework/one-in-one-out/statement
2. Revised calculations from the Second Statement
of New Regulation also mean that the Government expects to reduce
the deficit from the Second Statement by over £70million.
Specifically:
a. the Department of Health reassessed the evidence base for the
ban on tobacco vending machines included in the second Statement
of New Regulation and submitted a revised impact assessment to the
RPC. The final value is now validated at £9.8 million.
b. the Department for Environment Food and Rural
Affairs' Schemes for Adoption of Private Sewers is
subject to an expert review of the One In, One Out methodology in
cases of capital asset transfer. The final value is to be
validated by the Regulatory Policy Committee and will be updated
in the fourth Statement of New Regulation;
3. One-in, One-Out means that any new Whitehall regulation that
imposes a net cost to business must be offset by a reduction in
regulatory costs elsewhere. It is about making government
departments ‘hesitate to regulate’ – thinking twice about bringing
in red tape that could hold business back from creating jobs and
growth.
4. The Third Statement of New Regulation shows that the
cumulative net reduction of regulation since January 2011 is
around £3.3 billion. The bulk of the savings (just over £3bn)
delivered thus far continue to be attributable to the change to
private pensions indexation, introduced by the Department for Work
and Pensions in January 2011 and was expected to be offset in part
by pensions auto-enrolment. Although the Government intends to
introduce this measure in the autumn, auto enrolment for small
businesses has been delayed until 2017 to give smaller firms
longer to prepare.
5. Read more about how One-in, One-out works here: http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/bre/better-regulation-framework/one-in-one-out
6. The Better Regulation Executive, in the Department for
Business Innovation and Skills, is responsible for implementing
the better regulation agenda; working across government to improve
the way new laws and regulations are created; reduce unnecessary
red tape; and provide the best environment for business to start
up, flourish and grow.
7. BIS's online newsroom contains the latest press
notices, speeches, as well as video and images for download. It
also features an up to date list of BIS press office contacts. See
http://www.bis.gov.uk/newsroom for more information.
Contacts:
BIS Press Office
NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Aidan Steer
Phone: 020 7215 5245
aidan.steer@bis.gsi.gov.uk