EMBARGOED UNTIL 28 July
2011 00:01 - Red Tape Challenge sets retailers free from regulations
EMBARGOED UNTIL 28
July 2011 00:01
Plans to scrap or simplify more than 160 regulations, freeing
the public and retailers from rules that are unnecessarily
burdensome, overly bureaucratic or completely redundant have been
announced today by Business Secretary Vince Cable.
The proposals are the first results from the Red Tape Challenge
and will see significant changes to legislation that will make
life easier for businesses and promote personal freedoms. Comments
from the public and business, along with a vigorous process of
challenge within Whitehall, on the 257 regulations under
consideration have led to proposals to:
replace or simplify more than 12 pieces of overlapping, costly
and confusing consumer rights law, with a single new piece of
legislation;remove a number of burdens specifically identified by
retailers including consolidating and simplifying the procedures
for age verification or identification for the selling of
age-restricted goods; simplify the ineffective and burdensome
poisons licensing system for low risk products such as fly spray
and toilet cleaner; remove the requirement on retailers to notify
TV Licensing about TV sales; and removing and simplifying a range
of rules on transport products such as tyres and catalytic
converters;promote greater personal freedom and responsibility by
getting rid of symbolic cases of heavy handed intervention, such
as requiring a shop selling liqueur chocolates to have an alcohol
licence, and by lowering the age for buying harmless Christmas
crackers; andprevent business confusion, and cutting down the dead
weight of the statute book, by removing redundant legislation,
such as the antiquated Trading with the Enemy Act and its 98
linked regulations and rules around the safety of pencils, prams
and hood cords where consumers are already protected by other
legislation.
The Government’s response also outlined how it had listened to
comments from the public and kept well designed and valuable
regulations that have widespread support, such as the hallmarking regime.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said:
“We have to roll back the number of rules and regulations that
our businesses have to deal with if we are to create the right
conditions for sustainable economic growth. We have heard these
promises by successive Governments before but these first
proposals from the Red Tape Challenge show that we’re serious
about doing that and we are making real progress.
“But this is just the start. We still need the help of business
and the public to make the rest of the Red Tape Challenge a
success and free businesses to compete, create jobs and unleash a
private sector-led recovery.”
The Red Tape Challenge was a key action from the Government’s
Plan for Growth, which is focusing on creating the right
conditions for businesses to start up, invest, grow and create
jobs. Over the lifetime of the Challenge, Government will examine
all of the existing regulations on the statute book, with a view
to breaking down the barriers and promoting opportunities for
business, freeing them of unnecessary red tape.
Minister for Business and Enterprise Mark Prisk said:
“As a result of the thousands of comments we received, and a
robust challenge process inside Whitehall, we are now proposing to
simplify, improve or abolish two-thirds of the retail regulations
that we asked the public to comment on, cutting back the
bureaucracy that our retailers face. These moves will help reduce
costs especially for small retailers by cutting down the number of
forms they have to fill in and overlapping and confusing laws they
have to get to grips with.
“We’ve listened to what people have said about the confusing and
overlapping rules with the aim to get rid of the ones we don’t
need and making the ones we do simpler to understand and put into
practice. At the same time though we are preserving good
regulation, such as the hallmarking regime, for which there was
strong support.”
Dr Kevin Hawkins, sector champion for the retail theme said:
“The results from the retail theme of the Red Tape Challenge mark
a real change in attitude to cutting red tape. Not only does the
Government seem to be getting over its addiction to regulation by
taking dramatic steps to cut the burden that retailers face and
simplify the trading environment, but retailers really took the
Challenge to heart and made good, well thought out suggestions.
“I hope this is a sign of things to come with Government freeing
other businesses of red tape, and that those sectors will grasp
the opportunity with both hands in the same way the retail
industry have done.
"We need to remember, however, that reducing our stock
of regulation is one thing - cutting the inflow of new laws is
quite another."
Notes to editors:
1. The Red Tape Challenge (RTC) retail theme was launched by the
Prime Minister on 7 April. It gives the public the chance to have
their say on some of the more than 21,000 regulations that affect
their everyday lives.
2. The retail theme opened on 7 April 2011 and was open until 10
May. Almost 9,000 comments were made on the website accompanied by
written submissions from a variety of business groups.
3. Some of the public comments on the changes to legislation are below:
a) on changes to the consumer rights legislation, Ron King said:
“From the point of view of small businesses the problem is the
sheer volume and complexity of all this ‘protection of the
consumer’. Frankly it is impossible for the small business owner
to even read all this stuff, let alone understand and apply it.
This means every small business owner is constantly exposed to
action being taken against him for contravening some regulation he
never knew existed. This is ridiculous and unfair. We need a
minimum amount of protection for consumers who should take
responsibility for the purchasing decisions they make. The
remaining legislation should be clear and concise.”
b) on Age restricted sales, Duncan Harris said: “Age restricted
sales legislation should be consolidated into one piece of
legislation covering all products for the benefit of retailers and
enforcers. However as the different products (e.g. knives,
alcohol, solvents, tobacco, fireworks) are covered by different
central government departments with different priorities this is
unlikely to happen. Age restricted sales legislation should in no
way be scrapped as it provides protection to the most vulnerable
members of our society.”
c) on household chemicals and poisons rules, Peter Johnnsen said:
“Some of this can be done away with. Are poisons not covered under
Chemical Hazard legislation? Some of this is age restricted
legislation which can be consolidated. Product safety can be
controlled in a way similar to the general product safety regs
relying on standards rather than a proscriptive list of criteria.
Everything supplied must be safe! The regulations are too
complicated for words! They seem to be overly concerned with
procedure rather than giving powers to removing suspect goods.”
4. Further public consultation on changes to legislation will be
required before the Red Tape Challenge proposals can be
implemented. More information on these consultations will be
announced in due course.
5. For each sector theme, there is an experienced ‘sector
champion’ who will provide expert knowledge on the issues faced by
those on the shop floor. The champion acts as an intermediary
between the sector and Government and helps to direct the
web-based debates and discussions. Retail sector champion, Dr
Kevin Hawkins OBE, is a former Director General of the British
Retail Consortium and Director of Communications for Safeway
Stores plc. Kevin is an economist who has written books on
unemployment and industrial relations and has been a member of the
Cabinet Office Better Regulation Task Force/Better Regulation
Commission.
6. The Red Tape Challenge campaign is part of the Government’s
growth agenda and will tackle the stock of more than 21,000
statutory instruments, many of which are currently putting
barriers in the way of businesses, volunteers and the public. The
Government’s plan for growth is available at: http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_growth.pdf
7. The Challenge process does not include legislation or
regulations falling within the responsibilities of the devolved
administrations, tax and fees legislation or national security
matters. The breakdown of the 21,851 ‘live’ statutory instruments
is as follows:
Assigned to RTC themes 10960Commencement/
appointed day orders 2868Devolved/ crown dependencies orders
3555Tax and fees 4268National Security 200Misc. (SIs on Machinery
of Government, General Synod, international requirements etc)
c.2000 8. 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
Nick Evans
Phone: 020 7215 3496
nick.evans@bis.gsi.gov.uk