UK businesses will save £1bn from the reduced cost of red tape in 2013, according to the Government.
The Fifth Statement of New Regulation reports that the closing balance after a one-in, one-out policy so that every new cost on business is balanced by an equivalent saving, is predicted to be around £836m since January 2011.
The Government expects to reduce the regulatory burden by a further £83 million during the first six months of 2013, when two regulations have to be ripped up in order for a new rule to exist. New measures will cost businesses £6m, compared to the £89m savings from reductions in red tape.
Business Minister Michael Fallon vowed to go further and faster to reform environmental regulation, employment law and consumer law and curb health and safety regulations.
Fallon said that “fundamental change in Whitehall” is required to make the UK a better place to start, finance and grow a business.
“New regulation is only imposed as a last resort,” added the business minister. “Firms still struggle with excessive red tape so we’ll push departments to go further to bear down on costs imposed on business, and we’ll fight harder to get EU bureaucracy off the back of our entrepreneurs.”
Despite this, incoming legislation from the European Union is not met with outgoing regulation. Fifty-seven EU measures are expected to be implemented into UK legislation next year.
The Government announced on 10 September 2012 that at least 3,000 of the regulations examined will be scrapped or reduced. It has ditched 89 pieces of red tape already but imposed ten new measures that impose a business cost coming into force in 2013.
Deregulatory changes to modernise and simplify the registration of company charges produced one of the biggest savings, costs coming down by £21.9m across the country.
