A drive to cut red tape has led to the Government announcement that 134 regulations will either be scrapped or improved.
The Minister of State for Energy, Charles Hendry, announced the dramatic changes following results from The Red Tape Challenge, a website that promotes discussion on the best ways of improving existing regulations.
By stimulating £100 billion of new investment in the energy sector, the reforms are expected to bring savings of around £400 million over the next 20 years.
It is hoped that the extra investment will create new jobs in the energy sector.
Mr Hendry said: “Energy is vital to the economy and essential to driving growth. It is also the biggest infrastructure sector in the UK. It is therefore vital that we have a regulatory regime which promotes fairness and consumer and environmental protection, but does not impose unnecessary costs or barriers to generating the necessary investment, innovation and skills we need to build the low carbon economy.”
The list of amendments include a simplification of the European Emissions Trading Scheme and the Carbon Reduction Commitment regimes, actions to avoid duplication and the convening of a roundtable group comprised of industry and consumer representatives to review and improve consumer information on bills.
The move has garnered support across the board. Terry A’Hearn, Regulation Lead of the Aldersgate Group, an alliance of leaders from business, politics and society, said: “We welcome the Government’s work in cutting back excessive and outdated regulation, whilst ensuring that protection of our environment remains as strong as ever. Smart regulation corrects market failures, drives innovation and provides the foundation for long-term economic growth, jobs and competitiveness.”
David Porter, Chief Executive of Energy UK, said: “We would urge the Department of Energy and Climate Change to continue removing unnecessary red tape, and to continue to improving legislation, as getting future energy policy right is now more critical than ever.”
