The report sets out how businesses across the country are benefiting from an estimated £1.9 billion in annual savings, more than doubling the figure from last year's report. It gives details of the 240 measures to date that Government is taking to make regulation simpler for businesses, charities and the public sector and shows that government is on track to meet the target of cutting the administrative cost of regulation by 25 per cent by 2010, that will deliver an estimated £3.4 billion a year in savings.
Stephen A. Carter, Minister for Regulatory Reform, said:
"This is a welcome boost for businesses in these challenging times, saving time and money when it is most needed.
"Delivering better, more efficient, regulation should strike the right balance between providing essential protections and not stifling business and harming the prospects for economic growth. And smart regulation can play a vital role in creating a better economic environment for business now and in the future."
Nigel Dowdney, who runs two small convenience stores in Norfolk and Norwich, explained how online risk assessment provided by the Health and Safety Executive are making regulations easier to follow and saving his business time and money. He said:
"My great great grandfather ran a butchers in Somerset so we've been a retailing family for 130 years. But when it came to Health and Safety rules and regulations, working out our risk assessment used to be a real problem for us. We were frightened by the idea of it - the process seemed so complicated and daunting.
"By following the site, we now understand that risk assessment doesn't have to be complicated. As long as you identify the key risk areas, have a plan to reduce those risks and train your staff how to avoid them, risk assessment is no longer a problem. Before we had no focus on what we should be doing. Now the whole thing has been simplified for us - which makes life easier all round."
The business community, focusing on the top delivery measures, has helped examine in detail and agree with the impact measures are having on businesses. Their validation represents approximately 80 per cent of the savings estimated to date.
The report captures the cross-Government efforts that are touching all sectors, delivering innovative solutions and making life easier for businesses. Measures outlined include:
- employment guidance - providing simple online guidance and forms on employment law that is saving business more than £400 million a year;
- quality protocols - an Environment Agency and WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) led initiative funded by Defra that is turning waste into profit;
- new health and safety example risk assessments - helping a wide range of businesses with step by step guides to handle risks in the workplace and protect workers and consumers; and
- a computerised Food Surveillance System - removing the need for paper records when sample testing food and boosting the speed of a response to improve consumer protection.
The drive to simplify existing regulations is helping to change the way Government thinks about regulation. The programme has also identified new ways to make life easier and not just for businesses. The Department of Work and Pensions is leading a major cross-Government initiative designed to cut the number of times that citizens needs to speak to government and tell them about changes of circumstances, such as birth or bereavement, called simply Tell Us Once.
The Government's programme focuses on reducing the administrative burden when complying with regulations but there are a wide range of other costs associated with regulations that Government is helping to cut. The report details additional annual savings of more than £800 million. For example, better targeted safety inspections for goods vehicles and passenger transport are saving the industry about £100 million a year.
