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7 July 2010 Business welcomes Government efforts to ‘cut red tape’

Business leaders have welcomed the launch of a new Government website aimed at cutting ‘pointless regulation and unnecessary bureaucracy’.

The ‘Your Freedom’ project is inviting UK citizens to suggest ideas on how the Government can cut excessive red tape, restore liberties and ease the regulatory burden on businesses.

Billed as a ‘call to arms against pointless regulation’, visitors to the site will be asked to consider three questions:

Which current laws would you like to remove or change because they restrict your civil liberties?
Which regulations do you think should be removed or changed to make running your business or organisation as simple as possible?
Which offences do you think we should remove or change and why?

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), which has been lobbying for a reduction in the volume of red tape encountered by small and medium-sized enterprises, has applauded the initiative.

Mike Cherry, FSB Policy Chairman, said: ‘Giving the public and business owners the chance to shape the regulation and legislation which directly affects them is a welcome move by the Government.

‘We have seen similar initiatives from previous administrations and we hope that the Government puts the needs of the 4.8 million small businesses in the UK first.’

In an FSB survey carried out last year, 33% of respondents said that regulation was the biggest barrier to growth.

The Your Freedom website can be viewed at: http://yourfreedom.hmg.gov.uk/