12-12-2007
Spotlight shone on new red tape-cutting legislation
Despite being in existence for a year, a new law designed to reduce bureaucracy has not eradicated or reduced a single item of legislation, it has been claimed.
Although the legislative and regulatory reform bill was granted Royal Assent in November 2006 amid announcements by prime minister Gordon Brown of sweeping proposals for change, the bill has so far failed to reduce bureaucracy, reports the Financial Times.
"Regulatory reform is not an easy issue [and] I am happy to accept that there is a long way to go," said Lord Bach, minister at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) to peers.
However, in an interview with the Financial Times, BERR noted that "after a bit of a shaky start, we're motoring on with this".
The bill allows for the fast-tracking of legislative reform orders as a way of reducing the bureaucratic burdens against business.
BERR was created as the organisation to succeed the Department of Trade and Industry.