Deregulation (Hansard, 13 May 1996)

§ 9. Sir David Knox
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the progress of deregulation. [27673]

§ 10. Mr. Pike
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what are the main objectives for deregulation during the next 12 months. [27674]

§ Mr. Freeman
Eleven deregulation orders have passed into law, and there is a steady flow of new orders. We shall also work to make enforcement decisions more business friendly and to encourage a similar approach to regulation in Europe. Specific priorities include pay-as-you-earn and national insurance contributions joint working and a substantial reduction in the burden of Government surveys.

§ Sir David Knox
Does my right hon. Friend agree that, while it is sensible to get rid of pointless and unnecessary regulations, it is not very sensible to deregulate merely for the sake of deregulation? Does he agree that many regulations that appear silly to the layman can be justified and should be retained?

§ Mr. Freeman
The House will recognise that there is a constant flow of new regulations emanating from Brussels and from Whitehall, which is inevitable in an increasingly complicated society. Some regulations, however, have outlived their usefulness—I refer specifically to Victorian social legislation on what we do on Sundays—and are no longer appropriate. It is appropriate to remove specific burdens on businesses when that is helpful and does not jeopardise the protection of employees or the environment.

§ Mr. Pike
Why does not the Chancellor admit that—other than many of those petty, outdated Victorian regulations that surely should have gone many years ago—his Department is increasingly discovering that regulation is necessary for protection in many areas and that it is impossible to remove much of it, contrary to what the Government thought possible a few years ago?

§ Mr. Freeman
Interestingly, the Health and Safety Commission has discovered that it can, with safety and without jeopardising the protection of the consumer or the work force, reduce by 40 per cent. the number of health and safety regulations. That shows what can be done, Department by Department, without jeopardising the principles to which the hon. Gentleman referred and with which I agree.