Regulation (Hansard, 27 January 2000)

§ 1. Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham)
What recent discussions he has had with representatives of business about the regulatory burden on industry and commerce. [105749]

§ The Minister for Trade (Mr. Richard Caborn)
Regulation is one of the many issues that I discuss as part of my regular contacts with business.

§ Mr. Bercow
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that spectacularly uninformative reply. Given that Labour has spewed forth more than 2,700 new regulations since 1 May 1997, adding £5,000 a year to the costs of the average small business, and that the number of business failures has soared by more than 20 per cent.—

§ Madam Speaker
Order. I require questions, not explanations of questions.

§ Mr. Bercow
Will the right hon. Gentleman tell us now in which year Labour intends to honour its promise to stop lacerating small businesses and start liberating them?

§ Mr. Caborn
We do that every year. The hon. Gentleman's tirade does not match the information in the 560 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development "Economic Outlook" published last month, which said that the United Kingdom had fewer economic and administrative regulations than any other OECD country including the United States. That report covered 1998. Less than 5 per cent. of all regulations affect business.

§ Mr. Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield)
Does my right hon. Friend agree that the Opposition should start growing up when they talk about regulation? The Financial Services and Markets Bill, which is to be considered this afternoon, will do British commerce the power of good. Good regulation of the City of London means that we become an effective, better centre for international commerce. We have a good record—

§ Madam Speaker
Order. I mean to go on as I began: I want questions, not explanations. I am trying to get through more questions in the House. Was the hon. Gentleman asking a question?

§ Mr. Sheerman
Yes, Madam Speaker. Does my right hon. Gentleman agree that some regulation helps commerce and industry, and makes our economy profitable?

§ Mr. Caborn
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. His comments concur with the British Chambers of Commerce document, which reports on confidence in profitability and turnover, and claims that it is the strongest it has been for three years. That view is supported by the CBI and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply. That shows that we have a healthy economy. Business welcomes our action on regulation.

§ Mrs. Angela Browning (Tiverton and Honiton)
Will the right hon. Gentleman tell the House—in pounds sterling, not euros—by how much he intends to reduce the cost of regulation to business in this Parliament?

§ Mr. Caborn
We have strengthened the operations that existed when we took over from the previous Administration. We have a new panel of Ministers, which will consider regulation—[HON. MEMBERS: "How much?"] Indeed, if the previous Administration had implemented some of their taskforce's recommendations, the system would have been more effective. We have had to clear up that mess. The taskforce is chaired by Lord Haskins and its members include David Irwin—[HON. MEMBERS: "How much?"] Madam Speaker, I am trying to show what the previous Administration did, and what we are doing about the 5 per cent. of regulations that affect business. If the Conservative party returned to power, would it remove from the statute book the regulations on the minimum wage or working hours?