§ 75. Mr. David DavisTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures the Government are taking to reduce the burden of bureaucracy on small firms.
§ Mr. RedwoodI have been asked to reply.
The Government recognise that the burden of complying with regulation is greater for small firms. The deregulation initiative, co-ordinated by my Department, therefore takes particular account of their problems. Additional departmental deregulation reviews under the rolling programme and wider cross-departmental work on, for example, simplification of small company accounts, which I announced on 21 December last, promise useful improvements in the regulatory environment. Recent studies by my Department of the problems of getting established in particular sectors will help us target future deregulatory activity more effectively.
Examples of recent action which should help small firms include the Department of Employment's easing of restrictions on the employment of women and young people and publication of their "self-employment starter pack". Also, important changes were announced in the Budget, including a new scheme of comprehensive bad debt relief and an increase in the VAT registration threshold. My own Department has simplified the provisions for shareholder information and streamlined radiocommunications licensing.