§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent studies her Department has undertaken on the economic and financial effects of pharmacy(a) licence regulation and (b) planning permission. [134505]
§ Mr. StringerThe Performance and Innovation Unit of the Cabinet Office published in December 1999 a project on rural economies, which discussed the implications of planning policy for rural economies. Additionally, the independent Better Regulation Task Force, for which I am sponsor Minister, published in June 2000 a case study of increasing regulation in the hotel and restaurant industry. Among other things, it looked at whether there were any barriers in the planning system to the productivity of this sector.