§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans she has to reduce the regulatory burden on small and medium-sized firms. [134440]
§ Nigel GriffithsAmong the measures taken by the Government to cut red tape are
cutting form-filling for 700,000 small businesses with our new flat rate VAT scheme;abolishing automatic penalties for late filing of VAT and giving UK businesses the best VAT threshold in Europe;cutting the number of regulations passed by Parliament in the past year by 793;cutting the time and bureaucracy it takes to set up a business from 28 separate licences, certificates and registrations in some cases ten years ago to less than a day now, costing under £10, while in the EU on average it takes four weeks to set up a new business and costs over £600.These measures and others have established the UK in the top three countries for low levels of red tape, favourable tax regime, flexible labour markets, open financing systems and modern infrastructure, according to the latest Economist Intelligence Unit/Apax Partners survey of 60 countries.
British Gas's latest survey of business managers concludes that they are spending considerably less time dealing with red tape and non-core activities. 2.4 million SMEs have been created since 1997, including an estimated 1,690 in the hon. Member's constituency.
265WWe are seeking further improvements through Regulatory Impact Assessments, 'Think Small First' and Small Business Europe which promotes better regulation.