HC Deb 16 December 1985 vol 89 cc55-6W
Mr. Sheerman

asked the Paymaster General what is his estimate of the time per employer spent on paperwork for compliance with the regulations covered in the "Burdens on Business" White Paper; and if he will estimate the past, present and future monetary costs to the small firm for this compliance.

Mr. Trippier

The information is not available in the form requested. The findings of the "Burdens on Business" scrutiny included evaluations by businesses of the time and costs involved in complying with various Government regulations. As proposed in "Lifting the Burden" (Cmnd. 9571), the Government are setting in hand new arrangements to assess the costs to business of compliance with new regulatory proposals.

Mr. Sheerman

asked the Paymaster General if he will list the available evidence that he referred to in his written answer on 10 December; and if he will place the material referred to in the Library.

Mr. Trippier

"Lifting the Burden" (Cmnd. 9571) refers to the evidence collected in a survey of 200 businesses by Research Associates as part of the "Burdens on Business" report which was published in March. The survey shows that 52 of the firms questioned reported that they had lost or not taken on an average of 6.5 employees each year over the last five years due to the inhibiting or costly effect of regulations. Copies of both Cmnd. 9571 and "Burdens on Business" were placed in the Library.

Mr. Sheerman

asked the Paymaster General what is his estimate of the total number of jobs lost as a result of the burden of regulations on small firms; and if he will list the present number of small firms in the economy and the total number of persons employed by these firms.

Mr. Trippier

The White Paper "Lifting the Burden" (Cmnd. 9571) pointed out that it is not possible to prove a direct causal relationship between deregulation and job creation or conversely between regulations and jobs lost. Hence, no reliable estimate can be provided though the available evidence suggests that there is a link between deregulation and jobs through stimulating economic activity.

There are a number of difficulties (such as the definition of a small business) in the way of giving an accurate count of the number of small businesses, but on the basis of VAT registrations there would seem to be over 1.5 million small businesses in the economy. While accurate information on employment in small firms is not available, these firms probably provide employment for over one quarter of the employed labour force.

The Department is investigating possible methods of improving the quality of information on the level of employment in small firms without increasing the burdens on small businesses.

Mr. Sheerman

asked the Paymaster General what is his estimate of the costs for the formation and administration of the deregulation units resulting from the "Burdens on Business" White Paper proposals; and if he will list the costs for each unit.

Mr. Trippier

The enterprise and deregulation unit established to co-ordinate follow-up to "Lifting the Burden" across Government generally has a total staff of 12. In addition, a number of Departments have established their own internal units with, on average, one full-time official engaged on deregulation. The cost of these arrangements is small compared with the prospective benefits of reducing the burden on regulations.

Mr. Sheerman

asked the Paymaster General if he will list the agencies created for industrial development and the agencies created for reducing regulations on small firms.

Mr. Trippier

My Department does not have records of all agencies created to encourage industrial development. However, local enterprise agencies fall into this category, and according to my Department's records there are currently 310 agencies in operation. A list of these has been placed in the Library.

One of the major tasks of the regional enterprise units (REUs) that have recently been established by my Department is to help the work of the enterprise and deregulation unit in promoting business enterprise by identifying burdens on small firms. A list of the REUs has also been placed in the Library.