§ Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what steps the Government have taken since the publication in 1985 of the White Paper, "Lifting the Burden", to reduce the regulation of the United Kingdom hotel industry.
§ Mr. KeySince the 1985 White Paper was published many deregulatory gains of benefit to hotels and other types of business have been made. These include measures to speed up planning appeals, removal of the requirement for small firms to file full accounts, and the introduction of experimental schemes liberalising road signs for hotels. The hotel sector has welcomed the proposal by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment to abolish the remaining wages councils.
My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade recently announced the creation of seven task forces of business people to examine the scope for further deregulation in various sectors, which will add to the work going on across Whitehall. One of the task forces will cover retailing and tourism, including hotels.