Small Business Service (Hansard, 17 July 2002)

§ Nigel Griffiths

[holding answer 15 July 2002]: The Small Business Service is taking a number of steps to mitigate the effects of regulation and to reduce the burden on small businesses. The SBS has: produced clear guidance on a number of complex regulations. made help and advice available through the Business Link website www.businesslink.org. This is now attracting 80,000 users per month—and businesses can register to receive alerts about regulations automatically. established close working links with the Small Business Council. secured (as a result of its "Think Small First" strategy) the right to be consulted on all new regulations to ensure that the impact on small businesses is not disproportionate. Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) have to be produced for all regulations setting out clearly the costs and benefits with full recognition of small business concerns. secured for small businesses a 12 week period between regulations being agreed and implemented, allowing small businesses time to adapt to the new regulations. regularly brought together groups of small businesses to express their views directly to policy officials such as for Patrick Carter's review of payroll administration, a copy of which is in the Libraries of the House. we have also set up an independent office to represent the views of small firms to the European institutions, headed by Ben Butters, which takes its lobbying lines from small firms in the United Kingdom. the OECD assessment of regulatory harriers ranks the UK as having the fewest barriers.

Further to all this and following the recent review of the Department of Trade and Industry, the regulatory challenge function within DTI has been strengthened. A new team has been created specifically to consider how the Department should challenge existing and future

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legislation as well as how to ensure all policy makers fully consider alternatives to regulation at the outset of the policy making process.