HC Deb 18 July 2002 vol 389 cc437-8W
Dr. Cable

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she has taken, in the last 12 months, to reduce the regulatory burdens on small businesses; and if she will make a statement. [66824]

Nigel Griffiths

The Government has put in place a number of measures to reduce the burden of regulations on small businesses, includingIntroducing in October 2001 that employers with four or fewer employees will be exempt from the requirements to provide access to stakeholder pensions and deduct pension contributions. An estimated 900,000 SMEs benefiting from measures announced in Budget 2002, including 485,000 businesses whose corporation tax bill has been cut or abolished, and 700,000 small businesses who will be able to benefit from our flat rate VAT scheme. The Small Business Service has produced clear guidance on a number of complex regulations. The Business Link website is now attracting 80,000 users per month—and businesses can register to receive alerts about regulations automatically. Ensuring that the view of small business influenced Patrick Carter's review of payroll administration, a copy of which is in the Libraries of the House. In February we published the regulatory Reform Action Plan—setting out over 250 proposals for better regulation and reform.

Further to these measures: 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. The Department's policy is to 'think small first': the Small Business Service has to be consulted on all RIAs to ensure that the impact on small firms is not disproportionate. Guidance on producing RIAs is currently being updated to include the effect on competition and the SBS Small Business Litmus Test. Following the recent review of the DTI, the regulatory challenge function within the Department has been strengthened. The former regulatory impact unit has been enhanced to support a more robust challenge function and offer broader advice to policy makers, including on considering alternatives to regulation.