§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures the Government have taken since 1997 to reduce regulations affecting small and medium enterprises. [54192]
§ Nigel GriffithsAmong the actions being taken to relieve the burden of regulation on SMEs are
Measures to simplify the VAT regime for 700,000 businesses.Measures to exempt up to 30,000 small shops from the new EU unit pricing requirements.Measures to relieve up to 150,000 small firms from the burden of statutory audit, saving small companies up to £180 million a year.A 12 weeks period between regulations being agreed and implemented, allowing SMEs time to adapt to the new regulations.Measures to exempt employers with 4 or fewer employees from the requirements to provide access to stakeholder pensions and deduct pension contributions.Measures to ensure 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 addition the Business Link Website is now attracting 80,000 users per month—and businesses can register to receive alerts about regulation automatically.Measures through Business Links to assist and support 6000 individuals wanting to start and grow a business and helped a further 6000 with mentoring advice.