HC Deb 03 July 2003 vol 408 c417W
12. Mr. Prisk

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the(a) level and (b) cost of regulations imposed on small businesses by her Department since 1997. [123231]

Nigel Griffiths

There is no established method of assessing the precise level or cost of imposing or removing regulations on SMES, either before 1997 or after. The latest 2002 figures indicate a reduction in new Statutory Instruments over 1996–97.