HC Deb 05 March 2004 vol 418 cc1225-6W
Mr. Stephen O'Brien

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from industry regarding the burden of regulation deriving from the EU; and if he will list the regulations in question. [158852]

Ruth Kelly

The Chancellor received a number; of representations about the regulatory environment for business, including from business organisations such as the Institute of Directors and the British Chambers of Commerce. None of these representations named specific EU regulations, although a joint letter from the BCC, FSB, IoD, CBI and FPB welcomed the joint EU Presidency Initiative on Regulatory Reform, announced on 26 January.

The Government are considering carefully how best to implement the measures arising from the EU's Financial Services Action Plan (FSAP). Implementation of the FSAP needs to strike the right balance between not placing too great a burden on the financial services industry, whilst ensuring that consumers are adequately protected. The way to achieve this is through good consultation and cost benefit analysis and through adoption of the better regulation agenda generally.