Chancellor plans to cut 'pointless paperwork' to save businesses up to £800m
Ministers say the changes in regulations will reduce unnecessary bureaucracy.
Chancellor plans to cut 'pointless paperwork' to save businesses up to £800m
The chancellor has unveiled plans to reduce "form-filling and pointless paperwork" in a move that could save UK businesses as much as £800m.
Ministers said the proposed regulatory changes, announced before John Healey's first Budget on Wednesday, would cut unnecessary bureaucracy for businesses.
The measure is part of a wider Budget push to give households and businesses more support as costs continue to rise.
Reacting to the announcement, the Conservatives said Labour had only made things harder for businesses.
"Labour have finally admitted that endless red tape is hammering businesses and killing jobs across the country," shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said.
Healey said British firms are "fed up with form-filling and pointless paperwork" taking up time and money that would be better spent on their businesses.
He is the latest chancellor to promise a crackdown on red tape, which he said would give businesses more "breathing space" to invest and create good jobs.
The Treasury said the changes should make compliance guidance simpler and streamline the reporting rules firms must follow.
Ministers said this would save almost £800m in administrative and tariff costs.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Healey are due to meet business leaders on Friday at No 10 North.
Burnham said it is unfair that "pointless bureaucracy gets in the way" of hard-working people building their businesses.
"If you run a business, you want to spend your time serving your customers, creating jobs and growing your firm, not filling in unnecessary forms," Burnham said.
The government has set a target of cutting regulation by 25% by the end of the current Parliament.
Confederation of British Industry (CBI) chief executive Rain Newton Smith welcomed the plans, but said the real test would be whether reform is delivered.
Meanwhile, the shadow chancellor said the unemployment act had only made "the situation worse and has created a youth jobs emergency".
"John Healey must get a grip in his Budget next week. He must back our Conservative plans to cut welfare and cut taxes so we can get Britain working again," he said.