Red Tape Reform Must be Backed by Culture Change, say Business Leaders

8 February 2006

A wholesale culture change in both Government and Parliament is required if the latest attempts to cut back on red tape are to prove effective, the Institute of Directors (IoD) warned.

Speaking ahead of the Second Reading of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill on Thursday 9 February, the IoD's Director General, Miles Templeman, said:

"Stronger powers to overhaul unwieldy laws will be welcomed by business, but they must be accompanied by a new attitude in both Whitehall and Westminster.

"For the Government, that means ditching the risk-averse mindset that still says heavy-handed state intervention is the best way of tackling most problems.

"For Parliament, it means taking a fresh look at whether current procedures give MPs the powers of scrutiny they need. Regulatory reform has been a parliamentary backwater for far too long. With the Government now proposing broader powers to reform existing laws through secondary legislation, MPs may need new ways of working to make scrutiny more robust."

All Government departments need to adopt a less risk-averse approach to policy-making, the IoD argued. Parliament also needs to treat the review of outdated and cumbersome law as a top priority if its processes are to keep pace with the competitive demands of a globalised economy.

The IoD said it hoped the Bill would provide an opportunity for legislators to take a long hard look at whether the way laws are made hinders or helps the growth of the economy. The employers' organisation concluded that, the Government should use less energy in dreaming up new laws, and invest more time in reforming old ones.