New challenge on red tape

Businesss owners, employees and the public are being urged to blow the whistle on inconsistent and over-zealous enforcement of rules and regulations.

The new initiative, launched on 24 June as part of the government’s Red Tape Challenge, asks businesses and the public: 

• which aspects of enforcement do you find most difficult to deal with and how could things be done differently?
• what impact do these problems have on your business?
• do regulators recognise where you have made efforts to comply? What more do you think could be done to ensure regulators take your efforts into account?
• is it easy for you to appeal or complain about the way regulations are enforced?
• do you have any examples of good "common sense" enforcement where you feel that a regulator has really done its best to understand and work around the realities you face as a business?
• is enforcement flexible enough to keep pace with the way your business is developing?

Business Minister Mark Prisk said: “The Red Tape Challenge has already highlighted a number of ways in which compliance problems are getting in the way of businesses, but we weren’t getting enough information on the problems.

“So tell us about the good, the bad and the ugly side of how the regulations you deal with are enforced, and help us get the Government off your back.”

LINK: Red Tape Challenge