Cutting the red tape – 2015 Enterprise Bill

At least £10 billion in 5 years

The newly appointed Business Secretary, Sajid Javid, who replaces Liberal Democrat Vince Cable, has used his first speech to outline plans to cut red tape for businesses. Mr Javid has pledged to trim at least £10 billion from regulation over the next 5 years to free up businesses to help them invest, grow and create jobs.

Mr Javid at a speech in Bristol, has said:

“Small businesses are Britain’s engine room and the success of our whole economy is built on the hard work and determination of the people who run and work for them,”

“As business secretary, I will always back them and, in my determination to get the job done, one of my first steps will be to bring forward an enterprise bill that helps them to succeed and create jobs.”

Small business conciliation service

Furthermore, he has also announced plans to form a small business conciliation service to help settle disputes over late payments. This is a follow up on the governments previous strengthening of their Prompt Payment Code in February, which now recommends as standard a 30 day payment period and 60 days as the maximum. It is currently estimated that more than £30 billion in late payments is owed to small firms, but many struggle to recover this money as they are reluctant to pursue costly action against larger businesses.

Where will the axe fall?

Most people will agree that the announcements, on paper at least, sound like they can only be good news for the estimated 5.2 million small businesses that form the backbone of the UK economy, but, what still remains very vague is, where will the cuts be made? Some clues have been offered, as the Government said it will not just be Whitehall that comes under pressure, but that independent regulators, for the first time, will also be under the guillotine.