The main beneficiaries are expected to be office and shop based companies.

The Bill will lead to the amendment or repeal of 182 pieces of legislation, with the aim of reducing the time and money spent by businesses on unnecessary admin and regulations.

Some of the key changes are:

  • The scrapping of health and safety rules for self-employed workers in low risk occupations and minimising the number of inspections to low risk sites
  • Making the system of apprenticeships more flexible and responsive to the needs of employers and the economy
  • Removing the power of employment tribunal judges to issue wide recommendations to businesses brought before them

Ken Clarke, Minister without Portfolio, said: “In recent years a mountain of unnecessary legislation has been piled onto the statute book, usually introduced with the most worthy motives. This regulatory burden wastes time and money for hard-working people and ties honest businesses and public bodies in bureaucratic knots.

“The Deregulation Bill is just the latest offspring of the government’s highly ambitious Red Tape Challenge, which has already identified and removed barriers to the growth of our economy to the tune of £212 million each year. There is much more to come.”

The bill will now be scrutinised by a joint committee of MPs and peers, and brought to parliament when time allows, with more changes scheduled for later in the year.

Please contact us about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of business regulation.

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