LibDem plan to cut red tape welcomed by pub trade
Plans by the Liberal Democrats to cut bureaucracy for small businesses have been welcomed by the pub trade.
The political party has put forward a 'Reduction of Regulation Bill' in Parliament with the aim of lessening "unnecessary" red tape for small businesses, including pubs.
The government has admitted that small businesses have been forking out an extra £5bn a year dealing with red tape since Labour was elected.
And government figures revealed at The Publican Conference on November 7 stated that since 1997 £15bn has been spent on complying with new regulations - with 98 per cent of these costs being absorbed by British businesses.
The new proposal will call for a ban on all outdated legislation, which will mean that after a given period of time a law will be revoked.
The Bill would set up an independent agency, which would be given control of assessing the impact of regulations on small businesses. This agency will prepare for regulations to be withdrawn if they are deemed unnecessary for small business.
Under the proposals the amount of time spent on filling out government forms will be acknowledged and small businesses will be repaid for that time through a type of tax-relief.
Brian Cotter, MP Liberal Democrat spokesman on Small Business (pictured), said: "This is an exciting and timely Bill, which really gets to the heart of one of the most fundamental problems that small businesses face."
The fear of the pub trade is that the Bill may not get the backing of the government and will not get passed in Parliament.
Kate Nicholls, spokeswoman of the Red Tape Group, welcomed the Bill but was concerned that it may not get support from other parties in Parliament. She said: "It's a good thing, a lot of the recommendations in the Bill reflect the Red Tape Group's ideas that were put forward in a report to the Liberal Democrats.
"We hope the government will back it wholeheartedly."
Tony Payne, chief executive of the Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations, issued caution on the Bill.
He said: "We are very pleased because red tape is costing a lot of money to licensees.
"We are in favour, but I think the Lib Dems may have to define what is a small business."
