Blair promises £2bn in red tape cuts
Tony Blair has today unveiled plans to cut red tape by more than £2 billion across 19 different government departments and agencies. The prime minister has already pledged to cut the administrative burden on businesses, public and third sector organisations by 25 per cent by 2010, but today he set out the 500 areas where […]
Farepak ‘must never happen again’
The government must act to ensure the collapse of savings club Farepak “never happens again”, a committee of MPs has warned. The Treasury select committee said the case, in which more than 100,000 people lost over £43 million of Christmas savings, highlighted a “serious lack of consumer protection” in the industry. In a new report […]
Tories woo business with new carbon tax
The Conservatives have launched plans for a new carbon tax in an effort to ensure their new focus on the environment does not damage their traditional business links. Shadow chancellor George Osborne said the tax would put a charge on the emissions produced by individual firms and would be a better system than the existing […]
Licensing laws ‘have had little effect’
A year on from the introduction of new 24-hour drinking laws, government figures suggest the expected “explosion” in bars and clubs open all hours has not happened. Just two per cent – about 3,000 – licensed premises have taken advantaged of being able to serve alcohol around the clock, according to the Department for Culture, […]
Home metering ‘could help save energy’
People could be given meters in their homes to show exactly how much electricity they use, in new proposals aimed at tackling climate change. The government has launched a consultation on how firms could fit homes with meters and display screens showing exactly how much energy households were using. Gas and electricity companies may also […]
Brown bids for business vote
Gordon Brown has made a bid for the votes of British firms today by promising to cut the regulatory burden on business by 25 per cent. The chancellor is meeting with City leaders today where he will also announce a review of the way HM Revenue and Customs deal with top businesses to ensure Britain […]
Business leaders call for EU rethink
Most British business leaders think the burden of EU regulations outweighs the benefits of the single market, a new survey finds. An ICM poll of 1,000 chief executives for Open Europe, a think tank that wants an overhaul of the EU, finds 54 per cent believe red tape outweighs the trade benefits, compared to 35 […]
Treasury urges action on terror finances
Blocking terrorist financing will be as important in the war on terror as fingerprinting and DNA has been to crime fighting in the past, Gordon Brown has said. The chancellor today called for new powers to stop payments to terror suspects in the UK and to use confidential intelligence, or closed source evidence, for the […]
Tories urge innovation prizes to boost business
The government should introduce ‘innovation prizes’ to persuade firms, scientists and organisations to come up with new technology, the Conservatives have urged. A £10,000 prize to develop a new way of using waves to produce electricity, for example, would do more to encourage new ideas than any existing research grant, they believe. The idea is […]
Contractors to be quizzed on diversity practices
Companies bidding for government contracts would have to prove their commitment to a diverse workforce under new proposals to tackle unemployment among ethnic minorities. The plans, put forward by a committee including seven government ministers, are being piloted in three sectors with a view to rolling them out across the country at a later date. […]
