Government red tape costs industry £80 billion year
A report by the Institute of Directors has today placed UK government red tape in the spotlight with accusations that it is costing industry around £80 billion year. This equates to around 5.7% of the UK economic output and equivalent of one month each year during which directors are predominantly sorting out "government red tape".
This comes at a time when the UK government has been fairly critical of the Conservative party with regards to potential cost savings in the public sector and the regulatory environment. There is no doubt that the regulatory burden has increased somewhat since the Labour Party came to power but £80 billion year in cold hard cash terms is enormous. Even if the government of the day was able to save £8 billion or £10 billion a year this would go directly back into the economy and assist with future growth.
While the £80 billion figure will no doubt be challenged by the UK government, and in reality is likely to be somewhere in between £1 billion and £80 billion, there is certainly a need to reduce red tape which is strangling many small to medium-sized businesses. It seems more likely that the Conservative party would reduce red tape although Gordon Brown has also made various promises if he is re-elected.
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