"There is always a difference between perception and
reality but our testing shows that almost no businesses think that
complying with regulation has become easier or less time consuming
in the last year. The majority think that things have remained the
same and over a third think that the burden of regulation has got
worse. On the other hand, 42 per cent of businesses think that
government is getting the right balance of regulation to protect
people and the environment."
Amyas Morse, head of the National
Audit Office, 22 October 2009
A survey of businesses by the National Audit Office found that,
whilst businesses are reporting that individual aspects of
complying with regulation have become less burdensome over the last
year, and there has been some improvement in overall business
perceptions of regulation since 2007, very few regard complying
with regulation as having become easier or less time-consuming.
Around a third said that it had become worse.
The Administrative Burdens Reduction Programme aims to reduce by
a quarter by 2010 the cost to business of complying with the
administrative burdens imposed on them by government regulations.
The Programme is part of the government’s overall agenda to
simplify regulation and improve the regulatory environment.
Departments are continuing to implement a range of initiatives
to reduce the burden on businesses and reported in December 2008
that a net £1.9 billion per year of savings had been made. However,
the NAO warns that this claim must be treated with caution;
although the Government has strengthened its validation
arrangements, the reported savings remain indicative estimates of
actual savings.
The survey found improvements since 2007 in businesses’
perceptions of individual aspects of complying with regulation. For
example, in 2009, 65 per cent of businesses found completing the
relevant paperwork a burden, compared with 74 per cent in 2007.
Similarly, in 2009, 64 per cent of businesses reported that finding
guidance and advice about the regulations was a burden, a reduction
of 7 per cent from 2007 responses.
However, over 60 per cent of businesses surveyed consider that
the administration needed to demonstrate compliance with
regulations is an obstacle and only one per cent of businesses felt
that complying with regulations had become less time consuming in
the last year.
In addition, fewer than a third of businesses said that
government understood business well enough to regulate it.
The NAO survey has found that businesses’ perceptions of
regulations are influenced by concerns about the introduction of
new regulations or continuing changes to existing regulations – 95
per cent of businesses reported that having to keep up to date with
changes in existing regulations had not improved or had become more
time consuming in the past year.
Publication details:
HC: 1028, 2008-09
ISBN: 9780102963274