On the eve of his first Budget, Chancellor John Healey has pledged to strip out what he calls pointless paperwork from British business life, a package ministers say could free up almost £800m. It is a familiar promise in British politics, the latest in a long line of chancellors who have sworn to lift the weight of forms from those who build and employ. Whether it becomes relief in practice or another line in a long list of intentions will depend on details still to come.
Chancellor pledges to cut 'pointless paperwork' in move to save businesses up to £800m
The latest chancellor to pledge to slash red tape
Mark
What is actually being announced here?
Mimi
A plan to simplify compliance guidance and reporting rules for businesses. The Treasury says it could save almost £800m in administrative and tariff costs.
Mark
Why does it matter ahead of a Budget?
Mimi
It's part of a push to ease pressure on households and businesses as costs rise, and it ties to a target of cutting regulation by 25% by the end of this Parliament.
Luke
Let me flag the figure. The £800m is the ministers' claim, and it says "up to" and "almost" in different places. We haven't seen the workings.
Mark
Do we know which rules are changing?
Luke
Not from this reporting. It says guidance and reporting rules, but names no specific regulation.
Mimi
The article also notes Healey is the latest chancellor to promise this. That history is part of why the CBI said delivery is the test.
Mark
And the Conservative response?
Mimi
Andrew Griffith said Labour admitted red tape hurts jobs, and called for welfare and tax cuts.
Luke
Worth noting that his claims about a youth jobs emergency are his argument, not something the article independently confirms.
Mark
So what settles it?
Luke
The Budget detail on Wednesday.
Il Polso
- Ministers say form-filling and regulatory red tape could be cut to free up almost £800m for UK firms.
- The Conservatives seized on the announcement, accusing Labour of hammering businesses and deepening a youth jobs emergency.
- The Treasury is moving to simplify reporting rules and make compliance guidance easier to follow ahead of Wednesday's Budget.
- The CBI welcomed the plans, but its chief executive says delivery, not announcement, is the real test.
On the eve of his first Budget, Chancellor John Healey has pledged to strip out what he calls pointless paperwork from British business life, a package ministers say could free up almost £800m. It is a familiar promise in British politics, the latest in a long line of chancellors who have sworn to lift the weight of forms from those who build and employ. Whether it becomes relief in practice or another line in a long list of intentions will depend on details still to come.
Chancellor John Healey has promised to cut what he describes as form-filling and pointless paperwork for British businesses, a package ministers say could save firms up to £800m. The announcement came days before his first Budget, and the Treasury says the changes will make compliance guidance easier to follow and simplify the reporting rules companies must meet.
Healey argues that firms are weary of paperwork that consumes time and money better spent on investment and hiring, and that easing the load would give businesses breathing space. Prime Minister Andy Burnham framed the move as one of fairness, saying hard-working people should not be held back by bureaucracy that serves no purpose.
The Confederation of British Industry welcomed the plans, though its chief executive said the real measure would be whether the reform is delivered. The Conservatives were quick to respond, with shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith claiming Labour had finally admitted red tape was hurting businesses, and urging the chancellor to back Conservative plans for welfare and tax cuts.
All eyes now turn to Wednesday's Budget, where the key questions are whether concrete reporting-rule changes will appear, and whether the £800m figure survives scrutiny once the detail is published.
Chancellor John Healey has announced plans to cut what he calls "form-filling and pointless paperwork" for British businesses, a package ministers say could save companies up to £800m. The announcement came ahead of his first Budget, due on Wednesday.
The Treasury says the proposed regulatory changes will make compliance guidance easier to follow and simplify the reporting rules firms must meet. Ministers put the saving at almost £800m, counting both administrative costs and tariff costs. The source does not break down how much comes from each, or which specific reporting rules would change.
Healey said British firms are fed up with the paperwork, which eats into time and money that would be better invested in the business. He said easing the load would give companies more "breathing space" to invest and create good jobs. He is, as the reporting notes, only the latest chancellor to promise a cut in red tape.
The pledge sits within a wider Budget effort to offer households and businesses more support as costs rise. It also sits alongside a government target to cut regulation by 25% by the end of the current Parliament.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham framed it as a matter of fairness. He said it is wrong that "pointless bureaucracy gets in the way" of hard-working people building businesses. In his words, a business owner wants to spend their time serving customers, creating jobs and growing the firm, not filling in unnecessary forms. Burnham and Healey are expected to meet some business leaders on Friday at No 10 North.
The Confederation of British Industry welcomed the plans. Its chief executive, Rain Newton Smith, said the real test would be delivering the reform.
The Conservatives responded sharply. Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith said Labour had "finally admitted that endless red tape is hammering businesses and killing jobs across the country." He argued that the unemployment act had made the situation worse and created what he called a "youth jobs emergency." Griffith urged Healey to "get a grip" in the Budget and back Conservative plans to cut welfare and taxes.
What to watch on Wednesday is whether the Budget spells out concrete simplifications to reporting rules, and whether the £800m figure holds up once the detail is published. The CBI's caution about delivery, and the Conservatives' competing welfare and tax proposals, frame the argument that follows.
Citazioni salienti
Firms are fed up with form-filling and pointless paperwork, and more breathing space would let them invest and create good jobs.— Chancellor John Healey
Labour have finally admitted that endless red tape is hammering businesses and killing jobs across the country.— Shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith
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Economy & Finance