Government pushes through legislation regardless of consequence, says report

The government and European Commission rely on companies not understanding business legislation, making them less likely to appeal and complain, says a report by the Fair Regulation Campaign.

It also accuses the government of simply going through the motions when consulting on new legislation, saying that they consult "too late or not at all" on many key issues which affect UK businesses.

The European Commission comes off even worse. A guidance note, issued to around 500,000 companies, goes on to say: "All too often, policy-makers and regulators rely on the fact that most organisations are unaware of the rules and will not challenge them."

Industry minister Alan Johnson, who has responsibility for employment relations, said: "There have been a record number of consultancies over this last year. The Working Time regulations show that we can change things for the better, especially when working closely with business to ensure we keep their needs balanced with the needs of their employees."

The government has been publicising the efforts of its Regulatory Impact Unit, which investigates the impact of new legislation across all of business, plus trade & industry secretary Stephen Byers has been holding regular meetings with business leaders designed to make the DTI more business-friendly.

However, many observers believe the new government units are mainly for show purposes, with little genuine action being taken to remove the ever-growing legislative burden on UK businesses.

Gary Cutlack