Cabinet Office Minister Jim Murphy MP today tabled amendments to
clarify that the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill will only
be used to deliver the Government's better regulation agenda.
In February, the Commons Regulatory Reform Committee warned that
the bill as then drafted provided ministers with a wide and general
power that could be used to repeal amend or replace almost any
primary legislation.
The intention behind the law is popular, however: to deliver
reductions in unnecessary red tape by reducing or removing burdens,
specifically financial costs, administrative burdens, and obstacles
to efficiency, productivity and profitability.
Today's amendments will protect the scrutiny role of Parliament
by giving a statutory veto to the relevant committees in both the
House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Cabinet Office Minister Jim Murphy said: "We have now reached a
turning point in this debate. This is no longer about what the
Government should do next – the Government has listened and acted.
This is about whether critics of the Bill in Parliament are truly
going to stand in the way of a measure that promises to bring
benefits to hundreds of thousands of businesses, charities and
individuals across the country."
He continued: "Today we have tabled amendments that put beyond
doubt that this Bill will deliver our better regulation agenda and
nothing else. The time has come for those who claim they want to
tackle bureaucracy to stand up and be counted, and let the
Government of the day get on with the crucial task of cutting
unnecessary red tape."
Welcoming the Government's amendments, Deputy Director of the
CBI John Cridland said: "It is imperative that we do not lose sight
of the crucial benefits that this Bill promises to bring to UK
business. The Bill is now focused explicitly on delivering better
regulation, and the time has come to get on with the task of
removing barriers to productivity and delivering the reductions to
unnecessary red tape that business is crying out for."
