Cut red tape, urges task force tsar

BRITAIN'S regulation tsar will today call for a 'red tape revolution' and urge the Government to slash administrative costs by £7.5bn. David Arculus, chairman of the Better Regulation Task Force, will tell Tony Blair that the economy's growth rate could be more than 1% higher if over-regulation is curbed.

Arculus, who is also chairman of mobile phones firm O2, has concluded a year-long investigation commissioned by Number 10.

He argues that businesses could save as much as £16bn a year within 15 years - but only if the Government takes action to stem the flow of red tape.

But the task force's conclusions may be overshadowed by another row between the Prime Minister and Chancellor - for Gordon Brown will also today unveil his own plans for cutting red tape. This is based on a rival Treasury- commissioned report by Sainsbury's chairman Philip Hampton.

The threat of regulation costs to banks is so severe that it is now regarded as the biggest risk to business this year, according to a recent survey from the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation.

The task force's key recommendations are that the Government should establish a means of measuring the administrative burden and then find a way of cutting it. It should also apply a 'one in, one out' approach to new regulation, with civil servants offered incentives to find items to cut.

Arculus said: 'A culture has developed in Government in which the knee-jerk response to any problem is to regulate. The main complaint from business is the sheer volume of regulation. It is the cumulative burden that we need to tackle, reducing the stock of existing law and reversing the flow of new rules and regulations.'