Non-Environmental Cost-Benefit News

British business has spent £38.9 billion in dealing with red tape since the Labour Government came to power, according to figures released today by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). The cost of compliance has risen by nearly a third since 2004.

The independently compiled report, the BCC’s “Burdens Barometer”, assesses the cost of 46 major regulations introduced by the Labour Government since 1998. It does not include the cost to business of implementing the national minimum wage.

In all, says the BCC, the regulations have created annual costs to business of over £15 million per year.

Most expensive have been the Working Time Regulations, which implement an EU Directive that aims to protect workers from the health and safety consequences of overworking. The UK negotiated an opt out, allowing it not to apply a 48-hour limit to working hours in some circumstances, but its implementation will have cost UK business £13.6 billion by July this year.

The Data Protection Act and regulations amending Vehicle Excise Duty requirements have each cost British business over £5 billion in compliance according to the BCC.

"British businesses are fed up with the spiraling costs of regulation. Businesses must be free to compete in the global economy. They simply cannot afford to be held back by the mounting costs of complying with regulation,” said BCC Director General David Frost.

"While we recognize the need for proportionate regulation, the government must ensure that new regulations are well targeted and business friendly,” he added. “Unnecessary burdens are not a sustainable option for our firms."

According to the BCC, figures for the Barometer are taken from the government’s own Regulatory Impact Assessments. These evaluate the risks, costs and benefits of any new regulatory proposal that has an impact on business.

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