Kemi Badenoch announced in May that it would be impossible to fulfill Rishi Sunak's promise to reform or repeal all EU laws by the end of this year Photo: Andy Rein /Shutterstock
The report was compiled by the Independent Business Network (IBN), an organization representing family businesses. It is chaired by John Longworth, a member of the Regulatory Policy Committee, which advises the government on the new rules.
He said the retained EU law was «not subject to parliamentary scrutiny», adding: «Whitehall officials have a penchant for making and keeping rules, after all, what else is their purpose? They also tend to distrust business despite being wealth creators who pay them wages.
“Even under Prime Minister Thatcher, serious deregulation was hindered by officials and politicians who wanted to keep the rules. This report sets out a pragmatic approach to reforming, repealing and maintaining regulations and integrating them into the common law system.”
Mr Longworth, former Director General of the British Chamber of Commerce, said: “The regulatory divergence from the European Union necessary if we are to take the burden off family and family-owned businesses and enable them to expand, take on new employees and sustain growth.”
Anger among pro-Brexite MPs.
The intervention comes amid anger among pro-Brexite MPs over Ms Badenoch's announcement in May that it would be impossible to move forward with Rishi Sunak's promise to reform or repeal all European Union Laws by the end of this year. Instead, the business secretary announced that she could immediately repeal or reform only about 600 EU laws as part of the government's bill to preserve EU law (revocation and reform).
The IBN's specific proposals include revisiting a number of health and safety measures it says are «unnecessary and very costly for UK business».
Among them is the 2006 Artificial Optical Light Directive, which places an obligation on employers to ensure that workers are not exposed to artificial light above a certain threshold.
The report states that even at the time the rule was introduced, “exposure to artificial light injuries… has been shown to be extremely minimal and limited to welders.”
“Legislation could be amended to specifically protect welders and reducing costs for all other businesses… While some costs have been reduced for businesses with up to 20 employees, the costs are still not needed and disproportionately impacted by small and family businesses.”
Use Freedom
The IBN also says the government should take advantage of the freedoms offered by Brexit to revise the VAT, something ministers have been unable to do while the UK has remained in the EU.
“Outside the EU, the UK can be more flexible in its tax policy. IBN urges the government to financially stimulate growth through zero or downgrading of goods and services with a standard VAT rate that affect SMEs.” The Conservatives have already repealed or reformed more than 1,000 EU laws since Brexit, with another 500 rules to be repealed through financial legislation, in addition to the 600 to be included in the bill to keep EU laws.
The Spokesman added : «This government is ending the primacy of the EU courts in the UK and is already repealing over 2,000 pieces of EU law before the end of the year, with more on the way.»
«Business and Commerce Secretary is committed to ensuring that Whitehall's departments pursue an ambitious reform agenda. We welcome this report and encourage businesses to reach out to the government with further suggestions on how to deregulate to grow the economy.”
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