Better for Business
For many businesses it can feel like there is an unreasonable amount of red tape - too many rules to comply with, forms to complete and inspections to pass.
The government is working to reduce these administrative burdens and has set a target of 25 per cent cuts by 2010 as part of a programme of ‘better regulation'.
The Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO) has been set up to help councils improve their trading standards, environmental health, licensing and fire safety services - taken together, the biggest regulatory service working with businesses in the United Kingdom.
LBRO will be working to ensure that all local authority regulatory services operate in a way that is:
* transparent
* consistent
* proportionate
* accountable, and
* targeted
It wants to see businesses supported to comply with their legal obligations and inspection and enforcement action targeted on the minority of traders that pose the greatest risk by breaking the law.
Successful local regulation will help businesses to work with their customers and communities.
LBRO is developing a new scheme to help ensure that businesses that trade across council boundaries benefit from consistent regulation. To find out more visit the Primary Authority pages www.lbro.org.uk/Primary Authority
For more information and advice about the rules and regulations affecting business, visit www.businesslink.gov.uk
If you have an idea about how to improve local regulation, you make a suggestion to the Government at www.betterregulation.gov.uk