WIREDGOV

Business Minister Michael Fallon has invited national regulators and local authorities to bid to a new fund that will enable them to pioneer more business-friendly enforcement of regulation.

The Regulatory Innovation for Growth programme, part of a wider drive to reduce red tape, will provide up to £20,000 per project to support innovative new ways of enforcing regulation. Proposals must be based on closer working relationships with businesses, helping firms comply with essential requirements without burdening them with bureaucracy.

These could include, for example, supporting start-up businesses as they are created, to help them understand and comply with regulation in a way that supports the success of their new enterprise, or providing new, more accessible forms of information and training for specific sectors.

The most successful schemes will help inform the development of the Government’s proposed ‘growth duty’ for regulators, which will require regulators to take into account the impact of their activities on the economic prospects of firms they regulate.

Business Minister Michael Fallon said: “Better regulation has an important role to play in supporting enterprise and prosperity, and the Government has called time on bureaucratic processes that hold businesses back.

“But top–down solutions are not the answer. That’s why we are asking people at the front line to demonstrate how they can better help businesses comply with regulation quickly and efficiently.

“This is a vital part of our drive to put government on the side of law-abiding businesses, supporting growth and enterprise while maintaining the highest standards of compliance.”

The fund, part of a wider drive to reform the enforcement of regulation, will support a total of six projects. Trade associations and professional bodies that provide advice and support to help businesses meet their regulatory requirements are also eligible to apply.

The programme is administered by the Better Regulation Delivery Office, and is part of a wider £500,000 pound investment in improving the enforcement of regulation.

Further initiatives include support to a number of Local Enterprise Partnerships that are improving the way enforcement is delivered by working with business communities, and support to trade associations and local authorities that are working in partnership to develop reliable, sector-specific advice for business.

See BRDO's Innovation for Growth page under Resources.