The EU Tobacco Products Directive looks set to seriously damage the development of the e-cigarette industry. That is likely to diminish the prospects of helping people quit smoking and lead far healthier lives. Researchers from University College London (UCL) have said that: For every million smokers who switched to an e-cigarette we […]
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The Government recently published its draft Deregulation Bill to remove unnecessary bureaucracy. It will amend 182 different pieces of legislation and should make savings for public bodies, businesses and individuals worth a minimum of £62 million per year. This is paltry compared to the £4 billion budget of relevant regulators, but […]
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The issue of rider licensing is still causing alarm among motorcyclists. I have been contacted by riders and businesses who are concerned about the complications that the European Union has introduced to the British motorcycle licence through unwelcome directives. This issue is important because as well as being a great […]
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Building on the Big Society idea, the Government has introduced a policy that will make it considerably easier to set up and run a charity. The option of creating Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIO) has been established to make this a reality. Previously, most charities were unincorporated and the trustees could be […]
Read MoreOn 4 Dec, I explained how a regulatory farce between the EU and the HSE was wasting millions of taxpayers’ money while costing business millions in lost sales. I have now had an update. Thankfully, the Secretary of State has understood the position. Iain Duncan Smith has given instructions which should […]
Read MoreYesterday, I heard from a local businessman about the kafkaesque nightmare that has been inflicted upon his industry by the EU – made far, far worse by our own bureaucracy. The firm manufactures water-disinfection systems used in hospitals and other health facilities. The EU has just imposed another round of over-regulation […]
Read MoreTonight, I led a rather early adjournment debate on motorcycle rider licensing, where the EU has added to the joy of motorcyling, the dreariness, aggravation and expense of capricious bureaucracy. I was grateful to Norman Baker for answering the debate in the place of Mike Penning, who has just moved […]
Read MoreVia the Washington Post: LONDON — Like so many others in this fiercely independent island nation, Steve Baker, a dashing English engineer, is fed up with the long hand of the European Union in British life. The E.U., he said, has meddled for years in Britain’s legal affairs and labor […]
Read MoreVia today’s Order of Business, which is dominated by Lords reform, we glimpse the battle against disproportionate central regulation of professions: 8 RECOGNITION OF PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS [No debate] Mr John Hayes That this House takes note of European Union Document No. 18899/11 and Addenda 1 to 3, relating to a […]
Read MoreThe Government claim progress on cutting red tape for businesses. They have provided the ticker, right, which gives a running update of the red tape scrapped. Under the previous Government, the equivalent of six new regulations every working day were passed, or over 1,500 in a year. In 2011, the […]
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