The proposals come from nearly 600 comments from the public and businesses as part of the government’s rigorous Red Tape Challenge. They will see significant changes to legislation that will make life easier for businesses and promote personal freedoms.
The government has launched an assault on the unnecessary regulation that holds the hospitality industry back.
This includes proposals to:
The government has also launched a major programme of improvement for food regulations that will particularly benefit smaller businesses and new entrants.
Specific measures include:
Tourism Minister John Penrose, who has led the work on this part of the Red Tape Challenge, said: “Rules and regulations grow like bindweed through industry and business, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the Hospitality, Food and Drink sectors. Wading through bumph, filling in pointless and repetitive forms is a spirit-sapping experience which too often chokes off enterprise and endeavour. The Red Tape Challenge has shone a spotlight on all this, and I am delighted with our progress.”
Clare Thomas, head of food and drink at law firm, Addleshaw Goddard, said: “Consolidating the number of food regulations can only be positive news for the industry. Food labelling legislation is currently very complex and so the fewer pieces of legislation businesses need to refer to the better.
“Whilst a reduction in the number of regulations will not reduce the number of obstacles businesses face, I feel that this reduction, in combination with the much needed food labelling map, should provide businesses with a clearer picture of the rules they need to follow. In turn, this should lead to a reduction in wasted costs being incurred on a label production re-run or, worse case scenario, a product recall.”
Source: Randalls
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