The Treasury's pre-Budget plan to cut red tape now includes simpler corporate reporting, which City AM says could save businesses operating as part of a wider group about £20,000 a year. Business leaders are due to meet at No 10 North today.
The Chancellor, John Healey, says the package of reporting and tariff changes will save businesses around £800m a year. The Treasury says extending tariff suspensions on more than 250 products accounts for up to £155m of that. The total comes from the government and has not been independently checked.
City AM says the changes contribute to a government target to cut the administrative burden of regulation by 25% by 2030. They follow the creation of a "small business regulatory taskforce" of industry group leaders and officials.
"British firms are fed up with form-filling and pointless paperwork that eats into valuable time and money when they simply want to get on with running their businesses"
That is Healey in the Treasury announcement. The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, said it was "not right that pointless bureaucracy gets in the way of people working hard to build something that matters to their high street".
Tina McKenzie, chair of the Federation of Small Businesses, is reported to have sat on the taskforce. She said the changes would "help lessen the burden of red tape on small businesses, enabling them to devote more resources to growth and job creation".
Reports differ on who attends today's meeting. City AM says Burnham and the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, will convene business leaders. PA says Healey and Burnham are due to meet small business leaders.