Government continues war on bureaucracy with phase two of its ‘Red Tape Challenge’
The government should cut bureaucracy for financial services as part of its ‘Red Tape Challenge’, says Biba compliance and training head Steve White (pictured).
The government announced today in the 2013 Budget that it planned to launch the second phase of the Red Tape Challenge.
The second stage will look at the whole regulatory system, including laws, guidance, compliance and enforcement, though “short targeted reviews”.
The Budget document said: “The reviews will look at areas such as infrastructure, key stages in the growth of companies, and business activities where negotiating the system is overly complex.”
The government will seek views from businesses on what problems should be reviewed before the launch of the Red Tape Challenge’s second phase in summer 2013.
But the Red Tape Challenge does not specifically address financial services, which have been subject to greater scrutiny and harsher rules since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008.
Speaking to Insurance Times after the release of the Budget, White said: “We certainly support the concept of a red tape challenge. But let’s see some of that apply to financial services, and let’s use that as a way of looking again at the appropriateness and proportionality of the regulations.”
He added: “We are now nearly five years on from the banking crisis. Clearly there was a reaction from politicians and regulators as a result of that. I think five years down the line would be an appropriate time for them to take stock and reflect on the appropriateness and the effectiveness of those reactions.”
White will become Biba’s chief executive on 1 May this year, replacing current chief Eric Galbraith.
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