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Boris Johnson will hold talks with business leaders today about cutting red tape as ministers draw up plans to turn Britain into the “Singapore of Europe” now that it has left the European Union.
The prime minister will speak to 30 senior leaders about topics such as “regulatory freedoms” and reforming EU rules. Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, has been charged by Mr Johnson with leading a cross-Whitehall committee which will require departments to closely examine which regulations can be reformed.
The plans attracted controversy this month when it emerged that workers’ protections enshrined in EU law, including the 48-hour working week, were among regulations being considered for reform. According to the Financial Times options under consideration include changing the rules about rest breaks at work and including overtime pay when calculating holiday pay entitlements. Officials also considered removing the requirement that businesses log detailed daily reports of working hours.
Ministers have denied that the government is planning to lower the standards of workers’ rights and said that they had yet to review the proposals.
Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, said: “We want to protect and enhance workers’ rights going forward, not row back on them.” The business department said that labour market policy was kept under “regular review” to ensure businesses had the “appropriate freedoms and flexibility to innovate and grow” while safeguarding protections for workers.
Mr Sunak will chair a committee in Downing Street that will focus on cutting red tape. He said: “Now that we have left the European Union, we have an opportunity to do things differently and this government is committed to making the most of the freedoms that Brexit affords us. This isn’t about lowering standards, but about raising our eyes to look to the future — making the most of new sectors, new thinking and new ways of working.”
A government source said that Mr Johnson was pushing for Britain to become a low-tax, low-regulation regime like Singapore. Last month Mr Johnson raised the prospect of tax cuts for entrepreneurs. He told a Facebook question-and-answer session: “We’ll be looking at the tax environment and the regulatory environment and everything we can do to encourage and support business.”
This evening the prime minister will speak to the leaders of businesses such as BT, BP, Tesco, Unilever and Jaguar Land Rover in the first meeting of the committee, named the build back better council. He is expected to provide an update on the pandemic and plans to rebuild the economy. The council will aim to meet quarterly. Each member has been appointed for 12 months.
At its core the vision is one of lesser regulation, lower taxes and liberalised standards. Proponents argue this would boost the competitiveness of the UK’s economy as it recovers from the damage wrought by Covid-19.
Boris Johnson, following a well-trodden path in Whitehall, is asking industry leaders for ideas about deregulation. “The time is now,” he declared during a call earlier this month. The government faces a fine line between moving to cut red tape and facing accusations that it is damaging workers’ rights.
Reports of plans to shake up labour market rules, for example, prompted Ed Miliband, the shadow business secretary, to suggest staff could be forced to work longer hours or lose paid holiday.
In other areas, such as financial services, there is also cause for caution. Some have spoken of a second “Big Bang,” of using less onerous regulations to attract firms to the City. Brussels has yet to grant Britain “equivalence” rulings for much of the financial sector, and diverging from the present framework could lead to more business undertaken in the UK being shifted to the EU. In the City and elsewhere, the benefits of ripping up red tape must be weighed against the cost of less preferential access to European markets.
Ministers spent much of last year seeking to brand a potential no-deal Brexit as an “Australian-style” arrangement with the EU. They sought “Canadian-style terms” during negotiations. As Britain now charts its path beyond the bloc, perhaps before looking to Asia it’s time to realise this is a journey without precedent.
www.thetimes.co.uk
The prime minister will speak to 30 senior leaders about topics such as “regulatory freedoms” and reforming EU rules. Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, has been charged by Mr Johnson with leading a cross-Whitehall committee which will require departments to closely examine which regulations can be reformed.
The plans attracted controversy this month when it emerged that workers’ protections enshrined in EU law, including the 48-hour working week, were among regulations being considered for reform. According to the Financial Times options under consideration include changing the rules about rest breaks at work and including overtime pay when calculating holiday pay entitlements. Officials also considered removing the requirement that businesses log detailed daily reports of working hours.
Ministers have denied that the government is planning to lower the standards of workers’ rights and said that they had yet to review the proposals.
Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, said: “We want to protect and enhance workers’ rights going forward, not row back on them.” The business department said that labour market policy was kept under “regular review” to ensure businesses had the “appropriate freedoms and flexibility to innovate and grow” while safeguarding protections for workers.
Mr Sunak will chair a committee in Downing Street that will focus on cutting red tape. He said: “Now that we have left the European Union, we have an opportunity to do things differently and this government is committed to making the most of the freedoms that Brexit affords us. This isn’t about lowering standards, but about raising our eyes to look to the future — making the most of new sectors, new thinking and new ways of working.”
A government source said that Mr Johnson was pushing for Britain to become a low-tax, low-regulation regime like Singapore. Last month Mr Johnson raised the prospect of tax cuts for entrepreneurs. He told a Facebook question-and-answer session: “We’ll be looking at the tax environment and the regulatory environment and everything we can do to encourage and support business.”
This evening the prime minister will speak to the leaders of businesses such as BT, BP, Tesco, Unilever and Jaguar Land Rover in the first meeting of the committee, named the build back better council. He is expected to provide an update on the pandemic and plans to rebuild the economy. The council will aim to meet quarterly. Each member has been appointed for 12 months.
At its core the vision is one of lesser regulation, lower taxes and liberalised standards. Proponents argue this would boost the competitiveness of the UK’s economy as it recovers from the damage wrought by Covid-19.
Boris Johnson, following a well-trodden path in Whitehall, is asking industry leaders for ideas about deregulation. “The time is now,” he declared during a call earlier this month. The government faces a fine line between moving to cut red tape and facing accusations that it is damaging workers’ rights.
Reports of plans to shake up labour market rules, for example, prompted Ed Miliband, the shadow business secretary, to suggest staff could be forced to work longer hours or lose paid holiday.
In other areas, such as financial services, there is also cause for caution. Some have spoken of a second “Big Bang,” of using less onerous regulations to attract firms to the City. Brussels has yet to grant Britain “equivalence” rulings for much of the financial sector, and diverging from the present framework could lead to more business undertaken in the UK being shifted to the EU. In the City and elsewhere, the benefits of ripping up red tape must be weighed against the cost of less preferential access to European markets.
Ministers spent much of last year seeking to brand a potential no-deal Brexit as an “Australian-style” arrangement with the EU. They sought “Canadian-style terms” during negotiations. As Britain now charts its path beyond the bloc, perhaps before looking to Asia it’s time to realise this is a journey without precedent.
Boris Johnson consults businesses on plan to become Europe’s Singapore
Boris Johnson will hold talks with business leaders today about cutting red tape as ministers draw up plans to turn Britain into the “Singapore of Europe” now that it has left the European Union.The prime minister will speak to 30 senior leaders about topics such as “regulatory freedoms” and reform
www.thetimes.co.uk
