A senior Scottish banker says Chancellor John Healey’s attack on “pointless paperwork” will help more early stage and scaleup companies to make progress.
Mr Healey says his measures aims to cut £800 million worth of red tape that will ease cost pressures on both companies and households.
Robert Begbie, who this week took up the newly-created role of CEO of Commercial & Institutional at NatWest, said: “As the UK’s biggest bank for business, we spend a lot of time speaking to entrepreneurs and growing businesses across the country.
“A consistent theme we hear is that business owners are often required to wear many hats, balancing day-to-day operations alongside the administrative and regulatory demands that come with running a business.”
He said the announcement is a “positive step” towards addressing some of those challenges.
“Reducing unnecessary complexity can help founders spend less time on paperwork and more time focused on customers, innovation, investment and growth.
“Through NatWest Accelerator, we see first-hand the ambition that exists across the UK’s start-up and scale-up community. The challenge is often not ambition, but having the time, confidence and support needed to turn that ambition into sustainable growth.
“Creating the right conditions for businesses to focus on growth, alongside access to finance, skills and networks, will help more businesses start, grow and scale across the UK.
“We look forward to seeing the detail behind today’s announcement and how it can help businesses spend more time growing their business and less time navigating unnecessary complexity.”
Mr Healey and Prime Minister Andy Burnham are due to meet small business leaders at No 10 North today.
They want to cut back the regulatory administration that businesses are required to do by 25% by the end of this parliament.
Streamlined reporting requirements are expected to save £290m; easing “duplicative reporting burdens” for asset managers £105m; and cutting red tape for buying and selling homes £116m for businesses in the transaction chain.
Extending tariff suspensions on more than 250 products is due to save up to £155m, according to the Treasury.
The pausing of import tariffs across sectors including chemicals, plastics, automotive and food and beverages was due to expire at the end of December but is being extended for another year.
The remainder of the cost-saving measures will be set out in the Budget.
Mr Burnham said: “If you run a business, you want to spend your time serving your customers, creating jobs and growing your firm, not filling in unnecessary forms.
Mr Healey added: “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 why we are cutting unnecessary bureaucracy and giving businesses the breathing space they need to invest, innovate and create good jobs.”
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