The Sunday Telegraph has a preview of the major recommendations of John Redwood’s competitiveness report:
- The scrapping of working time regulations and, even more controversially, all data protection laws, which the report will say are an "expensive bureaucracy which fails to protect people’s data".
- Less regulation of the financial services industry – including deregulation of the mortgage industry.
- Less Health & Safety burdens on care homes in order to increase the number of places for elderly and disabled people.
- Easing of regulations that govern how firms make employees redundant.
- The scrapping of Home Information Packs.
- Britain should opt out of the EU directive on food supplements.
- "Charities offering bingo competitions or raffles should no longer need a gaming licence."
- An end of IR35.
Stop for sharp intake of breath.
If implemented in full this deregulation package would, it is claimed, save British business £14bn. Patience Wheatcroft gives Mr Redwood’s ideas a warm welcome.
My guess is that Labour will see huge electoral opportunities from this report. Expect the Brown machine to mount a massive scare campaign whether or not David Cameron embraces the recommendations.