ACS

A major new business survey has found that just over seven out of ten businesses (71 per cent) feel that council enforced regulations can be as big or a bigger burden than tax and employment law - setting out the challenge for the Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO) which marked its formal launch today.

Other results from the independent survey - commissioned by LBRO from Ipsos MORI - of 1,000 companies in England and Wales, include:

* Of those firms trading across three or more council boundaries, one third said that they had received inconsistent compliance advice from different local authorities.

* Most interviewed companies said they valued council support - three out of four businesses agreed that it is important for local authorities to provide an advisory service on trading standards, environmental health, licensing and fire safety regulations.

* Nine out of 10 businesses said they had never been consulted by local authorities about the enforcement of trading laws covering key areas like consumer protection and health and safety

* One in 10 firms voiced the view that local regulators who contacted them did not know enough about their companies

* Just under two thirds (65 per cent) said they were generally satisfied with the regulatory services provided by local councils.

The survey clearly sets out the challenge facing LBRO when working with local authorities and businesses. LBRO today gets statutory powers to support improvement in local regulatory services and is developing a number of projects to address business concerns.

LBRO has been set up to help local authorities improve their regulatory services - reducing regulatory burdens on law abiding businesses and improving protection for consumers, workers and the environment.

It today gets statutory powers to drive reform of local regulation. It will advise ministers on better local regulation and will be able to issue statutory guidance to local authorities on enforcing trading standards, environmental health, licensing and fire safety regulations.

LBRO is responsible for running the new Primary Authority scheme, which will help reduce inconsistent advice across council boundaries. It is currently being piloted with several national retailers and councils in England.

ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: “These results echo what ACS has been telling Government; that many convenience stores struggle to cope with the differing levels of power that devolution has brought with it, which in many cases has vastly increased regulation. This is an area that the Government needs to continue to address to achieve their aim of reducing regulation on small business. ACS will work with the LBRO to tackle this burden and to make sure that the needs of local shops are understood by local enforcement agencies.”