Richard Spring MP
Member of Parliament for West Suffolk

I’ve lost count of the amount of times businesses have told me that they are fed up with constant Government interference, regulation and red tape. And who can blame them? 

There have been more than 14 new regulations every working day under Labour. It is estimated that the cost of new regulations on business over the past decade has now topped £56 billion. This means that the average British company has to spend £14,270 a year implementing new legislation. 

The result of this extra burden is that Britain has become less competitive and a less good place to do business. It is then no surprise to see that the UK has slipped from 2^nd to 9^th place in the international competitiveness league.

I was however even a bit cautiously optimistic when Gordon Brown announced the legislative and regulatory reform bill last year. This bill, according to the Prime Minister, would contain ‘radical proposals for changing the way we regulate.’ 

However, the Financial Times reported this week that the law has yet to cut or even amend a single regulation! In fact the Treasury actually increased red tape by 7%. It is yet another example of the need for central power to be dispersed to a more local level. 

Regulation has grown over many years, but it now infects our lives inordinately. However, if we are to deal with it we have to tackle the culture of risk aversion which has so crept into our national life, including hanging baskets falling and grave stones toppling over. As they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions.   

At a breakfast yesterday morning we all agreed that if Britain is to retain its role as one of the world’s leading economies, we need to address one of the problems which threatens to put that reputation as risk – our “skills shortage”.

Last year, Lord Leitch’s Review of Skills Report concluded that “our nation’s skills are not world-class. We run the risk that this will undermine the UK’s long term prosperity. Productivity continues to trail many of our international competitors.” The facts speak for themselves: we have 5 million adults who cannot read or write properly and 17 million adults who problems with numbers. The number of 16 to 18 year olds not in education, employment or training has risen by 40% since 1997.

This is why the Economic Competitiveness Policy Group, set up by David Cameron and chaired by John Redwood has been examining the skills problem in this country and this week published a policy submission entitled “Skills Training for a More Competitive Economy” which is available in full on their website http://www.competitivechallenge.com

It is a thoughtful and insightful consideration of the issues and what we need to put in place so that we can continue to compete globally. The vision entails “significant cultural and social change, including breaking down the current distinction that is made between general and vocational education and the attendant class prejudices.”

They have made a series of recommendations including:

Taxpayer’s money should be allocated in accordance with choices made by the trainees and not the providers

A national Careers Advisory Service that is highly visible to aspiring trainees

Bolstering the Sector Skills Councils (SSCs)

Professionalising apprenticeships and bringing them under the control of employers