With the Enterprise Bill, published on September 17th, the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) aims to further improve and simplify the business regulatory environment, in order to settle UK as one of the best places for startuppers and enterprises to grow and act.
The measures set up by the Bill are various. Among them, it is noticeable that the Enterprise Bill will establish a Small Business Commissioner (here is the impact assessment), to enable small businesses to resolve disputes and avoid future issues through general advice and information. The Bill also aims to simplify the Primary Authority scheme, by enabling national regulators to support Primary Authority partnerships alongside local authorities and to issue advice and guidance to businesses (the scheme will also be extended to other regulatory areas which stakeholders, when consulted, have asked to be brought into scope). As it is said on the consultation webpage, the Primary Authority is a public body providing “businesses with consistent, tailored, assured advice they can rely on and provides regulators with flexible ways of working”.
As for the Primary Authority scheme, which has also undergone an impact assessment whose results have been published last August, a public consultation is now open (until October 22nd), where stakeholders can have their say about three main proposals: a) simplify the scheme to allow more small businesses to join Primary Authority and access assured advice; b) extend Primary Authority to additional areas of legislation, enabling other regulatory bodies to participate in Primary Authority, ensuring regulators recognise advice issued in other nations; c) streamline the administrative processes for all involved.
The Enterprise Bill also sets up measures to further strengthen public workers’ rights, especially concerning payments and job contracts.
(Federica Cacciatore)
Image credits: UK Department for Business Innovation & Skill