Defra announced yesterday that it is inviting businesses up and down the country to contribute ideas on how the Government can cut red tape and regulatory burdens without affecting its responsibilities to protect the environment. image expired

The department has launched its Red Tape Challenge (RTC), which, over the next three weeks, will take aim at the 287 environmental regulations that apply to businesses, covering issues such as waste, emissions and wildlife protection. It said the new initiative would examine which regulations were important for protecting the environment and which were complicated, ineffective or obsolete.

Defra explained the thinking behind the scheme in a release "Environmental policies often aim to encourage people to act in certain ways – and overly complex, burdensome regulation may not be the best way to do this.  Simplifying regulations and removing burdens will also benefit the economy by saving businesses millions in unnecessary costs."

It gave environmental permits as an example of streamlining, saying the number of permits businesses currently require for waste, pollution control and groundwater use are burdensome and had therefore been "rationalised" so that a site needs only to apply for a single permit. Defra said that by cutting red tape and admin costs the simplification would save businesses £121m over 10 years and make it easier for regulators to enforce environmental protection at the sites.

Scheme does not reflect 'greenest government' claims

However, the scheme has attracted criticism from those who believe calls to reduce the "burden" of regulations which protect the environment, do nothing for the tories' image, which has suffered since they first professed to be "the greenest government ever." 

Environmental groups have harshly criticised the move, raising concerns over the scope of the review, which includes legislation such as the Climate Change Act, the Countryside and Rights of Way Act and the Wildlife and Countryside Act in its remit, as well as some of the government's recommendations, such as whether voluntary labelling for energy efficiency, instead of the current mandatory A-G ratings on products would prove effective.

Tom Franklin, chief executive of Ramblers, said, "Describing huge swathes of environmental law which is dedicated to protecting our countryside, the air we breathe and the places where we walk and live as 'red tape' makes claims of a 'greenest government' seem like a farce.

"The public reaction to the forestry sell-off shows how much, as a nation, we value our natural environment and our liberty to access and enjoy it. The laws to open up our countryside and ensure that it is protected have been hard fought for and any attempt to remove this framework will be resisted. I encourage everyone who cares about the environment, our green spaces and our ability to access them, to tell the Government not to strip away these important laws like red tape."

Ministers pledge commitment to the environment

Ministers have been eager to stress that the coming red tape bonfire does not represent a reduced commitment to the environment. Environment Minister Jim Paice said, "This is not about reducing our standards. Regulation has an important role to play in protecting the environment and our natural resources, but some of the rules we ask businesses to follow are either too complicated, ineffective or just obsolete."

He continued, "There are also other ways of providing environmental protection that don’t require regulation, which is why we want to hear ideas for doing things differently without affecting our responsibilities to the natural world."

Energy and Climate Change minister, Charles Hendry was quick to echo Paice, "Avoiding dangerous climate change is crucial to our long-term economic success and quality of life and there is no intention to draw back from our climate change commitments.  Quite the opposite, if we are going to tackle climate change we must work with industry to reduce our emissions. It is vital that we make sure our regulations are supporting that effort, not undermining it with red-tape that is ineffective, burdensome or unnecessary."

Craig Bennett, policy and campaigns director at Friends of the Earth, countered, "Environmental regulations can be good news for business - they give certainty about the Government's commitment to building a stable, clean and healthy future and encourage firms to invest in new technologies and industries.

He concluded, "This initiative sends completely the wrong signals about the Government's commitment to being the greenest ever and undermines those businesses that want to operate to high green standards."