DEREGULATION INITIATIVE

That this House, whilst welcoming the Prime Minister's deregulation initiative, including the repeal of over 640 unnecessary rules and regulations since January 1994, regrets the introduction of more than 8,100 Statutory Instruments over the same period; notes that just 30 deregulation orders have been sent to the Deregulation Select Committee in the 67 weeks since its establishment in April 1995 and of them only 23 have been passed; regrets that the ú59,450,200 of savings to business as the result of the deregulation orders represents less than 1 per cent. of the ú8,487,151,000 additional costs placed on businesses by legislation over the same period; and calls on the 16 ministers within their respective Government departments whose brief includes deregulation to reinvigorate their laconic record and to impress upon their 108 civil servants currently working on deregulation, both the 43 officials on the Deregulation Unit and the 65 within departments, that they are barely giving good value for the ú2.75 million theycost the public purses and to instruct each to identify new areas for deregulation which will benefit not just small businesses but the public in general, together with the potential cost savings to industry and to the public sector.