EEF hits out at EU red tape

Publishing its own analysis of the government's performance 'Reforming Regulation – One Year On', the manufacturers' organisation EEF said it believed government had shown positive ambition so far with, for example, its One-In One-Out approach. However, EEF said that at a time when business was under growing pressure, it now wanted to see "some real reductions in regulation and greater effort to stem the flow of bad regulation from Europe". In particular, it said government must step up efforts to lead change at European level where there was a continued culture to push for more, not less, regulation. For example, the UK faced the risk of yet more employment legislation through the Pregnant Workers Directive which was expected to cost the private sector in the UK billions. EEF director of policy, Steve Radley, said: "Government has set out the right ambitions to reduce the burden of regulation and its approach has the potential to deliver it. But industry is now looking to see the new approach deliver real change. With major new measures such as the new national pension savings scheme in the pipeline for next year, the government needs to set out plans for where it can reduce the burden on employers. "It also needs to ensure that any progress at home is not undone by the need to implement expensive and badly-designed Directives from Europe. With employers about to face significant costs from implementing the Agency Workers Directive, the government must show strong leadership in Europe and change a culture which is still reaching for the Regulatory trigger as a first rather than the last option."