The business secretary has announced plans to reduce the amount of paperwork that companies must regularly complete. Jonathan Reynolds said he wants to simplify corporate reporting rules and exempt some small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from certain form-filling tasks altogether.
The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade said the changes could save businesses across the UK £450m. It described as "nonsensical" the requirement for small businesses, including cafes, hotels and furniture makers, to carry out detailed paperwork when they should be focusing on their day-to-day trade.
The department said the average annual report and accounts of some businesses now run to 98,000 words, which it compared to the length of JRR Tolkien's novel The Hobbit, at more than 95,300 words. For FTSE 100 companies, the average is said to be even higher at 152,000 words.
"No one goes into business to fill out forms," said Reynolds. "For years, hardworking firms in this country have been weighed down by pen-pushing paperwork and frustrating costs, ticking boxes that do nothing to help them grow their business. We're stripping back outdated bureaucracy and building a commonsense system fit for a 21st-century economy. This will cut the cost of doing business, giving breathing room to bosses across the country and free them up to focus on what they do best, creating jobs and growth."
A consultation into the plans begins on 7 September.
