Council’s bid to banish red tape

Regulation that makes life difficult for Oldham Council workers could be scrapped if they set out to Government why it is a problem.

Communities secretary Eric Pickles wants council workers and sector experts to suggest statutory guidance, secondary legislation or regulations they think should be removed so councils can get on with their job.

Mr Pickles said: “Too much power has been sucked out of communities into Westminster eroding trust in politics and sapping responsibility and initiative with stifling bureaucracy. More often than not over legislating simply leads to bureaucrats ticking extra sets of boxes. We need a sensible new approach that makes clear laws are intended to protect people, not overwhelm them with red tape.”

Ministers say they are already earmarking pages of “unnecessary regulations, ridiculous micromanagement or outdated laws” that need re-examining. Included is the 1919 law that requires the Secretary of State to approve councils wanting to buy new land for allotments, three different sets of regulation governing tree protection and guidance on the duty to carry out an economic assessment.

Oldham Council leader Howard Sykes said: “I welcome any initiative that will help the council to cut waste and to improve front-line services.

“Oldham Council is always looking at what can be done to improve efficiency and value for money. Removing unnecessary legislation can help this process.”

Any ideas can be sent to cutredtape@communities.gsi.gov.uk .