Tourism Minister James Purnell launched a bureaucracy-busting task force for the culture, media and sport industries at the 4th annual European Tourism Forum in Malta..

In his speech to fellow EU ministers and representatives from the EU tourism industry, James Purnell said that burdensome regulation is an EU-wide problem - and the UK is taking steps to address it.

The move follows Government and industry concern that smaller businesses must not be stifled by red tape and unnecessary regulations.

The DCMS Better Regulation Panel will set targets for reducing the cost of regulation, putting Government on notice to make cuts in the level of burden placed on business.

Speaking after the Forum, which was part of the UK Presidency of the European Union, James Purnell said:

“Smaller businesses are the heart of the tourism industry and I want to make sure that anyone thinking of setting up a new business isn’t overwhelmed by regulation.

“Tourism in the UK is worth more than GBP75 billion a year, making it the fifth biggest industry in the country.

“We’ve set a tough target to make it worth GBP100 billion by 2010 and cutting red-tape is crucial to this goal.

“I look forward to hearing the recommendations of the Better Regulation Panel and seeing them put into action.”

The panel will work to secure significant reductions in the administrative burdens that businesses in DCMS sectors face. This will focus on regulations that DCMS are responsible for and the impact that other Departments’ regulations have on business within our sectors.

They will then make recommendations on what action the Department should take.

The first sector to be addressed by the Panel will be the tourism industry.

Panel members will include independent experts from a cross-section of DCMS business areas, senior DCMS staff and representatives from the Better Regulation Executive.
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