The Telegraph: The Government plans to capitalise on UK independence by resurrecting the ‘one-in-two-out’ rule for every regulation introduced

This article was written by Edward Malnick and originally published on The Telegraph website.

Boris Johnson has endorsed plans to tear up red tape by resurrecting the Coalition’s rule that two “unnecessary” regulations must be scrapped for every one introduced by his Government.

This week, the Government will publish a consultation that is expected to set out proposals for a “one-in-two-out” rule on red tape, to “seize the opportunities” of the UK’s independence from the European Union.

The consultation, signed off by Mr Johnson’s Cabinet committee on better regulation, is also expected to set out plans for faster reviews of new rules, two years after they are introduced, to ensure they are not burdensome for businesses and consumers or costing too much.

It could additionally lead to some new regulations having to be signed off by a committee of Cabinet ministers before they can be introduced to Parliament.

The ideas were contained in a report by Mr Johnson’s Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform, comprising Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Theresa Villiers, and George Freeman, the Conservative backbenchers. The Prime Minister is said to want to adopt the policies as early as in the autumn, following a consultation.

Last week, Mr Johnson told John Penrose, the Government’s competition tsar, who has also proposed a one-in-two-out regime, that he supported the proposal.

A Government source said: “Now is the right time to modernise our approach to regulation, as we recover from Covid and seize the opportunities of being an independent nation.

“The last thing we want is for red tape to hold our businesses back from new innovations and opportunities so we’re looking at ambitious reforms which mean we can free ourselves from unnecessary EU laws, and meet the Prime Minister’s bold ambitions and ensure that the UK is at the forefront of global innovation.”

Sir Iain, Ms Villiers and Mr Freeman had said that Brexit meant “we can adapt regulation to reflect our national interest” because the country’s decisions on regulations “are no longer dependent on lengthy negotiations and compromises with 27 other countries.”

Their report stated that the country’s regulatory regime would be “sharpened by the discipline of ‘one in, two out’, to temper the natural urge for new rules to respond to perceived new problems.”

A similar regime was introduced in David Cameron’s Coalition government , which said that the move resulted in Whitehall departments “removing around £963 million more in business burdens than they introduced” in 2011 and 2012.

“Now it is possible to apply this to laws we inherited whilst in the EU as well, which we couldn’t do when we were still members,” a Government source said.

Currently, new regulations are reviewed five years after they are introduced. The consultation is expected to set out the Government’s intention to carry out “much more swift and rigorous” reviews after two years instead. Rules found to undermine their purpose can then be adjusted or repealed “before the impact on business, consumers or the taxpayer becomes too great.”

Ministers also want to introduce tougher scrutiny of regulations before they are implemented to stop the introduction of rules that impose excessive burdens on businesses and consumers. The MPs’ report had suggested that the Cabinet’s better regulation sub-committee , chaired by Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, “could ultimately be charged with signing off the creation of new regulations”.

Proposals expected to be included in the Government consultation also include plans to expand the use of so-called “sandboxes”, under which regulators such as the Financial Conduct Authority currently allow firms to test new products or services with waivers for some rules.

“To ensure agile, proportionate, evidence-based assessments of new products, services and business models we propose a much wider adoption of the ‘sandbox’ approach,” the report by Sir Iain, Ms Villiers and Mr Freeman stated last month.