{"id":277848,"date":"2026-03-16T14:26:53","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T14:26:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/?p=277848"},"modified":"2026-03-16T14:27:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T14:27:31","slug":"small-businesses-lose-379m-hours-a-year-on-red-tape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/small-businesses-lose-379m-hours-a-year-on-red-tape\/","title":{"rendered":"Small businesses \u2018lose 379m hours a year\u2019 on red tape"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"\">\n<header class=\"article-header \"><time class=\"date-time__time\" datetime=\"2026-03-16T00:01:00+00:00\"><br \/>\nMonday 16 March 2026 12:01 am <\/time><br \/>\n|\u00a0<span class=\"date-time__updated\">\u00a0Updated:\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<time class=\"date-time__time\" datetime=\"2026-03-14T12:33:18+00:00\"><br \/>\nSaturday 14 March 2026 12:33 pm <\/time><\/header>\n<p><!-- Ads Injected --><\/p>\n<p>Small businesses lose around 379m hours a year and spend around \u00a336bn a year on dealing with red tape, new research has indicated, piling pressure on the Labour government to fast-track its deregulatory drive.<\/p>\n<p>Business secretary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cityam.com\/investors-hit-out-at-peter-kyle-for-picking-winners\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Peter Kyle <\/a>has emphasised that the government remains committed to reducing the regulatory burden on businesses by up to 25 per cent by 2030, a bold pledge that could support growth.<\/p>\n<p>But new research has pointed to small business owners\u2019 grievances with red tape and pains in attempting to sort concerns, with \u201cswathes of red tape\u201d preventing growth.<\/p>\n<p>Just one in ten owners surveyed by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cityam.com\/people-and-organizations\/federation-of-small-businesses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) <\/a>said it was easy to resolve complaints and concerns on red tape.<\/p>\n<p>Around 41 per cent suggested guidance by regulators was easy to understand while most said they did not get a quick response when they needed help.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-auto-inject\" style=\"margin: 20px auto;\">\n<div id=\"mc_embed_shell\">Research by the industry body suggested that small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) spent \u00a336bn on regulation each year and lost millions of hours each year \u2013 equivalent to watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy around 33m times \u2013 in work on productive areas.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Tina McKenzie, FSB\u2019s policy chair, said while rules were needed to allow for competition, \u201cthe pendulum may have swung too far in the opposite direction\u201d.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"read-more read-more--has-media read-more-auto\">\n<div class=\"read-more__content\">\n<h4 class=\"read-more__title\"><a class=\"read-more__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cityam.com\/balfour-beatty-sees-growing-profit-as-it-bets-on-uk-energy-and-defence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Balfour Beatty shares soar as firm bets on UK energy and defence<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThink of all the time and money that could be invested in new products or processes, or expansion, rather than being used up trying to work out how an obscure or confusing rule applies to a particular small firm\u2019s situation,\u201d McKenzie said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPast governments have made all the right noises about simplifying and easing regulation, but their efforts have fallen short of what\u2019s needed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRegulators themselves also have a huge part to play, and their commitment to helping small firms with compliance needs to be more than lip service.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-small-businesses-demand-tax-reform\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Small businesses demand tax reform<\/h2>\n<p>The Labour government has centred its deregulatory efforts around diluting powers held by the Financial Ombudsman Service, watering down <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cityam.com\/urgent-and-consistent-policies-needed-to-revive-sme-housebuilding\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">planning<\/a> red tape and pushing through digital changes in compliance.<\/p>\n<p>But business groups have argued that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cityam.com\/employment-bill-sparks-sme-fear-over-costs-and-red-tape\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Employment Rights Act<\/a> was set to hamper firms with additional labour costs. The government\u2019s own analysis has suggested it will add up to \u00a31bn in costs.<\/p>\n<p>FSB officials have questioned whether the 25 per cent burden reduction target will be achieved if HMRC and Companies House are not accounted for.<\/p>\n<p>They also warned that the regulatory policy committee, an independent body set up by the government to scrutinise red tape, did not have enough powers as regulators were not required to estimate the costs of new rules when they are introduced.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"read-more read-more--has-media read-more-auto\">\n<div class=\"read-more__content\">\n<h5 class=\"read-more__label\">Read more<\/h5>\n<h4 class=\"read-more__title\"><a class=\"read-more__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cityam.com\/business-confidence-slumps-ahead-of-spring-statement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Business confidence slumps ahead of Spring Statement<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<footer class=\"article-footer \">\n<div class=\"tags-collection article-footer__tags-collection\">\n<h2 class=\"screen-reader-text\">Similarly tagged content:<\/h2>\n<nav class=\"tags \">\n<h3 class=\"tags__title\">Sections<\/h3>\n<\/nav>\n<nav class=\"tags \">\n<h3 class=\"tags__title\">Categories<\/h3>\n<\/nav>\n<nav class=\"tags \">\n<h3 class=\"tags__title\">People &amp; Organisations<\/h3>\n<\/nav>\n<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<\/div>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cityam.com\/small-businesses-lose-379m-hours-a-year-on-red-tape\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/contact-us\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14\" src=\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/footer-300x100.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/footer-300x100.png 300w, https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/footer-150x50.png 150w, https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/footer.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/1\/embed?mid=1w4tN9mf5kVdBXUXTq2KvwE23NmpUzEna\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 0px #ffffff none;\" src=\"https:\/\/calendar.google.com\/calendar\/embed?src=sc635csnrm8h9s9lq0cad6vkss@group.calendar.google.com\" name=\"myiFrame\" width=\"600px\" height=\"3px\" frameborder=\"1\" marginwidth=\"0px\" marginheight=\"0px\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.dominiclevent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Business_Solicitors_London.jpg\" width=\"600\" \/><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>Dominic Levent Solicitors<\/div>\n<div>Email: Enquiries@dominiclevent.com<\/div>\n<div>Phone: 020 8347 6640<\/div>\n<div>Url: https:\/\/www.dominiclevent.com<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: none;\">cash, check, credit card, invoice<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>1345 High Rd<\/div>\n<div>London, London N20 9HR<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Monday 16 March 2026 12:01 am |\u00a0\u00a0Updated:\u00a0 Saturday 14 March 2026 12:33 pm Small businesses lose around 379m hours a year and spend around \u00a336bn a year on dealing with red tape, new research has indicated, piling pressure on the Labour government to fast-track its deregulatory drive. Business secretary Peter Kyle has emphasised that the &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/small-businesses-lose-379m-hours-a-year-on-red-tape\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Small businesses \u2018lose 379m hours a year\u2019 on red tape&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-277848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news1","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Small businesses \u2018lose 379m hours a year\u2019 on red tape - Dominic Levent Solicitors Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/small-businesses-lose-379m-hours-a-year-on-red-tape\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Small businesses \u2018lose 379m hours a year\u2019 on red tape - Dominic Levent Solicitors Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Monday 16 March 2026 12:01 am |\u00a0\u00a0Updated:\u00a0 Saturday 14 March 2026 12:33 pm Small businesses lose around 379m hours a year and spend around \u00a336bn a year on dealing with red tape, new research has indicated, piling pressure on the Labour government to fast-track its deregulatory drive. 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