Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an estimate of the total annual cost of regulation to UK businesses.

In 2023, the previous government repealed the Business Impact Target (BIT) through the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act. The BIT was the principal mechanism through which government made an estimate of the total annual cost of regulation to UK businesses. In place of that, the reformed Better Regulation Framework encourages an earlier and more thorough assessment of impacts of individual regulatory proposals. This government will use the framework to ensure that new regulations achieve their objectives, with the minimum cost to business and support economic growth. We will set out further proposals for regulatory reform in due course.