Regulators to face twice-yearly checks in drive to slash red tape

Regulators will face twice-yearly performance reviews from ministers aimed at making them more growth-friendly, after the chancellor warned that "too much bureaucracy" was holding back the economy.

- Heather Stewart Helena Horton

Rachel Reeves met financial, environmental and health regulators in Downing Street yesterday, urging them to continue to streamline and become more pro-business.

"There are a number of things over the last decade or so that have held back growth, and one of them - if we are honest and you know better than anyone - is the regulatory landscape," said Reeves. "Too much overlapping regulation, too much bureaucracy, too slow to get things done: it is something that myself and other ministers hear all the time."

Treasury officials said regulators would be asked to submit "key performance indicators" by June, and would then face biannual appraisal meetings with the relevant minister to check their progress.