BOLTON and Bury Chamber has declared war on red tape.

And the campaign is being backed by well-known Bury businessman Toni Hankins who is concerned about the amount of valuable time being wasted on dealing with paperwork.

The level of regulation that firms face is one of the major obstacles to business success in the UK, says the chamber.

And the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) estimates that regulatory burdens will cost UK firms around a staggering £10 billion over Labour's first term of government.

Now, to fight back against the growing level and complexity of regulation, businesses can make their voice heard via the BCC's Cut Red Tape campaign.

The BCC is inviting businesses to come forward with their concerns via a new website which is on www.britishchambers.org.uk/cutredtape.

This will be used to influence government changes. The site is also an ideal way to keep up with the latest regulations.

One of the many chamber members feeling the burden of red tape is Mr Hankins, managing director of Bury-based Rowe Hankins Components.

He says: "A proliferation of new environmental legislation is being introduced that is lacking common sense. "We are now required to complete a complex waste audit, even though we produce only about one typical wheelie bin full of paper based waste per week."

He added: "Intra Stats on EU imports and exports are another pain in the neck. Customs and Excise used to produce these, but now the onus is on the company, which takes up two to three days per month.

"In my view, our complex tax system requires a major overhaul.

"How much of our 17.5 per cent VAT is spent on wasted bureaucracy? Why pay for an independent annual audit for the VAT people to duplicate this effort and why pre-pay our VAT and suffer from negative cashflow?"

He went on: "The pound is strong, exports are hard, our profit margins are squeezed, yet more and more management time is spent dealing with red tape when we should be getting on with running the business."

For advice on new legislation or to voice local business concerns about red tape, contact Briony Simister at Bolton and Bury Chamber on 0845 6016010.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.