Strip EU directives of ‘gold-plating’, says IoD report

THE Institute of Directors (IoD) has called on ministers to strip European Union (EU) regulations that have been integrated into UK laws of their “gold-plating” to ease the burden on firms.

A report published today by the lobbying group suggested “gold-plating” – which occurs when a government has introduced more than the minimum requirement of a directive – puts additional restrictions on companies.

The UK government has already promised to implement just the bare bones of future EU directives, but the IoD wants to see previous gold-plating on measures already incorporated into UK laws to be “justified”, “simplified” or “removed”.

Alexander Ehmann, the IoD’s head of regulatory affairs, said: “The EU is responsible for producing much of the employment law that affects British business, but the situation has been made worse by over-zealous implementation by successive governments.”

Business minister Michael Fallon replied: “I have written to departments asking them to investigate any historic gold-plating that holds back growth.”