Number of new laws increased in 2012, reports legal publisher

The number of new laws introduced by the UK Government rose for the first time in three years in 2012, according to Sweet & Maxwell.

The legal publisher said 1,466 new laws were introduced last year – up 8% on the 1,355 introduced in 2011. However, the figure is still lower than for 2009 (1,685) and 2010 (1,495).

Among the major pieces of legislation introduced in 2012 affecting local authorities and other public bodies were the Protection of Freedoms Act, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act and the Health and Social Care Act.

The Government has sought to cut the overall burden of legislation on businesses by conducting a 'Red Tape Challenge' and introducing a ‘One-in, One-out’ policy on new regulations (subsequently increased to a ‘One-in, Two-out’).

Daniel Greenberg, the author of “Laying Down the Law” (published by Sweet & Maxwell), said: “This is a worrying indicator that part of the Government’s aim to reduce red tape for businesses by lowering the number of new laws has taken a temporary hit and may be running into difficulties.

“Although the ultimate aim of a lot of these reforms is to lighten the regulatory load for businesses, there is still a huge amount of change for them to digest at a time when they are battling a tough economic climate.”

Greenberg added: “For example, the Localism Act is aimed at speeding up planning processes but the short term impact has been a wave of new regulations and procedures for businesses to absorb. This shows that even with the best intentions to avoid red tape, the immediate impact of any major reform agenda is almost invariably a headache for businesses as they grapple with the new ways of doing things.”