A TEAM set up to tackle growing levels of bureaucracy has challenged Chancellor Gordon Brown to show he is on the side of business.
The Red Tape Team, funded by regional development agency Yorkshire Forward and operated through Yorkshire and Humber Chambers of Commerce, has called for the "cumulative burden of new regulation" to be addressed.
It has estimated that in the past six years, the collective cost of regulation for UK businesses has risen to £20.6bn, plus £10.2bn for implementing the national minimum wage.
Martin Hathaway, chief executive of Yorkshire and Humber Chambers of Commerce, said: "One of the Government's first duties in 2004 must be to improve understanding of how complying with new regulations impacts on business competitiveness at home and overseas."
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