Liz Truss has announced that she will cut more EU red tape to allow British businesses to thrive and benefit from Brexit freedoms.
The Prime Minister and her Business Secretary, Jacob Rees-Mogg, have announced plans to redefine the term “small business,” releasing 40,000 businesses from onerous paperwork requirements.
The change is only possible because Britain has left the EU’s control, and any company with fewer than 500 employees can now be classified as a small business.
Previously, the definition applied to companies with 50 to 249 employees, and it set a low bar, discouraging companies from expanding and creating more jobs.
The announcement follows last week’s mini-budget, which launched a new growth strategy to increase the British economy’s annual growth rate to at least 2.5 per cent.
Ms Truss has pledged to “get Britain moving,” the slogan of this year’s party conference in Birmingham, and to put an end to years of Brussel-led stagnation and unnecessary regulation.
She said: “By raising the definition of a small business, in terms of regulation, from 250 to 500 employees, we will be releasing 40,000 more businesses from red tape.
“That will make it easier for them to get on with their business, in turn boosting our economy and creating more jobs to help get Britain moving.
“Higher economic growth means higher wages, better jobs, and more funding for our public services and NHS”.
The rule change takes effect today and was one of the major issues identified by Mr Rees-Mogg while serving as Brexit Opportunities minister in Boris Johnson’s government.
The exemption will be applied in a proportionate manner to protect workers’ rights and other standards while easing the burden on growing businesses.