The Government has been criticised for its slow moving in terms of the cuts it had promised to make to employment regulation to ease the burdens on employers.

An official survey has shown that over half of those asked, fifty five percent, said that they believed red tape was a massive burden to the growth of their business and ability to employ. The figure is down from a previous survey in 2009 which cited sixty two percent, but the manufacturers group EEF still think it is too high.

Some might say that the Government is in a difficult position. It must ensure it doesn't make a mistake by not properly analysing any change in regulation, yet at the same time, its inflexibility means that watered down reductions or repeals of regulation are often too little too late. The Policy Director at EEF, Steve Radley, said "the view from industry is that progress is too slow." EEF would prefer that the Government use the pending reforms to usher in a reduction in regulatory pressure.

The report did not show there to be much hope for improvement in the near future with forty six percent saying that they didn't believe that any significant change would take place over the next twelve months. It seems there are quite a few sceptical business minds over what the Government is actually going to do to make a tangible difference. Many of these people seem to have their own ideas on what it is the Government needs to do to really make a different. The Department for Business and Skills said that one in nine companies has contacted them with an idea on how to improve matters.

Industry experts have been saying for a while that the key to getting more people employed is to cut regulation, which would in turn give employers more confidence in their abilities to employ and where necessary, dismiss. Business and Enterprise Minister, Mark Prisk, commented that the reduced number of people believing that red tape was an issue was indicative of the fact that people had gained confidence in the Government's efforts and that progress was being made.