Question
asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the debate on the European Union (Implications of Withdrawal) Bill [HL] on 8 June (Official Report, cols. 1410–56), what is the reason for the difference between the £60 billion annual cost to the United Kingdom economy of European Union over-regulation as contained in the government report Global Europe: full-employment Europe and the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Oldham on 15 May (WA 23) that the regulatory burden was £6.3 billion per annum.
Answer
The government report Global Europe: full-employment Europe does not include a figure for the annual cost to the United Kingdom economy of European Union over-regulation. The figure of £6.3 billion refers to the estimated proportion of overall administrative burdens on business, charities and the voluntary sector in England which derive from EU legislation, excluding financial services legislation. This is based on data published by the Government on 11 December 2006, following an exercise conducted by the Cabinet Office to measure the cost to business, charities and the voluntary sector of providing information required under both international and domestic legal obligations.