The First Secretary of State, Chancellor and Attorney General wrote to departments told on Monday urging them to be ‘bold and ambitious’ in removing red tape that’s delaying policy
The Government is set to axe needless ‘box-ticking’ consultations like whether the public supports microchipping cats(Image: Getty)
The Government is set to axe needless ‘box-ticking’ consultations to speed up delivery after the public were asked three times for their views on microchipping cats.
The First Secretary of State, Chancellor and Attorney General wrote to departments told on Monday urging them to be “bold and ambitious” in removing the red tape that has clogged up the system and seen sweeping policy delays.
Ministers say the system has often ground to a halt by relying on outside groups, leaving policies stuck while consultations drag on. This included hold-ups to public health measures such as adding folic acid to flour, which was delayed for seven years.
Similarly, between 2019 and 2023, the Government asked the public three times for views on introducing legislation to microchip cats, including gathering views on the legal definition of a cat.
Despite 99% of respondents to the first Call for Evidence supporting microchipping cats in the same way as dogs, it took nearly five years to make it happen: one call for evidence, two further consultations, legislation through Parliament before finally being enacted in June 2024.
First Secretary of State, Louise Haigh said: “To deliver change at the pace and scale the public expects, my department is stripping out needless bureaucracy.
“If we can’t microchip cats without getting tied up in red tape, it should come as no surprise the public is losing faith that governments can get things done.
“Governments are elected to lead – not hide behind process. We are taking steps today to speed up decision-making and deliver the change our country needs.”
An expert central team is already in place to support departments across Whitehall, and block new consultation duties before they get added to Bills, ensuring departments can deliver change without delay.
The Government says clearing this backlog will end the nightmare of endless written surveys, which rarely capture the true views of communities or effectively shape policy.
It follows the Chancellor John Healey earlier this week vowing to take “an axe” to the “thicket of consultation, litigation and administration that has a stranglehold” on private investment.
In a major speech, Mr Healey pledged to end the burden of consultations slowing down policy, saying “the people who elected us as a government expect us to get on with it. The role of government is to act”.
He added: “I will end the consultation culture at the Treasury and beyond – supported by new guidance from the Attorney General today that legal risk is not the be-all and end-all of ministerial decisions. “
