The government has promised a new bill to reduce the regulatory burden on businesses in the Queen's Speech this week - Gordon Brown's first as Prime Minister.

The Monarch promised a new Regulatory enforcement and sanctions bill to 'reduce the regulatory burden on business'.

It is one of 22 Bills and seven draft bills in the Prime Minister's legislative programme.

The new measure will establish a 'Local Better Regulation Office, bringing consistency to local authority enforcement.

'It would put in place a range of administrative sanctions for regulatory non-compliance that would complement existing criminal sanctions and require that regulators would no maintain or impose unnecessary burdens.'

The bill would ensure that a priority would be 'reducing unnecessary burdens imposed by local authority regulatory services by promoting consistent, proportionate, effective and risk-based enforcement by trading standards and environmental health services.'

A National Contributions bill will 'raise the Upper Earnings Threshold for National Insurance Contributions to align with the higher rate threshold for income tax and introduce the Upper Accruals Point for the State Second Pensions in 2009.''

It will also implement the Budget 2007 commitment to 'modernise the personal tax and benefit system, offering more support for work, families and pensioners.'

The Speech also rejected the possibility of a referendum on the new European Reform Treaty saying that as key issues like UK tax matters are protected it should be ratified like previous treaties by Parliament rather than a popular vote.

Further reading:

Regulation: seeing red

Advisers to suffer from CGT changes