NAO report on the perception of red tape by business

A survey of businesses the National Audit Office (NAO) has been published which found that "almost no businesses think that complying with regulation has become easier or less time consuming in the last year. The majority think that things have remained the same and over a third think that the burden of regulation has got worse. On the other hand, 42 per cent of businesses think that government is getting the right balance of regulation to protect people and the environment." The full text of the report is available on the NAO website.

Reform public finance report published

Think tank Reform has published a report "The end of entitlement" looking at how the British middle class needs to decide between giving up welfare benefits or having tax increase by 8%. The full text of the report is available on Reform's website.

Results of the latest Deloitte quarterly survey of finance directors

A Deloitte survey of 120 Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) found that financial optimism has reached the highest level since the Survey started in September 2007. However just 14% of CFOs expect a return to normal or trend rates of growth in their markets in 2010. CFOs believe the corporate sector is entering new era of lower gearing and greater financial conservatism.

CBI blueprint for balancing UK public sector budget

The CBI has released a report saying that radical public services reform is needed to deliver savings of £120bn. The full text of the report is available on the CBI website. It is called "Doing more with less: A credible strategy for restoring the public finances".