Cameron to launch judicial review reform

PRIME Minister David Cameron will today promise the return to Government of the wartime spirit which saw Britain win the Second World War as the country fights to win a global race for growth.

Mr Cameron will announce reforms to the judicial review system he argues is holding back development to prevent “time-wasting” as he vows an end to a “risk-averse” culture in Whitehall.

His speech at the CBI annual conference will also see the Government promise that any new regulation will be offset by reductions in red tape offering saving double the costs of the new rules.

He will say: “When this country was at war in the 40s, Whitehall underwent a revolution. Normal rules were circumvented. Convention was thrown out. As one historian put it, everything was thrown at “the overriding purpose” of beating Hitler. Well, this country is in the economic equivalent of war today – and we need the same spirit.

“We need to forget about crossing every ‘t’ and dotting every ‘i’ – and we need to throw everything we’ve got at winning in this global race.”

The reforms to the judicial review process will see claimants charged more and have fewer opportunities to appeal.

“Back in 1998 there were 4,500 applications for review and that number almost tripled in a decade,” he will say. “We urgently needed to get a grip on this.”

Mr Cameron will promise business leaders he “gets” that Britain is in global economic race and the private sector needs the Government to move faster.

He will also express determination to tackle the culture of “consultations, impact assessments, audits, reviews, stakeholder management, securing professional buy-in, complying with EU procurement rules, assessing sector feedback”.

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