Ex-Whitbread boss Alan Parker to be hospitality champion on red tape
Former Whitbread chief executive Alan Parker CBE has agreed to become the hospitality sector champion for the Government's major new initiative to cut bureaucracy.
Over the next two weeks, hotels, restaurants and pubs will have the chance to name and shame the regulations they want to see scrapped as part of the Red Tape Challenge.
Parker, who retired in November 2010 after 18 years with the firm, will provide expert knowledge on the issues faced by those in the industry and act as an intermediary between the sector and government.
He will also help direct the web-based discussions and lead a group made up of industry professionals who will action the feedback. Parker will then draw up a report and set of recommendations for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and government to implement.
The industry heavyweight has also agreed to take on a longer-term role as head of the Tourism Regulation Taskforce, ensuring that the wider barriers identified in the tourism strategy are dismantled.
The work will focus on unnecessary regulations that should be amended or appealed, review existing and proposed regulations at both the UK and EU level, where they affect tourism and the visitor economy and provide a forum to allow interested parties to be part of the debate.
Tourism minister John Penrose said: "The website that goes live today is a brilliant and simple tool for everyone involved in the hospitality, food and drink sectors to have their say, naming and shaming all the rules, regulations and red tape that are holding back their business growth and limiting their individual freedom."
Agriculture and food minister Jim Paice added: "Global demand for food is rising and there are going to be huge opportunities for the British food and drink industries in the coming years.
"Some regulations, such as those on food safety, make sense and are welcomed by consumers. However, the Government is committed to removing unnecessary barriers to growth and finding alternatives to regulation."
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By Helen Gilbert
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