Ávarp á ráðstefnu um einföldun regluverks, 3. september 2013

ATH: Talað orð gildir

Ladies and Gentlemen – dear guests,

I am grateful for the opportunity to address this important workshop on simpler and more effective business regulation – a subject which is of great interest to me and the Government that I represent. I would like to thank the organisers and foreign experts especially for their input.

It is extremely valuable for us to be able to draw on the experience of leading practitioners in the field. The Dutch and UK have been at the forefront of developing action plans for delivering better regulation for more than a decade, not to mention the OECD‘s regulatory reform programme.

We cannot expect to be handed a blueprint or quick-fix solution – we will have to find our own solutions. We can however set our ambitions to base our work on sound principles - avoiding known pitfalls and failures – setting clear objectives to deliver tangible results for businesses and citizens.

In the current economic climate – recovery and growth is a key priority. The Government‘s platform document sets main principles to guide the path.

1. A positive business environment: We must create the conditions for private enterprise to develop, invest, create jobs and be profitable. The general business environment is a defining part of the competitiveness of any economy.
2. Sustainable and productivity lead growth: Growth must be based on innovation and increased productivity in all sectors, including the public sector.
3. A responsive and efficient government: Government must actively respond to the needs of citizens and businesses. Increased efficiency and better use of public funds through reforms and restructuring, as well as simplifying business regulation and cutting red tape.

The role of government in this sense is to create a sound business environment that boosts private enterprise and supports growth. It should create a level playing field with competitive markets that reward productive companies with success.

Although the objective behind regulating businesses and industries can be sound in many cases, those measures should not impose a greater burden than necessary. The burden of proof should lie on government to justify that regulatory measures are relevant and proportional. We are here to serve.

In our work we must be critical and ask ourselves these simple questions:

Is the regulation necessary? Does it have a clear purpose – what impact do we expect?
Does it serve its purpose? Is it implemented in such a manner that we can rely on its effect? (if not – it is a cost without value)

Is it too burdensome? Can we reach the same result with less paperwork?

The objective is to make government serve the public and provide value in its operations.

With this in mind, in my first weeks in office, I launched a reform programme within the Ministry based on the Governments platform, specifically targeted at the policy and tasks that our Ministry is responsible for. That includes the general business environment, innovation and support for start-up companies.

The main objective is simply to seek out where we can make things simpler, more effective and more successful.

The implementation of changes can in some cases call for regulatory action, but in others we are looking into co-ordination between agencies and one-stop shop solutions for applications.

In the recent weeks, I have personally visited over twenty innovation and start-up companies and met representatives of companies of all shapes and sizes...and they basically tell me what I already actually knew: that we can do so much better, in so many fields.
To give a concrete example.

I recently heard of a family who set up a small business in the tourism sector. They provided us with a list of all the documents they had to submit, the licenses they had to apply for and the assessments that had to be done before they could start operations.

In total, there were 55 documents that this family had to complete at seven different places in order to get the necessary licence:

• four at the Registry of Enterprises,
• three with the tax authorities,
• fifteen with the municipality,
• eight at the Tourist Board,
• three with the environmental authorities,
• seven at the Icelandic Transport Authority
• and fifteen with the local magistrate (or sheriff's office).

Some of this could be submitted electronically, but most of it had to be done manually. And some of it was repeating work already done.

I wonder whether these 55 documents will be the key to this family's success? I'm not convinced.

What I do know and am convinced of is that we can simplify this process and make our system work much more efficiently. And in our small society - these bodies should be able to share such information with each other.

So lets start this work.

Every journey starts with the first step. The important point is that our ideology is clear, the procedures are ready, and the will is there. We are therefore ready to begin this journey that I am convinced will be of great benefit to individuals, businesses and the administration alike.

I wish us all a successful day.