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Good morning everyone.

Let me start by saying it鈥檚 a real pleasure to be here.

Over the past year I鈥檝e spoken at least half a dozen local Chamber of Commerce events, everywhere from Westminster to Birmingham to Durham.

At this rate I鈥檓 not quite going to make it round all 52 chambers before the next election!

But I know that with a membership of 100,000 companies employing almost 5 million people, there鈥檚 no better way to take the pulse of British industry than to talk to the BCC.

As far as I鈥檓 concerned, you really are the voice of business in this country.

Now the name of this session is 鈥楴ew Dawn or Back to the Future鈥�.

So in that spirit let鈥檚 hop into our DeLorean, get up to 88 miles per hour and travel back in time to 1978!

I鈥檓 a 9-year-old schoolboy in Bristol, with a full head of thick, dark hair.

A short walk from here, in Downing Street, Prime Minister James Callaghan is, just about, clinging on to power.

One of his administration鈥檚 final acts is to throw more than 拢50 million of taxpayers鈥� money at the creation of an American carmaker. The DeLorean Motor Company. In return for the government covering half of the company鈥檚 start-up costs, DMC bases itself in Northern Ireland.

But construction of its factory is plagued by delays.

The cars themselves quickly win a reputation for being poorly made, overpriced and unreliable.

Fewer than 10,000 are ever built.

And after just 4 years the company goes bankrupt 鈥� taking a thousand jobs and a vast pile of taxpayers鈥� money with it.

In the end, DeLorean provided the world with 2 things.

The basis of Doc and Marty鈥檚 fictional time machine.

And an all-too-real case study of what government involvement in business should not look like.

You see, nobody knows business like business.

And politicians who use taxpayers鈥� money to try and pick winners or take over private companies almost inevitably end up with egg on their face.

That鈥檚 why my approach to industry is very different to many of my predecessors.

I鈥檓 not singling out one industry or sector or company and trying to force it to be a success.

I鈥檓 working to create the conditions in which all businesses can thrive.

Now before I say more about that, let me address an important issue.

Because the media silence on this issue has been deafening, but you may have heard there鈥檚 a referendum coming up on the European Union!

Later this year we鈥檙e going to have a referendum, and we鈥檝e all had to think hard about the decision we鈥檙e going to have to make.

I, personally, have no time for ever-closer political union.

But I accept the UK does well from being part of a 500-million strong single market.

I see the benefits of the many trade agreements that have been negotiated by Brussels in the 4 decades since we joined.

And I recognise that it could take many years to replicate that position following a British withdrawal.

Since the Single Market was launched it has added more than 拢200 billion a year to the EU economy in today鈥檚 prices.

However, regardless of whether we vote to stay or go, one thing is clear.

In 2016 we can鈥檛 afford to only trade with the close and the familiar.

The world is too big, the international marketplace is too diverse to simply stick with our neighbours on the continent or our Anglophone allies in North America.

But on this incredibly important issue, my mind is made up.

It鈥檚 about head v heart and I thought with my head: for businesses, jobs and growth, remaining in the EU is the best answer.

Now at the start of this year, John Longworth had a very simple request for government.

He wanted to see deeds, not words.

Action, not reviews.

Decisions, not dithering.

Well, John, I like to think that鈥檚 exactly what we鈥檝e been doing!

We鈥檝e already delivered the lowest rate of corporation tax in the G7, set the investment allowance at its highest ever permanent level, and lifted thousands of people out of employer National Insurance contributions.

And in the previous Parliament we gained a unique distinction.

We became the first government in recent history to reduce overall levels of regulation.

Between 2010 and 2015 we cut 拢10 billion of red tape.

The World Economic Forum says the UK has the lowest burden of regulation in the G7.

And the proportion of businesses saying government regulation is a barrier to success fell from 62 per cent in 2009 to 51 per cent in 2014.

But that鈥檚 still too high.

So today I can tell you that we鈥檙e going to reduce the regulatory burden still further.

Under the , all governments are required to publish and report on their performance against a business impact target (BIT).

That鈥檚 the value of deregulation they hope to achieve, and how they plan to measure it.

This morning, we鈥檙e publishing a BIT of 拢10 billion.

That鈥檚 right 鈥� we want to cut the cost of regulation by another 拢10 billion.

It鈥檚 an ambitious target not just because of its size, but also because of its scope.

For the first time ever, the BIT doesn鈥檛 just cover the impact of legislation.

It also includes the way statutory regulators enforce existing rules.

Rather than being allowed to hide behind red tape, they鈥檙e going to have to look at the cost to business of the way they work.

We鈥檙e also introducing a new rule for government departments.

In the last Parliament we introduced a policy called 鈥極ne in, two out鈥�.

It meant that every time a new regulation that cost money to comply with was introduced, the government had to remove or modify existing rules with double the cost to business.

For every 1 pound of regulatory burden we created, 2 pounds worth had to be removed.

Today I can announce that we鈥檙e upgrading that to 鈥極ne in, three out.

If departments want to bring in new regulatory costs for things that weren鈥檛 in our manifesto, they will be expected to find savings worth 3 times as much.

This won鈥檛 be easy to achieve.

But it will certainly focus the minds of policymakers.

It鈥檚 very easy for a Whitehall bureaucrat to come up with an idea that looks great on paper and, with the stroke of a pen, place a huge extra burden on businesses.

But if that same civil servant has to also find ways to remove 3 times as much red tape, they鈥檒l think twice before putting new regulations in place.

We鈥檙e also bringing departments, regulators and businesses together for a rolling programme of .

The first 3 of these reviews, covering waste, energy and adult social care, are being published today.

And you鈥檒l be pleased to hear that they鈥檙e not just languishing on the dusty shelves of Whitehall.

They鈥檙e being used to implement real change.

So John, while we have brought you reviews, we have also brought you action!

For example, the waste review found that delays and unnecessary burdens associated with the environmental permit system cost legitimate businesses millions of pounds a year.

By the end of this month, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will publish revised guidance that makes the whole process a lot less burdensome.

The energy review revealed that existing rules led to some businesses being charged for both generating and storing energy.

That cost one company alone, for example, 拢10 million extra a year.

Following the review, the Department of Energy and Climate Change is now consulting on whether to update the regulations, a move that could benefit consumers, businesses and the environment.

And the adult social care review found that care homes in England have to deal with inspections by local authorities, clinical commissioning groups, the Care Quality Commission, their local fire service, the Health and Safety Executive, and independent organisations like Healthwatch.

Over the course of a year that鈥檚 1 inspection every 8 weeks! And they often involve the same people being asked the same questions.

As a result, the Department for Health and the Department for Communities and Local Government are putting in place a new action plan.

It will make co-ordination between all those bodies the norm rather than a novelty.

Finally, I am today launching a root and branch review of the way local authorities regulate businesses.

For many businesses, especially smaller ones, your local council is the arm of government you have the most contact with. And it can also be the source of a huge amount of troublesome red tape, much of it built up over many years without being properly reviewed and updated.

The review鈥檚 findings will be shared right across government, going to all relevant departments and regulators.

And its aim is to agree a set of reforms, covering both legislation and enforcement, that will reduce unnecessary costs and burdens on business.

It all comes down to my fundamental view that government should stand behind business rather than in your way.

That regulation should provide necessary protection for consumers, for employers, for employees, without making it harder for you to make a living.

I grew up above the family business. I spent most of my adult life working in business. I know just how hard it is to make a business work.

And how that task gets infinitely harder when you have to deal with petty, pointless bureaucracy.

That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 different to many previous Business Secretaries. Because I trust you to get on with what you do so well. I don鈥檛 believe that you need someone from the government peering over your shoulder all the time.

I know that the vast, vast majority of British businesses are run by responsible, hardworking men and women who know their jobs much better than I do.

You deserve a regulatory regime that鈥檚 fit for business and fit for the future. And with me, that鈥檚 exactly what you鈥檙e going to get.

Thank you.