Radio adverts’ red tape to be cut after Brexit
SMALL PRINT should be stripped from radio advertisements on the day after the Brexit transition period, a crossparty group says today.
The Red Tape Initiative (RTI), led by Sir Oliver Letwin, the Conservatives’ former policy guru, has drawn up 37 proposals to cut bureaucracy when the UK leaves the EU.
The plans include exempting radio stations from regulations requiring car and credit card advertisements to spell out terms and conditions – a move the group said would be possible “whatever kind of Brexit we end up with”.
The proposals also include potentially scrapping incoming regulation to require pharmacists to scan every medicine in front of their customer, running the products through a central database before they are handed over.
Sir Oliver said they were plans intended to “carry consensus” and be “quickly do-able”.
The group, which has reported its findings to Greg Clark, the Business Secretary, was set up to scrap unneces- sary rules and regulations derived from Brussels, as soon as the UK formally leaves the EU. Theresa May’s proposed Brexit deal appears to cast doubt on whether some of the proposals – such as reforming “state aid” diktats – could be implemented if the controversial “backstop” kicks in.
However, Nick Tyrone, RTI’s director general, said it could still be possible to make changes to such rules by changing the regulations through which they have been implemented in this country. RTI’s proposals follow an 18-month inquiry with the group taking evidence from more than 300 businesses and trade unions.
Under the EU’s Consumer Credit Directive, all forms of advertisements offering credit arrangements must include terms and conditions setting out an interest rate and any other figures relating to the cost of the credit to the customer. The directive typically affects advertisements for products such as sofas and cars, as well as credit cards and insurance.
On television and in newspapers, small print is usually spelled out in text. In the case of radio, a narrator has to read out the terms, which can add up to 15 seconds of airtime to an advertisement, according to the industry.
The proposal to exempt radio advertisements from the rules comes after broadcasters said the current rules cost advertisers £28million per year for the airtime needed to set out the small print, and £69million in reduced revenue as a result of the “reduction in the effectiveness” of adverts with lengthy terms and conditions.
The radio industry has also said it loses £40million a year from firms that are put off placing radio advertise- ments because of the need to read out terms and conditions.
RTI concluded that the rules “unfairly impact radio, where it would be better if consumers were given specific details of a website for the full terms and conditions”.
Other proposals include lifting restrictions on the Government offering cut-price loans to builders constructing council homes and subsidising less popular flight routes within the UK, which could be affected by agreements in Mrs May’s deal on matching the EU’s rules governing state aid to private firms.