Radio adverts' red tape 'should be cut on day after Brexit transition'

The group, which has reported its findings to Greg Clark, the Business Secretary, was set up to scrap unnecessary 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 - including reforming  “state aid” diktats - could be imposed 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 which has seen the group take evidence from more than 300 businesses and trade unions.

Its advisory board includes Lord Butler, the former head of the civil service, Charles Moore, the former editor of The Daily Telegraph, and David Laws, the ex-Liberal Democrat education minister.

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 broadcasters said the current rules cost advertisers £28 million of pounds per year for the airtime needed to set out the small print, and £69 million in reduced revenue as a result of the "reduction in the effectiveness" of adverts with lengthy terms and conditions.

The radio industry has also says it loses £40 million a year from firms which are put off placing radio advertisements 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 who were interested were given specific details of a website for the full terms and conditions."

Its report suggests amending the directive to include a specific exemption for radio advertisements, which would instead include a web address "where potential consumers can find the full terms and conditions as they apply."

In another case, RTI says  describes the Falsified Medicines Directive, which is due to come into effect in February, as a "sledgehammer to crack a nut".

The directive will "require any outlet that distributes pharmaceutical products, from 9 February 2019, to ensure that every package is scanned in sight of the customer and validated through a central data base before being dispensed."

RTI said the directive was intended to tackle counterfeit drugs, which, while a "genuine problem in several parts of the EU", would in the UK "add unnecessary and burdensome bureaucracy to solve a problem which this country does not have."

It recommends an inquiry to examine repealing relevant parts of the directive.

Mr Tyrone said the consumer credit and falsified medicines directives were both examples of "fixable" red tape,  "whatever kind of Brexit we end up with".

The proposals also include lifting restrictions on the Government offering cut-price loans to builders constructing council home 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.