UK businesses want to see all new regulations subject to cost impact assessments, and not just those introduced by government, amid growing concerns about the growing compliance burden according to research by law firm Pinsent Masons.

In a survey of senior executives at major UK companies, 82% said cost assessments are vital so that the compliance cost to British business can be properly quantified. Currently the introduction of regulatory impact assessments only applies to government departments and not regulators who produce new rules.

Pinsent Masons's research found that 90% of businesses think that the cost of complying with UK regulation has gone up over the last three years, and 68% say the amount of regulation has increased, despite the government's commitment to a 'one in, one out' policy.

Barry Vitou, corporate crime partner at Pinsent Masons, said: 'By introducing an obligatory cost assessment for all new regulation, public bodies will see clearly the cost/regulation ratio and may pause before introducing new rules. This proposal would build in checks and balances to the process.'

The survey also highlighted concerns around the effectiveness of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in tackling fraud, with more than half (55%) of respondents saying it was inadequately resourced.

Vitou said: 'The government and SFO say they are committed to preventing bribery and corruption but the perception is that they are not equipped to perform the job because of lack of funds. This inevitably has an impact on SFO resources such as staff turnover. In recent years we have seen high-flying senior employees leave for the private sector.'