Speaking at the CBI conference in London today, David Cameron pledged to reduce the number of consultations and judicial reviews, to speed up the smooth-running of government, and reduce red tape for business.

There are plans to shake up the consultation process, dropping the last government's recommendation that all government policy implementation had to be preceded by a minimum three-month consultation. In an upbeat speech, Cameron said: 'Consultations, impact assessments, audits, reviews, stakeholder management, securing professional buy-in, complying with EU procurement rules, assessing sector feedback this is not how we became one of the most powerful, prosperous nations on earth.

'It's not how you get things done. As someone once said, if Christopher Columbus had an advisory committee he would probably still be stuck in the dock.'

On government consultations, he said timescales would be reduced where possible and the number of consultations would also be reduced. 'When we came to power there had to be a three month consultation on everything and I mean everything, no matter how big or small. So we are saying to ministers: here's a revolutionary idea - you decide how long a consultation period this actually needs. If you can get it done properly in a fortnight, great. And we are going further, saying: if there is no need for a consultation, then don't have one.'

In recognition of the growing burden of European legislation, Cameron added: 'It holds us back. It clogs things up. So we are fighting back hard. We're having EU accounting rules reduced and micro-enterprises exempted. Last month I worked with Angela Merkel to stop a new torrent of rules and regulations reaching the in-tray.

'So now - for the very first time in Brussels - we have a commitment to look at existing regulations as well as new ones coming in. This is about finally getting that ratchet of European legislation to start going in the opposite direction and every summit I go to, every meeting I have with other leaders I am making that happen.'

He admitted that 'the problem isn't always the legislation itself, it's how we interpret it. You get laws gold-plated with reams of pointless reports'.

While the issue of corporate tax avoidance was not addressed in the speech, Cameron stressed that the country was open for business and the decision to reduce corporation tax rates to the lowest in the G7 was to attract investment and drive business growth.