Thousands of businesses will be made exempt from safety inspections as visits are focused on “businesses operating in higher risk areas such as construction.”

The move is part of a renewed attack on red tape which will see 3,000 regulations scrapped or revamped.

A shake-up in safety law will also see contractors only held liable for civil damages after accidents if they have acted negligently.

Currently firms can automatically be liable for damages even if they were not actually negligent.

The new push on reducing red tape is being led by business secretary Vince Cable and new construction minister Michael Fallon.

Fallon said: “We have identified the red tape and now we are going to cut it.

“We’re getting out of the way by bringing common sense back to health and safety. We will now be holding departments’ feet to the fire to ensure all unnecessary red tape is cut.”

For more details on Government red tape cuts and to have your say click here