On 1 July 2010, the United Kingdom (UK) Government launched the 'Your Freedom' website which invites the British public to suggest ways of cutting red tape for businesses, repealing unnecessary laws and supporting civil liberties.

After registering with the 'Your Freedom' website, users will be able to submit their ideas about how a law could be changed. They can also rate or give comments on other peoples' ideas. The Government will respond to the ideas, and intends that the resulting dialogue will have a direct influence on government policy and law-making.

The focus of the website is on identifying laws and regulations which should be abolished. The submitted ideas are grouped into three policy areas:

• restoring civil liberties
• repealing unnecessary laws
• cutting business and third sector regulations

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "This website shows people aren't indifferent to the way they're governed; people do want to make their voice heard. Some of the ideas are ones we are looking at very, very actively straight away." He added: "It makes a huge difference to us to hear your ideas directly from you."

In its first 11 days, there were more than 1.5 million visits, and 3 799 ideas on repealing laws were submitted, ranging from repealing the fox hunting ban to halting the switch to Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) radios.

Note: Crown copyright material reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO.

Further information:

• Original news article - UK Ministry of Justice
• Your Freedom website