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David Cameron has ordered ministers to cut regulations.
In a letter sent to Whitehall departments today the prime minister said ministerial teams would be personally accountable for the number of regulations coming out of their offices.
"Where regulation is well-designed and proportionate, it should stay," he said.
"But it is hard to believe that we need government regulations on issues such as ice cream van musical jingles, or the display of bed prices.
"We know we have inherited far too much costly, pointless, and illiberal government red tape."
He said he wanted the coalition to be the first government in modern history to leave office having reduced the "overall burden of regulation" rather than increasing it.
The move was welcomed by director of business and regulation at the British Retail Consortium, Tom Ironside, who said red tape ties up time and money that retailers would rather spend growing their business.
"Some rules are useful. Those that keep people safe and protect consumers' rights will stay. When other regulations are put to the test, we're confident many will turn out to be unnecessary or to duplicate other legislation," he said.
But he warned that it must not be undermined by the introduction of new regulations such as the supermarket adjudicator or a tobacco display ban.
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