Britain's main statistics office is to get full independence from the government, Finance Minister Gordon Brown said in a bid to restore public confidence in official figures.
Mr Brown also tried to reinvigorate flagging business support for the government by scrapping plans for companies to submit detailed environmental and social strategies.
The Office for National Statistics is currently operationally independent but reports to the Treasury, prompting accusations of political interference from opposition politicians who have demanded it be freed from government control.
Fending off any criticism of official data ahead of his pre-budget report next week, Mr Brown said he would make official statistics the responsbility of a wholly separate body at arms length from government.
The independent Statistics Commission welcomed the plans. "This announcement heralds a real breakthrough in terms of statistical independence and we very much welcome it," said chairman David Rhind.
The head of the ONS, Karen Dunnell, said the announcement was an important step forward.
"ONS has always worked in an independent, open and transparent way but there has been a perception that this is not so, which has been very damaging for statistics as a whole," she said.
Under the new plans, to be set out in the New Year, the ONS will function on a statutorily independent basis like the Bank of England, which Mr Brown freed from government control in 1997.
Mr Brown also used his speech to the Confederation of British Industry to announce a series of measures aimed at cutting the regulatory burden on business, which has increasingly complained that government is not listening to its needs.
UK Treasury officials said these would include removal of the requirement for companies to file an Operating and Financial Review (OFR) setting out their business strategies on matters like the environment and employee relations.
"I understand the concerns about the extra administrative cost of the goldplated regulatory requirement that from April next year all quoted companies must publish an Operating and Financial Review," Mr Brown said.
"So we will abolish this requirement and reduce the burdens placed upon you."
Officials said around 1,300 of Britain's largest companies would benefit, saving up to a total of £33 million a year.
Business, which has ratcheted up criticism of the government in recent weeks over its handling of public sector pensions and energy policy, was pleased.
CBI director general Digby Jones had described the government's current relationship with industry as being at a "seminal" moment and demanded that Mr Brown, Prime Minister Tony Blair's most likely successor, adopt a more pro-business stance.
Reacting to news the OFR would be abolished, Jones said: "Business has said it wanted to see government action rather than fine words, and this is a very tangible deregulation move."
But investor groups and unions were disappointed, saying it would lower transparency.
Mr Brown said he was particularly concerned by the problem of "goldplating" - the accusation Britain overdoes things when it implements any European Union directives into domestic law.
He thus announced an audit of all areas where goldplating of European regulation has in fact led to additional burdens so they can be addressed and where possible removed.
Mr Brown also said he wants to redefine the relationship between business and the government through a new "risk-based" approach to regulation.
He also reported on plans to set specific quantified government targets for reducing administrative burdens.
"The first of these targets will be set in the Budget for HM Revenue and Customs. As a first step they are publishing today measures based on this risk based approach to save businesses up to £300 million a year of administration burdens," he said.