Standards & Guidance
Overhaul of regulation screening
New government guidelines on managing the regulatory
burden have been released alongside a
British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) report accusing the government’s better
regulation initiative of having major flaws.
Cabinet Office
minister Pat McFadden announced a new impact assessment (IA) process for
Whitehall departments, designed to ensure all new regulation is necessary and
implemented with minimum burdens.
Features of the new IA include requirements to
summarise the rationale for government intervention and evidence supporting the
final proposal; an online database of all IAs; revised guidance for policy
makers; and an increased emphasis on reviews of regulation after its
implementation.
The IA replaces the regulatory impact assessment (RIA), a
process the BCC report accused of not challenging either UK and EU regulations,
and therefore placing business at a competitive disadvantage.
The report found 71% of RIAs assign benefits to business
without quantifying them, 16% flout Cabinet Office guidance by not carrying out
a small firms impact test, and over half of RIAs do not assess the “do nothing”
option.
Sally Low, BCC director of external affairs and policy,
said what is most worrying is that government is failing to give priority
consideration to small and medium-sized enterprises, which employ most of the
private sector workforce and drive growth across Europe.
Links
British Chambers of Commerce
Cabinet Office
May 2007
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