The Government has prepared "Regulating Better", a Government White Paper that will contribute to improving national competitiveness and better Government by ensuring that new regulations - Acts and Statutory Instruments (Orders) - are more rigorously assessed in terms of their impacts, more accessible to all and better understood. Existing regulations will be streamlined and revised, where possible, through a process of systematic review and by repealing, restating and consolidating them as appropriate. This White Paper will also contribute to better regulatory processes and institutions, including a more consistent approach to the establishment and design of independent sectoral regulatory authorities.

Principles

This White Paper identifies what the Government sees as the principles of good regulation:

NECESSITY - is the regulation necessary? Can we reduce red tape in this area? Are the rules and structures that govern this area still valid?

EFFECTIVENESS - is the regulation properly targeted? Is it going to be properly complied with and enforced?

PROPORTIONALITY - are we satisfied that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of the regulation? Is there a smarter way of achieving the same goal?

TRANSPARENCY - have we consulted with stakeholders prior to regulating? Is the regulation in this area clear and accessible to all? Is there good back-up explanatory material?

ACCOUNTABILITY - is it clear under the regulation precisely who is responsible to whom and for what? Is there an effective appeals process?

CONSISTENCY - will the regulation give rise to anomalies and inconsistencies given the other regulations that are already in place in this area? Are we applying best practice developed in one area when regulating other areas?

Approach taken

The approach of this White Paper is both practical, in that it is action-oriented, and pragmatic in that the Government is not "for or against" regulation. Rather, the Government favours Better Regulation. Regulation is an integral part of the process of governing and it will continue to be so. Legislation and subsidiary regulations have a critical role to play in key areas of economic and social life. The recommendations and actions in this White Paper are best seen in the context of the continuing drive for competitiveness and people's expectations of high quality public services. Many of the principles and commitments reflect good practice and developments regarding regulation internationally. For example, many of our European Union (EU) partners and the EU institutions themselves are developing similar principles and actions.

Overview of Actions

The Government will make better use of evidence-based policy-making. This means making better use of research and analysis in both policy-making and policy implementation. Regulation is an expression of policy and Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) is an evidence-based approach that allows for the systematic consideration of the benefits and costs of a regulatory proposal to the economy and society. The Government will pilot a system of RIA in a small number of Departments and, following the pilot phase, RIA will be integrated with existing procedures. RIA will give special consideration to business impacts, especially in respect of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). RIA will be integrated with developments under the e-Cabinet project and will be supported through training, guidelines and promotion.

Systematic reviews of the regulation of key areas and sectors will be carried out which will involve reviewing the regulatory institutions in place, as well as the body of regulation governing particular areas.

To improve the internal consistency of regulation in particular areas, the Government will implement a programme of Statute Law Revision, including a major project to update pre-1922 legislation. The Government will also use RIA to ensure the effectiveness of new regulations, taking account of the existing body of regulation.

Emphasis will be placed on developing proposals for improvements to the procedures for appealing regulatory decisions. For example, consideration will be given to establishing expert panels of judges to deal with specific competition and sectoral regulation cases.

In considering the burden of complying with regulations, the Government will review:

compliance and the question of linking penalties and fines to income and ability to pay; and
the extent to which the criminal justice system is capable of efficiently dealing with the complexities of modern regulatory issues.

The Government will also monitor the cumulative burden of compliance on business and SMEs to ensure that compliance costs are fair and proportionate with the benefit the regulation brings.

The Government will ensure that new regulations are better understood, by publishing explanatory guides alongside primary legislation with significant impacts, in particular those that impact directly on consumers/citizens/SMEs. Similar steps will be taken to improve the quality of the explanatory material that accompanies secondary law/statutory instruments containing major proposals.

The Government will also encourage the establishment of norms and standards for consultation processes and will keep under consideration the need for legislation underpinning administrative procedures.

The Government will create new sectoral regulators only if the case for a new regulator can be clearly demonstrated in light of existing structures. It will assess the possibilities for rationalisation of sectoral regulators along with promoting the strengthening of existing contacts between the sectoral regulators, the Competition Authority and the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs.

To further improve customer service delivery, the Government will require Departments to streamline service delivery and administrative processes where possible, using the latest technology, along with the introduction of customer charters, to reduce the burden of compliance on the citizen.

The Government intends to strengthen the capacity for evidence-based policy-making by ensuring that Departments promote training and awareness-raising of policy analysis skills. Departments will also be required to report, through their Strategy Statements and Annual Reports, on regulatory reforms and service improvements.

A key to Better Regulation will be clarity and accessibility of regulations. The Government will improve the coherence of legislation through revision, restatement and repeal, by ensuring greater consistency in the drafting of Statutory Instruments and maximising the use of IT/e-Government initiatives to improve clarity and accessibility of regulations.

Next steps

A detailed Action Programme is set out in this White Paper, along with assignments of responsibility and indicative timescales. A Better Regulation Group will be established and it will be asked, inter alia, to report back regularly to the Government on implementation of these actions by Departments, Offices and Agencies.

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