Second Special Report
1. On 31 January 2005 we published our report into
the operation of the Regulatory Reform Act (RRA) 2001. In that
report we discussed the workings of the RRA and the suggestions
made by the Cabinet Office for amending it. Overall, we gave a
very cautious response to the suggestions made, but urged the
Government to undertake its promised review of the RRA. We also
made some suggestions of our own covering Law Commission proposals
and Company Law amendments for the review team to consider when
assessing the workings of the RRA.
2. In its response to our report, the newly appointed
Minister for Regulatory Reform, Mr David Miliband, wrote to the
Chairman on 22 February 2005. The letter is published as an Appendix
to this Report.
3. The Minister welcomes our preliminary comments
on the Cabinet Office's suggestions, which are considered to form
a helpful starting point for the full review, and shares our view
that the Government now needs "to embark upon a full review
of the Act". We note also the Government's current thinking
is that the review of the Act would incorporate a full public
consultation, later this year. We hope that the Government will
embark on the consultation without delay so the review may be
completed at an early date. As regards our recommendation that
Departments be required to report annually on their progress in
removing redundant legislation, we intend to assess how well the
Cabinet Office monitors compliance by Departments.
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