9 SIMPLIFICATION OF COMMUNITY
LEGISLATION
(a)
(26926)
—
COM(05) 462
|
Commission Communication: "Outcome of the screening of legislative
proposals before the legislator
|
(b)
(26982)
13976/05
COM(05) 535
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Commission Communication: "Implementing the Community Lisbon programme: A strategy for the simplification of the regulatory environment"
|
| Legal base | —
|
| Document originated | (a) 27 September 2005
(b) 25 October 2005
|
| Deposited in Parliament |
(a) 19 October 2005
(b) 8 November 2005 |
| Department | Cabinet Office
|
| Basis of consideration |
(a) EM of 1 November 2005
(b) EM of 21 November 2005
|
| Previous Committee Report |
None, but see footnotes 29-31 |
| Discussed in Council | 28-29 November 2005
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Cleared
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Background
9.1 According to the Commission, the first initiative to simplify
Community legislation was launched in 1997, and it has since then
issued a regular series of Communications addressing this issue,
notably one in March 2005,[29]
which focused on improving and extending the use of impact assessment
for new proposals, screening pending legislative proposals, and
introducing new ways of simplifying existing legislation. The
first of these aspects was the subject of a further Communication
in October 2005,[30]
which we considered on 23 November 2005, whilst the others are
dealt with in these two documents.
The current documents
Document (a)
9.2 In its Communication in March 2005, the Commission said that
it intended to screen proposals which were pending before the
Council and European Parliament so as to ensure that they are
fully consistent with its political priorities, and to identify
where modification, replacement or withdrawal might be justified.
In this current document, the Commission has reported on the outcome
of that exercise, where it says that its aim was to examine the
consistency of such proposals with the Community's Lisbon objectives,
and in particular the goal of promoting competitiveness; to identify
any lack of substantial legislative progress over a significant
period of time (and the reasons for this); and to determine whether
they meet current better regulation requirements, notably as regards
the provision of appropriate impact assessments.
9.3 The Commission says that the total number of
proposals outstanding when the exercise was launched in April
2005 was 489, but that it decided to focus on the 183 of these
put forward before 1 January 2004. It then identified about 100
of this latter number which could be said to be truly new legislative
initiatives, having a potential impact on competitiveness, the
rest consisting of proposals, such as those resulting from international
obligations or which merely made adaptations reflecting scientific
or technical progress, which were likely to have little or no
such impact. As a result, it now intends to withdraw 68 proposals
considered to be inconsistent either with the Lisbon objectives
or with the better regulation principles, or to have made insufficient
progress; in the case of those proposals which it intends to maintain,
it says that it will in five such instances provide a fuller analysis
of the impact. It also draws attention to two specific proposals
where the outcome falls outside the categories covered by the
exercise, namely those dealing with the exposure of workers to
sunlight (which are to be deleted), and temporary workers (where
the Commission says that it intends to reconsider the proposal
in the light of future discussions on other proposals).
Document (b)
9.4 In this Communication, which seeks to take forward
the simplification process, the Commission points out that, although
the large body of Community legislation now in existence has been
essential —
for example, in establishing the single market and developing
environmental policy —
it can also impose costs on business and hamper innovation, productivity
and growth. It says that the challenge is to get the balance right,
and that, notwithstanding earlier efforts to achieve this, it
is now time for a step change, which it describes as of particular
importance to Europe's small and medium sized businesses, since
it believes that they suffer disproportionately from administrative
and legislative burdens as they have more limited resources with
which to address them. It suggests that any review must be continuous
and systematic, and, following a wide-ranging consultation, it
has set out a rolling programme, covering key areas for business
competitiveness, such as company law and financial services, transport,
consumer protection and waste, to be simplified over the next
three years. The Commission also intends to review and update
this programme, and to include major simplification initiatives
in its annual legislative work programme. There will also be a
series of complementary communications indicating in more detail
how simplification work will be brought forward or integrated
in certain areas, such as agriculture, environment, health and
safety in the work place, fisheries, taxation, customs, statistics
and labour law.
9.5 In addition, the Commission says that it intends
to address the need for simplification on a sectoral basis. It
proposes to focus initially on the automotive, construction and
waste industries, and to extend this approach gradually to other
sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, mechanical engineering, information
and communication technologies and energy-intensive sectors. Simplification
will also address areas of legislation with a cross-sectoral impact
and services (which it points out account for more than 70% of
the Community's GDP, are increasingly supplied on a cross-border
basis, and create important markets for manufactured goods, such
as telecommunications). The results of these exercises would then
be fed into the rolling programme.
9.6 The remainder of the Communication sets out the
means which the Commission intends to use to bring about simplification,
in order to clarify legislation, modernise the regulatory framework,
reduce administrative costs, remove overlaps, and improve proportionality.
These include the repeal of existing legislation (and corresponding
national implementing measures); and the introduction of "sunset
clauses" into new proposals, in order to avoid obsolescence,
and of review clauses to ensure that the relevance, effectiveness
and proportionality of measures in force is regularly checked;
codification;[31] recasting;[32]
and different regulatory approaches, such as co-regulation and
the substitution of directives by regulations (which it says can,
with due regard to subsidiarity and proportionality, prevent divergent
national implementation).
The Government's view
9.7 The first of these documents was the subject
of an Explanatory Memorandum of 1 November 2005 from the then
Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of
Lancaster (Mr John Hutton), and the second of an Explanatory Memorandum
of 21 November 2005 from the Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet
Office (Mr Jim Murphy). These make it clear that better regulation
has been a major objective of the recent UK Presidency, and that
the Government strongly supports both the screening exercise and
the Commission's simplification strategy as being vital elements
of the better regulation agenda and as helping to focus on improving
competitiveness. The Parliamentary Secretary adds that the Commission
has delivered a "robust and comprehensive programme",
covering legislation which is known to be a problem for business,
and he particularly welcomes the fact that the proposal is based
on extensive consultation, which he hopes will be evident in future
simplification programmes.
Conclusion
9.8 In common with the earlier Communication which
we considered on 23 November 2005, these two documents seek to
take forward the welcome aim of simplifying Community legislation.
As such, they are of obvious interest, and, although we do not
think they give rise to any issues requiring further consideration,
we think it right, in clearing them, to draw them to the attention
of the House.
29 "Better Regulation for Growth and Jobs"
(26448) COM(05) 97; see HC 38-xv (2004-05), para 9 (6 April 2005).
Back
30
(26954) COM(05) 518; see HC 34-xi (2005-06), para 17 (23 November
2005). Back
31
Under which various provisions are brought together in a new measure
without any changes of substance. Back
32
Under which an act is simultaneously amended and codified. Back
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