Select Committee on Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform First Report


1  Introduction


1. The Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Committee began its existence only at the beginning of the current session, on 6 November 2007. It was formed in response to machinery of government changes in June 2007 which replaced the then Department of Trade and Industry with a new Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), created "to give business a strong voice at the heart of government".[1] The new department has many of the core functions of the old Department of Trade and Industry, although the science budget and some aspects of innovation policy have been transferred to the new Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. BERR retains its role in trade, although the Department for International Development's role has increased in this area. The Department retains responsibility for energy policy. It has gained responsibility for Regulatory Reform, and sponsorship of the Better Regulation Executive has been transferred to it from the Cabinet Office. Although some responsibilities have been transferred away from the Department it is clear that its core function as the department for industry remains. The Prime Minister has described its task as being to act as a conduit of businesses' legitimate concerns "about a whole range of issues - the UK's skills base, translating science into successful innovation, future transport infrastructure, reliable and affordable energy, regulatory burdens of the planning regime."[2] More details about the new Department are given in paragraphs 18 to 20 below.

2. When the necessary Standing Order changes were agreed on 25 July 2007, the House took account of the continuities between the new department and the old, and provided that "all proceedings of the Trade and Industry Committee in this Parliament shall be deemed to have been proceedings of the Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Committee." This Report accordingly treats the work of the Trade and Industry Committee from January to November 2007 as if it formed part of the work of the current Committee. As part of the Standing Order changes, the Committee was reduced from 14 members to 11 members. There was a regrettable and avoidable delay in the nomination of the new Committee which caused considerable uncertainty and threatened to disrupt the work of the Committee seriously. In the end the delay was only of one week and only one evidence session was cancelled, but we hope when this or other committees face similar changes in the future such uncertainty will be avoided. In the event, all but one of the new Committee were former members of the Trade and Industry Committee, which means that our collective knowledge remains, and the reduction in numbers may well enable us to function more effectively in future. Nonetheless, we regret that valuable colleagues are no longer members of the Committee, and put on record our appreciation of the contributions made by Mr Peter Bone, Mrs Claire Curtis-Thomas, Judy Mallaber and Mr Rob Marris.[3]

3. During the year the Committees[4] published 13 reports and held three 'one-off' evidence sessions, in addition to work on continuing inquiries. Part of this work was undertaken with the Defence, Foreign Affairs and International Development Committees, and is described in more detail in paragraphs 24 and 25 below. The Trade and Industry Committee also appointed a sub-committee to inquire into the Implementation of the Report of the Women and Work Commission, and its report to the main Committee awaits consideration by the new Committee. An outline of the entire programme is set out in Table 1 below. Publication details of our reports can be found in the list at the back of this volume.

Table 1: Summary of the Committees' work in 2007
SubjectEvidence Sessions in 2007 Outcome
Local energy - turning consumers into producers See noteReport, January 2007
Post Office Network 1Two reports, April 2007 and May 2007
Success and failure in the UK car manufacturing industry See noteReport, March 2007
The future of UK manufacturing (skills, UKTI and public procurement) 7Three reports, April 2007, May 2007 and November 2007

respectively

Trade with Brazil and Mercosur 3Report, July 2007
Recent Developments with Airbus 2Report, May 2007
Strategic Export Controls: 2007 Review 3Report, August 2007

(joint inquiry with Defence, Foreign Affairs and International Development Committees)

Europe moves East: The impact of the 'New' EU Member States on UK business 5Report, October 2007
The work of the Office of Fair Trading 2Report, October 2007
Implementation of the Report of the Women and Work Commission 5Report agreed by Sub-committee, to be agreed by full Committee
Ofcom Annual Plan 2007-08 1Evidence, April 2007
Industrial action at Royal Mail 1Evidence, October 2007
The work of the Minister for Trade and Investment 1Evidence, October 2007
The UK Construction Industry 4Inquiry to be continued in 2008
Trade with India: One year on 1Inquiry to be continued in 2008

Note - evidence for these reports taken in 2006

4. Our first task as a new committee was to consider whether or not to continue with the programme established by the former Trade and Industry Committee. We decided to continue with its work, which included a major new inquiry into construction, and inquiries into trade with Turkey; the higher value-added economy and an update on progress in implementing the recommendations of the Trade and Industry Committee's June 2006 Report on Trade and Investment Opportunities with India.[5] Since then we have added a review of the way in which the Post Office closure programme has been implemented, and a wider look at trade policy. We have sought evidence on these topics and work will begin in 2008.

Working methods

5. The Trade and Industry Committee expected to keep particular subjects under long-term review, and follow up its inquiries. For example, its work on the Post Office and the Royal Mail built on a series of reports published over at least a decade. In addition, the Committee would take evidence to ensure that it was up-to-date with particular topics, without necessarily issuing a subsequent report. For example, we held an evidence session with the Secretary of State on the industrial action at Royal Mail.[6] We will continue to take such a long view, and to monitor developments in the light of previous work. This is true in other areas of our work too—the Trade and Industry Committee took evidence on the Energy White Paper in October 2006,[7] and we will keep a watching brief on the Energy Bill, expected in early 2008, during its course through Parliament.

6. We will also continue the previous Committee's efforts to ensure that our work is focused on issues which matter to business and the public. There were consultations with industry representatives at the outset of the inquiry into manufacturing, to make sure the terms of reference dealt with matters which were of genuine concern. This interaction with witnesses has continued, and the evidence sessions for our wide-ranging inquiry into construction have been shaped by informal conversations with witnesses to ensure that our staff are aware of which issues they consider most important and can brief us accordingly. During the year we introduced witness feedback forms, as part of a wider initiative from the Liaison Committee. The feedback we have received about our treatment of witnesses, the briefing they receive and committee proceedings has been uniformly positive. Indeed, one witness went so far as to say "From my perspective, it was a valuable and well conducted session".

7. Our work is made easier by many people. We are grateful to all those who give formal evidence, particularly those for whom it is an unfamiliar experience. We also take this opportunity to thank the Parliamentary Branch of the former Department of Trade and Industry, now reformed in BERR, and the Department as a whole. There are occasions when submissions are delayed, or things go wrong in other ways, but it is a tribute to their efficiency and the Department's engagement with our work, that, unlike many other select committees, we almost invariably receive responses to our reports within or close to the two-month deadline. We are also extremely grateful to those who give informal briefings to us or to the Committee staff, and to the many people who deal with our visits in the United Kingdom and overseas. Such co-operation is essential to our work and we are especially grateful to all the staff of UKTI and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, whose cheerful assistance has again been invaluable.


1   Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Our Commitment to Business, November 2007, foreword by the Prime Minister Back

2   Ibid. Back

3   Mr Adrian Bailey has been added to the Committee. Back

4   The plural form is used to cover proceedings of both the Trade and Industry Committee and the Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Committee. Back

5   Third Report of Session 2005-06, HC 881-I Back

6   Oral evidence taken on 22 October 2007, HC (2006-07) 1090-i Back

7   See Oral and Written Evidence, UK dependence on gas and coal imports, HC 1123i-vii and HC 1316-I, and Oral evidence, Energy White Paper, HC 756-i Back


 
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Prepared 23 January 2008