Themes and Trends in Regulatory Reform - Regulatory Reform Committee Contents


Letter from Ian Lucas MP, Minister for Business and Regulatory Reform, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

REGULATORY POLICY COMMITTEE

  It was good to meet you last week in the context of your inquiry on "Themes and Trends in Regulatory Reform".

I am pleased to now enclose the terms of reference for the new Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC) which have been agreed by the NEC Sub-Committee (Better Regulation).

My intention is to establish the RPC as an ad hoc advisory body in the first instance for a period of 12-15 months. I have decided to do this to allow for a period during which, as well as being operational in line with its terms of reference, the RPC will be able to advise government as to how its remit and methods of working can be refined to ensure its maximum effectiveness going forward. This will enable the government to review the RPC's operation in the light of this experience with a view to drawing up a detailed framework document to inform, support and strengthen its future establishment on a permanent basis.

  The RPC Board will initially consist of a Chair and three members with a mix of relevant skills and experience and appointed on an interim basis. We aim to appoint the Chair in the next few weeks with members to follow later in the summer. These appointments are not subject to the Commissioner for Public Appointments Code of Practice, although we will follow the spirit of the Code. However, at the point at which the RPC is established on a permanent basis, the appointments will be subject to the Code and a new Chair and members will be appointed accordingly. The existing Chair and members will be eligible to apply.

  The Committee will be supported by a secretariat provided by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

13 July 2009

REGULATORY POLICY COMMITTEE—TERMS OF REFERENCE

  The Government is committed to ensuring that its policy decisions are based on strong evidence of costs and benefits, and that regulators operate in line with the Hampton principles.

In 2007, the Government brought in new arrangements for preparing impact assessments and putting them at the heart of the policy making process. In January 2009, the National Audit Office reported that the new arrangements have helped improve the standard of impact assessment but that the standards of impact assessments still vary widely, and noted that the prospect of external scrutiny is the most effective motivator for departments to produce high quality impact assessments.

  The Hampton Report, published in March 2005, identified ways in which the administrative burden of regulation on businesses could be reduced while maintaining or improving regulatory outcomes through changes in the way that regulators work with businesses. The Government is continuing to embed the Hampton principles in the way that regulators operate.

To underline further its commitments to effective and proportionate regulation, the Government is establishing a new external Regulatory Policy Committee

  The Government invites the Regulatory Policy Committee:

    (a) to comment on the quality of analysis supporting policy decisions on new regulations, and on whether the policy design will ensure the benefits justify the costs, including:

      —  the accuracy and robustness of the costs and benefits;

    —  whether the range of policy options assessed support minimising costs and maximising benefits; and

    —  the degree to which issues of public risk and the practicalities of ensuring compliance are taken into account.

    (b) to review, advise and comment on the performance of regulators against the Hampton principles.

  The Committee will not comment on the Government's policy objectives, which are a matter for Ministers, but will focus on the cost-effectiveness of the instruments to deliver them.

  In addition, the RPC can advise government in areas that it is invited to do so, or areas related to its terms of reference.






 
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Prepared 21 July 2009