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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