Correspondence
Correspondence: Provision of impact assessments
17.In our 14th Report4 we published correspondence with Paul Scully MP, Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, expressing concern about departments’ inconsistent provision of Impact Assessments. We explained how effective parliamentary scrutiny is undermined by departments’ failure to provide adequate information at the time that an instrument is laid before Parliament. In this latest exchange, we asked the Minister what sanctions, if any, the Government can impose on departments that fail to comply with the requirements. The Minister’s letter sets out collectively-agreed requirements, and notes that meeting these requirements is an individual department’s responsibility. We shall monitor carefully whether the Government’s performance in this area improves. (The full correspondence is published in Appendix 2.)
4 14th Report (Session 2021–22, HL Paper 76).