Principles of effective regulation

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 21 May 2021 Closed: 16 Nov 2021 Parliament page
Government and Parliament use regulation – written rules about the way a policy should be delivered - to deliver public policy objectives across many areas, particularly where government does not provide or commission services directly. Well written, effective regulation supports more efficient and effective policy delivery - including reduced costs … Read more
6 Recommendations
12 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
4 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 7 events
8 Nov
2021
Report published
25 Oct
2021
Correspondence
15 Sep
2021
Report published
13 Jul
2021
Correspondence
29 Jun
2021
Correspondence
28 Jun
2021
Correspondence
14 Jun
2021
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
14 Jun 2021
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Principles of effective regulation
Chris Carr · Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy Dame Melanie Dawes · Ofcom Jaee Samant · Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Sarah Albon · Health and Safety Executive Sarah Munby · Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Sir James Bevan · Environment Agency
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Sixteenth Report - Principles of effective regulation HC 176 15 Sep 2021 18 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
18 results
2 Recommendation Deferred
Sixteenth Report - Principles of e…
The Department and regulators have been slow to follow best practice in facilitating innovation.
The Department and regulators have been slow to follow best practice in facilitating innovation. The Government’s 2019 White Paper ‘Regulation for the 4th Industrial Revolution’ found that only 29% of businesses believed that government’s approach to regulation facilitates innovation. The … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation to require regulators to engage with businesses and adopt regulatory sandbox approaches, but states it already encourages such innovation and will consider how to build upon this after responding to a consultation that closed in October 2021.
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3 Recommendation Deferred
Sixteenth Report - Principles of e…
Regulators may fail to protect citizens, businesses and the environment if they do not successfully...
Regulators may fail to protect citizens, businesses and the environment if they do not successfully adapt to major changes in their sectors. To remain effective, 6 Principles of effective regulation regulators must adapt and respond to change. Rapid technological development … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation to ensure responsive frameworks and well-equipped regulators, but outlines generic principles and defers specific action, pending consideration of an ongoing consultation and future publication of a detailed response.
HM Treasury
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4 Recommendation Deferred
Sixteenth Report - Principles of e…
Regulatory bodies do not have a good enough understanding of the costs and benefits of...
Regulatory bodies do not have a good enough understanding of the costs and benefits of regulation, risking value for money. Robust analysis of the costs and benefits of regulatory activity is essential for effective regulation, value for money and accountability. … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation to consult on and include proposals for robust analysis of regulatory costs and benefits, stating this work is underway as part of a consultation which closed in October 2021, and that its proposals will be set out in the consultation response.
HM Treasury
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5 Recommendation Not Addressed
Sixteenth Report - Principles of e…
Outcomes-based regulation comes with benefits, but also presents challenges for regulators in measuring their influence...
Outcomes-based regulation comes with benefits, but also presents challenges for regulators in measuring their influence and compliance by industry. In general, setting goals and facilitating business to meet them can be both a more effective and a less burdensome approach … Read more
Government Response
The government's response is completely irrelevant to the committee's recommendation regarding outcomes-based regulation and data collection, instead discussing the BBC's audience decline.
HM Treasury
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1 Conclusion Not Addressed
Sixteenth Report - Principles of e…
On the basis of a report by the National Audit Office, we took evidence from...
On the basis of a report by the National Audit Office, we took evidence from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (the Department), and from the Environment Agency, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Office of … Read more
Government Response
The government's response is an introductory statement that acknowledges the committee's process of taking evidence and publishing its report, serving as an introduction to the government's full response.
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6 Recommendation Acknowledged
Sixteenth Report - Principles of e…
We asked the Department how lessons from the regulatory response to the pandemic, including effective...
We asked the Department how lessons from the regulatory response to the pandemic, including effective cooperation between regulators, could be embedded in the regulatory system. It told us that encouraging dialogue between regulators and with ministers was important, and highlighted … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees, stating BEIS has already learned from pandemic responses and will build upon this at an early 2022 meeting of the Regulators' Forum, while integrating lessons into ongoing regulatory reform via a current consultation.
HM Treasury
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7 Conclusion Not Addressed
Sixteenth Report - Principles of e…
The Government’s 2019 White Paper ‘Regulation for the 4th Industrial Revolution’ found that only 29%...
The Government’s 2019 White Paper ‘Regulation for the 4th Industrial Revolution’ found that only 29% of businesses believed that “government’s approach to regulation facilitates innovative products and services being efficiently brought to market”.9 The Department explained that enabling innovation and … Read more
Government Response
The government's response addresses a related recommendation about requiring regulators to adopt innovation-friendly approaches like sandboxes, but does not directly engage with this conclusion expressing surprise that sandboxes are not a default model.
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8 Conclusion
Sixteenth Report - Principles of e…
The Department told us that the UK is ranked highly in terms of regulatory policy...
The Department told us that the UK is ranked highly in terms of regulatory policy and competitiveness by international bodies such as the OECD, the World Bank and the World Economic Forum (WEF). We heard that the Department seeks to … Read more
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9 Conclusion Not Addressed
Sixteenth Report - Principles of e…
Rapid technological development is altering traditional business and commerce, the climate emergency is driving changes...
Rapid technological development is altering traditional business and commerce, the climate emergency is driving changes in business and consumer behaviour, and changing social attitudes are shifting citizens’ expectations of regulators. The UK’s exit from the EU has also created both … Read more
Government Response
The government's response addresses a related recommendation about ensuring regulatory frameworks are responsive to major changes and post-EU departure opportunities, outlining principles from a consultation, but does not directly engage with this conclusion detailing the drivers of change.
HM Treasury
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10 Conclusion Not Addressed
Sixteenth Report - Principles of e…
Ofcom, the Environment Agency and the HSE all stated that mitigating the risks and maximising...
Ofcom, the Environment Agency and the HSE all stated that mitigating the risks and maximising the opportunities of change in their sectors as a key challenge for them as regulators. For Ofcom, new technology has disrupted traditional business models and … Read more
Government Response
The government's response addresses a related recommendation about regulatory frameworks adapting to post-EU changes, outlining principles from a consultation, but does not specifically engage with this conclusion detailing challenges faced by individual regulators.
HM Treasury
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11 Conclusion Not Addressed
Sixteenth Report - Principles of e…
To meet these challenges and opportunities, regulators need to recruit and retain the right staff,...
To meet these challenges and opportunities, regulators need to recruit and retain the right staff, collaborate effectively both domestically and internationally, and exploit new technology to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. Ofcom has recruited a new chief technology officer from … Read more
Government Response
The government's response addresses a related recommendation about regulatory frameworks adapting to post-EU changes, outlining principles from a consultation, but does not specifically engage with this conclusion regarding regulator staffing, collaboration, and technology use.
HM Treasury
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12 Conclusion Not Addressed
Sixteenth Report - Principles of e…
The Department views its role as supporting coordination and dissemination of best practice across the...
The Department views its role as supporting coordination and dissemination of best practice across the regulatory system. However, it told us it is the responsibility of individual sponsoring departments to provide appropriate governance of regulatory bodies, including oversight of value … Read more
Government Response
The government's response mentions agreeing to an unprovided recommendation, discussing learning from the COVID-19 pandemic and future regulatory reform consultations, but does not directly address this conclusion about the Department's view of its role in regulatory oversight.
HM Treasury
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13 Conclusion Not Addressed
Sixteenth Report - Principles of e…
Robust performance measurement and evaluation, including analysis of the costs and benefits of regulatory activity,...
Robust performance measurement and evaluation, including analysis of the costs and benefits of regulatory activity, are essential for effective regulation. They can help evidence value for money, provide insight into unintended outcomes, and help to refine interventions to improve outcomes. … Read more
Government Response
The government's response addresses a related recommendation about the Business Impact Target and regulatory cost/benefit analysis, but does not specifically engage with this conclusion regarding the importance of robust performance measurement and evaluation.
HM Treasury
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14 Conclusion Not Addressed
Sixteenth Report - Principles of e…
We questioned Ofcom, the Environment Agency and the HSE on the extent to which they...
We questioned Ofcom, the Environment Agency and the HSE on the extent to which they are able to capture the cost of their regulations on their sectors. Ofcom told us it is stepping up its efforts to measure its impact … Read more
Government Response
The government's response addresses a related recommendation about the Business Impact Target and regulatory cost/benefit analysis, but does not specifically engage with this conclusion regarding regulator difficulties in capturing costs and benefits.
HM Treasury
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15 Conclusion Not Addressed
Sixteenth Report - Principles of e…
The government’s Business Impact Target is set each Parliament and aims to reduce the costs...
The government’s Business Impact Target is set each Parliament and aims to reduce the costs of regulation to business. Regulators must carry out Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) on qualifying regulations to determine their impacts on business. Where these assessments identify … Read more
Government Response
The government's response addresses a related recommendation about the Business Impact Target and regulatory cost/benefit analysis, but does not specifically engage with the conclusion provided in this item describing the existing BIT and RIA process.
HM Treasury
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16 Conclusion Accepted
Sixteenth Report - Principles of e…
The Department told us that RIAs currently consider the cost impact of regulations without an...
The Department told us that RIAs currently consider the cost impact of regulations without an adequate assessment of the benefits. For example, the costs of complying with gambling regulations for gambling companies are captured, but the benefits of those regulations … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the need to better assess both costs and benefits of regulation, stating that work on reforming the Business Impact Target framework is already underway and was addressed through a public consultation.
HM Treasury
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17 Conclusion Deferred
Sixteenth Report - Principles of e…
An outcomes-focused regulatory approach is one characterised by setting overall outcomes or principles expected of...
An outcomes-focused regulatory approach is one characterised by setting overall outcomes or principles expected of the regulated industry, rather than specifying rules. This has the benefit of often being more responsive to change because the regulatory objective or outcome remains … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the underlying principle of balancing outcomes-based and rules-based regulation but defers specific action, indicating it will review responses to an ongoing consultation and publish its decisions later in 2021.
HM Treasury
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18 Recommendation Not Addressed
Sixteenth Report - Principles of e…
An outcomes-focused approach, however, can present a challenge for regulators and policymakers in measuring the...
An outcomes-focused approach, however, can present a challenge for regulators and policymakers in measuring the influence or impact of regulation and the level of compliance by industry. A regulator’s influence over the industry it regulates—for example, how well businesses comply … Read more
Government Response
The government provides a generic response about balancing regulatory approaches and referring to an ongoing consultation, but does not specifically address the imperative for regulators to robustly identify, collect, and act on data.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 17 of 6 classified
Accepted 1
Acknowledged 1
Deferred 4
Not Addressed 11
Total 6 recs + 12 conclusions
Correspondence 4 letters
25 Oct 2021 Correspondence Catherine Little, Director General, Public Spending Head of Government Finance Function, re Efficiency in Government, dated 28 September 2021
Parliament page
13 Jul 2021 Correspondence from Sarah Albon,Chief Executive, Health and Safety Executive, re FURTHER INFORMATION following the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) evidence session (Monday 14 June 2021) on the principles of effective regulation, dated 6 July 2021
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29 Jun 2021 From committee Correspondence from Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive’s Office, Environment Agency, re follow up letter to Monday 14 June meeting, dated 21 June 2021
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28 Jun 2021 Correspondence from Jaee Samant, Director General Market Frameworks, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, re Principles of Effective Regulation 14 June, dated 22 June 2021
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