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 since this committee’s 2019 report. But it also set out the challenges that regulators face in measuring costs and benefits when their focus is often on reducing risk, where it can be difficult to determine what would have happened if the regulator had not acted.27 The Environment Agency does not have a figure for the overall cost to industry of its regulation, but it has a goal to reduce costs year on year and when it makes significant changes to regulations it assesses the cost implications.28 The HSE is able to track the costs of some of its regulatory activity, in cases where costs are charged directly to business. However, more generally, employers have a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees. The HSE does not track the costs to businesses of meeting this duty. However, it contended that businesses benefit from ensuring a safe workplace (in terms of increased competitiveness and trust), and that this may outweigh the costs.29