The Better
Regulation Executive (BRE), part of the Department for Business,
today published four new reports, as part of their ongoing
examination of national regulators, on the Insolvency Service,
Human Tissue Authority, Fish Health Inspectorate and Natural England.
The Hampton Implementation Reviews looked at the work of each
regulator against the principles of better regulation set out by
Philip Hampton in 2005. Each review found that the regulators were
making progress implementing these principles but a range of
issues still needed to be addressed in each case in order to meet
fully the criteria set out by Hampton. Key areas for improvement
by the regulators have been highlighted, as well as the
improvements they have already made.
The reviews, carried out by teams drawn from regulatory staff and
staff from the Department for Business, are part of a wider
assessment of national regulators being conducted by the BRE
started in 2007. The review teams looked at the way regulators
worked with businesses, as well as seeking feedback from the
companies and other organisations they deal with. Other national
regulators will undergo similar scrutiny
Notes to Editors
1. The four new reports can be found at www.berr.gov.uk/bre/
2. The Hampton Implementation Review process, that will examine a
total of 31 national regulators, follow two independent reports by
Sir Philip Hampton and Professor Richard Macrory on making
inspection and enforcement of regulation more effective.
3. Hampton and Macrory recommended an end to the one size fits
all approach to regulation that can see unnecessary inspections
carried out, while necessary ones are not. Instead, regulators
should concentrate their efforts on businesses that do not follow
the law and ease the burden they put on those who do. They also
recommended regulators give better advice on how to follow the
rules and end to the duplication of information businesses have to
give to regulators.
4. Review teams were drawn from the Better Regulation Executive
within the Department for Business, as well as experienced staff
from peer regulators. The Better Regulation Executive, part of the
Department for Business, works across government to reduce and
remove unnecessary regulation for the public, private and
voluntary sectors.
5. The Hampton Review in 2005 - led by Sir Philip Hampton -
recommended regulators should take a risk-based approach to
enforcement and information gathering. Among its findings were
that regulators should carry out inspections only when needed and
avoid unnecessary form-filling and duplication of effort or
information.
6. In 2006 Professor Richard Macrory's review of
penalties for failure to comply with regulatory obligations
recommended that regulators should focus on outcomes, rather than
action. He recommended that sanctions should be aimed at changing
the behaviour of non-compliant businesses and eliminating any
financial gain from non-compliance. It also found that regulators
should be transparent in the way they determine administrative
penalties.
7. Examples of how individuals and businesses are benefiting
from changes to regulation can be found on
http://www.betterregulation.gov.uk . The site also invites
suggestions for what else can be done to reduce red tape.
Contacts:
BIS Press Office
NDS.BIS@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Ian Thomson
Phone: 020 7215 5965
Ian.Thomson@berr.gsi.gov.uk