LOCAL BETTER
REGULATION OFFICE News Release (LBRO/22/2008) issued by COI News
Distribution Service. 20 October 2008
A three point
strategy for helping councils and fire services improve
protections for consumers and workers and provide better
regulatory support to business has been published.
The Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO) today laid out its
plans for trading standards, environmental health, licensing and
fire safety services in a three year strategy that will see
substantial investments in improvements between 2008 and 2011.
It outlines action planned to:
* support services in making improvement
* enhance the
regulatory system
* delivery greater consistency
Clive Grace, the LBRO chair, said:
"Local regulation is vital to UK plc. The regulatory
services that local authorities provide do more than simply
protect consumers, workers and the environment - they also provide
much needed and valued support for businesses in complying with regulations.
"There is massive potential within regulatory services to
support sustainable communities and aid businesses in creating
economic prosperity. We are committed to unlocking that potential
and, with our partners, making a better system of local regulation."
Support for local government in improving regulation is top of
LBRO's agenda. As well as making direct investments in
individual authorities and regional co-ordination, LBRO will be
publishing and promoting best practice in regulatory services,
including on tackling issues that concern communities such as
illegal alcohol sales to children. It will also launch projects to
give regulators greater insight into business and how to cut
unnecessary burdens on retailers.
The Birmingham-based body, which has a remit across the UK, will
also seek to reform the system of local regulation through advice
to government on making legislation simpler to understand, comply
with and enforce.
Other measures will include developing a common excellence
standard for local regulation with the national regulators and
central government, and creating common approaches to data
sharing, impact assessment, priority setting and risk management
across the sector - cutting the burden on local regulators and
freeing them to focus on core duties.
A third strand of work that is focused on improving consistency
for businesses that trade across council boundaries is already
underway. The Primary Authority scheme, which will create the
first legal framework for ensuring that compliance advice given by
one local authority is not undermined in other areas, is currently
being piloted and will become a statutory entitlement in April 2009.
Graham Russell, the LBRO Chief Executive, added:
"We have consulted a huge range of stakeholders on the
strategy and the insight they have provided from inside local
government, business, consumer groups, the national regulators and
the professional bodies has helped shape our agenda for better
regulation. We now have a broad consensus not just on the need for
better local regulation, but also the first steps to achieving it."
Derek Allen, executive director of LACORS, said:
"We are pleased that central government recognises the
essential role that council regulatory services play in
safeguarding the wellbeing of their local communities and in
helping local economies to grow. LACORS is committed to helping
councils across the UK deliver excellent regulatory services and
we have ensured that this process is sector-led. With the strategy
it has set out today, the LBRO will be able to make a valuable
contribution towards achieving this goal. LBRO also has an
important role to play in making sure that regulations put in
place by central government are not only fully resourced but also
balance effective public protection with support for good business
practice. This will mean council regulatory services having the
tools at their disposal to do their job well."
Notes to editors
The Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO) helps local authorities
improve their environmental health, trading standards, fire safety
and licensing services - reducing burdens on businesses that
comply with the law while targeting those who flout it. It was
incorporated as a government-owned limited company in May 2007.
Following the commencement of the Regulatory Enforcement and
Sanctions Act 2008 on 1 October 2008, it now operates as an
executive non-departmental public body, accountable to the
Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform through
the Better Regulation Executive. LBRO is governed by an
independent Board, has a staff of around 25 and is based in
central Birmingham. It has a remit that covers the whole of the
UK, and works closely with the devolved administrations to ensure
its work in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is appropriate to
the unique constitutional position of each. For further
information about LBRO please visit http://www.lbro.org.uk
Media enquiries to Karl Turner on 0121 226 4019
Ends