A new report
highlights the economic benefit to the UK from local regulatory
enforcement action to protect business and the public from threats
to the nation as a whole.
Addressing National Threats Through National Service Delivery,
published by LBRO, the public body for better local regulation,
considered areas where local enforcement officers carry out work
that provides protection for the whole nation: imported consumer
goods; mobile rogue trading; food safety and animal health.
The report includes a case study on the Port of Felixstowe in
Suffolk that underpinned the Consumer White Paper published by the
Department for Business Innovation and Skills. By providing this
evidence, LBRO advised Government to fund a pilot project to
increase product safety testing of imported goods at major ports.
Trading Standards officers at ports such as Felixstowe are
tackling £160m of potential harm to UK citizens and the economy.
For every £1 spent on checking goods at ports of entry the country
saves £35. The savings for consumers have been calculated through
the costs associated with injury or death through accidents and
house fires, and for business on the costs of product recall. This
is a conservative estimate, based on a sample of goods entering
the UK from outside the EU, such as electronic goods, toys and
novelties.
Chairman of LBRO, Clive Grace, said: “The benefits of this local
delivery are significant, effectively contributing to both local
and national prosperity and protection. LBRO champions localism
but here is a clear case for saying it should be supported at a
national level.”
Much local regulation tackles issues that go well beyond the
communities of the local authorities addressing them. These local
authority regulatory services must tackle issues on a scale which
may be beyond their resources. This problem has been recognised
for some time but up to now there has been no systematic
exploration of its scale or any firm and evidence-based proposals
to deal with it.
LBRO’s exploratory work has been to develop a better
understanding of the issue and specifically how local authorities
deliver protection against risks that are national or regional in
nature.
The benefits of local delivery of regulation are significant:
local delivery allows for effective tailoring of service
provision; regulatory services’ contribution to place-shaping
demands that are controlled locally; efficiency can be increased
by delivering regulatory services through local partnerships; and
local delivery creates in part at least a one-stop-shop for
business.
To deliver these benefits without compromising national issues,
we need to understand how the system of local delivery functions
when faced with national threats. This is the first attempt at a
systematic examination of this across the range of local authority
regulatory functions.
The LBRO summary report - Addressing National Threats Through
National Service Delivery - is available at
www.lbro/publications-information.html. The full report is
available on application.
Notes to Editors
1. 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 for Business, Innovation and Skills through the
Better Regulation Executive. LBRO is governed by an independent
Board, has a staff of around 25 and is based in central
Birmingham. Our remit covers the whole of the UK and we liaise
closely with the devolved administrations to ensure our work in
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is appropriate. For further
information please visit www.lbro.org.uk
Contacts:
NDS Enquiries
Phone: For enquiries please contact the above department
ndsenquiries@coi.gsi.gov.uk
Roland Curtis
Phone: 0121 226 4038
roland.curtis@lbro.org.uk
Jo Barker.
Phone: 0121 226 4019
Jo.barker@lbro.org.uk