Expanded role welcomed by RPC
Chairman of the Regulatory Policy Committee, Michael Gibbons OBE today welcomed the government’s request for the Committee to take on additional responsibilities.
Chairman of the Regulatory Policy Committee, Michael Gibbons OBE today welcomed the government’s request for the Committee to take on additional responsibilities. The additional responsibilities relate to the analysis of the impact of government-sponsored voluntary regulation.
In its autumn statement, the government announced:
The government will build on the Accountability for Regulatory Impact scheme by updating guidance to require government departments and regulators to engage business on the impacts of any government-sponsored voluntary scheme prior to implementation, and to work together to minimise costs where possible. Business will also have the right to ask the Regulatory Policy Committee to independently review a scheme’s impact.
The move follows research by the British Retail Consortium and will see the RPC take on the scrutiny of the cost of government-sponsored voluntary regulation, such as codes of practice, pledges and other voluntary agreements, if business does not agree with the government’s assessment of the costs.
Michael Gibbons said:
It is a positive expansion of our role as the independent body responsible for providing robust scrutiny of changes in the regulatory environment that affect business, charities and other civil society bodies. It reflects the quality and value of the work delivered by the Regulatory Policy Committee over the course of this parliament.