Delivering regulatory reform

The Better Regulation Executive and government departments are not yet in a position to achieve value for money in their management of regulation. However, the Better Regulation Executive, created in 2005, and departments have developed important elements of a structured approach to achieving sustainable reductions in regulatory costs and have delivered significant benefits. Businesses generally recognise the purpose of regulation, but they believe that it can be unnecessarily burdensome, particularly on the smallest businesses. Businesses interviewed by the NAO typically have to consider as many as 60 regulations, governed by many different regulatory bodies. Businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises, are not clear on how to comply fully with regulation. The NAO found that departments are not communicating effectively with businesses about regulation. Businesses find it difficult to keep up with the extent of new regulation and changes to legislation. The Coalition Government's programme included several commitments to regulatory reform. Departments are currently conducting evaluations of their existing regulations, but they have not been taking a systematic approach and no overall attempt has been made to review the total number of regulations that businesses face. Furthermore, there is as yet no detailed plan for achieving the new Government's regulatory reform objectives. Departments do not routinely evaluate the impact on business of regulation once it has come into effect. They are, therefore, not in a good position to make adjustments to improve regulation in light of experience.