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Volume 15: Government and Public Administration
Annex 3: Deregulation timeline
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Scrutinies of the burdens that have been imposed on businesses by the administrative and legislative requirements of central and local government. |
White Paper: Burdens on Business |
'The Government are now making a concerted drive to speed up this process of reviewing existing legislation and ensuring that new regulation is examined carefully for its impact on firms both large and small.' Proposed:
(a) mandatory assessments by Departments of the costs of complying with their regulatory proposals ('compliance cost assessments' or CCAs);
(b) regular reports by Departments to a small task force ('with real teeth') in the Cabinet Office which would act as a focus of expertise, assist in preparing CCAs, audit progress, review selected proposals ('advising ministers about their acceptability'), and conduct occasional reviews of particular subjects. To be reviewed after three years; and
(c) deregulation units in each regulatory Department, reporting to a nominated Minister.
Departmental Ministers would remain responsible for making policy decisions and determining their regulatory consequences. The task force would be concerned with the implications for business of the administration and implementation of policies. |
White Paper: Building Businesses . . . Not Barriers |
'. . . new arrangements for monitoring regulations and for reducing still more the burdens on business . . . are now in place.' The task force had become the central Enterprise and Deregulation Unit (EDU - now in the Department of Employment), included secondees from the private sector and had established an Advisory Panel of businessmen. The White Paper contained a 'Concordat' between the EDU and Departments (agreed by Ministers) that covered: (a) targets or objectives (for deregulation); (b) CCAs; (c) regular 'forward looks' and reports to the EDU; (d) the need for 'adequate records of the effect of regulations - old as well as new - on businesses'; (e) the role of the EDU; and (f) detailed procedural 'guidelines' for Departmental Deregulation Units (aDDUs), including the need to consult the Department of Trade and Industry and other relevant Departments on regulatory proposals.
The White Paper also included an outline CCA, which was to cover: (i) the purpose of a Regulation (its origin, the problem being addressed, the benefits, and relevant existing Regulations); (ii) its impact on business (costs, alternatives to regulation, how firms would comply, etc); and (iii) its wider impact (how it would be enforced and by whom, the costs to central and local government, and how its effectiveness would be measured). |
Encouraging Enterprise: A Progress Report on Deregulation |
A review by the EDU had found that the framework of 'forward looks' at regulatory proposals and CCAs was appropriate, and that CCAs were of an acceptable technical standard but were 'not being used consistently to inform decisions'. It proposed three modifications: (a) forward looks and progress reports should be developed and their presentation improved; (b) the EDU should 'support' DDUs in developing their roles, so that it 'need then only become involved in debates on a few key issues'; and (c) more effort should be put into monitoring. The procedures in the 1986 'Concordat' were adjusted accordingly. CCAs were to be published. |
White Paper: Releasing Enterprise |
It had been decided that the EDU was still needed 'to monitor and report progress and to maintain and increase the momentum of change . . . to help spread experience and skills into departments'. It would again be reviewed in April 1990. 'Reviewing existing regulation would benefit from a more systematic approach' - each Department would 'nominate one or two areas of its responsibilities, of significance for business, to be examined as part of a rolling annual programme of work.' Due weight was to be given to the impact of regulatory proposals 'as policies are developed' - ie, examining the effects of different policy options, assessing alternatives to regulation, consultation, and 'drawing together a thorough [CCA] . . . Departments are to compile CCAs for every proposed regulation that could affect business.' Economists were to be involved more in the preparation of CCAs, and new guidance on CCAs was to be circulated followed by guidance on 'quantification techniques'. |
Guide to Compliance Cost Assessment: Releasing Enterprise (DTI) |
This set out procedures for completing a CCA (when it should be prepared, what it should contain, and its availability to Ministers, business, and the DDU), and what it should cover (eg, the precise purpose of the proposal, the sectors and numbers of businesses affected, the total costs and their phasing, and the effects of any additional costs of the measure on competitiveness). It noted the eventual intention of comparing estimated compliance costs with actual ones. |
Letter from the President of the Board of Trade to the Prime Minister and Cabinet colleagues |
Following the General Election (9 April 1992), Mr Michael Heseltine reminded colleagues that the Conservative Party manifesto had undertaken to give priority to deregulation and asked them to reflect this in their Departments' objectives. He reaffirmed the importance of CCAs and of DDUs, and asked to be notified of the names of Deregulation Ministers in each Department (YB92/05.28/9.1-9.3). |
Prime Minister's Deregulation seminar |
Reaffirmed the Government's commitment to deregulation. |
Personal Minute from Mr John Major, the Prime Minister, to the Secretary of State (sic) for Agriculture |
'As I said in my Party Conference speech I am absolutely determined to reduce the burden of regulation on business.' Another seminar would be held: reviewing progress, identifying examples of good practice, and highlighting where further efforts were needed. Asked for a note on MAFF's deregulatory achievements since the April 1992 General Election, and its plans for 1993. EU aspects would be discussed: 'Just how much of the regulatory burden on British business stems from Brussels? And how far does Whitehall embellish these regulations and enforce them with excessive zeal?' Envisaged a Green Paper and then a White Paper on deregulation (YB92/11.30/2.1-2.3). |
Checking the Cost to Business (Deregulation Unit - formerly EDU) |
Further detailed guidance on when and how to prepare CCAs. Noted that these were also required for statistical surveys and as part of the advice to Ministers in respect of Private Members' Bills that affected business, and that all papers on regulatory proposals for Cabinet and Cabinet Committees and for No. 10 'must clearly spell out likely compliance costs'. Specified that consultation papers on proposed Regulations should explicitly seek information on their likely costs to business, and that draft proposals should include a preliminary CCA. |
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Prime Minister announced the establishment of seven Task Forces, to advise Ministers on: (a) priorities for the repeal or simplification of existing Regulations and enforcement methods so as to minimise the costs on business; and (b) the best way of developing and maintaining consultation on the introduction and enforcement of new Regulations including those arising from EU measures. Complementary to the Advisory Panel, they were to report to the Prime Minister and the President of the Board of Trade every eight weeks. Departments were to review their regulatory legislation by the end of March. |
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Prime Minister announced: (a) the introduction of the Deregulation and Contracting Out Bill; (b) a review to eliminate duplication between enforcement agencies; (c) publication of Working with Business (a code of practice for enforcement agencies); and (d) a 'small business litmus test' (ie, separate consultation with small businesses) for all new Regulations. |
Regulation in the Balance: A Guide to Risk Assessment |
'This booklet is intended to help officials concerned with policy development . . .' 'However, regulation must also be proportionate to the problem. New regulation will be justified where there is a clear risk of death or serious harm, but it is a mistake to try and regulate against all risks.' |
Thinking about Regulating: A Guide to Good Regulation |
'This Guide is to help policy makers to improve the quality of regulations.' In considering whether to regulate, risk assessment was needed, and recommended action was to be proportionate to the risks involved. Reiterated the value of CCAs. |
Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994: An explanatory Guide (DTI, January 1995) |
Provided 'a mechanism to change primary legislation for the purpose of removing or reducing burdens on business or others, provided that necessary protection is not removed . . . To amend or repeal legislation . . . which imposes a burden and in doing so to set up a new regulatory system which is less burdensome than the existing regime.' This was subject to certain constraints. |
Deregulation: the Way Forward (DTI, 22 May 1995) |
Announced that a new Cabinet Committee had been set up 'to drive forward work on deregulation'. |
The Government Response to the Deregulation Task Force Report 1996 (Cabinet Office) |
Accepted the view that 'putting the right regulatory culture in place is central to keeping burdens on business to a minimum'. The risk assessments required on all regulatory proposals had to be 'personally certified by the responsible Minister'. Departments had to send monthly returns to the Cabinet Office Deregulation Unit listing all Regulations produced that month, identifying which affected business, and setting out the resulting costs and savings. There was a checklist 'to ensure that EC requirements are not over-implemented'. Civil servants were to 'treat the minimisation of costs to those who they are regulating . . . as one of their central aims'. Suitable performance measures were to be devised for regulating organisations and consideration given to 'how best these can be reflected in individual job plans'. Training on deregulation and opportunities for secondments between government and business were to be improved. |
Checking the Cost of Regulation: a Guide to Compliance Cost Assessment(ISBN 0 7115 0308 7) |
A further detailed guide to preparing CCAs, with examples. |
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