DECC Better Regulation
This series brings together all documents relating to DECC’s Better Regulation activities.
DECC’s Better Regulation activities seek to ensure that all regulations are fair and effective. DECC strives to free businesses from unnecessary red tape, while continuing to protect the public, consumers and employees. We do this by removing unnecessary regulation, simplifying existing regulation, improving the delivery of new regulation and only regulating when absolutely necessary.
All government departments must meet better regulation requirements set out by the Better Regulation Executive (BRE) in their Better Regulation framework manual.
The key elements of the Better Regulation framework, and DECC’s delivery through it, are:
The One-in-Three-Out Rule
For every pound of new regulatory burden introduced, government departments must reduce burden elsewhere by at least 3 times that amount (previously the one-in, two-out regime, OITO).
DECC performed strongly against OITO over the 2010-2015 parliamentary period. DECC contributed a £718.28 million reduction in annual regulatory costs on business. The majority of these reductions were introduced in the OITO reporting period which commenced in January 2013. In the rest of the parliament DECC contributed £714.55 million of savings to business, the highest of all Whitehall departments.
Scrutiny by the independent Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC)
All impact assessments (IA) must be assessed as ‘fit for purpose’ by the RPC before clearance can be sought from the Reducing Regulation sub-committee (RRC).
DECC has a strong track-record of ‘fit for purpose’ RPC assessments. DECC has consistently held one of the highest spots on the RPC’s league table of best performing departments.
Statement of New Regulation (SNR)
The SNR was the reporting mechanism for regulation in the 2010-2015 parliamentary period. It was published every 6 months and formed the basis for the government’s communication of new regulation to stakeholders. The final SNR of the parliament (SNR 9) was published in mid-December. The series of documents on this topic contain all DECC’s SNR publications.
The SNR has been replaced by an annual report published by BIS on all upcoming regulatory measures.
Post Implementation Reviews (PIRs)
PIRs are reviews of the implementation and effectiveness of a policy, and whether its objectives remain valid. Regulation can contain sunset or review clauses, requiring a formal review, typically within 5 years of the date the measure came into force. PIRs collect evidence to inform decisions on whether to renew, revise, replace or remove the regulation.
The document on this topic contains a list of DECC’s statutory review commitments.
Small and Micro-Business Assessment (SaMBA)
All IAs must contain a SMBA which assess burden on small and micro-businesses. All disproportionate burdens must be demonstrated to be fully mitigated.
The Red Tape Challenge (RTC)
The Red Tape Challenge (RTC) was a cross government programme introduced in 2011 to review the stock of existing regulation, with the default being that regulation would go unless it was well defended. DECC led the Energy Red Tape Challenge, and had regulations included in the DEFRA-led Environment Red Tape Challenge.
The Energy theme will scrap 76 DECC regulations and improve 40. Of these, 29 will save time and money beyond streamlining the statute book.
Within the DEFRA-led Environment theme, DECC improved 11 regulations all of which had a deregulatory impact/benefit. All but 6 of these commitments will be implemented by the end of the 2010-2015 parliamentary period. The remaining 6 cannot be scrapped until 2016 and 2018.
The document on this topic contains the main DECC announcements on the RTC.
Statements of New Regulation
Post Implementation Reviews (PIRs)
Red Tape Challenge
Updates to this page
Last updated 6 April 2016 + show all updates
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Addition of post implementation review documents.
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Post Implementation Review of the Ecodesign for Energy Related Products Regulations 2010 added
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First published.