Independent watchdog verifies £2.2bn savings for business from deregulation
Over the past six months, the independent Regulatory Policy Committee has verified over 100 additional legal changes, resulting in £2.2 billion net savings each year to business, charities and voluntary groups within the scope of the government’s one-in, two-out deregulation programme.
Over the past six months, the independent Regulatory Policy Committee has verified over 100 additional legal changes, resulting in £2.2 billion net savings each year to business, charities and voluntary groups within the scope of the government’s one-in, two-out deregulation programme.
The savings were announced today as part of this government’s final Statement of New Regulation (SNR), detailing the remaining changes in regulations affecting business this parliament.
The RPC is still awaiting information on a further 20 measures expected before the end of this parliament. Most of these unvalidated measures are likely to benefit business. The RPC is aware of only one measure whose costs have not yet been validated but that is likely to be a net cost business of more than £1 million each year: independent school standards, estimated by the Department for Education to cost business £1.6 million each year. The RPC will publish details of any further validations in its annual report in the spring.
RPC Chairman Michael Gibbons OBE, said:
“Over the course of this parliament the RPC has been established as an independent body and grown fully into its role as the provider of robust scrutiny of the impacts of regulation on businesses, charities and wider society.
“We have welcomed this government’s emphasis on better regulation and the cross-party agreement on the increase in scope for the work of the RPC, in particular on the effects of regulation on small businesses.
“This final SNR does not include all of the measures likely to impact on the final savings figure, yet the RPC will continue to work on validating these changes to ensure the account is as complete as possible by the end of this parliament.”