RPC: Response to NAO report
RPC reacts to the NAO’s report: The Business Impact Target – cutting the cost of regulation
Michael Gibbons, Chairman of the Regulatory Policy Committee said:
“The NAO has undertaken a thorough review of the government’s Business Impact Target (BIT). The target was set up as a crucial barometer of how the actions of policymakers can make a meaningful impact on the net cost burdens to businesses and civil society.
Throughout the report the NAO have recognised the quality of the RPC’s scrutiny work, noting that our ‘approach to validating the expected impacts of regulatory changes is thorough and comprehensive and has increased the transparency of impact assessments.’ In the last year alone, the accuracy of departmental estimates of the costs to business was adjusted by £160 million pa - a testament to our rigorous investigative and challenging approach. We particularly concur with the NAO’s view that much more needs to be done to assess the societal impact of proposals, and also to review the evidence for renewing or repealing existing regulations, and taking into account the learning derived from that process.
We shall continue to give independent, evidence based advice to the BRE and government on how regulatory processes could be improved.”