§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether regulatory impact assessments undertaken in relation to EU legislation are full assessments. [155259]
§ Nigel GriffithsAll regulations, including those resulting from EU legislation, that have a cost to or benefit for business are required to have a full Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA). Copies are placed in the Libraries of the House.
While EU legislation is being developed, a partial RIA is prepared in order to inform the policy development process. The RIA remains a partial RIA while the legislative proposal itself is under development.
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§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to her answer of 2 February 2004,Official Report, column 649W, on regulatory impact assessments, what assessment she has made of the frequency with which the costs and benefits of regulations to consumers are considered in the course of regulatory impact assessments. [155490]
§ Nigel GriffithsThe Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) process requires policy makers to assess the impact on all areas of society affected by a proposal. Where appropriate, therefore, the impact on consumers will be assessed in the RIA.
An estimate of the frequency with which consumers are referred cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
All RIAs must include a competition assessment which looks at the impact of a proposal on UK customers.