§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what appraisals have been produced for extrapolating UK data to cover the rest of the EU with regard to regulatory impact assessments. [100234]
§ Mr. StringerThe Government do not keep information in the form requested and could not do so without disproportionate cost.
It is Government policy that all Departments must complete a proper assessment of the risks, costs and benefits in the UK of a new proposal for legislation at either national or European levels. They must show who is affected, and why a non-regulatory option is not possible.
We are keen to see the European Commission improve its existing, similar procedure for scrutinising its own regulatory proposals—it is currently undertaking a review. In the absence of general EU guidance, we have advised Departments that they should extrapolate UK data to cover the rest of the EU when analysing European proposals. This advice is contained in our Guide to Better European Regulation, which was published in July.