HC Deb 26 July 1999 vol 336 cc82-3W
Mr. Chidgey

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what reductions were achieved in the compliance costs of regulation administered by his Department and its public bodies for the last year for which data are available; what mechanisms exist for monitoring the post-implementation costs of such regulation; and if he has established targets for reduction in the compliance costs of regulation administered by his Department and its public bodies. [92317]

Mr. Mudie

Details of regulations that imposed compliance costs on business are published in the Department's regulatory impact assessments and laid before the House. A summary of all the regulatory impact assessments published by the Department and the other regulatory Departments in Whitehall are published every six months in a White Paper, and are available on a monthly basis on the Cabinet Office Regulatory Impact Unit's website.

The Department published details on the quality and quantity of its regulatory activity in the Departmental Annual Report.

There is no arbitrary target for reducing the compliance costs of regulation. However, all Departments are required to make an assessment of the risks, costs and benefits of any regulatory proposal that has an impact on businesses, charities and voluntary bodies before they decide to act. Without an assessment of this kind there can be no collective agreement of a regulatory proposal.