Regulatory Impact Unit

HC Deb 05 July 2002 vol 388 cc630-1W

Dr. Cable

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many members of his Department have been employed in its regulatory impact unit in the past five years; and if he will make a statement. [65976]

Dawn Primarolo

The Treasury, Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise each have separate departmental regulatory impact units in which two, five and three people respectively co-ordinate work on regulatory impact. The number of people in these units has remained broadly constant.

The staff in each unit work closely with the officials responsible for developing policies within their department and the regulatory impact unit within the Cabinet Office. They focus on those regulations which impact on business, charities, and the voluntary sector.