§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the cost and enforcement of EU environmental regulations in(a) the UK, (b) other EU countries and (c) applicant states. [143809]
§ Mr. MorleyIn 1998, this Government announced that no proposal for legislation, which has a potential to impact on business, the voluntary sector or charities, should be considered by Ministers without a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA). Departments are required to undertake RIAs for all proposed regulations and policies, including environmental regulations, that impose a burden or realise a benefit to business, charities and the voluntary sector whether initiated by the UK or EU. The RIA includes an analysis of the costs of implementation and enforcement. It is an ex-ante appraisal and it is an explicit requirement that consideration is given to monitoring and review at the appraisal stage.
The RIA process will be strengthened further by the National Audit Office (NAO) taking on a new role as an independent evaluator of selected RIAs. The NAO will focus on the quality of analysis in the RIAs and the thoroughness with which the RIAs have been undertaken. The findings and recommendations of best practice will be fed back to Departments.
All RIAs published by Government Departments since January 2001 can be accessed via the Cabinet Office Regulatory Impact Unit website (http://www. Cabinet-office.gov.uk/regulation/index.htm).
The responsibility for assessing the cost and enforcement of EU environmental regulations in other member states rests with individual member states.
1024WIn June 2002 the European Commission adopted an Action Plan for Better Regulation, in which it committed itself to the introduction of a two-stage impact assessment process, covering the economic, social and environmental impacts of policy proposals, the phased implementation of which started earlier in 2003. Impact assessment is to be applied to all proposals listed in the Annual Policy Strategy or Work Programme. All proposals will be subject to preliminary assessment, with some proposals being selected for extended assessment.
The European Commission produces an annual survey on the implementation and enforcement of environmental Community law within existing member states. The 4th edition, which covers 2002, is now available and can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int). Comparable data on the implementation and enforcement of EU legislation in the Accession States will also be compiled once they join the EU.