§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on his Department's regulatory impact assessment procedure; and how many RIAs have been reviewed in respect of the Department over the last year. [120748]
§ Malcolm WicksA Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) is completed for all DWP regulatory proposals that have more than a negligible impact on businesses, charities or the voluntary sector. These RIAs follow the guidance, "Better Policy Making: A Guide to Regulatory Impact Assessment" (revised January 2003), and include details of arrangements for monitoring and reviewing policy proposals and their impact.
Information on the number of RIAs that have been reviewed by the Department over the last year is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
From this year, the National Audit Office (NAO) has a new role in independently evaluating a selection of RIAs. The Better Regulation Task Force put forward in its annual report (published in February 2003), suggestions of RIAs for the NAO to review.
The NAO review 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. This will play a valuable part in improving the standard of RIAs.