§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 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. [120822]
§ Mr. PearsonA Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) must be completed for all policy proposals that have a potential impact on businesses, charities or the voluntary sector.
The procedure for conducting Regulatory Impact Assessments in Northern Ireland is set out in the Northern Ireland Better Regulation Strategy, which was approved by the Northern Ireland Executive in December 2001.
The Strategy incorporates a requirement on Northern Ireland Departments introducing new legislation to complete a review RIA within an appropriate period (not exceeding 10 years) of the introduction of the legislation. There have not yet been any reviews of RIAs undertaken in Northern Ireland.