§ Mr. David StewartTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make a statement on his policy on the use of sunset clauses in legislation; and which Acts containing such clauses relevant to his Department were passed in each year since 1997. [149326]
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§ Mr. AlexanderNo legislation introduced by my department during the period in question has contained sunset clauses. The Cabinet Office promotes the better regulation agenda and the use of sunsetting where appropriate. The Regulatory Impact Assessment(RIA) guidance 'Better Policy Making: A Guide to Regulatory Impact Assessment' advises policy officials to consider time limiting or sunsetting at an early stage of policy development and gives specific circumstances where sunsetting may be appropriate. In November 2003 we published web-based RIA guidance which contains additional examples of sunsetting.