Regulatory Impact Assessments/Unit (Hansard, 9 March 2004)

§ Mr. Stephen O'Brien
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what resources have been allocated for the Regulatory Impact Assessment process for each year between 1998 and 2006. [160134]

§ Mr. Alexander
Information on the total resources allocated to the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) process across Government are not held centrally. Each department is responsible for producing robust RIAs to assess the impact of proposals that are likely to have an effect on business, charities and the voluntary sector which consider all available options including non-regulatory alternatives.

§ Mr. Heald
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people are employed in the Regulatory Impact Unit. [160035]

§ Mr. Alexander
As at the 1 March 2004, 63 staff were working in the Regulatory Impact Unit.

§ Mr. Heald
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the impact of the Regulatory Impact Unit; and if he will make a statement. [160038]
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§ Mr. Alexander
The Regulatory Impact Unit works with other Government Departments, agencies and regulators to promote the better regulation agenda. The work of the Unit covers the private and public sectors, domestic and European issues.
In its assessments of the UK's performance in the area of regulatory reform the OECD has said that the UK is "at the forefront of regulatory reform" and "has almost the lowest administration cost and fewer regulations for entrepreneurs than any other EU country".