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All final Impact Assessments, which have been signed off by ministers, must be published on your department's website in a central place so they are easy to find. Going forward, the Government will set up a new area on the internet where summaries of all published Impact Assessments will be available, together with links to Impact Assessments on departmental websites.

This data will then be used to provide a dynamic index of Impact Assessments that enables users to search, sort and download Impact Assessment documents.

A copy of all final Impact Assessments must also be placed in the library of both Houses of Parliament.

Three copies of the Impact Assessment to:

Deposited Papers Clerk
Oriel Room
House of Commons Library
London
SW1A 0AA

Deposited Papers Clerk
Derby Gate Library
1 Derby Gate
London
SW1A 2DG

Deposited Papers Clerk
The Library
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW

You can ring the Deposited Papers Clerk on 020 7219 2004 or email queries to hclibrary@parliament.uk.

For Statutory Instruments, the Explanatory Note should say that an Impact Assessment is available, and where it can be obtained.

Copies of Impact Assessments for all Bills and Statutory Instruments to be debated in Parliament should be available in the Vote Office (50 copies) and the House of Lords Printed Paper Office (10 copies).

Impact Assessments should be made available to relevant Standing Committees.

For Government Bills, a summary of the Impact Assessment forms part of the Explanatory Memorandum to the Bill. Rather than justifying the measure, this should be a neutral statement of costs and benefits. You must include a reference to where the complete Impact Assessment can be obtained using the following standard form of words:

‘The final proposal stage Impact Assessment of the costs and benefits that this Bill would have is available at ……[insert a list of those places in Parliament where the IA is available]’

For European legislation, an IA must accompany all Explanatory Memoranda submitted to Parliament. In cases where you are not able to prepare a full IA in time, you should ensure the Explanatory Memorandum contains the best possible initial assessment and that the IA follows as quickly as possible.

In the case of Private Members' Bills that the Government is planning to support, or is not intending to oppose, you should produce an Impact Assessment by the date set down for Second Reading.

It is good practice to prepare an Impact Assessment for a Private Members' Bill being opposed, in order to obtain the evidence to justify the objection to the Bill.

When Statutory Instruments are directly linked to primary legislation which is itself the subject of an Impact Assessment, departments may consider that republication is necessary – it may be superfluous if the estimate of costs and benefits has not changed by that point.

When Statutory Instruments are laid under powers created by much earlier primary legislation or concern a particular change distinct from the provisions of the primary legislation, an Impact Assessment should be published in the usual way.

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