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Tackling local government red tape

Cutting the burden of red tape imposed on businesses by local government is the main task of a new group which met for the first time today.

The Government’s review of regulatory burdens (Hampton Review) showed that the experience of businesses dealing with regulation at a local level differs from authority to authority. This new group will tackle the inconsistencies that cause difficulties for businesses who work across local boundaries.

Differing levels of support in the areas of inspections, information provision for small and new businesses and inconsistencies in the protection offered to the consumer are just some of the issues the group will tackle.

The Local Authority Better Regulation Group (LABREG) also aims to remove outmoded bureaucratic burdens, identify and share best practice in local government and challenge central government to set clearer priorities and frameworks. By focussing on risks, the group aims to remove red tape burdens from honest businesses and allow regulators to target cheats and rogues.

Central government, local government and businesses will all work together over the next few months to deliver its findings in November. They will consult widely with local authorities and experts in the field of regulation, visiting a range of local authorities to see for itself the issues at the front line.

Addressing the first meeting of the group in London John Hutton, Minister for the Cabinet Office who is leading on the better regulation agenda across government, said:

‘Many businesses find that regulations applied by local authorities are the greatest burden on their time and resources that’s why this new partnership has a vital role to play in slashing red tape.

‘The Local Authority Better Regulation Group remit will be to deliver a lighter touch risk-based inspection regime that targets resources on rogue traders rather than insisting on needless form-filling for those businesses that play by the rules. LABREG will also spread best practice to bring in more uniformity, tackling the frustration felt by businesses who can encounter wide variations in inspection regulations across the country.’

Minister of Communities and Local Government David Miliband said:

‘We are determined to cut red tape and enable local government to do its job as easily as possible. Establishing the LABREG and bringing together key players is an important step towards doing this.’

In a statement Philip Hampton, author of the Hampton Review, said:

The proposed Better Regulation Bill will undergo a full consultation with the business community and public sector. The Bill will make the process of removing unnecessary or burdensome legislation quicker and more effective.

Notes to Editors

1. Membership of LABREG includes the Better Regulation Executive, ODPM, DTI, Food Standards Agency, DEFRA, Environment Agency, HSE, OFT, NAO, the LGA, Society of Local Authority Chief Executives, Audit Commission, National Consumer Council, CBI, British Retail Consortium and the Federation of Small Businesses. Representatives from Treasury, Home Office, DCA, DCMS, professional bodies such as Trading Standards Institute and Chartered Institute for Environmental Health and individual local authorities will be invited to attend when appropriate.
2. LABREG will improve local authority regulation by:
   1. Establishing a single set of priorities between different Departments’ regulatory requirements, enabling local authorities to take resourcing decisions that better meet national goals;
   2. Identifying best practice models in local government and considering ways in which they can be generalised, from codified standards to incentives. These models, together with a revised Enforcement Concordat, will embed risk assessment in local authorities’ regulatory thinking, and bring their work in line with the Hampton principles;
   3. Making recommendations on an outcome-oriented performance measure for local authority regulatory services, consistent with wider work on local authority performance management and the CPA.
3. In Budget 2004, the Chancellor invited Philip Hampton, Chairman of Sainsbury’s, to review the system of UK regulation. The Hampton Report - Reducing administrative burdens: effective inspection and enforcement reported in Budget 2005, and was accepted by the government. Its core recommendations included:
   • Streamlining the UK regulatory system, through the merger of 31 regulation bodies into 7
   • Promoting risk-based approaches to inspections and other compliance activities, such as form-filling
   • The creation of LABREG
   The Hampton Review is available at http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk./budget/budget_05/other_documents/bud_bud05_hampton.cfm

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