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Government calls for 'shared responsibility' for ensuring regulation works for everyone

23 January 2007
CAB/006/07

Regulation Minister Pat McFadden today called for a new sense of shared responsibility for the way the UK regulates itself, as he responded to a report by the Better Regulation Commission (BRC), Risk, Responsibility, Regulation: Whose Risk Is It Anyway? in a speech to the Institute of Public Policy Research today.

While acknowledging that Government must be accountable for the regulation it creates, Pat McFadden said 'we have a shared responsibility around these issues - government, public and media.'

Explaining how this debate related to the long term Policy Reviews currently underway across Government, Pat McFadden said:

'Zero risk is neither desirable nor attainable. There is good risk and bad. We want an enterprising and dynamic economy where people take risks, are ambitious and can put their ideas into practice. This means allowing failure as well as hoping for success. But there are some risks which it is right we act to eliminate. For example, a builder on scaffolding has a right to expect it to be safe.'

'All of us need to use common sense when applying regulations. Sometimes there is exaggeration or over interpretation so that the end result bears little resemblance to the original intention. Sometimes the stories are simply myths.'

From the Spring, the Cabinet Office will re-launch the 'better regulation portal' in order have a more transparent process through which individuals and businesses can make suggestions to remove, replace or amend regulations. This will offer chance of a better conversation about regulation and allow government to separate the real problems from the myths.

Pat McFadden welcomed the BRC's report, endorsing its core principle of shared responsibility for risk. The Government has accepted the vast majority of the BRC's recommendations and a detailed Government response is available on www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk.

Pat McFadden said: 'Britain should be known around the world for its openness, its endless curiosity and its belief in the possibilities the future holds.'

Notes to Editors

  1. The Better Regulation Commission's report, 'Risk, Responsibility and Regulation - whose risk is it anyway?' is available at: http://www.brc.gov.uk/downloads/pdf/risk_res_reg.pdf

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