BRITISH
SUMMER TIME
REGULATORY
IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Introduction
This
assessment considers the potential costs to business from
implementation of the 2001 Directive on Summer Time Arrangements.
Any costs are likely to be small, as the arrangements
provided for in the Directive are broadly the same as those
currently provided for in the UK.
Purpose
The
purpose of the Directive is to prescribe the start and end dates
of summer time in all European member states as being the last
Sundays in March and October respectively. Additionally, the Directive provides that these dates
should apply indefinitely.
Current
UK legislation makes provision that when summer time commences on
Easter Sunday the clock change is brought forward by one week. This practice will cease to be available under the
Directive. The aim of
this Directive is to meet calls from business for certainty as to
the summer time dates.
Options
The
Government considers the change made under this Directive a
positive benefit to business as it gives certainty to the summer
time dates and aids the business planning process. Compliance with the Directive is a UK Treaty obligation.
Benefits
Certainty
of the summer time dates will be a positive benefit to business
and will aid business planning, as there will no longer be any
variation on the beginning of summer time from one year to the
next. The change made under the Directive will benefit the general
public in a similar manner.
Costs
to business
The
costs of implementing the Directive will be small as the summer
time period provided for is largely the same as is currently
provided for in the UK. However,
the cessation of the variability in the event of summer time
coinciding with Easter Sunday may have minor cost implications for
IT systems which automatically adapt to summer time clock changes. These costs are difficult to quantify, but are likely to be
very small.
Diary
and organiser manufacturers are aware of the changes outlined
under the Directive and will therefore not incur costs from summer
time changes in 2002.
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