Hampton Review

Philip Hampton today published his final report ‘Reducing administrative burdens: effective inspection and enforcement’. His review considers how to reduce administrative burdens on business without compromising the UK's excellent regulatory outcomes.

He finds that there is much good practice in UK regulation, but also that the system, as a whole, is complicated and good practice is not uniform. Overlaps in regulators’ activities mean there are too many forms, too many duplicate information requests and multiple inspections imposed on businesses.

The Review proposes entrenching the principle of risk assessment throughout the regulatory system, so that the burden of enforcement falls most on highest-risk businesses and least on those with the best records of compliance. At present, not only are unnecessary inspections carried out, but necessary inspections are not carried out. Under the proposals in the report, inspection rates would be reduced where risks are low, but enhanced where necessary.

The Review estimates, based on regulators’ past experience, that comprehensive risk assessment in a streamlined structure could:

reduce the need for inspections by up to a third, which means around one million fewer inspections; and
reduce the number of forms regulators send out by perhaps 25 per cent.

In addition, the review recommends:

making much more use of advice, again applying the principle of risk assessment;
substantially reducing the need for form-filling – in practice, most businesses’ most frequent and direct experience of regulatory enforcement – and other regulatory information requirements;
applying tougher and more consistent penalties where these are deserved;
reducing the number of regulators that businesses have to deal with, by merging 31 national regulators into 7;
entrenching reform by requiring all new policies and regulations to consider enforcement, and use existing structures wherever possible; and
creating a new business-led body at the centre of Government to drive implementation of the recommendations and challenge departments on their regulatory performance.

Philip Hampton has agreed to work with the Government to ensure effective implementation of his recommendations.

Notes for editors:

1. The full report can be downloaded on the Review’s website.

2. The Hampton Review was commissioned in Budget 2004.

3. The Review covers the inspection and enforcement work of 63 national regulators, as well as the 203 trading standards offices and 408 environmental health offices in English, Scottish and Welsh local authorities. Economic regulators like Ofwat and Ofgem, and those bodies covered by the work of the Office of Public Sector Reform are not covered by the Review.

4. The Review has not examined regulators, such as the Scottish Environment Agency, which are the responsibility of the devolved institutions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Many regulators within the scope of the review, including the Health and Safety Executive, the Food Standards Agency, and the Office of Fair Trading, operate UK or Great Britain wide. The Review’s recommendations on these bodies will need to be implemented following discussions between the UK Government and the devolved administrations.

5. Philip Hampton is a former finance director of Lloyds TSB, BT and British Gas. On 19 July 2004 he was appointed chairman of J. Sainsbury plc.

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