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The Regulators' Compliance Code

The Regulators' Compliance Code asks regulators to perform their duties in a business-friendly way, by planning regulation and inspections in a way that causes least disruption to the economy.

Regulators must have regard to the Code when determining policies, setting standards or giving guidance in relation to their duties.

The Code was drafted in response to the Hampton Review of the UK’s regulatory system, which proposed the principles of better regulation based on a risk-based approach and proportionality to regulatory enforcement.

It asks regulators to consider:

Supporting economic progress
Performing regulatory duties should not impede business productivity.
Risk assessment
Undertaking a risk assessment of all their activities.
Information and advice
Providing information and advice in a way that enables businesses to clearly understand what is required by law.
Inspections
Only performing inspections following a risk assessment, so resources are focused on those least likely to comply.
Data requirements
Collaborating with other regulators to share data and minimise demand on businesses.
Compliance and enforcement actions
How formal enforcement actions, including sanctions and penalties, should be applied following the Macrory principles on penalties.
Accountability
Increasing the transparency of regulatory organisations by asking them to report on outcomes, costs and perceptions of their enforcement approach.

By ensuring that regulators review their policies, the Government is confident that the Code will help deliver a risk-based approach to the exercise of regulatory activity. High-performing, compliant businesses will bear less of a burden, with regulators focusing their efforts on rogue and higher-risk businesses.

The Government laid the Code before Parliament during autumn 2007, and came into force on 6 April 2008.

Regulators' compliance code: statutory code of practice for regulators (PDF, 107KB)

The Statutory Instruments specifying the regulatory functions to which the Compliance Code and the Principles of Good Regulation apply can be found in the links below:

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/pdf/uksi_20073544_en.pdf (PDF)

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2009/pdf/uksi_20092981_en.pdf (PDF)

Data - sharing and protection for businesses

The Information Commissioner has provided guidance for businesses on data-sharing and protection:

Letter from the Information Commissioner on data protection and the sharing of regulatory data on businesses (PDF, 1095KB)

The Enforcement Concordat

The Compliance Code does not replace the Enforcement Concordat, which remains in force as between the regulators and businesses that are signatories to it. As the Compliance Code does not apply to the decisions of regulators and local enforcers in individual cases, the Concordat which applies to such individual level actions, will therefore continue to be relevant.

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The Regulators' Compliance Code

Data - sharing and protection for businesses

The Enforcement Concordat

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