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Better Regulation

The Better Regulation Executive (BRE) is part of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and has overall responsibility for the Government's commitments to:

• regulate only when necessary
• set tough targets for reducing the cost of administering regulations
• ensuring inspection and enforcement of regulation is proportionate and risk-based

This involves working with other government departments and regulators to:

• scrutinise new policy proposals
• achieve effective new regulations
• make it easier to change or remove regulation, where beneficial
• reduce existing regulatory burdens affecting business, the third sector and frontline staff in the public sector
• improving transparency and accountability for regulation
• effectively communicate regulatory changes; and
• drive forward the better regulation agenda in Europe.

The BRE’s work also covers some of the key issues facing the world today, such as climate change and child obesity, as well as helping to provide essential protection for consumers

The five principles of good regulation

A key part of the BRE’s work has been to determine five key principles of regulation, which are now a cornerstone of the better regulation strategy and implementation. These state that any regulation should be:

• transparent
• accountable
• proportionate
• consistent
• targeted – only at cases where action is needed