Better Business Regulatory Reform Receives Royal Assent

The Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill, which the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) says will deliver better regulation to businesses across the country, has received Royal Assent.

The Act creates a new body - the Local Better Regulation Office - which will provide advice for central Government on the way that local authorities regulate to help ensure a more consistent and risk-based application of regulation for businesses.

Many will view the advise given so far in relation to health & safety and business as being a vailed attack on the legislation which has existed since 1974 and further imnproved upon by the EC. Indeed hardl;y a day goes by without the media attacking H&S legilsation in the form of rediculous examples of things like conkers, sack races and one legged sports events beign banned on H&S grounds.

One area of specific concern is that the new Regulators will also have access to a range of new powers that will provide alternatives to criminal prosecution. The Act will create a provision to ensure regulators do not impose or maintain unnecessary burdens on those they regulate.

Business Minister Shriti Vadera says:

"The Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act is a central part of the Government's ambitious better regulation agenda.It aims to provide consistent enforcement and increase the effectiveness of risk-based regulation across the country and ease the burden for business."

The new Act is part of the Government’s drive to cut the cost to business of administering regulation by a quarter by 2010. The Government says it has already cut an estimated £800 million of administrative burdens from UK business.

The first parts of the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act will come into force on 1 October 2008.

It will be intersting to see if similar work which would benefit employees in the UK will ever be undertaken by this Government.

Calls for such a thing in the form of a green paper on H&S based on the demands from Trade Union bodies is reported elsewhere in this website, and such a step forward has been muted earlier this month by the TUC.

Institute of Employment Rights Conference Urges TU 'Green Paper' On H&S

Source: Workplace Law Network

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