Peter Rogers, Chief Executive of Westminster Council, today announced five national priorities to help local authorities focus the enforcement of regulation on the greatest risks. A national approach to regulatory enforcement will enable a greater concentration on the most important issues, a more proportionate approach to low risk issues and greater consistency across the country. Businesses will benefit from improved consistency of enforcement and sharper regulatory focus.
Today in the Budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer accepted the recommendations of the Review in full.
Peter Rogers said:
"For the first time enforcement priorities have been based on the evidence of risk. For those of us in local government, who make day-to-day decisions about enforcement, these priorities will help us best protect the health of our citizens and businesses' prosperity.
"A consistent approach to regulatory enforcement by local authorities will help us tackle the biggest risks nationally as well as helping those who are regulated know what is expected of them wherever they are."
The five main priorities are areas where local authorities can make a real difference and control serious risks to peoples' health and the economy. They are:
- Air quality, including regulation of pollution from factories and homes - Air quality problems damage health, enforcement is a priority to citizens.
- Alcohol, entertainment and late night refreshment licensing - 1 in 5 violent incidents occurs in or around public houses, and 17 million working days are lost each year to alcohol related causes.
- Hygiene of businesses selling, distributing and manufacturing food and the safety and fitness of food in the premises - each day food-borne disease leads to almost 1 death, 33 hospitalisations and 1,500 cases of illness.
- Improving health in the workplace - 560,000 workers each year experience illness caused or made worse by work.
- Fair trading (trade description, trade marking, mis-description, doorstep selling) - costs consumers an estimated £8 billion each year and 3.5 million people become victims of scams. Rogue traders cause severe distress to the elderly and vulnerable who are often targeted.
The Review also recommends an additional time-limited enforcement priority pending a government review of enforcement in this area:
- 'Animal and public health, animal movements and identification' whilst responsibility for this still lies with local government. Problems here are very damaging - the Foot and Mouth outbreak cost £8 billion.
The Review identified 61 policy areas then sifted these using an innovative, risk-based approach, in line with the Better Regulation Commission's report on Risk, Responsibility and Regulation, to produce a list of the five areas with the greatest impact. The Review took evidence from government departments, citizens and businesses as well as local authority Trading Standards and Environmental Health services in England.
The Review's recommendations will help to ensure that local authorities benefit from devolution promised by the Local Government White Paper without compromising regulatory outcomes or exposing business to inconsistent enforcement. It also provides evidence on regulatory areas that are likely to be strong contenders for local priorities, enabling services to make their case for inclusion in Local Area Agreements.
Notes to Editors
The report is available online at: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/regulation/reviewing_regulation/rogers_review/
Peter Rogers is Chief Executive of Westminster City Council and a Board Member of the Housing Corporation. Before Westminster, Peter carried out several roles at West Midlands Travel Group, culminating in his position as Commercial Director. Peter is also a member of the Central London Partnership Executive, which is the focus for public private partnership in central London. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, Institute of Personnel and Development, and the judging panel for the LGC awards for local government.
The Better Regulation Executive within the Cabinet Office and works across government to support and challenge departments and regulators as minimise bureaucracy for businesses, front-line staff in the public sector and to the third sector. The Better Regulation Executive also plays an active role in promoting the better regulation agenda in Europe. Further information available at: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/regulation/index.asp
The Better Regulation Commission provides independent advice to government, from business and other external stakeholders, about new regulatory proposals and about the Government's overall regulatory performance. For further information see: http://www.brc.gov.uk/
In October 2006 the Better Regulation Commission published its report Risk, Responsibility and Regulation: Whose risk is it anyway that called for a national debate about how we approach risk as a society. The report is available at: http://www.brc.gov.uk/downloads/pdf/risk_res_reg.pdf