Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help ensure Government Departments comply with the Principles of the Better Regulation Framework, interim guidance, published in March 2020, on impact assessments; and if he will make a statement.

The Better Regulation Framework as agreed across government is clear on the requirements for impact assessments, and we continue to push departments to adhere to these requirements.

We do this through support from the Better Regulation Executive (BRE) in providing extensive support and guidance on better regulation and impact assessments, and through a Cross-Whitehall training delivered by jointly by BRE and the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC), which covers everything from better regulation policy to conducting an impact assessment is also available and offered to departments.

We also encourage departmental engagement with the RPC in the early stages of the policy development process for their advice on the proposed analysis to support the policy.

We are confident that efforts by the Better Regulation Executive and the Regulatory Policy Committee will continue to improve the regulatory impact assessment process, while the impending reforms to the better regulation framework will also look to enhance the process.