Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2022 to Question 75766 on Regulation, whether (a) director generals and (b) directors in his Department conducted regulatory impact assessments of new EU legislative between 2001 and 2015.

The information requested is not held centrally and would incur disproportionate cost to obtain. The EU conducts impact assessments on legislation it produces. During the UK’s membership of the EU, Defra produced appropriate proportionate analysis in relevant cases in line with Better Regulation Principles. Where legislation impacted on businesses, Defra was committed to the principles of better regulation and conducting proportionate analysis to prevent unjustifiable regulatory burden.