It is vital for British industry to have the regulatory burden reduced, which is why, to my mind, the heroes of Tuesday's conference sessions were Ken Clarke and John Penrose. They announced some excellent new policies:
· Introduce a powerful new ‘star chamber’, chaired by Ken Clarke, which will enforce a stringent ‘one in – one out’ requirement where any new law must include cuts in old laws which, together, produce a net 5% reduction in the regulatory burden;
· Appoint Professor Richard Thaler as a senior advisor to, and member of, the star chamber committee;
· Allow the public to nominate unpopular regulations to be reviewed by Parliament;
· Add a ‘sunset clause’ to all regulators and regulatory quangos;
· Strengthen Parliamentary accountability of regulators and inspectorates;
· Publish detailed information about the expenditure and outcomes achieved by local councils, so that the public can see if their council is delivering value for money;
· Curb the powers of intrusive inspectors by allowing firms to arrange their own, externally audited inspections and, providing they pass, to refuse entry to official inspectors thereafter; and
· Consult carefully on changes that may be required to the employment and discrimination tribunals system, to ensure the system offers fast, cheap and accessible justice, and that it is fair to all sides.
These are all very welcome. John explained the thinking behind this in a recent blog post. Real regulatory reform will be as important to the country's economic revival as budgetary tightening. We mustn't ignore the supply side, and for that reason these reforms deserve as much publicity as George Osborne's announcements.
Of course, given that so many of our regulations come from the EU, this is just the start. But it is a very welcome start.
Those who are interested in the history of regulatory reform, admittedly from an American angle, can read the "book" on the subject by my colleague Marlo Lewis here.
