page 36 better regulation berr 1

Summary of Simplification Plans 2009

Contents 2

Contents (page 1 of 2)

Foreword by the Prime Minister .................................................................... 4

Introduction by the Secretary of State ........................................................ 5

SectIon 1 Summary ....................................................................................6

chapter 1 .................................................................................................................. 7 Executive Summary .......................................................................................... 7

What do businesses need to know? ........................................................ 8

What is this report about?........................................................................... 9

chapter 2 ................................................................................................................ 10 Better Regulation – what next? .................................................................. 10

SectIon 2 Administrative Burden Reduction Programme ............13

chapter 1 ................................................................................................................ 14 Year 4: Progress so far .................................................................................. 14

Delivery overview ......................................................................................... 14

Administrative burden reductions: Progress by individual departments and agencies .........................23

chapter 2 ................................................................................................................31 The Third Sector ..............................................................................................31

2009 achievements ......................................................................................31

Streamlined business practices .............................................................31

Making life simpler for small charities ...............................................31

Making employment law easier ..............................................................32

Wider Simplification........................................................................................33

Reducing funding & monitoring burdens ............................................33

chapter 3 ................................................................................................................35 Helping Small Businesses ...........................................................................35

Examples of Departmental think small first approaches ............35

Contents 3

SectIon 3 Wider Simplifications (outside of ABRP) ........................ 40

chapter 1 ................................................................................................................ 41 The public sector ............................................................................................. 41

Reducing bureaucracy in the public sector ........................................ 41

2009 achievements in reducing bureaucracy in the public sector ...................................................................................... 41

Engaging with the front line and reducing the stock of unnecessary bureaucracy ................................................45

Wider work on improving public sector efficiency ..........................46

chapter 2 ................................................................................................................47 Simplifications at the European level ......................................................47

UK engagement with the EU ....................................................................48

Improvements to incoming European legislation ............................ 51

chapter 3 ................................................................................................................52 Reducing policy burdens and irritants ....................................................52

Policy burdens: Process by individual Department and Agency........................................................53

Reducing Non-Monetary Irritants ..........................................................55

SectIon 4 Annexes ................................................................................... 57

Annex A ...................................................................................................................58 Cautious Predictions – risks to delivery by May 2010 ........................58

Annex B ...................................................................................................................63 External Validation Panel May 2005 – May 2009 .................................63

Annex c ................................................................................................................... 76 The Measurement Process: The International Standard Cost

Model Methodology ......................................................................................... 76

Stage 1 Measurement ................................................................................ 76

Stage 2 Adjusting for business as usual ..............................................78

Annex D ...................................................................................................................79 Baseline Adjustments ....................................................................................79

2009 Baseline adjustments ......................................................................80

Contents (page 2 of 2)

4Foreword by the Prime Minister

Foreword by the Prime Minister

Creating and maintaining a world-class business environment is essential to economic growth. Building a robust and flexible regulatory framework is central to this because it encourages investment and removes barriers.

The UK already has the best business environment in Europe, and ranks fifth in the world, according to the World Bank. We have made significant progress this year pushing forward our ambitious regulatory reform agenda and increasing the transparency and accountability in the way the Government operates.

We are on track to meet our promise of a net 25% decrease in the administrative burdens on business with plans in place to deliver £3.3 billion in annual savings to businesses by May 2010, and I am pleased that the Government was able to make a further commitment this year to cut the annual costs of existing regulation by a further £6.5 billion over the next five years.

The UK leads the way on regulatory reform, and I am determined that we will continue to deliver our ambitious Better Regulation Agenda, to make sure that regulation works better for everyone.

Gordon BrownPrime Minister

5Introduction by the Secretary of State

Introduction by the Secretary of State

Following the recent global financial crisis and as global competition increases, it is more important than ever that the Government continues to ensure a regulatory framework that is fair, appropriate and reflects the demands of a 21st century economy.

The Government is focused on striking the right balance between guaranteeing essential protections and rights are upheld and recognising the impact of excessive regulations on businesses and our third sector.

Our ambitious Better Regulation Agenda is already delivering real benefits. The programme to reduce administrative burdens is achieving billions of net savings to individual organisations every

year - saving them time, money and resources to direct towards achieving their ambitions for the future.

We are on target to cut the administrative burden of existing regulation by 25% by May 2010. But we want to go further and our new target of £6.5 billion will address both the administrative and wider costs of regulation.

We are working hard across Government to establish regulation that is targeted and proportionate and to help organisations get the simple, clear advice and support they need to implement measures effectively.

Peter MandelsonSecretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills

The publication of our first Forward Regulatory Programme and creation of a new body, the Regulatory Policy Committee shows our commitment to improve transparency, accountability and external scrutiny.

This report sets out what the Government has achieved so far this year and since 2005, and we will continue to do everything we can to foster growth, innovation and fairness through better regulation.

SECTION 1

Chapter 1 Executive Summary

Chapter 2 Better Regulation – what next?

Summary

6

SECTION 1 | Chapter 1: Executive Summary 7

Executive Summary

The Administrative Burden Reduction Programme – saving businesses time and money by reducing red tape.

Effective and evidence-based regulations can play a critical role in correcting market failures, and provide essential protections for the general public.

The Better Regulation Agenda encourages Government to cut unnecessary bureaucracy and out of date regulations – making life simpler for businesses, third sector organisations and the public sector front line.

In the current economic climate it is particularly important to make sure that Government creates a world-leading regulatory

environment, which is fair and proportionate and responds to a rapidly changing global economy.

The Administrative Burden Reduction Programme, part of the UK’s Regulatory Reform Agenda, identifies, simplifies and sometimes removes the administrative burden placed on organisations to demonstrate they are complying with regulations.

The Government is committed to reducing the administrative burden faced by business and the third sector by 25% by May 2010, and expects to deliver approximately £3.3 billion net annual savings. By December 2009 Government has delivered £2.9 billion net annual savings towards this target.

Since the beginning of the Administrative Burden Reduction Programme in 2005, the Government has implemented 280 separate simplification measures to reduce the time and money businesses, charities and the public sector spend on administration.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is also committed to reducing the administrative burden of tax regulation and has been set separate reduction targets by the Chancellor. Details of this programme can be found on the HMRC website1.

Public sector organisations also face administrative burdens. In 2009 there has been real progress on reducing the number of information requests and on reducing the burden of information requests from central Government to public sector organisations. These reductions are a positive and tangible step in reducing bureaucracy for the public sector front line.

1. http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2009/new-relationship-605.pdf

Chapter 1


What do businesses need to know?Government has now made 280 simplification measures with 40 additional measures which have started to deliver savings in the last 12 months. Together these measures are delivering to business the potential to realise an estimated £2.9 billion net annual savings.

In 2008 the Government established the External Validation Panel. This is an independent panel including representatives from the Confederation of British Industry, the Institute of Directors, the British Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Trades Union Congress.

The External Validation Panel was set up to test that simplification measures in the Administrative Burden Reduction Programme were effectively communicated to businesses and were felt on the ground. This year the External Validation Panel has again scrutinised the Government’s delivery.

In Summer 2009 the External Validation Panel met again to look at the delivery of new measures. By May 2009, 77.5% of the Programme’s total gross savings delivery was validated.

The External Validation Panel will meet again in 2010 to review and validate final delivery across the Programme.

Defra Environmental Permitting Programme

"When you run your own business and you're hands-on all the time, sometimes you look at the volume of paperwork needed and it's a headache."Before the new system, our licence application fee would have been around £10,000. But the new permit costs us much less, around £1,300."carl Brittain, owner of Mr Rubble Skip Hire

Waste Management Licensing and Pollution Prevention and Control systems have been consolidated from 41 sets of regulations into just one, a third of the length of the original legislation.

One permit has replaced several types of permit under the old system, meaning that it’s easier for businesses to obtain the right one.

This means that getting an environmental waste management licence is now a very easy process and will save business up to £8.9 million by December 09.


What is this report about?This document provides a summary of the Government’s progress towards delivering 25% net reduction in administrative burdens since the beginning of the Programme in May 2005, with a particular focus on progress over the past year.

This summary also reports on the Government’s progress in delivering wider simplifications. It describes the Government’s achievements in:

• reducing the number of information requests from central Government to public sector frontline workers by 30%. By December 2009 a 30.8% reduction of information requests has been delivered, with further delivery expected by May 2010;

• influencing Europe and other international organisations to promote a culture of better regulation, ensuring that the UK economy will benefit; and

• minimising the policy burdens and key irritants faced by businesses. To date, £1.19 billion gross annual policy savings have been made.

You can find more information on individual Departments’ achievements in their Simplification Plans, which are published on the BIS website2.

2. http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/bre/policy/simplifying-existing-regulation/simplification-plans/page44063.html

10SECTION 1 | Chapter 2: Better Regulation – what next?

Better Regulation – what next?

The Government has a wide-ranging regulatory reform programme. The current programme began in 2005. In April 2009 the Government set out the next steps to drive forward the Better Regulation Agenda.

The recent economic climate has underpinned the importance of the Government’s focus on delivering real help for business. In April this year the Government therefore committed to a further programme of better regulation measures tailored to the exceptional economic circumstances.

Despite the need for new regulation in some areas (such as climate change, and financial services in response to the banking crisis), the Government

has reviewed the regulations it is introducing which would increase burdens on business during the recession and recovery. Twenty six planned regulations will now not be introduced before April 2011, deferring costs to businesses of £3.5 billion, nearly one third of the new regulation that was planned for introduction over the next 18 months. This includes delaying giving employees of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) the right to request paid time to train until 2011, to help small business through the recovery, and delaying new building regulations until 2013.

In October 2009, the Government published, for the first time, a Forward Regulatory Programme. This provides business with a

comprehensive forward indication of existing and possible future regulatory proposals to allow for improved medium-term business planning.

The Government is also working closely with European Union partners to further embed the EU Better Regulation Agenda and to ensure the current pressures on business are taken into account when new European regulation is being considered.

Looking forward, the Government will adopt new simplification targets for 2010 to 2015 which will address all regulatory costs on business including a further £1.5 billion net annual savings target for administrative costs and a £5 billion policy cost reduction target.

The Government has also set up a new independent Regulatory Policy Committee whose role is to advise the Government on whether it is doing all it can to accurately assess the costs and benefits of regulation. Building on the work of Philip Hampton, this body will also advise the Government on whether regulators are appropriately risk-based in their work.

Chapter 2

11

CLG Electronic Communication of Building Control Documents

"The ability to send and receive key building control documents by electronic means is greatly welcomed.“It saves time and effort, not just in terms of printing and postage but also because the statutory time limit starts virtually instantaneously, whereas for posting you need to allow two days. It therefore means that our business can run more efficiently and cost-effectively and this benefits our customers too.”

David Mccullogh, tPS

Most building control documents and information transfers can now take place electronically. This substantially reduces the amount of time and cost of acquiring, completing, submitting and processing hard-copy documents. This will deliver an anticipated annual saving of £38 million by May 2010.

HSE Removal of outdated requirementsHSE has removed eight forms which businesses previously had to fill out to notify the Government before employing staff in their premises. These requirements had little current relevance as there are other means of obtaining this information.

HSE’s public consultation in Autumn 2008 showed strong support for removing the requirements. This included support from local authorities. The amending legislation came into effect in April 2009, reducing the administrative burden on businesses by £21 million annually.

SECTION 1 | Chapter 2: Better Regulation – what next?

12

DfT Dangerous Goods – Instructions in Writing

" If the information is there, in the driver's possession, and it is legible, that is fine. This is an example of the broader attitude that industry welcomes, whereby the mildly creative approach is accepted, in the UK at least."Dr Andy Holton, Product Stewardship Manager, exxonMobil chemical Ltd

DfT removed the requirement for companies involved in the transport of dangerous goods to produce instructions on safe handling of products in the languages of all the countries through which the shipment travels. This saves businesses an estimated £200,000 each year.

Dr Andy Holton praised the effective cooperation with the police and the pragmatic approach to the format of instructions in writing.

SECTION 1 | Chapter 2: Better Regulation – what next?

SECTION 2

Chapter 1 Year 4: Progress so far

Chapter 2 The Third Sector

Chapter 3 Helping Small Businesses

Administrative Burden Reduction Programme

1313

SECTION 2 | Chapter 1: Year 4: Progress so far 14

Chapter 1

Year 4: Progress so far

Delivery in 2009 against the net 25% administrative burden reduction for the private and third sectors.

The Programme continues to make real world improvements. By December 2009 the Government has put in place 280 simplification measures, delivering an estimated £2.9 billion in net annual savings.

The Government is planning to deliver total net annual savings of around £3.3 billion by May 2010 and is therefore on track to deliver its 2005 commitment to reduce the administrative burden faced by business by 25%.

Delivery overview The following table shows the total administrative burden reduction delivery to date across Government and the planned delivery predicted by May 2010.

£m annual admin burden savings

DeLIveRy to DAte (£M)

PLAnneD DeLIveRy

Baseline as at Dec 2009

May 2006 May 2007 May 2008 Dec 2008 May 2009 Dec 2009 May 2010

£13,141.0

Net Reductions3 £348 £674 £1,665 £1,950 £2,378 £2,927 £3,290

% Reduction 2.65% 5.13% 12.67% 14.84% 18.09% 22.27% 25.04%

FIGURe 1: Progress in Reducing Administrative Burdens

3. The figures from May 2006 to December 2008 have been revised to reflect 2009 baseline adjustments.


In December 2009, the Programme is on track, and is now delivering £2.9 billion in net annual savings, meeting the predicted December 2008 delivery forecast. This shows good recent progress following some under-delivery in May 2009 against Departments’ December 2008 forecasts.

The cross-programme forward forecast for delivery to May 2010 shows that the Programme will deliver £3.3 billion net annual savings. However, there is very little contingency across the Programme. It is important that all Departments manage their individual delivery programmes very carefully over the next five months to ensure delivery of the final target in May 2010.

With this in mind, this year we have derived a risk-based analysis of the programme, which sets out a cautious estimate of final delivery. We currently expect, on the cautious case, that the programme would deliver around £3.2 billion in annual savings by May 2010. This cautious estimate takes into account potential delays in the take-up of some measures. As a result of recent economic conditions, business has understandably been slower than anticipated in taking up some of the available opportunities to reduce administrative costs. In this cautious-case analysis we anticipate that the programme would deliver £3.2 billion by May 2010 and the full £3.3 billion in net annual savings by October 2010.

Forestry Commission e-Business for Forestry

" It's virtually a revolutionary change in the way we handle all the adminstration of our buying.Electronic trading has saved us a full-time post; it is faster, more efficient, and makes better data available, with no need for checking."neil cowan, Howie Forest Products

E-Business for Forestry has moved paperwork required by the Forestry Commission online. This has brought savings of over £1.4 million to its customers.


• By May 2009 Departments had delivered an estimated £2.38 billion net annual savings through the Administrative Burden Reduction Programme.

• The External Validation Panel has validated 77.5% of gross savings reported by Departments to May 2009.

• Between May and December 2009, Departments have made further progress. They have delivered a further £549 million net annual savings to business.

• Savings delivered between May and December 2009 will be validated by the External Validation Panel in 2010.

CLG Greater Flexibility for Planning PermissionsTwo new measures will provide a greater degree of flexibility and reduce the need for completely new applications for planning permission.

A simplified planning application procedure at a reduced fee will allow property developers to seek an extension to the time limits for implementing an existing planning permission. Businesses will also be able to apply to make non-material changes to an existing permission through a simple application procedure with a quick turnaround time.

In addition to the £18.6 million savings for businesses, there will be a reduction in workload for Local Planning Authorities, as these measures will reduce the numbers of completely new applications for planning permission.


The tables below illustrate the top simplification measures delivered (by £million value). The first details the new measures implemented in 2009, the second covers the top measures since the beginning of the programme.

MeASURe PRActIcAL cHAnGeS to BUSIneSSeS totAL AnnUAL GRoSS ADMInIStRAtIve SAvInGS AS At DeceMBeR 2009

BIS Business to consumer advertising and marketing rules: Transposition of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (Competition Policy and Consumer Law)

Introduction of a general duty not to mislead consumers.Establishment of a single set of rules against unfair sales and marketing practices directed at consumers.

“this has been a very positive experience for us – the new regulations freed us up and gave us a genuine opportunity to explore new approaches.” Home Retail Group

(Not yet validated by External Validation Panel)

£309m

BIS Dispute Resolution (Employment Law)

A key irritant for businesses. Employees and employers have now greater flexibility to undertake early resolution by dealing with workplace discipline and grievance issues in a way which suits them best. They can now follow the Acas Code of Practice, which sets out the principles that should be followed to address disputes.

(Validated by External Validation Panel)

£115m

HMt Better regulation measures for the asset management sector (Paperless Settlement)

Lifts the previous requirement for paper settlement and transfer of title for fund managers, stockbrokers, financial advisers and other intermediaries by allowing electronic settlement.


£77m

DH Electronic prescription service

Reduced transportation of paper prescriptions from prescriber to dispenser as well as to agent for reimbursement.

Reduced information having to be rekeyed by the dispenser and reimbursement agent.


£37.9m

HSe Manual handling operations regulations

Guidance available to businesses to decide when to label loads to avoid manual handling injuries to workers.


£32.5m

FIGURe 2: Top New Simplification Measures delivering savings in 2009 (figure continues on the next page)


MeASURe PRActIcAL cHAnGeS to BUSIneSSeS totAL AnnUAL GRoSS ADMInIStRAtIve SAvInGS AS At DeceMBeR 2009

BIS Other Companies Act Measures (Company Law and Accounting)

Allows companies greater flexibility in keeping a register of directors and members.


£30.5m

HSeElectronic Risk Assessment Template

The electronic template for recording risk assessments saves business time and encourages compliance with the requirement.


£27m

HSe The Written Health and Safety Policy Statement

By combining the need for a written policy statement and to record a risk assessment the measurement has reduced duplicated paperwork for businesses.


£26.5m

MoJ Legal Aid- Various Provisions under the Civil and Crimes Contract

These measures have been delivered following the introduction of the Civil Unified Contract 2007 and the Unified Contract (Crime) 2008. Reduced burdens include improving systems such as replacing paper based systems with on-line systems and improving guidance.


£26.1m

HSe Forms project

Removal of requirements on businesses to fill out a form to notify HSE or their local authority before employing staff in their premises and keeping registers.


£21m


BIS – Dispute ResolutionChanges recommended by The Dispute Resolution Review were implemented via the Employment Act 2008 and the new procedures came into force in April 2009. The new framework for resolving employment disputes in Great Britain emphasises the importance of the early resolution of workplace matters in the workplace. This was a key irritant for businesses and as a result of these changes, employees and employers have greater flexibility to deal with workplace discipline and grievance issues in a way which suits them best and which saves them £115 million annually.

The new Acas helpline and pre-claim conciliation services were also launched in April 2009 and are projected to deliver a total of £14 million savings, £6 million of which has been delivered to date.

HSE Manual Handling Operations

"Additional clarity of best practice and regulation that is readily and easily accessible through electronic/internet access can only be a good thing and therefore a supportive tool to supply chain handlers promoting best practice with suppliers/manufacturers/ importers of goods."Stuart Rainbow, chairman, Parcel carriers Safety Association

Lack of clarity surrounding when it was necessary to give workers guidance on the weight of every load they had to carry was causing an estimated £150 million cost to business. To help businesses reduce unnecessary costs whilst continuing to protect their workers, HSE produced additional guidance on labelling loads in May 2008.

Ninety-one percent of respondents who had read the guidance stated in an online questionnaire that the guidance helped them understand when a load needed labelling. Respondents expected to save between £262 and £1,314 annually from reduced labelling, which translates to £32.5 million savings across the board.


SIMPLIFIcAtIon MeASUReS

DeScRIPtIon oF SAvInGS AnnUAL GRoSS SAvInGS At DeceMBeR 2009

BISEmployment Guidance

The Employment Law Guidance Programme reduces the administrative burdens imposed by employment law. The Guidance Programme has produced free-to-use and legally-compliant online tools, pro-forma letters and agreement forms, accessible through www.businesslink.gov.uk

(£418m validated by the External Validation Panel as at May 2008)

£418m

BISBusiness to consumer advertising and marketing rules: Transposition of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive

Provides a simpler legal framework, to protect consumers from unfair practices, with a more level playing field for business.


£309m

HSeExample Risk Assessments

Easy to follow examples of risk assessment for 34 lower risk businesses including convenience stores, dry cleaners and hairdressing salons.

(£163.3m validated by External Validation Panel as at May 2008)

£235m

cLGRepeal of part XI of Housing Act 1985

Reducing the number of licences required by landlords for low risk multiple occupancy households (partially offset by burden of £87m from new licensing regime).

(£207m validated by the External Validation Panel as at May 2008)

£207m

BISElectronic communication with shareholders

1.2m companies can now send information including annual reports to shareholders by email, rather than hard copy.

(£76m validated by External Validation Panel as at May 2008)

£182m

DcMSLicensing Act 2003

This Act reformed the alcohol and entertainment licensing laws in Britain into a single piece of legislation.

(£181.1m validated by the External Validation Panel as at May 2008)

£181.1m

FIGURe 3: Top Simplification Measures (by £ million value) since beginning of Programme (figure continues on the next page)


SIMPLIFIcAtIon MeASUReS

DeScRIPtIon oF SAvInGS AnnUAL GRoSS SAvInGS At DeceMBeR 2009

cLGCompetent Persons Scheme

1.2 million pieces of electrical work a year are now certified by ‘competent persons’, rather than having to go through Building Control inspection, saving around £110 per check.

(£132m Validated by External Validation Panel as at May 2008)

£136m

BIS (former DIUS) Weights and Measures

Replacement of the complex Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 1986 to provide a more consistent, certain, accessible and comprehensive law.


£129m

BISDispute Resolution

Businesses no longer need to comply with statutory instruments as the Employment Act 2008 allows companies to follow the Acas code of practice. This code sets out the principles to follow when addressing disputes.


£115m

DHBetter Regulation of Medicines Initiative (BROMI) Phase 1

Pharmaceutical companies can now self-certify minor changes to patient information on over-the-counter medicines, saving themtime and money whilst allowing the MHRA to concentrate onscrutinising complex changes.

(£104.9m validated by External Validation Panel as at May 2008)

£104.9m


BIS Employment GuidanceGovernment has transformed the guidance that it provides on Employment Law. Guidance is now simple, easy to follow and allows employers to take on new employees with confidence.

The guidance focuses on particular areas of Employment Law which businesses found the most burdensome or complex. The guidance available at Business Link (www.businesslink.gov.uk/employingpeople) covers all aspects of employers’ obligations, and includes free access to interactive tools and documents that are quick and easy to use.

This has helped save businesses an estimated annual £418 million in administrative burdens. BIS is now making this guidance available directly to businesses in the form of a simple desktop download that sets out clearly their obligations throughout the employment lifecycle - from recruitment, to retention and leaving.

HSERisk Assessment

"When I talk about what a risk assessment is, I use a printed copy of the HSE's guide and take people through it to establish good practice.“The language is right because it’s everyday basic language. And the presentation is very good. So they can go through it and do their own assessment properly. For small, voluntary organisations, that’s really important.

“One group even wrote to us recently to thank us for making the process so much easier.”

eamon McGraph, community Development Manager, Age concern norfolk

Day centres play a valuable role in the lives of many older people but like any workplace they carry certain health and safety risks.

According to Eamon McGrath, the problem of assessing those risks is now much easier, thanks to the Health and Safety Executive’s website and their online tool, five steps to risk assessment on www.hse.gov.uk/business/risk.htm

HSE produces 34 example risk assessments for different types of low-risk organisations which bring combined savings of £235 million per year.


Administrative burden reductions: Progress by individual departments and agenciesDue to the nature of their remit, three Departments are responsible for over 68% of the total administrative burden baseline (£13.14 billion). Their main policy areas impose the largest administrative burdens as they apply to most businesses in the UK.

• The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) - Employment Law

• The Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) – Planning Law

• The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) – Health and Safety Law

The table on the next page shows departmental delivery to date and planned delivery for the remainder of the programme.


DeLIveRy PLAnneD DeLIveRy

DePt BASeLIne

(£M)

tARGet By MAy 2010 (£M)

tARGet By MAy 2010 (%)

MAy 2009

(£M)

MAy 2009

(%)

Dec 2009

(£M)

Dec 2009

(%)

MAy 2010

(£M)

MAy 2010

(%)

BIS £4,489.0 £1,122.3 25% £902.8 20.11% £1,114.5 24.83% £1,137.5 25.34%

cLG £2,486.5 £621.6 25% £376.1 15.12% £483.1 19.43% £623.8 25.09%

HSe £2,022.5 £505.6 25% £382.7 18.92% £500.3 24.73% £540.0 26.70%

DH £1,201.9 £300.5 25% £157.1 13.07% £197.9 16.47% £196.5 16.35%

Dft £585.0 £146.3 25% £115.2 19.69% £115.5 19.75% £141.6 24.20%

DWP £471.0 £117.8 25% £136.0 28.87% £136.0 28.87% £136.0 28.87%

Defra £458.2 £114.6 25% £55.7 12.16% £90.3 19.70% £91.5 19.98%

MoJ £356.0 £89.0 25% £67.1 18.84% £68.8 19.32% £92.5 25.98%

DcMS £343.2 £85.8 25% £155.8 45.40% £158.2 46.19% £158.5 46.19%

DcSF £209.7 £52.4 25% £8.3 3.96% £24.6 11.75% £55.4 26.43%

HMt £158.9 £39.7 25% £67.4 42.42% £67.4 42.42% £105.4 66.33%

Food SA* £90.5 £22.6 25% -£68.7 -75.86% -£68.7 -75.86% -£24.7 -27.24%

Home office £83.0 £20.8 25% £19.1 23.00% £32.0 38.49% £32.2 38.76%

onS £48.7 £12.2 25% £6.4 13.14% £6.4 13.14% £9.3 19.10%

charity commission £36.6 £9.2 25% £1.1 3.05% £6.0 16.43% £6.0 16.4%

cabinet office £15.4 £5.4 35% £0.0 0.00% £0.0 0.00% £2.4 15.6%

Geo £5.7 £1.4 25% -£0.3 -4.39% -£0.3 -4.39% -£0.3 -4.39%

Forestry commission £1.46 £0.4 25% £0.4 26.44% £0.4 26.44% £0.4 26.44%

Decc £76.97 N/A N/A -£4.7 N/A -£5.6 N/A -£14.4 N/A

totAL £13,140.3 £3,286.64 25% £2,377.5 18.09% £2,926.8 22.27% £3,289.8 25.04%

FIGURe 4: Progress by individual Departments

*EU food and feed hygiene regulations, introduced on 1 January 2006, increased the Food Standard Agency’s burden from £90.5m to £204m. Food SA project a reduction in gross admin burdens of £89m by May 2010.4. Target delivery for cross-Government programme incorporating DECC baseline



£4,000

£3,500

£3,000

£2,500

£2,000

£1,500

£1,000

£500

£0

£0.35bn

£0.67bn

£1.66bn

£1.95bn

£3.290bn£3.35bn

£3.191bn

£2.89bn£2.927bn

£2.378bn

£2.635bn

SP09 - best-case forecast to May 2010

SP08 - net reductions

target by May 2010 based on Dec 2009 baseline

SP09 - cautious forecast to May 2010

FIGURe 5: Admin Burden Reduction Programme – Net trajectory May 2005 - May 2010. Cautious and best case forecast by May 2010.

The chart below shows that, following some under-delivery in May 2009 against Departments̀ December 2008 forecasts, in December 2009 the programme is on track and is now delivering £2.9 billion in net annual savings, meeting the predicted December 2008 delivery forecast.

A risk-based analysis of the programme has been carried out to predict the best-case and cautious estimates of final delivery in May 2010. The cautious estimate takes into account potential delays in the take-up of some measures, reflecting that, as a result of recent economic conditions, some measures are being taken up by business more slowly than originally anticipated. The cautious analysis anticipates that the programme will deliver £3.2 billion by May 2010 and that the full £3.3 billion in net annual savings will be delivered by October 2010.

Delivered

external validation Panel established

Forecast


Eve Salomon Chair of EVP 2009Independent Chair: former member of the Better Regulation Commission

“The External Validation Panel has a vital role in critically assessing Departments’ simplifications. This independent challenge gives credibility to the Administrative Burden Reduction Programme by ensuring that Departments provide evidence both to support the savings that are claimed and to demonstrate that the measures put in place by the Government are actually being felt on the ground.”

Ensuring businesses, third and public sectors are feeling the benefits on the groundExternal Validation Panel

The External Validation Panel was established in 2008 in response to recommendations from external stakeholders, including the National Audit Office. The Government agreed that, as more measures started to deliver opportunities for businesses to make savings, external scrutiny to assess whether savings were being felt by business was essential.

The Panel provides a robust challenge and quality assurance role and is made up of representatives from the Confederation of British Industry, the Institute of Directors, the British Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Trades Union Congress.

The focus of the External Validation Panel (EVP) is to test the assumptions underpinning the reported administrative burden reductions to ensure the changes have been effectively communicated to business and that business is actually benefiting from the savings claimed by Departments.


Defra NetRegsNetRegs (www.netregs.gov.uk) is a web-based service offering clear, reliable guidance to UK businesses on how to comply with environmental legislation and reduce their environmental impacts. It provides free up-to-date guidance specifically tailored to the needs of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). It also serves a wide range of business advisory bodies and trade associations across the UK. The guidance covers 36 categories of environmental topics and over 110 business sectors.

In a July 2009 user survey, 94% of businesses rated it as a ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ business tool.

The EVP validated £10 million of savings from the NetRegs programme (which should rise to £12.5 million by 2010) and held up NetRegs as a good example which was well-evidenced to demonstrate that it brings real savings and improvements to business.

In 2008, the EVP chose to scrutinise the top simplification measures Government Departments implemented between May 2005 and May 2008, covering over 80% of the reported gross annual savings. Departments were made responsible for the scrutiny of smaller measures.

Following the Panel’s review, gross savings of an estimated £1.86 billion were validated, covering 87% of reported delivery up to May 2008.

To complement this scrutiny, Departments and the BRE carried out their own validation exercises on smaller simplification measures (over £10 million) so that overall 92% of reported delivery to May 2008 had been verified.

In 2009, the Panel took a slightly different approach to increase the breadth of their scrutiny of the programme; by making sure that each Department involved in the Administrative Burden Reduction Programme had been reviewed by the Panel, at least once. As a result, 77.5% of the Programme’s total gross savings delivery to May 2009 was validated.

The External Validation Panel will meet again in Summer 2010 to review and validate final delivery across the Programme, taking into account the savings realised since May 2009.

“ The External Validation Panel provides a necessary credibility check to the administrative burden savings that Government Departments claim. The CBI is pleased to have played a part in scrutinising this year’s claims against the experiences of business.”

Lucy Findlay, Confederation of British Industry


totAL GRoSS ADMInIStRAtIve BURDen ReDUctIonS Validated by EVP and BRE/Departments at May 08

£1.985bn

totAL GRoSS ADMInIStRAtIve BURDen ReDUctIonS Validated by EVP in May 09

£454m

totAL GRoSS ADMInIStRAtIve BURDen ReDUctIonS Delivered at May 2009

£3.147bn

% GRoSS ADMInIStRAtIve BURDen ReDUctIonS Validated at May 2009

77.5%

FIGURe 6: Overview of validation

“ The External Validation Panel is essential to the credibility of the Administrative Burden Reduction Programme. The Panel’s scrutiny of claimed savings not only engenders confidence in the system from external stakeholders, but also allows civil servants the benefit of a different perspective on their progress. Continuance of this type of engagement is vital if policymakers are to truly understand the views of the business community.”

Steve Hughes, British Chambers of Commerce

“ The FSB was pleased to have been involved with the External Validation process of the simplification work of some Government Departments over the last year. It is extremely important that the assumptions and calculations that Departments made are tested against what business believes to be the case. Our findings on the Panel demonstrate that there are differing opinions about how a saving can be calculated and what level of evidence is needed. The FSB would welcome continued involvement in this work.”

Sara Higham, Federation of Small Businesses


HMT Paperless SettlementThis simplification measure has been in force since March 2009. It lifts the previous requirement for paper settlement and transfer of title for fund managers, stockbrokers, financial advisers and other intermediaries by allowing electronic settlement. As the asset management industry develops, electronic systems are becoming increasingly efficient and this measure is expected to save businesses up to £115 million on an annual basis.

However, the logistics of rolling out a paperless settlement platform to the asset management industry is challenging as it comes at a time of difficult market conditions for firms who have their priorities elsewhere. As a result take-up by business has been slower than anticipated, however delivery by May 2010 will still be considerable.

CLG Planning Portal

"Switching to electronic submission has allowed us to replace a slow, laborious process with one which is quick and simple," explains David Morton. “An added bonus is that the system checks all the information is inputted correctly before allowing submission. It is impossible to submit an incomplete planning application.

“Using the portal to submit applications electronically reflects our aims on many levels. Not only do we save paper waste but the system allows our clients to go online and look at the application at any time, anywhere in the world.”

David Morton, Senior Architect, Home Architects.

Electronic processing removes much of the administration usually associated with submitting planning applications and has saved businesses almost £40 million annually.


“ The TUC is pleased to have been part of the External Validation Panel; it is very important that the experience of those affected by regulation is brought to bear in scrutinising the work Departments are doing to make sure that regulation is effective, simple and accessible.”

Sarah Veale, Trades Union Congress

“ The External Validation Panel is a necessary reality check on the empirical approach to improved regulation. The examination of Departmental awareness-raising activities and a focus on ensuring the impact and timing of improvements in the real word are really important functions of the EVP.”

Alexander Ehmann, Institute of Directors

HMT Paperless Settlement

" It could take up to ten days or more to settle a UK fund transaction," says Andy. "We estimate that settlement will now take place more regularly in just four days."Andy Rudd, Product Manager, euroclear UK & Ireland

Euroclear, based in Brussels, owns the UK’s central securities depository, which specialises in the settlement of securities transactions. Its paperless approach in settling transactions, primarily in bonds and equities, is based on electronic debits and credits of cash and securities positions.

Before the recent change in legislation, transaction processing for one remaining UK asset class – investment funds – which is highly prevalent within the asset or fund management sector, continued to be carried out in paper form.

Andy Rudd explains: “The manual process meant completing the transaction was time consuming and costly.”

Now these settlement processes for the fund management sector and those investing in funds can be conducted electronically potentially saving business £115 million annually by May 2010 .

31SECTION 2 | Chapter 2: The Third Sector

The Third Sector

2009 achievementsThe third sector is included in the Government’s strategy to reduce administrative burdens by 25% by May 2010. Many simplification measures, particularly those benefiting small business, also benefit the third sector. In addition, the Government has made good progress in addressing specific administrative burdens on the third sector.

Streamlined Business PracticesSimplifications within the 2006 Charities Act make it easier for third sector organisations to achieve economies of scale through mergers. Although this is still an area of development for the sector, there are signs that organisations are beginning to benefit from the change in the legislative framework.

The new Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) will be the first incorporated legal structure designed specifically to meet the needs of charities as enterprises. This means dual registration with the Charity Commission and Companies House is now possible. The CIO will reduce red tape and provide charity trustees with protections similar to those held by directors of limited companies.

Making Life Simpler for Small Charities Similar to the Better Regulation small business strategy, the Cabinet Office and Charity Commission have a particular interest in supporting small charities. Simplifications made in 2008 are this year beginning to impact positively on the sector.

Chapter 2

Charity Commission Increased threshold for external examination of accounts

" I am delighted that the threshold at which charities need to have their accounts externally examined is to rise from £10,000 to £25,000 from 1 April 2009. “Many village halls are charities, run by volunteers, but as public buildings there are many rules and regulations which they have to comply with. Village hall committees have sometimes had to pay someone to examine the accounts so this will result in cost saving.”

Wendy Dacey, village Halls Adviser for the community council for Berkshire


Making Employment Law EasierRegulations such as employment law impact as much on the third sector as other sectors. It can be challenging to keep up to date with changes to employment law which is why the Office of the Third Sector (OTS) is launching a Law & Regulation web portal. This online service provides a summary of regulatory changes which have an impact on the sector.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the OTS have made a specific effort in 2009 to help ensure that third sector employers have better access to the latest employment guidance through Business Link, which has brought £418 million of annual savings to employers in all sectors. This information will be available on the OTS Law & Regulation web portal by December 2009.

23,000 Small Charities BenefitBenefits to a typical small charity with annual income of £10 - £25,000

1. Need only complete part of Annual Return form.

2. No longer required to be subject to external scrutiny (independent examination or audit).

3. No longer need to routinely submit accounts and Trustees Annual Reports to the Charity Commission.

4. More accessible, consistent advice and guidance via Charity Commission Direct http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Library/tcc/pdfs/ccdirect.pdf

5. Easier and more convenient way to update registration details online.

6. Some charities will benefit from a simplified process: • for spending small amounts of capital; • to facilitate mergers; and • to streamline trustee indemnity insurance and

trustee payments for the provision of services.

7. Stronger influence through partnership work with small to medium charity umbrella bodies.

This represents over £1.66 million of savings.


Wider Simplification Reducing Funding & Monitoring BurdensFunding and monitoring is often highlighted as imposing the most burden on the third sector.

In 2009 the Office of the Third Sector published ‘Principles of Proportionate Monitoring’5 and collaborated with the National Audit Office to publish ‘Intelligent Monitoring’6. These reports encourage Government Departments to take account of the third sector in creating less burdensome monitoring regimes.

A number of Departments including DCSF, DfT and MoJ have embedded the principles of these reports into grant-making practices. This will begin to benefit third sector organisations in 2009 to 10.

BIS Employment Law Organiser: Better access to advice guidanceThe Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has launched a free desktop tool.

Employment Law Organiser provides a summary of the key obligations that every employer in a small to medium sized enterprise (SME) needs to meet – from small business managers to charity directors – and includes links through to the relevant free guidance on the Business Link website.

As many third sector organisations don’t have a dedicated HR team to help out, the new tool will make it much simpler for bosses to comply with their obligations, saving them time and money.

Sitting as an icon on a PC desktop, Employment Law Organiser can be opened quickly and used when needed.

The Employment Law Organiser will be automatically updated as and when new legislation is introduced helping employers keep up to date with their obligations.

Employment Law Organiser is in addition to the £418 million of savings delivered through the employment law guidance programme.

www.businesslink.gov.uk/employmentlaworganiser

5. http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/216752/principles.pdf6. http://www.nao.org.uk/guidance_and_good_practice/toolkits/intelligent_monitoring.aspx?alreadysearchfor=yes

DCSF Proportionate Monitoring of Grants

"We have to answer a number of key questions about how we run the project, what we've achieved, how we've done it.“It used to take me about two hours to do the report and we had to send it in four times a year. Now the reporting process has changed to twice a year and I can get it all done in an hour, which is a real time saver. And the new templates are much easier to use. It’s very valuable for us to save that time. Having the ability to produce very simple but informative paperwork in a far reduced style is fantastic for us.”

carol olley, Project Manager, transplant Sport

The charity Transplant Sport currently receives a three year grant from the Children, Young People & Families grant programme.

Project Manager Carol Olley very much welcomes the recent move by DCSF to simplify the process by which she has to report back on how the money is being used and cut back on red tape and administrative burden. For Carol, the reduction in paperwork is now proving much less time consuming.

Overall, these changes are estimated to have saved organisations £30,000.

SECTION 2 | Chapter 2: The Third Sector 34

35SECTION 2 | Chapter 3: Helping Small Businesses

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are critical to the success of the UK economy. SMEs represent 99% of businesses in the UK. This includes sole traders. The contribution SMEs make to UK GDP is important both for maintaining employment and economic activity through the downturn and providing growth as we look towards recovery.

The Government’s commitment to reducing the administrative burden of regulation for small businesses in the UK is most clearly demonstrated through three initiatives.

• Think Small First: The 2008 Enterprise Strategy set a new approach to new and existing regulations for firms employing fewer than 20 people. The

strategy has embedded the ‘Think Small First’ principle into new policy development.

• Reducing administrative burden: Through the Administrative Burden Reduction Programme, the Government has a commitment to reduce administrative burdens imposed by existing regulations for all firms, including small firms, by 25% by May 2010.

• Improving Guidance: An ongoing focus of the Administrative Burden Reduction Programme has also been to improve guidance, specifically to assist small firms. This has also led to considerable savings for small businesses.

Examples of Departmental Think Small First ApproachesThe Department for Transport has adopted the ‘Think Small First’ principle in its approach to implementation of an EU Recast Framework Directive.

Helping Small Businesses

Chapter 3

1. Departmental ‘think Small First’ Approaches

The ‘Think Small First’ principle is embedded across Government. From December 2008 Government is committed to explain why it has included small business in the remit of all secondary legislation. This system will apply to primary legislation from the 2009-2010 Parliamentary session.


The Government has simplified the company law framework through the Companies Act 2006. The Act has now resulted in annual savings of £390 million for businesses by simplifying the regulation and using a ‘Think Small First’ approach. The changes include:

• separate and simpler model Articles of Association for private companies, reflecting the way small companies operate;

• private companies not required to have a company secretary;

• private companies not required to hold an annual general meeting;

• making it easier for companies to take decisions by written resolutions;

• private companies no longer prohibited from providing financial assistance for the purchase of their own shares;

• simpler rules on share capital, removing provisions that are largely irrelevant to the vast majority of private companies and their creditors; and

• separate code of accounting and reporting requirements for small companies.

These changes make it easier to set up and run a company, encourage a long-term investment culture and provide additional flexibility for investors in small firms.

DfT Individual Vehicle Approval

"After using the new Basic IVA regulations on many occasions, I wanted to write to you and thank DfT and BIS for really listening to and accommodating our representations over the last three years.“We only import very low volumes of left-hand drive North American vehicles built to FMVSS and CMVSS standards and they cater for a tiny enthusiast market in the UK. The complicated Recast Framework Directive has been implemented in a proportionate way for the micro industry sector that we represent.”

American Imports Agents Association

The Department for Transport used an EU directive as an opportunity to introduce alternative national schemes for manufacturers building vehicles for sale only in the UK. Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) is also available to independent importers of vehicles from outside the EC. These national schemes will be significantly cheaper than the cost of applying for approval under the EC scheme.

37SECTION 2 | Chapter 3: Helping Small Businesses7. http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/risk-assessment-and-policy-template.doc8. www.businesslink.gov.uk/employmentlaworganiser

BIS Company Law

"As a designated member in a husband and wife Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), I just wanted to say thank you so much for the clear drafting of the new LLP Application of Companies Act 2006.“Your approach of taking the relevant sections of the 2006 Act and restating them in full as they apply to Limited Liability Partnerships is SO HELPFUL! I know the Government was trying to “think small” in terms of the drafting and implementation of the Companies Act 2006, but I was a bit concerned that there would be all sorts of difficult consequential changes for LLPs, however I think you have now avoided this.

“What you did with the Small LLP Accounts Regulations was also very helpful in restating the full requirements. Also, the whole approach of giving clear implementation dates well ahead is really helpful.”

Dr Gareth G Morgan, the Kubernesis Partnership

These changes have brought £900,000 savings for businesses, as part of £390 million wider savings from changes to company law.

2. Reducing Administrative Burden on existing regulations

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has introduced new help for SMEs. A risk assessment and policy template has been developed for lower risk SMEs. This template combines the requirements of a risk assessment, health and safety policy and written record of health and safety arrangements into one document, saving time, resources and costs.

The template was launched on 1 September 20097.

3. Improving Guidance

The Government has an ongoing programme to improve employment guidance, specifically in relation to small businesses. One innovation has been the development of a new desktop tool, the Employment Law Organiser,8 which includes all the facts small businesses need to know regarding employment law. It provides small businesses with access to advice and tools, is updated as and when new legislation comes through and has a calendar function that acts as a reminder for small businesses.


DCSF Removal of requirement to send information in hard copy

"Having these documents /policies and procedures on the website means that they are easily accessible for parents and also updated when necessary without having to send out paper copies every time." Grantham Farm Montessori School

The school, an SME, welcomes the removal of the requirement to send out hard copy information to parents, allowing them to publish information online instead as a “step in the right direction”.

The removal of this requirement will save schools £16.3 million annually.

BISNational Measurements Office – Using a statistical sample to test products

" We are a small company and these changes are really welcome, particularly during the current economic downturn. We anticipate the new policy will save our business approximately £15,000 every year, a significant and very welcome benefit."David House, technical Advisor of Beaumont tM Ltd

Previously, regulations required each individual alcoholic spirit measuring instrument to be tested to ensure it met the legal requirements.

Improvements in manufacturing techniques now mean that some manufacturers can produce instruments in consistent ‘batches’ - if one instrument passed the test then it was probable that all the instruments in the batch would pass the test.

Following consultation, the National Measurement Office amended the legislation to allow the option of testing samples of the batch as opposed to testing every instrument.


BIS The National Measurement Office Self-verification of equipment

"Like all responsible businesses we strive to reduce our carbon emissions and the changes have enabled us to test, adjust and verify in one visit. This has allowed us to make better use of our resources overall including a reduction in costs in excess of £200,000. Our customers also benefit from the single visit, through reduced charges, less disruption, and not having inaccurate dispensers out of action."Michael Hollier, MD, Retail & Forecourt Solutions Ltd

"This will benefit the nine and a half thousand fuel retail sites in the UK, at least seven and a half [thousand] of these being small to medium-sized enterprises."A spokesperson from the Petrol Retailers’ Association

Manufacturers, installers and repairers of trade equipment are now able to self verify after they have adjusted equipment to improve its accuracy.

This change has mainly benefitted petrol and diesel retailers whose equipment is subject to quite frequent repair. It has saved the retail fuel industry approximately £615,000 a year.

BIS Employment Law Tools

" It is important to be on top of how to manage your employment obligations if you want to be a successful and competitive business. As a small business, you have to watch every penny and get as much support as possible. I subscribe to the Business Link newsletter service and look at the site.“The tools on the site are very useful and simple to use. When I need specific advice I will turn to the professionals but do a lot of the groundwork myself, and using the site isn’t time consuming or complicated.

“We often employ part-time staff and being up to date with the latest in employment law and legislation helps us to be confident when it comes to recruitment decisions.”

John charles, catering2order

John Charles established Catering2Order in 2007 and now employs 15 staff. Since the early stages of setting up his business, he has used many of the tools available on www.businesslink.gov.uk

Improvements to employment law guidance have saved businesses £418 million a year.

Chapter 1 The Public Sector

Chapter 2 Simplifications at the European level

Chapter 3 Reducing policy burdens and irritants

SECTION 3

Wider Simplifications (outside of Admin Burden Reduction Programme)

40

SECTION 3 | Chapter 1: The Public Sector 41

Reducing bureaucracy in the Public SectorThe 2007 Government strategy, “Cutting Bureaucracy for our Public Services” set out to address concerns from frontline workers that too much time was being spent on unnecessary paperwork and requests for information from central Government Departments. The strategy seeks to deliver a tangible and permanent reduction in unnecessary Government bureaucracy to allow frontline staff to spend more time delivering key services.

Cutting Bureaucracy for our Public Services: Key Aims

• Fewer and better co-ordinated requests for data from the front line – 30% reduction in information requests from central Government to the public sector front line by 2010;

• A reduction in the stock of unnecessary bureaucracy in the areas the front line cares most about;

• Better engagement with frontline workers to identify and remove bureaucracy; and

• Better regulation that is understood and mirrored through the public service delivery chain.

2009 achievements in reducing bureaucracy in the Public SectorThis year there has been real progress on reducing the number of information requests and on reducing the burden of information requests from central Government. The bulk of delivery has now been made, which is a positive and tangible step in reducing central Government bureaucracy for the public sector front line.

30% Reduction in Number of Requests for Information

In 2007, eleven Government Departments identified and published figures which meant that, for the first time, Government had a picture of what information is being requested from the public sector frontline.

Nine Government Departments are now reducing the number of information requests9. To date, a 30.8% reduction has been delivered across these nine Departments, five of which have already delivered a reduction of at least 30%.

The Public Sector

Chapter 1

9. As the Department of Health is reducing the ‘number’ of ‘data line’ requests in Social Care (28.6% to date) and the overall ‘burden’ of data requests in Healthcare they have not been included in this aggregate. Healthcare burden reduction is a larger programme of work and is recorded separately.

SECTION 3 | Chapter 1: The Public Sector 4210. The ex-BERR baseline includes data streams that are now the responsibility of either DECC or BIS

DePARtMent nUMBeR oF InFoRMAtIon ReQUeStS In 2007 (BASeLIne)

nUMBeR oF InFoRMAtIon ReQUeStS In 2009

eXPecteD nUMBeR oF InFoRMAtIon ReQUeStS In MAy 2010

MoJ 82 57 54

cLG 148 91 91

DWP 17 11 8

cabinet office 8 8 8

ex-BeRR10 21 15 15

Defra 20 8 8

Dft 38 26 26

DcMS 33 30 30

Home office 111 85 75

totAL 478 331 315

FIGURe 7: Delivery on the reduction in number of information requests from central Government


160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

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MB

eR o

F In

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MAt

Ion

ReQ

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tS

MoJ cLG DWP co ex-BeRR DeFRA DFt DcMS Ho

number of Information Requests in 2007 (Baseline)

number of Information Requests in 2009

expected number of Information Requests in May 2010

DePARtMent

FIGURe 8: Reduction of information requests


MoJCrown Court checks stoppedThe number of data items needing verification by court staff has been reduced by an estimated 10-15,000. This was a direct product of a Crown Court Data Quality Steering Group as a partnership between the HM Court Service, Office for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR) and Ministry of Justice statisticians. They examined the flow of data from courts to Government statistical publications, and how this could be streamlined.

30% Reduction in Burden of Requests for Information

Two Departments are reducing the burden of information requests they impose on public sector frontline staff through a mixture of removing requests completely, reducing the frequency of necessary requests and making data returns more efficient and streamlined. Reducing the burden of information requests has proved more challenging than anticipated for the Department of Health (DH) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). To date, DH has delivered a 24.3% reduction in burdens on healthcare professionals, the remaining delivery is expected by October 2010. DCSF has delivered a 9% reduction to date and the remaining delivery is expected by the end of the 2011/12 academic year.

DePARtMent MeASUReD In... 2007 DAtA BURDen BASeLIne

% ReDUctIon By DeceMBeR 2009

DcSF Cost £6,400,000 9% (-£595,000)

DH HeALtHcARe

Staff resource Equivalent to approx 498 FTE staff over a year.

24.3% (-120.8 person years)

Overall, six of the eleven Departments are on track to deliver a reduction of at least 30% by number of information requests and/or by value by May 2010.

FIGURe 9: Delivery on reduced burden of information requests


Engaging with the frontline and reducing the stock of unnecessary bureaucracy A range of Government Departments now have public sector stakeholder forums in which front line workers scrutinise the need for information requests from central Government as well as overseeing the reduction in stock of requests. For example the Reducing Data Burdens Steering Group monitors information burdens on local authorities. The steering group is led by the Department for Communities and Local Government and brings together representatives of central Government Departments, local Government, the Local Better Regulation Office and the Audit Commission.

Other groups scrutinising the data burdens being imposed on the public sector frontline include the Bureaucracy Reduction Group in the Department for Business. This group aims to minimise burdens imposed by the Skills Funding Agency and the Young People’s Learning Agency.

Also the National Police Improvement Agency helps to drive the reduction of bureaucracy for the Police.

Finally, DCSF’s Implementation Review Unit carries out a similar role in the education sector.

In order to address the burden of bureaucracy throughout the public sector delivery chain all of the above groups actively engage with intermediary and delivery bodies such as local authorities and strategic health authorities.

CLG Simpler Planning Applications

"At Teesdale we have worked hard to encourage electronic submission because it's a real help to the administration team. It cuts out the time-consuming process of scanning plans and linking drawings to files and eliminates the need for data entry because the information drops automatically into our back office systems.“More than 65% of our applications are now submitted electronically and the team can process ten a day compared to three paper forms. We are a small authority with limited resources and that makes a massive difference.”

Maria Ferguson, former Development control Manager at teesdale District council

By May 2010, the ability to submit applications electronically and increased consistency in the Planning System will be saving local authorities an estimated £85m in addition to private sector savings of £137 million.


DCSFSpecial Educational Needs (SEN) Statementing ProcessIn 2006/07 DCSF asked its frontline workers to identify which were the key irritants in each of its three sectors (early years, schools and 14-19 years). Both early years and schools put the SEN statementing process at the top of the list. A project was set up in Spring 2007 and reported in May 07, to look at the administrative processes inherent in statementing. It identified a number of areas, mainly to do with data transfer between schools and authorities, where enhanced online systems could significantly reduce the administrative burden on schools while retaining necessary assurances. Several options have been considered to see if it would be possible to link into existing work. DCSF is now developing a system with the aim to have some results for discussion in 2010.

Wider work on improving public sector savings The cutting bureaucracy strategy complements the wider Treasury-led public sector efficiency programmes: the Value for Money Programme (2007); the Public Value Programme (2008) and the Operational Efficiency Programme (2008). All three programmes are generate significant public-sector efficiency savings and contributing to reducing unnecessary bureaucracy in the public sector.

In addition to the savings from reducing central government data requests set out above, Departments’ simplification plans include details of a range of ways in which they are improving efficiency and reducing bureaucracy in the public sector. The examples in the 2009 Simplification Plans, which form part of the wider efficiency programmes, illustrate £1,322.7 million of annual savings delivered by December 2009 with projections of £1,453.8 million of savings being realised by May 2010.

Going forward, the Government has recently published a plan for further reducing the burdens on the front line as part of ‘Putting the Front-line First: Smarter Government’11.

11. ‘Putting the Front-line First: Smarter Government’: HM Government, CM 7753, December 2008

47SECTION 3 | Chapter 2: Simplifications at the European level

“I am committed to a policy that continues to remove unnecessary administrative burdens and provides the legal certainty companies need to make long term investments. By 2012 the next Commission will deliver on our commitment to reduce administrative burden by 25%.”

President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso,

3 September 2009

Under the leadership of Commission President Barroso and former Vice-President Verheugen, EU Better Regulation has come a long way. Steps have been taken to improve both the stock and flow of EU legislation and to embed the ‘Think Small First’ principle in the EU policy-making process. At the Spring European Council in March 2007, EU Heads of State unanimously agreed to set a target to reduce gross administrative burdens arising from EU legislation by 25% by 2012. The UK Government played a key role in securing this target and is working hard to deliver it.

The Commission has estimated the administrative burden stemming from the 72 legal acts in scope of the EU Simplification target to be approximately €123.8 billion as of 2005. VAT and company law were found to be the most burdensome fields, together responsible for over 80% of the total.

On 22 October 2009 the Commission published a report setting out how the EU is progressing to achieve the 2012 target. It lists measures already taken, legislative proposals which are pending agreement by the Council and Parliament, as well as additional ideas for the new Commission to consider.

Simplifications at the European level

Chapter 2


UK engagement with the EU

The UK is actively engaged with other Member States to encourage the EU institutions to deliver administrative burden reductions that will make a tangible difference for businesses and others.

In some areas, the European Commission is following the UK’s lead. For example, it is promoting the Health & Safety Executive’s approach of producing clear and simple guidance for employers on how to assess risks in the workplace, thus reducing the need to pay for external advice. In other areas, it is responding to UK suggestions for simplification. For example, the Government called on the Commission to simplify the Biocidal Products Directive in 2007.

HSE Sensible Risk Management across the EUHSE successfully influenced the direction of a European Campaign on risk assessment, led by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. In line with HSE’s Sensible Risk Management campaign, HSE proposed that the European Campaign for 2008-09 should emphasise that good risk assessment is not about completing paperwork for its own sake but is about identifying and taking practical actions that manage hazards and risks so that workers are protected. The Agency agreed to this approach.


DfT Cutting Paperwork for Drivers and Making Our Roads SaferEuropean legislation has changed many of the rules on drivers’ hours and how they should be recorded to help make our roads safer, while making it less burdensome for those affected to comply with the law.

One of the biggest changes is a new requirement to equip all new large commercial vehicles (mostly trucks and coaches) with digital tachographs. A tachograph is a device that records time and distance travelled, and digital tachographs significantly reduce the average time needed to record this information. The Department for Transport has estimated that this change to EU law could save UK operators £15 million in 2009, £14.4 million of which has already been validated by the External Validation Panel. This is set to rise as an increasing number of new vehicles installed with digital tachographs come onto our roads.

HSE The Biocidal Products DirectiveThis Directive regulates biocides - products used to control harmful organisms. Biocides include disinfectants, wood and other preservatives and pest control agents.

Problems with the Directive have slowed the review of whether biocidal substances are suitable for use in commercial products, to such an extent that a decade after its adoption there are almost no biocidal products approved under it.

Furthermore, the high cost of supporting active substances through the review process has resulted in many existing biocidal products being withdrawn from the market for economic reasons. This has hit SMEs particularly hard.

In response to the UK Government’s call for the Directive to be simplified to address these problems, the Commission adopted a proposal to revise this Directive in June this year. The proposed Commission Regulation would provide the option for certain biocidal products to be authorised once at Community level instead of in each Member State in which they are placed on the market. In addition, the proposal sets out more flexibility in meeting data requirements that need to be submitted as part of the authorisation process; and proposes mandatory data sharing with regard to testing of biocidal products that has been undertaken using vertebrate animals.


The Government will do its utmost to facilitate swift agreement of European measures that will reduce burdens on UK stakeholders. Departments will continue to report on savings resulting from changes to, or better implementation of, EU law in future editions of their Simplification Plans.

Increasing permitted levels of contaminants in Cereals

"This has been an extremely important issue to address for ACFM and has required much effort, trust and co-operation from all involved.“We have found working with you and your team to be very constructive and you have offered guidance and advice throughout the process which has contributed hugely to the results achieved. We look forward to continuing this partnership in the months and years ahead.”

Ken Wood, chairman of the Association of cereal Food Manufacturers Ltd

They wrote to the Head of Policy expressing their thanks for the hard work of the Agency team involved.

“To deliver on our pledge to reduce burdens on businesses by 25% by 2012, we must redouble our efforts to regulate more effectively and more rigorously assess impacts of draft legislation.”

Letter from Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, to the President of the European Council, 28 October 2009

Risk assessment work carried out by the Food Standards Agency was instrumental in an agreement reached by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health. The risk assessment identified that there was no significant risk to consumers of increasing the maximum permitted level for zearalenone (ZON) for some high-fibre breakfast cereals. The Committee therefore agreed a temporary increase in June 2009.

The largely UK-based production industry needed this relaxation as adverse weather conditions in the previous year’s harvest had had a serious impact on consumer choice and market supply.


Improvements to incoming European legislationThe UK has also worked hard to influence improvements in the quality of new European legislation. Proof of this improvement is the Commission’s revised guidelines for officials on how and when to do impact assessments published in January 2009. A new and welcome move towards greater openness was the Commission’s public consultation on the proposed changes. Based on its experience of successful Better Regulation initiatives at the national level, the UK Government pushed for a number of delivered Commission improvements: consultations on complex proposals, or those conducted during holiday periods, should be extended beyond the minimum eight weeks; impact assessments will be carried out for some secondary legislation (“comitology”) and there is now greater focus on quantifying costs and benefits.

the eU Services Directive"This will be an opportunity for smaller authorities to be able to put their processes online at minimal cost given that so much is being provided by BIS."James Hann, Licensing Manager, Ashford Borough Council

“Have you ever thought of selling your services in the EU? For small business this is now much easier through the implementation of the Services Directive and the new Points of Single Contact. Information and formalities about all EU countries can be found online from your desktop. This Directive has huge potential for small service providers to tip their toes into EU markets and expand their activities abroad. An opportunity not to be missed!”

Tina Sommer, Chairman International Affairs, Federation of Small Businesses

The EU Services Directive will be brought into force in the UK on 28 December 2009. The aim of the Directive is to help open up the internal market in services further by making it easier for service providers to set up business and offer services in other EEA states. This is expected to increase output in the UK by an estimated £4 billion to £6 billion per year, increase employment opportunities and increase trade. UK SMEs in particular are set to benefit because they are disproportionately affected by barriers to establishment and account for 44.2% of the UK service sector.

“I am committed to smart regulation, and I want to reiterate that simplification of procedures and a reduction of administrative burdens on business, particularly SMEs, will remain a priority in the next Commission. This task, just like the Impact Assessment Board and ex-post evaluation, will be placed directly under my authority to fully reflect the priority I give to it.”

President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso 15 September 2009

52SECTION 3 | Chapter 3: Reducing policy burdens and irritants

The Government has not set a target for reducing policy costs within the current programme. However, Departments are constantly looking for opportunities to simplify regulation. As part of the ongoing

DefinitionPolicy burdens are the costs inherent in meeting the aims of regulation. These may impose capital costs (e.g. purchasing new equipment) or impose cash costs or productivity costs (e.g. offering a pension scheme or extending annual leave entitlement for employees).

Policy costs differ from administrative costs which are incurred in gathering information about a firm’s activities and providing evidence of compliance.

Reducing policy burdens and irritants

Chapter 3

DeLIveRy to DAte PRoJecteD

May 06 May 07 May 08 May 09 Dec 09 May 10

£221.3m £736.8m £917.6m £1,071.2m £1,190.0m £1,464.6m

FIGURe 10: Gross Policy savings for private and third sectors

Better Regulation Agenda, building on the current programme, Government has committed to reducing the policy costs associated with regulations by £5 billion between 2010 and 2015.


PoLIcy ReDUctIonS

DeScRIPtIon eStIMAteD AnnUAL PoLIcy SAvInGS AS At DeceMBeR 2009

HSeConstruction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007

This regulation simplifies the process for checking contractors’ competence whilst consolidating four separate pieces of legislation.

£166m

Food SASafer Food, Better Business

A pack and a simple record-keeping diary aimed at helping small food caterers and retailers comply with food safety management procedures. Packs have been developed for various cuisine types, with an interactive DVD in 16 different languages. Training and coaching advice is also provided.

£128m

DH Better Regulation of Medicines Initiative(BROMI)

Multi-award winning BROMI allows industries to gain from streamlined processes and faster time to market.

£104m

Dft Better targeted safety inspection requirements for goods vehicle and passenger transport (HGV and PSV) operators

DfT published a revised “Guide to Maintaining Roadworthiness” in December 2006. The guidance will reduce the number of times some modern vehicles need to be given vehicle inspections (other than annual ‘MoT’ tests), saving time and costs for some operators.

£100m

DftRemoving bilateral restrictions on international air travel to and from the UK

Concluding agreements to remove restrictions on international air travel to the UK which will have the effect of increasing air travel to and from the UK. This will increase the revenue of relevant companies.

£100m

Policy Burdens: Process by Individual Department and Agency The table below highlights some of the policy savings Departments have implemented that will benefit private and third sector organisations.

FIGURe 11: Top policy savings for private and third sectors between 2005-2009 (figure continues on the next page)


PoLIcy ReDUctIonS

DeScRIPtIon eStIMAteD AnnUAL PoLIcy SAvInGS AS At DeceMBeR 2009

DftReduced burden on radioactive material transport industry

Mutual recognition of Certificates for Radioactive Material Transport Packages between UK and France. A single application will result in certification in both UK and France.

£75m

BISOther Companies Act measures including codification of directors’ general duties

This has lead to more predictable and comprehensible laws for private businesses.

£68m

HSeFirst Aid Guidance

Allows employers to choose from two training courses in the future for their first aiders.

£52m

Food SARemoval of Restrictions on use of Beef Bones

Slaughterhouses and cutting plants no longer required to dispose of UK beef bones as animal by-product. They may now sell bones for use in food.

£40m

Food SAReplacement of the Over Thirty Month (OTM) rule

OTM (Over-thirty month) cattle can enter the food chain as long as they test negative for BSE.

£39m


Reducing Non-Monetary Irritants Some regulations, whilst not having a high cost associated with compliance, attract considerable negative feedback from those affected. These regulations, which are often known as ‘business irritants’ tend to serve a purpose which is not obvious to those who implement them, duplicate other activity or require an action or information which is self-evident. The October 2009 Better Regulation, Better Benefits Report12 found that “Even though the cost of regulation is important, especially to small business owners, bureaucratic red tape, the difficulty of finding information, lengthy training in regulatory requirements, having to constantly revisit changing regulatory policy, and haphazard enforcement of the rules are all more immediate concerns to the individual”.

Examples of how these are being tackled include:

• CLG has amended its procedures for correcting minor errors at appeal on planning applications. As long as the error is inconsequential to the decision, it may be corrected easily and simply, greatly improving the efficiency of the appeal procedure.

• The Food Standards Agency has produced a document to consolidate all of the guidance on allergen labelling legislation. This has made it easier to understand and conform to the relevant regulation.

Defra June and December Agricultural Surveys These online surveys allow farmers to quickly and easily complete details of their current farming activity. The benefit of this is that accurate returns provided through online surveys minimise other information requests that Defra makes of farmers. There is currently an audience of approximately 40,000 farmers for the June Survey and 20,000 for the December Survey.

“By the way I recently filled out our June Census through the site and it was a doddle!!! Congratulations to your team for developing something useful and user friendly.”

Fay Grace, Life Hill Farm

12. http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file53252.pdf


Home OfficeCriminal Record Bureau – Electronic ServicesIn April 2009, CRB launched its first electronic application channel. This is part of a wider programme to make all of its services available electronically and will eventually see more than one million applications submitted using this route. The e-Bulk service is aimed at Registered Bodies which each submit more than 3,000 applications each per year.

Ann Matthews (Girl Guiding UK) “As an organisation that relies solely on volunteers to deliver guiding to approximately 600,000 girls and young women, a safe and speedy recruitment process is essential. E-Bulk is turning around applications in four days, and the majority in no more than six. Additionally, it has consolidated our existing processes by ensuring our error rate is kept to a minimum.”

Annex A Cautious Predictions – risks to delivery by May 2010

Annex B External Validation Panel May 2005 – May 2009

Annex C The Measurement Process:The International Standard Cost Model Methodology

Annex D Baseline Adjustments

SECTION 4

Annexes

57

SECTION 4 | Annex A: Cautious Predictions – risks to delivery by May 2010 58

The Administrative Burden Reduction Programme report this year includes best-case and cautious delivery forecasts to May 2010.

• For some simplification measures, whilst the Department has put the legislative and regulatory framework in place, offering the opportunity for savings in administrative processes, businesses have not taken advantage of the opportunities presented. This is primarily because, given the recent economic climate, business leaders’ attention has been elsewhere.

• In some cases the implementation of simplification measures is likely to be delayed due to linkages with the legislative programme (if a Parliamentary Bill is delayed then the framework changes cannot be made to support a simplification). This is, in part, due to the pressure on Parliamentary time over the last session with unexpected and more urgent legislative pressures, taking precedence in some cases.

• The cumulative result of these two factors is that Departments are being more cautious about the delivery claims they are making against their targets and their predictions for future delivery.

This has led us to carry out a more detailed analysis of the programme overall, and the risks to delivery, than in previous reporting years. The results of this analysis are shown below and depict our best-case and cautious estimates of delivery.

Cautious Predictions – risks to delivery by May 2010

Annex A

Our overall view is that the Programme is still on track to deliver, albeit with tight margins. The Government’s cautious estimates result in a marginally lower delivery overall. The net cautious estimate for delivery by May 2010 is £99.8 million lower than the net best-case estimate, or delivery of 24.28% overall as compared to the 25.04% best-case estimate.



£4,000

£3,500

£3,000

£2,500

£2,000

£1,500

£1,000

£500

£0

£0.35bn

£0.67bn

£1.66bn

£1.95bn

£3.290bn£3.35bn

£3.191bn

£2.89bn£2.927bn

£2.378bn

£2.635bn

SP09 - best-case forecast to May 2010

SP08 - net reductions

target by May 2010 based on Dec 2009 baseline

SP09 - cautious forecast to May 2010

FIGURe 5: Admin Burden Reduction Programme – Net trajectory May 2005 - May 2010. Cautious and best case forecast by May 2010.

Delivered

external validation Panel established

Forecast

60SECTION 4 | Annex A: Cautious Predictions – risks to delivery by May 2010

DePARtMent MeASURe DeLIveRy DeceMBeR 2009

BeSt-cASe vALUe MAy 2010

cAUtIoUS vALUe MAy 2010

eXPLAnAtIon

Savi

ngs

BIS Modernisation of insolvency rules 1996

£0m £10m £0m Measure should be coming into force in April 2010 might slip

HSe Gas Safety (Installation and Use) RegulationsReviewing the requirement for a landlord to carry out a gas safety check

£0m £27m £0m Measure is implemented late in the programme and may not realise full savings

Removal of Dock FormsRemoval of a form to certify a dock transport vessel

£0m £3.4m £0m Implementation is intended late in the programme and may slip outside the timeframe

Business on-line projectTransferring HSE forms to electronic and interactive format

£0.67m £10m £0.67m Parts of programme still to be implemented and may slip outside of programme timeframe

cabinet office charities (Qualified Surveyors` Reports) Regulations 1992Benefits would be felt by charities who wish to sell or lease land held by or in trust for them

£0m £2.4m £0m Measure has already faced slippage and may not be implemented inside programme timeframe

Food SA Feed HygieneSimpler guidance to clarify what and how feed records should be kept for farmers on feed record-keeping requirements

£0m £35m £21m Measure is implemented late in the programme and may not realise full savings

FIGURe 13: Administrative Burden Reduction Programme – Net trajectory May 2005 – May 2010. Cautious and best case forecast by May 2010 (figure continues on the next two pages)

The table below explains how the cautious estimate is arrived at:





eXPLAnAtIonSa

ving

s

Food SA the Meat Products (england) (Amendment) Regulations 2010A reduction in the amount of time required to decide what labelling is required for some meat products

£0m £9m £6.3m Measure is implemented late in the programme and may not realise full savings

onS Further measures to reduce the administrative burden of surveys on business

£0m £2.9m £1.45m Measure is implemented late in the programme and may not realise full savings

Dft Introductions of digital tachographsThe move from analogue to digital tachographs reduces the cost of making records of drivers’ hours, greatly facilitating the collection, analysis and storage of data for HGV operators

£14m £24.76m £17m Whilst measure is in place, take up may be slower than first expected

HMt Better Regulation Measures for the Asset Management Sector (Paperless Settlement)Lifts the previous requirement for paper settlement and transfer of title for find managers, stockbrokers, financial advisers and other intermediaries by allowing electronic settlement

£77m £115m £94.3m The measure is currently in place and delivering, but take up is slower than expected due to the current economic climate

Home office Animal Scientific ProceduresInvolves an elimination of the requirement to submit documents to regulators

£1.63m £1.81m £1.77m Take up may be lower then first expected





eXPLAnAtIonSa

ving

s

Ho Firearms Act 1968: Register of firearms transaction & supplying data of purchaserReviews of the forms used to reduce duplication, cut down on the stages and make them simpler to complete

£0.16m £0.18m £0m Take up may be lower then first expected

Bur

dens

BIS Batteries and Accumulators DirectiveAn increased burden as producers are required to register and provide reports on batteries and accumulators and spent batteries and accumulators

-£1m -£1.4m -£2.1m Total burden will depend on the number of businesses affected by change in regulation

cLG Permeable SurfacingImpermeable surfacing of domestic front gardens would be subject to planning permission to reduce surface water run off

£0m -£0.3m -£0.5m Total burden will depend on the number of businesses affected by change in regulation

totAL £239.75m £139.89m

DIFFeRence £99.86m

63SECTION 4 | Annex B: External Validation Panel May 2005 – May 2009

External Validation Panel May 2005 – May 2009

Annex B

The External Validation Panel was established in 2008 in response to recommendations from external stakeholders, including the National Audit Office. Government agreed that, as more simplification measures started to deliver opportunities for businesses to make savings, external scrutiny was essential to assess whether the reported savings were being felt by business on the ground.

The Panel provides a robust challenge and quality assurance role and is made up of representatives from the Confederation of British Industry, the Institute of Directors, the British Chambers of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Trades Union Congress.

The remit of the External Validation Panel (EVP) is to test the assumptions underpinning the reported administrative burden reductions, to ensure the changes have been effectively communicated to business and that business is actually benefiting from the savings claimed by Departments.

Summary of 2008 validationThe Panel met for the first time in 2008 and chose to scrutinise the top simplification measures Government Departments had implemented between May 2005 and May 2008, a sample covering over 90% of the reported gross annual savings. Departments were made responsible for the scrutiny of smaller measures delivering more than £10 million in annual savings.


nUMBeR oF MeASUReS

totAL GRoSS (£M)

May 08 delivery selected for review by evP08

24 £1,992.0m

May 08 delivery not selected for review by evP08

182 £284.6m

totAL GRoSS SAvInGS toMAy 08 RePoRteD In SP08

totAL GRoSS SAvInGS toMAy 08 RePoRteD AS vALIDAteD In SP08

% oF MAy 2008 DeLIveRy vALIDAteD By evP

£2,148.0m £1,863.4m 86.75%

nUMBeR oF MeASUReS

totAL GRoSS (£M)

Measures realising over £10m gross savings as at May 2008- validated by evP

8 £121.3m13

totAL GRoSS (£M)

Delivery validated by the evP08 £1,863.4m

Delivery withdrawn from the evP08 process

£96.1m*

Delivery deferred by the Panel £32.5m**

FIGURe 14: EVP08 scrutiny of measures FIGURe 16: Total validated by EVP in 2008

FIGURe 15: EVP08’s outcome

* see Figure 19 for breakdown

** see Figure 20 for breakdown

EVP08 asked Government to review the remaining 182 simplification measures to ensure they were credible. BRE and Departments undertook this exercise for measures realising over £10m gross savings as at May 2008 which represented over 70% of the remaining measures delivering at that time and not subject to external scrutiny.

13. This figure does not include two measures delivered by MoJ regarding Legal Aid Reforms worth a total of £27.65m which were incorrectly included in the BRE/Department validation total in the 2008 Summary Report. These measures were subsequently put forward to the EVP09 to ensure savings were effectively implemented and felt by businesses.



GRoSS MAy 08 DeLIveRy vALIDAteD By eItHeR evP oR BRe/DePARtMentS AcRoSS tHe PRoGRAMMe

% oF MAy 2008 DeLIveRy vALIDAteD

£2,148.0m £1,984.7m 92.4%

totAL GRoSS SAvInGS toDec 08 RePoRteD In SP08

GRoSS Dec 08 DeLIveRy vALIDAteD By eItHeR evP oR BRe/DePARtMentS AcRoSS tHe PRoGRAMMe

% oF Dec 2008 DeLIveRy vALIDAteD

£2,630.0m £1,984.7m 75.5%

FIGURe 17: Result of 2008 validation


evP ReF DePt SIMPLIFIcAtIon nAMe vALUe cLAIMeD By DePt AS At MAy 08

IMPLeMentAtIon DAte (DePt)

vALUe vALIDAteD By evP (MAy 08)

FInAL evP08 StAtUS

EVP08 1 BeRR Electronic communication with shareholders

£76m May 2007 - May 2008 £76m Fully validated

EVP08 2 BeRR Capital Maintenance £68m May 2007 - May 2008 £68m Fully validated

EVP08 3 BeRR Remove requirement for private companies to hold AGM

£45m May 2007 - May 2008 £45m Fully validated

EVP08 5 cLG Housing Act 1985 Repeal of Part XI

£207m May-05 £207m Fully validated

EVP08 6 HSe Sensible Risk Management - Example Risk Assessments

£163.3m May-08 £163.3m Fully validated

EVP08 7 cLG Competent Persons Schemes

£132m Dec-05 £132m Fully validated

EVP08 8 DIUS Weights and Measures: Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) regulations 1986


EVP08 9 DH BROMI + EU + Pharmaceutical


EVP08 10 DcMS Licensing Act 2003 £181m May-06 £181m Fully validated

EVP08 11 DWP Replace minimum funding requirement legislation


EVP08 12 DcMS Gambling Act 2006 £56.6m N/A £56.6m Fully validated

EVP08 13 cLG Fire Safety RRO £53m Dec-06 £53m Fully validated

EVP08 16 BeRR Various Employment Guidance measures


FIGURe 18: Measures fully validated by EVP08 (figure continues on the next page)





FInAL evP08 StAtUS

EVP08 17 Dft Revision of the passenger rail franchise map, reducing the number of separate franchises


EVP08 18 Food SA Safer Food, Better Business


EVP08 19 HSe Control of Asbestos Regulations

£27.7m Dec-06 £27.7m Fully validated

EVP08 20 DWP Improve pension regulations to make payments by employers less prescriptive


EVP08 22 HSe Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations - guidance on labelling drinking water


EVP08 23 HSe Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR)

£16.5m Dec-07 £16.5m Fully validated

EVP08 24 DWP Simplify member-nominated trustee/director requirements


SUBtotAL £1863.4m £1863.4m




vALUe ReJecteD FInAL evP08 StAtUS

EVP08 15 HSe Manual Handling Operations Regulations

£32.5m May-08 £32.5m Deferred- savings not yet delivered

SUBtotAL £32.5m £32.5m



vALUe WItHDRAWn(MAy 08)

FInAL evP08 StAtUS

EVP08 4 BeRR Other Companies Act measures including codification of directors’ general duties

£28m May 2007 - May 2008 £28m Withdrawn - not yet delivered

EVP08 14 Defra TSE Regulations 2006 £44.4m May-06 £44.4m Withdrawn - technical adjustments

EVP08 21 Defra Pollution Prevention and Control

£23.7m May-08 £23.7m Withdrawn - technical adjustments


FIGURe 19: Measures withdrawn from the EVP08 process

FIGURe 20: Measures deferred by EVP08


DePtS SIMPLFIcAtIon nAMe GRoSS SAvInGS AS At MAy 08

coMMentS

Food SA Production of UK Guidance Notes for Regulation (EC) 178/2002 (Traceability)

£15.6m

Food SA Revocation: Dairy Products £14m

Food SA Revocation: Fresh meat £11m

cLG Building Regulations: User Centred Guidance £12m

DH Review of National Minimum standards for Adult Social Care- stage 1- reduction of inspection frequency and statutory measures

£28.3m

DH Better Regulation of Medicines Initiatives (BROMI) Phase 2 b)

£11m

DWP Remove regulation requirering landlords to provide information for backdating housing benefit claims

£11m

HSe Sensible Risk Management - DSE and Manual Handling

£18.4m

MoJ Legal Aid- Implementation of the Unified Contract

£0m £12.05m initially reported as validated in Summary Report 2008 but put forward to EVP09 on BRE’s decision

MoJ Legal Aid Reforms-Civil Unified Contract (Removal of Not for Profit Contract)

£0m £15.6m initially reported as validated in Summary Report 2008 but put forward to EVP09 on BRE’s decision

totAL £121.3m

FIGURe 21: EVP 2008 - BRE/Department’s Review

70

Not Validated 1,480m

SECTION 4 | Annex B: External Validation Panel May 2005 – May 2009

Summary of 2009 validationIn 2009, the Panel took a slightly different approach to increase the breadth of their scrutiny across the programme by making sure that each Department involved in the Administrative Burden Reduction Programme had been reviewed by the Panel, at least once, either in 2008 or in 2009. As a result, EVP09 reviewed and challenged:

FIGURe 22: EVP - BRE/Department’s Review

nUMBeR oF MeASUReS

totAL GRoSS (£M)

nUMBeR oF DePtS

Any existing or new simplification measure with annual savings of over £10 million which had not yet been validated by the Panel.

26 £760.6m 10

the largest simplification measure for each Department or Agency with a small administrative burden baseline (less than £10m).

5 £25.2m 6

totAL RevIeWeD By evP09 31 £785.8m14 16

14. This total value includes measures initially selected by the panel which were withdrawn during the scrutiny process (DCSF - Independent Schools (£18.1m) and DEFRA - The Animal Welfare Code of recommendations (£10m))

Gross May 2009 Savings £3,147m

Gross Dec 2009 Savings £3,921m

2008 Validated £1,985m

Validated £2,439m

EVP09 Validated £454m

Not Validated £707m

May 2009 ABRP delivery (£m)

77.5% validated 62.2% validated

Dec 2009 ABRP delivery (£ms)


FIGURe 23: EVP09 Overview FIGURe 24: Result of 2009 validation

totAL GRoSS(£M)

% oF neW DeLIveRy PUt FoRWARD to evP09

Delivery validated by the evP09 £453.94m 57.8%

Delivery to be reported as delivered but not validated

£150.1m 19.1%

Delivery deferred by the Panel £181.8m 23.1%


GRoSS MAy 09 DeLIveRy vALIDAteD By eItHeR evP oR BRe/DePARtMentS AcRoSS tHe PRoGRAMMe

% oF MAy 2009 DeLIveRy vALIDAteD

£3,147m £2,438.64m 77.5%

totAL GRoSS SAvInGS toDec 09 RePoRteD In SP09

GRoSS Dec 09 DeLIveRy vALIDAteD By eItHeR evP oR BRe/DePARtMentS AcRoSS tHe PRoGRAMMe

% oF Dec 2009 DeLIveRy vALIDAteD

£3,921m £2,438.64m 62.2%

totAL GRoSS(£M)

% AcRoSS tHe PRoGRAMMe

total May 05 – May 09 delivery either validated by evP or BRe/Departments

£2,438.62m 77.5%

totAL GRoSS(£M)

Gross May 09 delivery to be reported in SP09

£3,146.5m

totAL GRoSS(£M)

Gross Dec 09 delivery to be reported in SP09

£3,921m


evP ReF DePt SIMPLIFIcAtIon nAMe vALUe cLAIMeD By DePt (MAy 09)



FInAL evP09 StAtUS

EVP09 1 BIS (ex BeRR)

Dispute resolution (Employment Law)

£115m Jan-May 09 £115m Fully validated

EVP09 3b DWP Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance certificates (Review) - Part 1&2

£21m June-Dec 08 £21m Fully validated

EVP09 5a BIS (ex BeRR)

Simpler law for smaller firms (Company Law and Accounting)

£21.60m June-Dec 07 £21.60m Fully validated

EVP09 5b BIS (ex BeRR)

Simpler law for smaller firms (Company Law and Accounting)

£16.80m June-Dec 07 £16.80m Fully validated

EVP09 7 cLG Delivering electronic capability a) Standard Planning Application Form


EVP09 9 HSe Manual Handling Operations Regulations

£32.50m Jan-May 09 £32.50m Fully validated

EVP09 11 cLG Delivering electronic capability b) validity criteria


EVP09 13 cLG Fire Safety RRO £21m June-Dec 06 £21m Fully validated

EVP09 14 HSe Forms project (Removal of 8 forms required by the Factories Act, Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act (OSR Act))


EVP09 15 cLG E-Enablement of Building Control Service

£20m June-Dec 08 £20m Fully validated

EVP09 17 MoJ Legal Aid Reforms- Implementation of the Civil Unified Contract (Removal of 3 data requirements from Not for Profit Contracts)


FIGURe 25: Measures fully validated by EVP09 (figure continues on the next two pages)





FInAL evP09 StAtUS

EVP09 18 Dft Drivers’ Hours (3) £15.4m Jan-May 08 £15.4m Fully validated

EVP09 19 Dft Introduction of digital tachographs


EVP09 20 cLG Delivering electronic capability c) E-planning


EVP09 21 MoJ Legal Aid- Implementation of the Unified Contract

£9.4m Jan-May 08 £9.4m Fully validated (it is acknowledged that MoJ presented a cautious estimate of delivery to the Panel – MoJ now believe this measure to be delivering £12.05m)

EVP09 23 HSe Health & Safety Information for Employees Regulations- the HSE law poster/approved leaflet


EVP09 24 Defra NetRegs £10m June-Dec 06 £10m Fully validated

EVP09 26 onS Reduction to sample sizes for a number of surveys


EVP09 28 Forestry commission

Plant Health £0.34m Jan-May 06 £0.34m Fully validated

EVP09 29 DcSF Early years census £9.8m Jan-May 09 £9.8m Fully validated

SUBtotAL £431.84m £431.84m

74




FInAL evP09 StAtUS

EVP09 10 Home office

Points Based System (PBS) for Work Permits

£25m Jan-May 08 £12.5m Partially validated - delivery which can be reported as delivered but unvalidated in SP09

EVP09 22 Dft Introduction of electronic vehicle licensing (EVL)

£10.7m Jan-May 06 £9.6m Partially validated - delivery which can be reported as delivered but unvalidated in SP09


FIGURe 26: Measures partially validated by EVP09



SAvInGS WHIcH cAn Be cLAIMeD In SP 09 BUt AS UnvALIDAteD

FInAL evP09 StAtUS

EVP09 3a DWP Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance certificates (Review) - Part 1&2

£37m June-Dec 08 £37m To be reported as delivered but unvalidated

EVP09 4 cLG Householder Development Consents Review (HDCR)

£45m Jan-May 09 £6.3m To be reported as delivered but unvalidated15

EVP09 6 HSe Good practice on worker involvement

£36.6m June-Dec 08 £36.6m To be reported as delivered but unvalidated

EVP09 8 HSe Lifting Operations & Lifting Equipment Regulations and Provision & Use of Work equipment Regulations

£33m June-Dec 08 £33m To be reported as delivered but unvalidated

FIGURe 27: Measures for which savings can be reported as delivered but unvalidated in SP09 (figure continues on the next page)

SECTION 4 | Annex B: External Validation Panel May 2005 – May 2009 15. EVP09 concluded that it was too early to validate savings for this measure. BRE subsequently agreed

CLG’s reporting of £15 million minimum savings at May 2009.




SAvInGS WHIcH cAn Be cLAIMeD In SP 09 BUt AS UnvALIDAteD

FInAL evP09 StAtUS

EVP09 12 Defra Common Agricultural Policy Single Payment and Support Schemes Regulations 2005

£21.20m June-Dec 05 £21.20m To be reported as delivered but unvalidated

EVP09 27 charity commission

Trustees Annual Report (TAR) (i) Changes to Registration threshold in 2006 Act, (ii) Increase in Audit threshold in 2006 Act

£2.4m Jan-May 07 £2.4m To be reported as delivered but unvalidated




vALUe WItHDRAWn FInAL evP09 StAtUS

EVP09 16 DcSF Independent Schools: 10 information obligations (package)

£18.1m Delayed £18.1m Withdrawn

EVP09 25 Defra Animal Welfare Code of Recommendations

£10m Delayed £10m Withdrawn


FIGURe 28: Measures withdrawn from EVP09 process

76SECTION 4 | Annex C: The Measurement Process

The measurement of administrative burdens was a substantial and complex undertaking involving Departments and regulators across government, co-ordinated by the Better Regulation Executive. The original measurement was carried out between May 2005 and May 2006 and the results form the administrative burdens baseline as of May 2005. It was against this baseline that each participating organisation agreed to a net administrative burden reduction target of 25%, to be achieved by 2010 (except for Cabinet Office, who chose a 35% target).

There were two key stages to reaching the original administrative burdens baseline:

• the initial measurement of administrative costs; and

• calculating from the initial measurement the administrative burden by applying a business as usual adjustment.

Stage 1 MeasurementAdministrative costs are the annual reoccurring costs of administrative activities that businesses and the third sector are required to perform in order to comply with the obligations that are imposed through central Government regulation. These include, for example, form filling, keeping records or responding to information requests.

The measurement of the administrative costs of regulation impacting business and the third sector was undertaken using the Standard Cost Model methodology, as recommended by the Better Regulation Task Force. The Standard Cost Model

methodology does not set out to achieve a statistically robust estimate of administrative costs, as this requires a huge sample size, incurring disproportionate expense.

Instead, it provides a systematic approach to measurement that provides indicative data on the administrative costs of regulation. International experience has shown this approach to be valuable in understanding the regulatory landscape and focus in simplification activity. The Standard Cost Model methodology breaks down regulations into a range of manageable components. This enables the systematic measurement of the cost of regulation across

The Measurement Process: The International Standard Cost Model Methodology

Annex C


Government through extensive interviews and focus groups with individual businesses, charities and voluntary sector organisations.

These components are called obligations. An obligation is the specific requirement that must be undertaken in order to comply with a regulation.

All central Government regulations were mapped. The responsible Government Department and the origin of the regulation were then identified, the required obligations defined, and the costs measured.

The Standard Cost Model calculates the administrative costs arising from a regulation by measuring four key factors:

• how long it takes to comply with the obligation (time);

• the wage rate of the person who undertakes this (Wage Rate);

• how many organisations carry out the obligation (Population); and

• how frequently (each year) the obligation is carried out (Frequency)

Unit cost* x Quantity

(Time x Wage Rate) x (Population x Frequency)

FIGURe 29: SCM formula

Multiplying the time and Wage Rate provides the Unit cost of the obligation. Multiplying the Population and Frequency provides the Quantity. The Unit cost and the Quantity are then multiplied to establish the Administrative cost. This has been illustrated below:

* including external costs


The Unit Costs also includes any overheads or external goods or services required in order to comply with the obligation within the regulation.

The cost, quantity, population and frequency elements of the calculation were estimated using input from businesses or business associations.

This was done through extensive face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, expert panels, virtual panels and assessment with consistent validation through Monitoring Groups consisting of key stakeholders to advise and challenge the results. Government Departments commissioned Pricewaterhouse Coopers to carry out this measurement, which involved over 8,500 interviews and over 200 expert panels. All of the regulation that was in force as of May 2005 represented the original administrative burden baseline.

Departments have continued to measure the administrative burden of regulations introduced since May 2005 using the same approaches outlined above in order to report progress on their net reduction targets. This year’s plans reflect the administrative burden of any regulations introduced between June 2005 and December 2009.

Stage 2 Adjusting for business as usual Once the measurement exercise had established the administrative costs of regulation, the Government applied a pragmatic and credible process to estimate the percentage of the total administrative costs that consist of activities that business would do anyway. This is termed the business as usual cost. Subtracting the business as usual cost from the total administrative cost estimate gives an estimate of the administrative burden.

The administrative burden is defined as the cost of administrative activities over and above what a business would choose to do in the absence of the regulation. The business as usual approach is about focusing Government’s reduction effort on the burdens that are of real concern to business. There is little benefit to business from simplifying activities that business has indicated they would choose to undertake even if the regulation did not exist.

The process to estimate suitable business as usual adjustments was carried out with the full support and assistance of the business community and the third sector. An independent panel agreed the business as usual process and methodology and determined what activity business would do in the absence of regulation. Data from the measurement exercise was used as a basis to calculate indicative estimates for this activity for all information obligations. The Panel then considered and challenged data for the information obligations that made up 70% of the total administrative cost.

79

The measurement of administrative burdens was carried out from May 2005 and completed in May 2006 and the results form the administrative burden baseline as of May 2005. It was against this baseline that each participating Department, regulator or agency involved in this programme agreed to a net administrative burden reduction target of 25% to be achieved by May 2010 (except Cabinet Office who agreed a target of 35%).

However, there have been a number of baseline changes since May 2005:

• to reflect any Machinery of Government changes which could lead to individual regulations transferring between Departments; and

• to correct any errors made by the initial measurement exercise.

Criteria for technical adjustments to the baseline

Baseline adjustments should be approved if there is overwhelming evidence that a significant error has been made to the following categories:

• regulation(s) that should have been measured, but were not; and

• population information, external goods or services, internal time or wage rate, or business as usual factors have been significantly over or under estimated.

Baseline Adjustments

Annex D

SECTION 4 | Annex D: Baseline Adjustments

80SECTION 4 | Annex D: Baseline Adjustments

DePARtMent BASeLIne At DeceMBeR 2008

MAcHIneRy oF GoveRnMent cHAnGeS

tecHnIcAL ADJUStMentS

BASeLIne At DeceMBeR 2009

BeRR £4,068m -£4,068m (1&3) £0m

DIUS £543m -£543m (1) £0m

BIS £0m £4,532m (1) -£44.3m (2) £4,489m

Decc 78.3m (3) -£2.7m (4) £76.97m

MoJ £369.4m -£13.47m (5) £356m

2009 Baseline adjustmentsThe Departments for which baseline adjustments have been made in 2009 are outlined below.

FIGURe 30: Technical and Machinery of Government changes

1. Machinery of Government change resulted in £78.3m transferring from BERR to DECC. This left BERR with a baseline of £3,990m. Subsequent Machinery of Government changes resulted in transferring £3,990m from BERR and £543m from DIUS to the newly formed BIS.

2. BIS made a net baseline adjustment by removing a total of £44.3 million including the Companies Act 2006; Insolvency (Amendment) Rules 2009; The Legislative Reform Order (Insolvency) (Miscellaneous Provisions) Order 2009; and Export Control; and DRID 1955 Employment Agencies Estate Agents (Accounts) Regulations 1981.

3. Machinery of Government change resulted in transferring from DEFRA (0.2m) and BERR (78.3m) to DECC.

4. DECC made a baseline adjustment of £2.7 million to transfer back to BIS (ex-BERR) an information obligation relating to Export Control.

5. MoJ made a baseline adjustment removing a total of £13.4 million relating to probate and letters of administration, data protection and accounts rules for solicitors and registered foreign lawyers.

81SECTION 4 | Annex D: Baseline Adjustments

DePARtMent BASeLIne (£M) tARGet (£M) tARGet (%) % totAL BASeLIne

BIS £4,489.0 £1,122.3 25% 34.16%

cLG £2,486.5 £621.6 25% 18.92%

HSe £2,022.5 £505.6 25% 15.39%

DH £1,201.9 £300.5 25% 9.15%

Dft £585.0 £146.3 25% 4.45%

DWP £471.0 £117.8 25% 3.58%

Defra £458.2 £114.6 25% 3.49%

MoJ £356.0 £89.0 25% 2.71%

DcMS £343.2 £85.8 25% 2.61%

DcSF £209.7 £52.4 25% 1.60%

HMt £158.9 £39.7 25% 1.21%

Food SA £90.5 £22.6 25% 0.69%

Home office £83.0 £20.8 25% 0.64%

onS £48.7 £12.2 25% 0.37%

charity commission

£36.6 £9.2 25% 0.28%

cabinet office £15.4 £5.4 35% 0.12%

Geo £5.7 £1.4 25% 0.04%

Forestry commission

£1.46 £0.4 25% 0.01%

Decc £76.97 £19.216 N/A N/A

totAL £13,140.3 £3,286.6

FIGURe 31: 2009 Departmental baseline and target

16. 25% of baseline indicated for completeness: no simplification target was set for DECC due to its late inclusion in the Programme (October 2008).

www.betterregulation.gov.ukURN 09/P69