Better regulation initiatives

One of the recommendations from the Sector-Specific Review (see below) was about improving our communication and engagement with food businesses - especially small businesses. We have produced a short online survey asking how food businesses find out about regulations and guidance and would really appreciate it if food businesses could complete it and send it back to us. The results will be used to decide the best way for us to communicate with food businesses about regulations and guidance. The survey asks for it to be returned by Friday 25 July, but we shall leave the survey available after that and we will still appreciate responses after that date.

The survey is available at the link below. You will need to save the file to your own computer before you begin to fill in the questionnaire.

The FSA's rolling simplification programme is about making regulations easier for business, the public sector and the third sector (such as charity and voluntary organisations) to understand and comply with, without compromising public protection or consumer interests. The FSA published its second Simplification Plan on 11 December 2007. Our first plan was published in December 2006.

As part of the FSA's simplification programme we are working to reduce the cost to business of the paperwork and information requests which result from our regulations. Chapter 3 of the FSA’s second Simplification Plan reports on our progress.

The FSA has completed a review of the burdens on small-scale butchery and craft bakery businesses, which identified two areas of particular irritation: hygiene approvals and labelling. As a result of the review the FSA will be:

• conducting a thorough review of all aspects of the requirements for approval and the criteria for exemptions provided in the EC hygiene regulations
• undertaking a review of all previous work to provide a route map to food regulation and a source of integrated advice on food law to small businesses
• undertaking a review of the FSA’s effectiveness in providing advice to businesses

A report on these will be included in next year's Simplification Plan.

FSA has carried out a major review of FSA guidance for business. One of the major business irritants identified during the Administrative Burdens Measurement Exercise in 2005 was the issue of the potential costs and burdens introduced by FSA guidance and the possible effect on businesses who wish to trade within and outside of the UK.

An important outcome of the review, based on stakeholders' views of existing FSA guidance, is a set of guidelines to help us produce guidance in future. The guidelines are at Annex 2 to the full report.

The FSA is reviewing the forms it asks business to complete. The review has been looking at FSA forms to make sure they follow the recommendations made in the Hampton Report:

• use simple standardised designs which are easy to use
• use plain language
• only collect the information needed

The review is ongoing but we have already identified and taken steps to reduce some unnecessary burdens to business, for example reviewing the information required to register a food business. For more information, see the Simplification Plan.

World Class Regulator
The FSA has been considering how to evaluate its performance against the Framework for Regulatory Decision Making. Criteria have been developed to measure how well the Agency is performing against them. Action planning is being taken forward in those areas where most development is needed. We aim to quickly bring our performance in all areas up to a level that is at least satisfactory.

Compliance Code
Following its consultation last year the Government has published a Statutory Code of Practice for Regulators (the Regulators’ Compliance Code). The Code came into force in England on 6 April 2008.
The Code seeks to embed a risk-based, proportionate, targeted approach to regulatory inspection and enforcement. The FSA has published a Statement of Compliance that we believe reflects how we comply with the Code.

Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill
On 15 May 2007, the Government published a public consultation document the Draft Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill.
The consultation on the Draft Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Bill covers the establishment of the Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO) and the introduction of an extended toolkit of sanctions for use by regulators.

The FSA has responded to this consultation.

Common Commencement Dates (CCDs)
CCDs were introduced following a recommendation of the Better Regulation Task Force (now the Better Regulation Commission), requiring departments and agencies to consolidate the commencement dates of new or amended regulation to either 6 April or 1 October.

To make it easier for business and consumers to be aware of new regulations, the FSA has agreed that new domestic regulations will come into force on either 6 April or 1 October. We also publish, in January and July each year, a statement of all regulations that we will introduce over the next year.

Hampton Implementation Review
In the 2006 pre-budget report the Chancellor announced that the progress of the five major regulators (Food Standards Agency, HSE, Environment Agency, Office of Fair Trading and the Financial Services Authority) in implementing Hampton principles would be assessed by the Better Regulation Executive of the Department for Business and Regulatory Reform and the National Audit Office. The FSA assessment started in October and should report early in 2008. The results of the assessment will be published on this website. The criteria for the review can be found on the NAO website.

FSA-led study on local authorities' integrated approach
The Hampton Report prompted us to lead a small collaborative study of the way some local authorities have developed approaches which effectively integrate the planning and/or delivery of a number of regulatory services. We tried to identify key enablers to the integrated approach as well as barriers. The report of our study is below.

Better Regulation Advisory Group
The Better Regulation Advisory Group (BRAG) has been set up to undertake a scrutiny and challenge function, while contributing to the initiatives carried out by the FSA as part of its commitment to the better regulation agenda.

BRAG membership includes stakeholders from a food manufacturers' association, a meat producers association, Which? and from the Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS).