Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Jenkin of Roding (Conservative). It was answered on Monday, 19 November 2007.

Regulatory Reform Orders: DBERR

Question: My Lords, can the Minister confirm that since legislative reform orders were introduced, replacing regulatory reform orders, they have been used to scrap just 34 regulations, while in the same period more than 18,000 new regulations have been introduced? Now that regulatory reform is an express part of the name of the department to which the noble Lord belongs, can we expect some improvement in those figures?

Answer: My Lords, I can confirm part of what the noble Lord has said: there were 34 regulation orders under the 2001 Act. I cannot confirm the other part. Having been a very senior Minister in a previous Government, he will know that regulatory reform is not an easy issue. It certainly was not for his Government in the mid-1990s, and I notice one or two distinguished ex-Ministers nodding on the Benches opposite. Of course regulation is not bad per se; it provides market rules, allowing businesses to thrive, and provides essential rights and protections for employees and consumers. I am happy to accept, however, that there is a long way to go. We believe that bringing regulatory reform into the new department is a very good step.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 696 c660
Session: 2007-08
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Regulation Regulatory reform orders Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Legislative reform orders
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk