Overview

This bill mandates the publication of Regulatory Impact Assessments (RIAs) for all new government legislation (primary and secondary). Failure to comply results in ministerial statements to Parliament until an RIA is submitted.

Description

This bill requires the government to publish a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) for all new legislation before it is enacted. This includes Bills introduced to Parliament by ministers and certain statutory instruments.

Key Aspects:

• RIA Requirement: An RIA must be submitted to Parliament for all new government Bills and relevant statutory instruments before they are passed.
• RIA Content: The RIA must assess the balance of negative and positive effects of any regulatory burdens created by the proposed legislation and comply with guidance issued by an independent body (as defined in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015).
• Timing: The RIA must be submitted on or before the appointed day (the day the Bill or instrument is introduced to Parliament).
• Sanctions: If the government fails to publish an RIA, the responsible minister must repeatedly make statements to Parliament until the RIA is provided.
• Enforcement: The bill relies on parliamentary oversight and ministerial responsibility to enforce the RIA requirement.

Government Spending

The bill does not directly specify any increase or decrease in government spending. The cost of producing RIAs will be borne by government departments, but no overall budgetary impact is explicitly stated.

Groups Affected

This bill affects several groups:

• Government Departments: They will need to produce RIAs for all new legislation, increasing their workload.
• Parliamentarians: They will receive and scrutinize RIAs, aiding their legislative oversight function.
• Businesses and Individuals: The RIAs could potentially help them understand the impact of new regulations. More transparent regulatory processes could be beneficial.
• Independent body appointed under section 25 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015: This body will have an increased role in verifying the quality and content of the RIAs.

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