Effective and well-focused regulation can play a vital role in correcting market failures, promoting fairness and increasing competition. Society expects the Government to provide protection for the general public, consumers and employees consistent with the best international standards.

However, inefficient regulation can impose significant burdens on the private, public and third sectors, and this affects our national competitiveness and the quality of public services. The Government’s regulatory reform agenda is therefore focused on delivering better regulatory outcomes while driving down unnecessary burdens.

The Better Regulation Executive (BRE) leads this regulatory reform agenda across government. Working with and through others, our aims are:

• to work with departments and regulators to simplify and modernise existing regulations
• to work with departments to improve the design of new regulations and how they are communicated
• to work with regulators (including local authorities) and departments to change attitudes and approaches to regulation to become more risk-based

Significant progress has been made across all these areas. The UK Government’s ambitious and wide-ranging regulatory reform agenda is one of the most respected programmes in the world, which has been confirmed by international surveys.

Despite making considerable progress, more still needs to be done. The Government has committed to deliver a 25% reduction in administrative burdens both at UK and EU level with over £800 million of annual savings have been delivered to date. Want to find out more? Why not read the Simplification Plans summary that highlights how Government is reducing the burden of complying with regulations. Or read how these reductions will make a difference to you.

The Government is also committed to listening to business, charities, consumers and frontline staff in the public sector, to understand their priorities for regulatory reform. So if you have ideas on how regulations could be simplified or improved, why not submit your idea to Government? Visit the Better Regulation website at www.betterregulation.gov.uk and Government promises to consider your idea, publish it online and respond within 90 days.