| | By Mick James
I suppose it was too
much to hope that new PM
Gordon Brown would steal
even more of the Lib
Dem's clothes and
abolish the Department
of Trade and Industry,
but at least he's given
it a new and sillier
name. So we offer a
cautious welcome to the
‘Department of Business,
Enterprise and
Regulatory Reform’,
which I fear will be
fated to be referred to
as the Ministry of Er,
particularly given the
state of my short-term
memory.
Most other
departments now have
similarly forgettable
lists as names, the one
exception being the
Treasury. Perhaps the
mandarins blocked the
‘Ministry of Firm but
Fair Taxation and
Prudent Borrowing for
Necessary Expenditure’
but I would have thought
Gordon would have jumped
at the chance to be
Britain's last
chancellor and replace
himself with a lowly
finance minister?
But back to DBERR.
What does it mean? When
the rebrand was | |
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| | announced the BBC
Newsnight team had a
great time asking folk
in the street to explain
the difference between
"business" and
"enterprise". New
minister John Hutton
could only respond to
the question with a peal
of nervous laughter.
Websites and press
releases are similarly
evasive: the DBERR
"leads work to create
the conditions for
business success...
works across Government
and with the regions to
raise levels of UK
productivity...aims
to...promote the
creation and growth of
business...and
...deliver free and fair
markets." All this
sounds like an excuse to
do very little at great
length, or at least to
aim to lead work towards
creating the conditions
where very little can be
delivered at great
length in a fair and
open manner.
But it's the
"regulatory reform" bit
that astonishes me.
There, in the very name
of a Department of State
is an admission that our
current regulatory | |
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| | systems are rubbish. In
fact, DBERR has even
more control of
regulation than the DTI,
absorbing the Better
Regulation Executive
from the Cabinet Office.
To my shame, I didn't
know much about the BRE
before the move, but its
website
(http://www.betterregulat
ion.gov.uk/) is a
revelation, an open
forum for citizens and
businesses to submit
ideas for improving
regulation. All ideas
are guaranteed a
response within 90 days
and the site lists both
the ideas that have been
taken forward and those
which have been
rejected. Sometimes you
get a bit of both, as in
this reply:
"This issue is
currently being
discussed at EC
level...so whilst we can
support your suggestion,
we cannot guarantee that
this will be the final
outcome."
What a wonderfully
British set-up this is:
from one end of DBERR
legislation and
regulation will continue
to rain down upon the
citizens. Citizens can | |
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| | then report back on the
absurdities and
contradictions to the
other end, which will
then do what it can to
resolve them – subject
to EU approval.
Whether the BRE will
be as effective or even
as entertaining now that
it's "inside the tent"
of DBERR remains to be
seen. One of the keys to
the Lib Dem argument
against the old DTI as
it was, was how absurd
it was to have a
department trying to
promote business and
regulate it at the same
time. Separate
departments with
separate ministers would
create a dynamic tension
within government which
would make explicit the
trade-offs between the
two. A separate
Department for
Regulatory Reform would
be a great idea
(possibly with a
Department of Liberty to
stand off against
Justice and the Home
Office).
But I have to say I
do love the BRE website,
which is shamefully
underused. In fact, I'd
like to issue a
challenge to the | |
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| | readership, top
consultants as you all
are (or will be). Unlock
those giant brains, get
onto
www.betterregulation.gov.
uk and start submitting
some reforms. Let me
know how you get on and
in a few months we'll
print the results.
There'll be honourable
mentions for the best
suggestions and also the
most evasive replies
received. If I can find
something of suitably
modest value in the
merchandise cupboard
there may even be a
prize.
Who knows, perhaps in
the future all
regulation will come to
be written by citizens,
in a giant online
"Regulopedia" where we
can all revise and
rewrite each other's
rules to arrive at a
consensus that perfectly
balances the needs and
desires of every
stakeholder. Subject to
EU approval, of course.
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