About BRE

The UK Government has set out an ambitious programme to change the way we regulate. We are cutting out of date and unnecessary red tape to deliver greater accountability, better focused, better targeted and more effective protections.

THE ROLE OF THE BETTER REGULATION EXECUTIVE

The Better Regulation Executive (BRE) was set up to play a lead role in driving through a programme of activities to simplify regulation. It works with Government departments and regulators to:

• improve the design of new regulations and how they are communicated;
• simplify and modernise existing regulations; and
• change attitudes and approaches to regulation to become more risk-based;

And to ensure targets are met and results communicated effectively to key stakeholders.

View our Presentation here

Click here to find out more about the Better Regulation Executive.

Regulation has a key role to play, making sure essential protections stay in place. Regulation protects virtually every aspect of our lives and it’s difficult to imagine a world without it. Imagine life without traffic rules on the road, or a country where children are still sent to work. However we can protect without placing unnecessary burdens. By taking a proportionate and risked-based approach to regulation, government is improving the way it works with businesses.

As of December 2009, we have delivered about £2.9bn annual net savings through 280 different measures. Government has committed to deliver £3.5bn net savings a year to business, public sector and charities by 2010, and we are on track to meet this target. Read http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file54013.pdf, the Simplifications Summary Report 2009 to find out more about our progress on the regulatory reform agenda in the last 12 months.

There is no one solution to reduce the burden of regulation in the UK – rather a series of coordinated measures is in place to tackle any unnecessary, out-of-date or overly burdensome regulation. Taken together, actions to review existing and forthcoming regulations, to implement and share best practice in Europe and internationally are making a difference. And simple measures result in real savings for real people – in cost savings and by freeing up businesses, charities and public sector workers to focus on what’s important to them.