The House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee has announced that its next inquiry will focus on the relationship between regulators and the Government, and how regulators are held accountable, including by Parliament.
The Committee is encouraging interested individuals and organisations to submit evidence on the following areas:
- the roles and remits of regulators;
- the balance between the responsibilities of regulators and those of the Government;
- guidance given by the government to regulators;
- the independence of regulators;
- co-operation between regulators;
- the skills and expertise of regulators;
- the role of Parliament in scrutinising regulators;
- scrutiny, accountability and transparency of regulators;
- the effectiveness of regulators;
- performance metrics;
- international comparators.
Lord Hollick, Chair of the Industry and Regulators Committee, said:
“The Committee has recently conducted scrutiny of regulators including Ofwat, Ofgem, The Pension Regulator, Financial Conduct Authority, Prudential Regulation Authority, and the Office for Students.
"A common area of concern arising from all these inquiries is the relationship between the regulator and the Government, and the level of independence and accountability regulators have. Many regulators are public bodies funded by the taxpayer and have significant powers; it is therefore vital that they are scrutinised and held to account.
"This short, cross-cutting inquiry will shine a light on the UK regulatory ecosystem and how effective it is.”
For this inquiry, the Committee is focussing specifically on regulators which:
a) have a statutory role established by Parliament
b) are organised as public bodies.
According to the Department for Business and Trade, there are 90 regulators across the UK, not including local authorities. They cover a wide range of areas and have a range of different powers and responsibilities; in some cases they have been given a specific job to do by Parliament. Many regulators, though not all of them, are public bodies, funded by the taxpayer.
Click here for the complete list of questions, plus details how to submit evidence by the deadline of Friday 1 December 2023
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