Local Councils Critical To UK Recovery From Recession
LOCAL councils answering the British Chambers of Commerce call for less ‘red tape' have a critical role to play in enabling the UK economy to grow its way out of recession; according to the public body for better local regulation LBRO.
One route is LBRO's Primary Authority Scheme, providing multi-site businesses with one point of contact for consistent regulatory advice and support. B&Q, MOTO, Raymond Blanc's group of brasseries - Brasserie Blanc - and Dr Oetker are already signed up to the scheme.
Guidance on ways councils might use their regulatory services to support businesses - and in turn consumers - through the challenging economic environment has been published by LBRO - set up to make it easier for councils to advise on and apply the rules and simpler for businesses to understand them.
The guidance demonstrates how environmental health, fire safety services, licensing and trading standards can play an important and sometimes under-estimated role in supporting businesses - and in turn consumers - through the recession and beyond.
Best practice examples of how regulatory issues ranging from work-related ill health to alcohol misuse to taxi licensing can all be tackled in ways that promote prosperity and protect against rogue traders are all highlighted in the report, available on the LBRO website.
The better regulation principles are at the heart of the advice and guidance, with case studies demonstrating how councils and their partners can further embed these principles through locally-agreed recovery plans.
Recommended approaches to developing regulatory services include adopting a continuous improvement culture, maximising use of resources and creating better outcomes through local, regional and national partnerships and greater collaboration.
A 2009 LBRO survey1 showed that more than half of the face-to-face contacts small and medium sized businesses had with local authorities in a 12 month period were with regulatory services officers. Local councils are now being encouraged to assess how they can take full advantage of these officers' local contacts, knowledge and expertise.
LBRO's recent publication, Better Local Regulation: Supporting Businesses Towards Recovery, sets out how regulatory services are best placed to deliver four key approaches to moving towards recovery:
- Using direct relationships to signpost local businesses to appropriate support and guidance
- Using face-to-face engagement to understand local businesses' diverse issues and challenges and feed this information into local economic assessments
- Taking an intelligence-led approach to targeting activity on the particular opportunities and threats faced by local economies and communities
- Developing collaborative approaches that deliver shared local and national priorities
LBRO Chairman Clive Grace said: "Councils need to be active in adversity. Better regulation has an important part to play in economic recovery, supporting business and protecting communities.
"Better regulation can mean cutting the number of rules imposed on businesses; it can also mean making it easier to follow the rules, cutting the cost of following the rules and improved application of the rules based on the better regulation principles."
This and other opportunities will be explored at LBRO's annual conference in November, where Minister Ian Lucas (BIS) and business woman Karren Brady will help lead the debate.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The 2009 LBRO survey of 200 businesses reported that 56 per cent of small and medium sized businesses that have had face-to-face contact with their local authority in the last 12 months have had contact with a local authority regulatory officer.
2. The Kirklees Better Health at Work scheme is one example of better local regulation set out in the recovery guidance. This innovative approach to addressing work-related ill health shows how the provision of carefully tailored support services to both businesses and workers can have a significant impact on working days lost and claims for incapacity benefit. Local authority ‘one-stop-shops' for businesses and Basingstoke and Deane's local business partnership are also detailed. The document has been welcomed by a number of key consumer and business organisations as well as regulatory trade bodies.
3. The following organisations welcome the LBRO initiative in preparing guidance for local authorities on some appropriate ways to exercise their regulatory roles in order to assist businesses and consumers towards recovery:
a. British Chambers of Commerce
b. British Retail Consortium
c. Confederation of British Industry
d. Federation of Small Businesses
e. Food Standards Agency
f. Health and Safety Executive
g. Office of Fair Trading
h. Chartered Institute of Environmental Health
i. Institute of Licensing
j. Trading Standards Institute
k. Consumer Focus
l. Better Regulation Executive
4. The principles of Better Regulation are:
a. Accountable
b. Targeted
c. Proportionate
d. Consistent
e. Transparent
5. The Primary Authority scheme was designed by the Better Regulation Executive and approved by Parliament as part of the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008. Primary Authority came into law on 6 April 2009. Primary Authority partnerships are available to any business that trades across two or more council boundaries, regardless of size. Small businesses that sell from websites, for example, have the same access to consistent advice about trading standards and health and safety rules as big manufacturing or construction companies. The scheme will improve compliance to the benefit of business, consumers and communities.
6. The LBRO conference - ‘Working together for better local regulation' will take place on the 19 November 2009 at the Hilton, London Metropole Hotel. This essential conference will explore national government's vision for the future of better regulation policy. Delegates will hear from high level speakers including: Karren Brady, Managing Director, Birmingham City Football Club, Ben Page, Chief Executive, Ipsos MORI UK and Ireland and Geoffrey Podger, Chief Executive, Health and Safety Executive. To book your place at this event please visit: http://www.neilstewartassociates.com/sa257/
7. The Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO) helps local authorities improve their environmental health, trading standards, fire safety and licensing services - reducing burdens on businesses that comply with the law while targeting those who flout it. It was incorporated as a government-owned limited company in May 2007. Following the commencement of the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 on 1 October 2008, it now operates as an executive non-departmental public body, accountable to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills through the Better Regulation Executive. LBRO is governed by an independent Board, has a staff of around 25 and is based in central Birmingham. Our remit covers the whole of the UK and we liaise closely with the devolved administrations to ensure our work in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland is appropriate. For further information please visit www.lbro.org.uk
Media enquiries to Jo Barker
Tel: 0121 226 4019.
Email: jo.barker@lbro.org.uk