Background
The proper protection of UK consumers and workers requires consistent local regulation, which also supports the creation of a level commercial playing field. While the flexibility to adapt to local circumstances is necessary, inconsistency of interpretation from area to area is not justifiable. This increases the burdens on the public and private sectors, undermines competitiveness, and exposes the public and the environment to unfair variations in the level of protection they receive.
Although local authorities should apply environmental health, licensing and trading standards legislation in a similar way in similar circumstances, concerns raised by businesses included contradictory advice, wasted resources and duplicated efforts, augmented by the lack of an effective means of resolving disputes when councils disagreed.
Primary Authority was introduced to address these issues. It gives businesses the right to form a statutory partnership with one local authority, which then provides robust and reliable advice for other councils to take into account when carrying out inspections or dealing with non-compliance. This built on the foundation created by voluntary home and lead authority initiatives, but entailed a fundamental shift in the nature of the relationship between the regulated and the regulator - bringing benefits to both parties.
The principles of Primary Authority are set out in the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008. Prior to its launch, we worked with 13 major retailers and pilot local authorities to test and refine the framework, and developed the secure IT system needed for registering partnerships and facilitating dialogue between councils.
By helping to ensure consistency, Primary Authority creates greater confidence for businesses and regulators - and the communities they serve. All the legislation underpinning it can be downloaded via the website of the Office of Public Sector Information. The relevant documents are:
The Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008
Guidance to the RES Act
The Co-ordination of Regulatory Enforcement (Enforcement Action) Order 2009
The Co-ordination of Regulatory Enforcement (Procedures for References to LBRO) Order 2009
The Co-ordination of Regulatory Enforcement (Regulatory Functions in Scotland and Northern Ireland) Order 2009
"This is an excellent example of partnership working which helps to achieve greater efficiency for a local company."
West Oxfordshire District Council Councillor David Harvey - 07/06/2010
