Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 6
6
We asked the Department how lessons from the regulatory response to the pandemic, including effective...
Conclusion
We asked the Department how lessons from the regulatory response to the pandemic, including effective cooperation between regulators, could be embedded in the regulatory system. It told us that encouraging dialogue between regulators and with ministers was important, and highlighted its role in convening regulatory forums such as a regulators’ innovation network.7 Ofcom also told us that practical steps, including ensuring regulators are able to share data and have a more explicit duty to consider each other’s objectives where appropriate, can help facilitate greater cooperation.8 Facilitating innovation
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
1: PAC conclusion: The response to the COVID-19 pandemic has shown what can be achieved when regulatory bodies work effectively together with a clear focus on outcomes. 1: PAC recommendation: The Department should identify what has facilitated effective regulatory cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic and disseminate findings to the regulatory community to ensure good practice is embedded and learning is not lost. It should also consider the risks of the changes in process as a result of the pandemic and how these were appropriately balanced. 1.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Winter 2021 1.2 Bodies such as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Health and Safety Executive and Office for Product Safety and Standards demonstrated the importance of an agile and cooperative approach to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS or the department) has already worked with them to learn about their experiences. This will be further built upon at a meeting of the Regulators’ Forum to be arranged in early 2022. 23 1.3 Alongside ongoing engagement with regulators, Ministers have held a number of roundtables with regulators to share best practice from the COVID-19 pandemic response. This learning will also be embedded into the government’s current reform of the regulatory framework: the current consultation considers the role of regulators and how agile regulation can best be supported.