Government red tape blitz targets rail and road regulator
A new review will consider the future of the body responsible for overseeing road investment and rail safety under a crackdown on red tape. The government announced today (21 October) that it will assess regulators on whether their roles have become redundant. Business secretary Peter Kyle told the Regional Investment Summit in Birmingham that the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) will be the first to be independently investigated
Richard Judge, former chief executive of the Health and Safety Executive, will lead the probe. The ORR is the independent health and safety regulator for the UK's rail network. It also monitors investment by National Highways and Network Rail.
In July, it told National Highways that it must "learn lessons" after the road body failed to meet a number of key commitments, including on supply chain management.[1] "I am commissioning a programme of independent assessments of our key regulators," Kyle said. "Starting with the Office of Rail and Road, this work, led by Richard Judge, will assess overregulation, overlap and overreach.
"Where we identify regulators that are doubling up, stepping on each other's toes, or out of touch with the realities of the modern economy, we will streamline them. "Where their role is redundant, we will end them. Not 'one-in, one-out' but 'no role, no regulator'." Kyle has warned that regulators will be required to "fully explain" when any of their decisions negatively affect business growth.
"Regulation that restricts growth requires a rewrite or the rubbish bin. British business shouldn't have to put up with it," he said. "And, just as there are too many pointless administrative regulatory burdens, there are too many regulators.
So the regulators themselves will not go untouched by these reforms." An ORR spokesperson said: "The review rightly focuses on how we are equipped to deliver our established role effectively - ensuring our regulatory approach continues to remain fit for purpose, is transparent, and remains responsive to the needs of passengers, freight users and taxpayers." The reviews of regulators are expected to take four months.
Kyle's comments came as Rachel Reeves unveiled a raft of measures to slash business bureaucracy by 25 per cent to save UK firms nearly GBP6bn per year by the end of the current parliamentary term.
The chancellor today set out proposals to introduce digital planning checks that could see developers sending photo evidence to authorities online that are then approved using trained AI models.
She said a new online map of underground cables and pipes would also help planning officials and builders avoid lengthy and costly delays caused by accidental damage, without having to contact multiple utility companies. This initiative was launched by the previous government in 2023.
References
- ^ supply chain management (www.constructionnews.co.uk)