Regulating after EU Exit

Summary:

EU Exit has had a significant impact on UK regulators who have taken on new and expanded roles, but the development of long-term regulatory strategies post-EU Exit has been slow, and the future direction of regulation remains unclear. Regulators are facing challenges in accessing the skills they need to regulate effectively, including vets to monitor food safety and animal welfare in abattoirs, toxicologists to assess food risks and chemical safety, and lawyers and economists to enforce competition law and protect consumers. All three regulators have since been asked (along with the rest of government) to model headcount reductions of up to 40%, which, if carried out, would make the current regulatory models unsustainable unless it was alongside legislative change and fundamental reform. The regulators have also lost access to data sharing and cooperation arrangements with the EU and, while they have put in place mitigations, a lack of progress in taking forward regulatory cooperation agreed in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, increases regulatory risks and costs.

Over time, regulatory divergence between the European Union and the United Kingdom and within the UK internal market may make regulation less efficient and more costly for regulators, consumers and businesses if, for example, divergence creates barriers to trade or increases regulatory complexity. Equally, there are opportunities from adopting more agile regulator approaches outside of the EU that could deliver benefits in driving innovation and growth. There are important decisions ahead for Departments which will have an impact on the cost and complexity of regulation across a number of sectors. We will continue to monitor progress on these important issues in our future work.

• Alternative Source 1

Official

UK House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts: Inquiries: Regulation after EU Exit https://committees.parliament.uk/work/6718/regulation-after-eu-exit/

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