Regulatory Policy Committee
Details
The Department has provided a series of IAs covering the various and wide-ranging policies within the Act. A number of measures were added to the Health and Care Bill during its parliamentary passage. These include measures relating to eradicating slavery and human trafficking in supply chains, the licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures as well as the banning of hymenoplasty and virginity testing. The assessments of the direct impacts on business of the policy measures added since the final stage IA are sufficient at this stage, but those assessments and the overall cost benefit analyses could be improved in several ways, as described within the opinion
For the RPCs assessment of the IA for the Act as enacted, this opinion should be read in conjunction with the RPC opinion on the final stage IA.
This IA is green-rated; fit for purpose.
The opinion does not take account of the Governments recent announcement of plans to widen presumed exemptions on regulations to businesses with fewer than 500 employees (see link below) as the Bill has been enacted. However, impact assessments supporting secondary legislation under the Act will need to take account of any emerging better regulation framework requirements in relation to this announcement, as appropriate.