Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what the title was of each set of regulations introduced by her Department in each month since May 2010; which of those regulations have been (a) subject to the (i) one in one out and (ii) one in two out procedure and (b) (i) revoked and (ii) amended; and what the net cost to (A) the public purse; and (B) business of those regulations is.

The following sets of regulations have been introduced by the Minister for Women and Equalities since May 2010:

1. The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011 SI 2011/2260 (revoked by SI 2017/353)
2. The Equality Act 2010 (Equal Pay Audits) Regulations 2014 SI 2014/2559
3. The Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017 SI 2017/172
4. The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties and Public Authorities) Regulations 2017 SI 2017/353.

The Impact Assessments for the first three sets of regulations, setting out in detail the net costs or benefits, can be found at:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/2260/impacts

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2014/202/pdfs/ukia_20140202_en.pdf

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2017/9780111152010/resources.

A separate impact assessment was not prepared for SI 2017/353 because the scope of the regulations was public sector only. However, the average annual recurring cost of complying with the new gender pay gap reporting requirements for employers in the public sector was estimated to be less than £500 per annum, in line with the impact assessment for SI 2017/172. The table below sets out answers to the other aspects of the question:

The changes to regulations affecting business during the 2010-15 Parliament are recorded in Statements of New Regulation that were published every six months. These are available on https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/one-in-two-out-statement-of-new-regulation. For the 2015-17 Parliament, the government will shortly publish its final report on the savings to business delivered during that Parliament. For the current Parliament, the government is committed to maintaining a proportionate approach to regulation to enable business growth while maintaining public protections.

The government has published guidance for departments on the statutory requirements that all new regulations contain a requirement for a review at a suitable point after their implementation. This can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/small-business-enterprise-and-employment-act-statutory-review-requirements.

The impact assessment for a new regulation should set out the plan for a post-implementation review of the measure, typically within five years of it coming into force. The review should assess if the objectives of the regulation were achieved, remain valid and relevant, and whether they could be achieved in a less burdensome way.