Professions: Regulation

(asked on 1st July 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government why they decided to launch a pilot grant funding programme for UK professional and business services regulators rather than establishing such a programme on a permanent basis.


This question was answered on 14th July 2021

The Government announced the Pilot Recognition Arrangements Grant Programme on 29 June, and it opened to applications on 8 July. Guidance on the application process is available on GOV.UK. The programme is targeted at supporting the costs of acquiring additional technical expertise incurred by regulatory and professional bodies in preparing for or negotiating a recognition arrangement. Many regulators and professional bodies have agreed recognition arrangements already, this programme will support the establishment of additional recognition arrangements.

Successful applicants will be able to apply for reimbursement of 80% of eligible costs for technical expertise to support the agreement of recognition arrangements. Regulators will be able to seek reimbursement of up to £20,000 for individual applicant bodies and £40,000 for groups of applicants. Eligible regulators and professional bodies will be required to submit a business case to apply for funding, and applications will be assessed and ranked against objective criteria. The total grant funding available under the pilot programme is £210,000.

The programme is open to regulators that control access to professions regulated in law, and professional bodies that award professional titles and voluntarily regulate professions without underpinning legislation. These bodies must operate within at least one of the four UK nations and must operate within the Professional and Business Services sector, in professions such as accounting, audit, engineering and legal services.

The Government has launched the grant programme as a pilot in order to assess the demand and potential value-add of government funding for recognition agreements. The programme will initially run for this financial year only and will undergo monitoring and evaluation to assess the efficacy of direct financial support for regulators and professional bodies in this area. Consideration will then be given as to whether the programme should be extended or not.

Reticulating Splines