Better Regulation Task Force

The Better Regulation Task Force was Chaired by Lord Haskins. Set up by New Labour to free business from 'red tape', their intention is to save bosses from what they see as 'unnecessary' restrictions on their profits. The Task Force became the Better Regulation Commission on 1 January 2006.

The Better Regulation Task Force (BRTF) is an independent advisory body set up in 1997 "to advise the Government on action to ensure that regulation and its enforcement are proportionate, accountable, consistent, transparent and targeted." It has become a very influential body in influencing the Government's policy on regulation. The Government has recently accepted the conclusions of its report, 'Imaginative Regulation' and will now promote "the use of alternatives to [legal] regulation" across Whitehall and the wider public sector. Also From this year, each Government department must now report on their 'regulatory performance' and the BRTF will analyse these reports. Appointments to the BRTF are made by the Minister for the Cabinet Office, and are unpaid. A team of officials based in the Cabinet Office supports the Task Force.

The Task Force Claim

From the Web Archive of the BRTF webpages circa 2005:

The Better Regulation Task Force was established in September 1997. It is an independent body that advises Government on action to ensure that regulation and its enforcement accord with the five Principles of Good Regulation

• Proportionality
• Accountability
• Consistency
• Transparency
• Targeting

The Task Force does this by carrying out studies of particular regulatory issues.

People

Membership circa 2006-2009

• Steven Gould, Director of Professional Regulation and Consumer Protection at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS);
• Philip Jansen, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive of Sodexho UK & Ireland;
• Lord James Lindsay, Chair of the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS);
• Sharmit Saggar, Professor of Political Science at the University of Sussex and Non–Executive Chairman of the Consumer Complaints Board at the Law Society of England & Wales;
• Simon Walker, Director of Corporate Affairs at Reuters Group plc;
• Professor Helen Wallace, Director of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies of the European University Institute, Italy

Membership circa 2004-5

• Rex Symons
• Simon Petch*
• Penelope Rowlatt
• Tim Sweeney
• Victoria Younghusband
• Janet Russell
• Kevin Hawkins
• Stephen Falder*
• Ian Peters
• Michael Gibbons
• Deirdre Hutton*
• Matti Alderson*
• Sukvinder Stubbs
• Teresa Graham - Deputy Chair
• David Arculus - Chair
• Jean Coussins
• Kirit Patel
• Eve Salomon
• Sarah Veale
• Adrian Askew
• Lynne Berry
• Simon Murphy

, Those with a * stood down as at July 2005. Although, eight of the BRC's existing members were re–appointed until 31 March 2007:

• Teresa Graham
• Jean Coussins
• Michael Gibbons
• Ian Peters
• Penelope Rowlatt
• Janet Russell
• Eve Salomon
• Sarah Veale

Membership circa 2003-4

• David Arculus, Chairman Severn Trent plc
• Teresa Graham, Deputy Chair Baker Tilly
• Matti Alderson § Fire Horses
• Jean Coussins ^ Portman Group
• Stephen Falder § HMG Paints
• Michael Gibbons Consultant: utility sector
• Kevin Hawkins British Retail Consortium
• Deirdre Hutton National Consumer Council
• Kirit Patel ^ Day Lewis Group
• Simon Petch (retired May 2003)§ CONNECT
• Ian Peters EEF
• Penelope Rowlatt Independent economist
• Janet Russell Kirklees Metropolitan Council
• Eve Salomon Consultant: communications^
• Sukhvinder Stubbs Barrow Cadbury Trust
• Tim Sweeney Consultant: financial services
• Rex Symons Bournemouth Primary Care NHS Trust
• Sarah Veale Trades Union Congress^
• Simon Ward Consultant: hospitality industry*
• Victoria Younghusband Lawrence Graham

§ Stood down from Task Force on 31 March 2004 ^ Appointed to Task Force in 14 April 2004

Membership circa 2002

• Sarah Anderson is the Chief Executive of the Mayday Group, an employment agency providing catering staff. She is Chair of the CBI's SME Council, making her the main representative for small and medium-sized businesses for the CBI. She also sits on the London Employer's coalition for the New Deal and is Chair of the London Enterprise Agency.
• Jyoti Banerjee is Chief Executive of TBC Research, a company that provides marketing information to IT companies and publishes Computers and Finance Magazine.
• Stephen Falder is Marketing and Export Director of H Marcel Guest Paints, a specialist paint manufacturer whose clients include Rolls Royce, Ford and arms manufacturers Vickers, GEC, GKN and BAE Systems. He is also a Director of Bradite Ltd. and Buccaneer International Ltd.
• Balram Gidoomal is the millionaire Chairman of Winning Communications, a business consultancy which specialises in leadership training and equal opportunities. He also sits on the New Deal Task Force Ethnic Minority Advisory Group. He is an evangelical Christian who stood for the Christian People's Alliance in the London Mayoral elections in 2000.
• Teresa Graham is a Partner at Baker Tilly, the chartered accountants, and head of their business services department. She was a member of the Tory Government's Deregulation Task Force from 1994-7. She is a member of the Government's Small Business Service Management Board.
• Peter Hughes is the Chief Executive of Scottish Engineering, a lobbying organisation for the Scottish manufacturing industry. He is the former Chairman and Managing Director of Glencast Ltd., a specialist steel foundry.
• Dr. Chai Patel is the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Westminster Healthcare Plc, Britain's 3rd largest nursing home company, which he took control of in a £214 million deal in 1998. He was formerly the Chief Executive of Care First Plc, also one of the largest operators of private nursing homes in the UK. In October 1999 he bought the Priory Hospital Group, 13 acute psychiatric hospitals, for £100 million. He was Chair of the Task Force's Working Group on Long Term Care and a member of the Department of Health's 'action team' on NHS bed use which recommended that the NHS should place older patients into private nursing homes. He gave more than £5,000 to the Labour Party in 1999.
• Simon Ward is the Director of Strategic Affairs at Whitbread. He is a member of the CBI's Regional Council for London, a Director of the London Enterprise Agency and a former member of the Working Group on New Deal retention.
• Matti Alderson is a Director of FireHorses Ltd., a company that advises on regulatory strategy. She is the former Director General of the Advertising Standards Authority, which controls all non-broadcast advertising in the UK. She is a member of the MAFF's Food Advisory Committee and the Review Body on Doctor's and Dentists Remuneration.
• Ann Shaw is a Director of Shaws Farms, an investment company, and Elmfield Farms Ltd., a farming company. She is the former Chair of the Institute of Directors Northern Ireland and is currently a member of the Committee of the Institute of Directors. She is a Trustee and Vice Chair of Lloyds TSB Northern Ireland. She is a member of the Training and Employment Agency's Skills Task Force.
• Dr. Ian Peters is the Deputy Director General of the British Chamber of Commerce. He also sits on Gordon Brown's EMU Advisory Group.
• Penelope Rowlatt is an economist and a Director of Europe Economics. She has been involved in the "restructuring" of the electricity industry. Europe Economics is a consultancy with clients that have included Government and major private sector companies. She is also a Director of Medicine Today.
• Sue Slipman Director for Social Responsibility, Camelot Group.

Former members of the Task Force

Former members of the Better Regulation Task Force include:

• Stephen Alambritis, the Head of Press and Parliamentary Affairs for the Federation of Small Businesses. He is a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Work-Life Balance and is a prospective parliamentary candidate for the Labour Party. Soon after the New Deal started, the Brighton Federation of Small Businesses distributed a letter praising the virtues of the scheme as a supply of free labour for bosses. The letter was headed 'Have you ever thought how profitable your business would be if you didn't have to pay out any wages?' Left in September 2000.
• Anthony Tinsley is a Senior Member of the Unilever Plc Tax Executive and a director of Unilever UK Holdings Ltd. He is the former Chair of the London Chamber of Commerce Tax Committee and is a member of the Tax Committees of both the CBI and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The ICC is a highly influential organisation which represents 'the international voice of business' and is actively involved in countering the anti-globalisation movement. Its President is Helmut Maucher, the Chairman of Nestlé. Left in June 2000.
• Hugh Field is a Director of BCB International, suppliers of medical and food products, camping equipment and military survival equipment. He is Chair of the Cardiff Local Business Partnership. Left in September 1999.
• Sir Simon Gourlay is a Farmer. He is the former President of the NFU from 1986-91. He is the Vice-Chair of Herefordshire Health Authority and a Partner in Maesbrook Nursing Home. Left in September 1999.
• Robert Purry is Head of Tax at Grant Thornton, an auditing, tax planning and business advisory company. Left in February 1999.
• Peter Salsbury is Ex-Chief Executive at Marks and Spencer Plc, where his annual salary was £560,000 in 2000. He resigned in September 2000. He is also a Non-Executive Director of TR Property Investment Trust Plc. Left in September 1999.
• Pamela Meadows Independent Economist. Former Director of the right-wing Policy Studies Institute. Left in September 2000.