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 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. [1]

Membership

• 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.