Risk and Regulation Advisory Council

In 2008, it was announced that the Risk and Regulatory Advisory Council (RRAC) was set up in response to recommendations from (& as a replacement for) the Better Regulation Commission.

It is reported that the Risk and Regulatory Advisory Council is a 'body for common sense' which will run alongside a 'national campaign to emphasise the importance of self- reliance and a sense of adventure'. The aim?... 'It is intended to engage the public, and remind them that the Government is not responsible for every accident or piece of bad fortune that befalls its citizens. The team of seven will tackle policy areas where there are fears that the Government is in danger of overkill'. In other words the Council is there to lobby for less effective regulation of corporations and to protect corporate interests.

The RRAC will report to Vicky Pryce, Chief Economic Adviser and Director General of Economics at the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Joint Head of the Government Economic Service. The Government News Network reports that the RRAC's work 'will involve regulators, risk experts, Parliament, lobby groups, the media and the public; it will not solely focus on government but also work towards improving the quality of dialogue with the public on risk issues'.

The style of the new RRAC is reported to have moved 'away from the traditional recommendation-led reports of the BRC and its predecessors towards discursive, broadly participative workshop-based programmes, designed to explore how better, evidence-based policy-making conversations and processes could lead to improved outcomes – more effective policies, fewer unnecessary burdens and more pervasive protection of civil liberties'. The RRAC claims to be a 'neutral voice' in the policy formation process.

People

In January 2008, the following are reported as RRAC members...

• Rick Haythornthwaite - Chairman. Haythornthwaite's biography report that he is also a partner at Star Capital Partners Limited, is Non Executive Chairman of the Board for Mastercard International, Chair or the Corporate Advisory Group for the Tate Gallery, Chair of the Board of Trustees for Almeida Theatre and a Board Member for the British Council. He was periously Chairman of the Better Regulation Commission, Commercial Director of Premier Oil, Chief Executive of Blue Circle plc and Chief Executive of Invensys plc. Haythornthwaite began his career with BP.

• Lynne Berry - Berry's biography describes her as Chief Executive of volunteering organisation WRVS and a Trustee for the National Centre for Social Research. Berry was previously Chief Executive of the General Social Care Council and the Equal Opportunities Commission and Executive Director of the Charity Commission.

• Philip Cullum - Cullum's biography describes him as Acting Chief Executive at the National Consumer Council, a member of the corporate responsibility advisory group for the Institute of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales and a member of the national development committee for autism charity, Treehouse. Cullum was previously Executive Director at Opinion Leader Research, Associate Partner at Accenture, and Head of Policy for Which?. He is also reported to have 'been a Board Member of a leading housing association and Chair of a not–for–profit organisation providing mental health services'.

• Tim Heymann - Heymann's biography describes him as a Consultant Physician and Gastroenterologist at Kingston Hospital, a Reader in Health Management of the Tanaka Business School, Imperial College London, Chair of the IT Committee and Member of Clinical Services and Standards Committee with the British Society of Gastroenterology, Regional Medical Adviser for the National Association for Colitis and Crohn’s Disease, Examiner at the Royal College of Physicians of London, European Exchange Scheme Steering Group Member for the European Federation of Internal Medicine, Advisory Board Member of the Asian Neuro and Cardiac Centre Malaysia, healthcare–related training and consultancy for Medicine Today Limited and operating a private medical practice. Heymann has previously worked as a management consultant with McKinsey and Booz Allen. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and of the Higher Education Academy.

• Lord Jamie Lindsay - Lindsay's biobraphy reports that he is Chair of the UK Accreditation Service (UKAS), a Board member for British Polythene Industries plc (BPI), Vice Chairman of SAC Ltd, a Board Member for the Scottish Resources Group Ltd, Chair of Elmwood College and Vice-President for the RSPB. He was previously Under-Secretary of State for Scotland and House of Lords spokesperson on DEFRA issues.

• Donald Macrae - Macrae's biography describes him as Chair for the Policy Reform Group, Chair of Trustees for the Local Health Support Organisation and a Review Member for the Hampton Implementation Review of the Food Standards Agency. His previous invovlvements include serving as a Member for the Civil Service Corporate Functions Leaders Board (until December 2006) and a Leader of Defra’s Ministerial Challenge Panel on Regulation (until December 2006). He is also described as the Director General for Law and Regulation in the Department for Food and Rural Affairs and a leading figure in Whitehall for developing and embedding the Better Regulation agenda.

• Sarah Veale - Veale's biography reports that she is the Head of Equality and Employment Rights at the Trades Union Congress and a member of the ACAS Council, the National Employment Tribunals System Steering Board, Warwick University Industrial Relations Research Unit Advisory Committee, the Executive Committee of the Involvement and Participation Association and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Better Regulation Ministerial Challenge Panel.