Growth duty and Small Business Appeals Champions

The Chancellor announced in the 2012 Autumn Statement several measures – now known as the Better Enforcement Programme – to improve the impact of regulatory enforcement on business. The duty for non-economic regulators to have regard to growth (the ‘growth duty’) is part of the Deregulation Bill which began its passage through Parliament in January 2013. The appointment of a Small Business Appeals Champion to each regulator is also before Parliament in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill introduced in June 2014. This consultation seeks views on the extension of the growth duty and the application of the Champions policy. The aim is to assure businesses that both will apply to all regulators exercising non-economic regulatory functions, unless there is an exceptional and compelling reason for them to be excluded.