Our findings demonstrate the importance of understanding what matters to business. The current measured target for the success of the Administrative Burdens Reduction Programme focuses exclusively on time and cost savings for business, and does not recognise potential broader benefits, such as improving businesses' confidence that they are complying with the requirements of regulation. The BRE should put in place mechanisms to ensure that new simplification initiatives address these broader issues:
d) The Government has announced that it will adopt new simplification targets for 2010-15. The BRE must take this opportunity to revise its set of indicators to incentivise departments to look beyond time and cost savings at how to improve the business experience of regulation. The indicators should take into account qualitative benefits from the Programme, such as reducing irritants and improving businesses' confidence that they are complying fully with regulations.
e) The BRE should ensure effective arrangements for holding departments to account against this broader set of indicators. The BRE should consider whether the new Regulatory Policy Committee has a role in testing whether new burden reduction initiatives are based on an understanding of key business concerns.