Regulatory institutions and design - Draft Report
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Transcript of Regulatory institutions and design - Draft Report
Regulatory institutions and practices inquirySummary presentation of draft report
March 2014
Terms of reference
• High-level map of regulatory regimes and regulators
• Guidance to inform the design of new regulators and regimes
• System-wide recommendations to improve the operation of regulatory regimes
• Specifically consider improvements to monitoring of regulator performance
2
Sources of information
• 53 submissions• 92 engagement meetings• A number of case studies• Surveys
– 1,526 NZ businesses– VUW/PSA survey of public servants– 23 regulator CEs
3
Key points
• It’s a big system
• It’s not broken but could be much better4
200+ DIFFERENT REGIMES
20 ACTS REPEALED IN 2013
NEW IN
2013
2,871ACTS CURRENTLY IN
FORCE
148
10,000+ WORKERS
Agencies with regulatory roles0.5 n Number of FTEs directly involved in regulatory implementation (approx) → 130 y
← Is the regulatory agency responsible for implementing regulations that overlap with those
implemented by other agencies?
Wa Atomic symbol → Cc
New Zealand Walking Access
Commission Regulator name →
New Zealand Commerce
CommissionEstablishment FTE count, whole organisation
4.9 180
3 y 7.8 y
0.45 y
Bs Ta Fl Broadcasting
Standards Authority
Takeovers PanelCommission for
Financial Literacy and Retirement
Income
5 7.8 15.5
8 n 18.3 n
14 y
Ga Pg
Pi Gas Industry
CompanyOffice of Film &
Literature Classification
Office of the Privacy Commissioner
16 22.7 30
36 y 60 y
Not available y 11 n 115 y 89.6 y 77 y 0.575 n
130 y
El Hd En Hi Fi Ep Ma Tr Cc Electricity Authority
Health and Disability
Commissioner
Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Authority
New Zealand Historic Places
TrustFinancial Markets
AuthorityEnvironmental
Protection AuthorityMaritime New
Zealand Ministry of TransportNew Zealand Commerce
Commission
66 68.54 98 107 134 146 148 155 180
129.9 y 28 y
122 n 283 y 280 n Not available y 122 y Not
available y
2,350 1 y
Ci Rb Qu La St Co In Ed Mb Civil Aviation
AuthorityReserve Bank of
New ZealandNew Zealand Qualifications
AuthorityLand Information
New ZealandStatistics New
ZealandDepartment of Conservation
Department of Internal Affairs Ministry of Education
Ministry of Business,
Innovation and Employment
214.4 258 447 475.8 1018 1861 2091 2660.5 3,255
Source: Table compiled using regulatory agency responses to a Productivity Commission information request.Notes:1. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment include immigration officials in its estimate of staff directly involved in regulatory implementation.
Key points
• It’s neither flexible nor responsive to changing circumstances
• Bespoke – too many unjustified inconsistencies • Set and forget mentality
– Need more evaluation & review to improve regimes– Not a lot is known about it (compared to taxing and
spending)• More attention to skills and implementation (and
impacts of complexity) • The system needs stronger “ownership”/leadership
4
Our approach
• A focus on design elements
• How these shape regulator capability and behaviour
• To achieve good regulatory outcomes
7
The system isn’t flexible enough
• We have a ‘set and forget’ mentality until something goes badly wrong
• Need to evaluate the effectiveness of regulation more systematically
• Need mechanisms to update regimes more effectively– For example, delegating greater rule-making
power to regulators
8
Best practice regulations?
• Two-thirds of CEs surveyed didn’t think so.
9
MORE THAN HALF OF PUBLIC SECTOR CHIEF EXECUTIVES* AGREE THAT AGENCIES
OFTEN HAVE TO WORK WITH
LEGISLATION THAT IS OUTDATED OR NOT FIT-FOR-PURPOSE
17% STRONGLY AGREE
26% NEITHER AGREE NOR DISAGREE
48% AGREE
DISAGREE
DO
N’T KN
OW
There are too many unjustifiedinconsistencies
• We have 200 bespoke regimes, with mixture of:– delegated legislation– organisational form and governance– Treaty clauses– obligations to consult
• A more principled approach will help:– make comparative performance evaluation easier– make it easier to set up new regimes– boost effectiveness of the overall system
10
We need to pay more attention toskills and how regulation is implemented
• Many businesses expressed low confidence in the skills and knowledge of regulatory staff
• There is a perception gap between chief executives and frontline staff about:– the size of skill gaps– the availability of training
• Need more focus on:– lifting skills– improving practice– sharing across the system
11
The checks on regulationneed to be stronger
• More delegated rule-making will require stronger checks, including greater Parliamentary oversight (Regulations Review Committee)
• The courts play an important role, especially through judicial review
• The benefits and costs of appeals needs to be carefully thought through
• Independence matters – political intervention inevitable, but needs to be channelled in a way that maintains integrity of the regime
12
Regulators’ performance could be better monitored and evaluated
• Expectations on monitoring departments are weak– Monitoring does not add value to regulators– Not meeting the needs of Ministers– Needs to be more active and valued– Respective role of monitoring departments and boards
confused• Treasury and SSC need to take a more active role
in setting expectations, and monitoring departmental regulators
13
The regulatory system as a wholeneeds a leader
• Role of minister responsible for regulation should be more clearly defined
• Need to set strategic objectives for the regulatory system as a whole
• Will require better and better-resourced support from central agencies
14
Next steps
• 13 March 2014: Public release of draft report• 8 May 2014: Final date for public submissions on
draft report• March-May 2014: Engagement with participants
and refinement of inquiry results• 30 June 2014: Final report delivered
15
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