Caroline Wagstaff, CEO of the London Market Group (LMG), has lent her support to calls from the Regulatory Reform Group (RRG) that argue for greater Parliamentary accountability of the UK’s regulators.
The RRG, consisting of Conservative MPs and Peers, has released a new report making the case for greater accountability mechanisms to correct what it sees as the “democratic deficit” left by Brexit.
Specifically, RRG members believe a lack of democratic oversight of regulators is holding back UK productivity and economic growth, and recommend the formation of a new cross-Parliamentary committee to oversee the performance of regulators.
“Unaccountable regulators are directly hindering the UK’s growth prospects,” said Chair of the RRG, Bim Afolami MP.
“Regulators have the potential to be key drivers of the Government’s long-term ambitions for the UK, not to mention enablers of economic growth, but without adequate oversight from Parliament, this potential has been lost,” he added. “This report is not proposing that regulatory reform holds all the answers to unlocking growth in the UK, but it is certainly a start.”
The goals outlined in the RRG’s report have received endorsement from LMG CEO Caroline Wagstaff, who notes that the Group has long-advocated for increased regulatory oversight within its market.
“We are delighted to be supporting the efforts of the Regulatory Reform Group,” Wagstaff said in response to the report. “We have been advocating strongly and consistently for greater accountability of regulators through our ongoing work on the Financial Services and Markets Bill.”
“We believe that the Treasury should be setting out specific metrics to hold them accountable, that the regulators should be reporting consistently and that Parliament should be marking their homework,” she continued.
“All of this feeds into the wider non-sectoral campaign being run by the parliamentary Regulatory Reform Group, and the report’s inclusion of a case study on the UK ILS market highlights what happens when rules and behaviours are not in sync.”
The RRG says its report aims to create a “new blueprint for regulatory oversight” which deals with the immediate issues faced by consumers as well as long-term aims for the UK such as boosting prosperity and tacking challenges such as international competitiveness.
The report also includes the input of a cross-sectoral Business Advisory Council, chaired by Tracy Blackwell, CEO of Pension Insurance Corporation plc, as well as interviews with major trade bodies and regulators themselves. “We need to be smarter about how our regulatory regime can best benefit the economy, communities, households, and individuals across the country,” commented Blackwell.
One of the report’s primary recommendations is a new committee of both Houses of Parliament, dedicated to standing scrutiny of the UK’s regulators.
Other recommendations include establishing a clear definition of a regulator, a dedicated ‘Office for Regulation’ in the Cabinet Office, and a new ‘accountability framework’ to establish a standardised set of metrics to measure the performance of the UK’s major economic regulators.
