By David Bell Reproduced by permission of the Public Management and Policy Association. When the study by the Office of Public Services Reform discovered that the cost of 13 inspectorates had doubled in five years it was an easy decision to reach that reform was essential. The author describes the issues that must be addressed if reform is to be delivered and he describes how Ofsted is responding to the challenge.

The Cabinet Office has launched an innovative project to reduce the amount of paperwork and administration costs that government regulations impose on businesses and charities. This cross-government drive was recommended by the review, led by Philip Hampton the Chairman of Sainsbury plc, which was given the remit to identify how regulatory services bureaucracy can be cut without affecting the standard of protection. Another recommendation from the Hampton Review to move regulation, including trading standards and environmental health, from town halls to Whitehall with the establishment of a central, national agency, is not being pursued.The aim of the project is to measure the cost of regulation and then to set targets for reducing the burden. Costs will be measured by the Standard Cost Model, which was first used by the Dutch government. The measurement exercise outcome will be a baseline cost of the administrative burden that is placed on UK businesses, charities and voluntary organisations by regulation. The exercise will involve detailed measurement of the administrative burden of regulation through extensive interviews with individual businesses, charities and voluntary organisations between November and December this year. The data will be compiled to deliver a baseline that can be used as the basis to set targets for reducing the regulation burden.

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Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, Chairman of the Local Government Association, has called for a joint plan of action to deliver the deal on devolution to local government. He said that: “At its heart should be a bold and ambitious deregulation and decentralisation of power from central government – to bring real freedom and autonomy to local councils, to release the energy, innovation and motivation of those at the front line of delivery. This will also allow local people and local communities greater choice and involvement in the services they receive.”Joining up government locally is already delivering results. Across the country, councils are bringing together the local Chief Constables, Chief Fire Officers, Chairmen of Health Authorities, heads of Learning and Skills Councils, Education and Social Care, University Vice Chancellors and the Heads of the Department of Work and Pensions into small Boards to join the totality of public services in their areas and co-ordinate, focus and drive public service innovation, co-ordination and improvement. Joining up is proving more effective at the local level than it is at the centre.

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