About the workshop
This workshop concentrates on the regulation of public safety and consumer protection. The key objectives are to:
• Provide an overview of effective government regulation, with an emphasis on lessons learnt, good practice and developing a better regulation agenda
• Explore the strengths and weaknesses of public safety and consumer protection legislation, inspection and enforcement
• Explore the role of post-implementation reviews, for example on the effectiveness in practice of regulatory activity
• Examine regulatory alignment and divergence within countries and across borders
• Consider the design of incentives for minimising the risks of corruption in the inspection and enforcement of regulations
• Explore with tutors and practitioners current UK and international views and experience of regulatory best practice, including the scope for developing ‘model manuals’ for regulators.
What the workshop will cover
The workshop has two main components:
• You will be briefed about regulatory regimes, in the UK and elsewhere. We will explore the changes which the UK has made in order to protect consumers and the environment more effectively
• You will meet practitioners in government, regulatory bodies and industry to examine and discuss latest approaches and trends.
How participants will benefit
The workshop will:
• Provide you with a broad overview of regulatory options and best practice
• Examine the better regulation agenda and risk-based approaches
• Develop a critical and exploratory dialogue on key regulatory options
• Introduce you to key practitioners in regulatory offices, regulatory industries, government departments and consumer protection organisations
• Familiarise you with the UK framework within which regulators operate, for example on health and safety at work, food safety and consumer protection
• Examine the UK experience of harnessing the private sector to improve public services while safeguarding consumers’ interests and promoting agreed social and environmental objectives.