Whilst it is for the regulators themselves to evaluate regulations, sponsors and other stakeholders can help to prioritise. Regular industry contacts and competitiveness analysis will highlight those regulations of greatest concern to industry - either because they are not having the desired effect, there are concerns that they are not being enforced fairly, or because the compliance costs are significantly higher than the RIA suggested. However, regulators themselves encounter difficulties in evaluating the benefit of regulations, particularly when they receive little or no feedback from stakeholders on the quantitative assessments contained in published RIAs. DTI's overall aim is to increase competitiveness and scientific excellence in order to generate higher levels of sustainable growth and productivity in a modern economy. Whilst DTI is itself a major regulatory department, its interests lie not only in regulations for which it is directly responsible, but also in those introduced by other government departments and the EU which have an impact on the competitiveness of UK industry.
Risk assessment is an important tool in taking forward the competitiveness agenda.
Due to the wide range of activities within the Department a large number of different approaches are adopted to enable officials and Ministers to assess risks when contemplating the introduction of regulations. The results of all such risk analyses are ultimately brought together in a published Regulatory Impact Assessment.