Report

Parliament and regulators: How select committees can better hold regulators to account

This report from UK think tank The Institute for Government looks at how select committees can better hold regulators to account.

The UK’s new post-Brexit regulatory responsibilities and powers are not matched by adequate levels of parliamentary scrutiny – with almost a third of UK regulators not scrutinised by parliament since the 2019 general election.

This report says a focus on high-profile regulatory controversies – such as Ofgem’s role in the June 2021 collapse of 29 energy companies or the Environment Agency and Ofwat’s response to raw sewage spills – leads parliament to take an overly reactive approach to scrutiny.

As a result, a clear majority of regulators are almost never examined in a meaningful way by parliamentarians on vital issues such as their objectives, performance, and plans to mitigate future risks, with regulators often only called in front of parliament once a problem hits the front pages.