Along with
Sense about Science, we have written to Prime Minister Keir Starmer about reports that the Government is considering abolishing the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC).
The RPC provides independent expert scrutiny of government impact assessments, helping to ensure that new regulations are informed by robust evidence, realistic assumptions and sound analysis. The Committee brings relevant expertise into policy development and tests whether government is adequately prepared for real-world impacts and public concerns.
In
the letter, signed by RSS President Professor Sir John Aston and Sense About Science Director Tracey Brown OBE, we urge the Prime Minister to ensure that any proposals affecting the RPC are published for public and parliamentary discussion before decisions are taken.
We also highlight the importance of the RPC in supporting Parliament’s ability to interrogate policy claims and in providing public assurance at a time of fragile trust in decision-making. These functions, we argue, sit most naturally within an independent non-departmental public body.
The letter raises particular concern about reported plans to replace the RPC’s work with an internal spot-check of impact assessments, and we call on the Prime Minister to confirm that the RPC will not be abolished without proper consultation.
Commenting on the issue, John Aston said, 'Government should have an efficient way to ensure that evidence is used properly in policy development -- this is a key function and it is important that developments are consulted on and properly tested.'
Tracy Brown said, 'At a time when our government is concerned about fragile public trust in how decisions are made, government should be walking towards transparency about evidence, not burying processes in the back of a department.'
Read the letter in full.