Responding to the Regulatory Policy Committee’s report on the anti-strike legislation which found the government had not fully assessed the impact of the Bill, RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, said:
“This is a damning assessment of the government’s attempt to stifle the rights of workers. The independent committee is saying it is not fit for purpose and should essentially go ‘back to the drawing board’.
“The government is ploughing ahead with an ill thought through Bill that allows for nursing staff to be sacked for taking otherwise lawful strike action.
“Ministers would be better listening to the mounting opposition, drop the Bill entirely and work with unions to resolve these disputes.”
Ends
Notes to editors
Regulatory Policy Committee - impact assessment (IA) for the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill.
Summary of Committee findings
The Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC)) was tasked with providing an opinion on the Government’s impact assessment for the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill.
The committee found that the Government’s impact assessment ‘is not fit for purpose.’ The committee also found that the Government ‘did not follow its own policy for the timely submission of an Impact Assessment to the RPC for scrutiny’ and accused the Government of making ‘assumptions in the analysis which are not supported by evidence.’
What is the Regulatory Policy Committee?
The Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC) provides an independent view on better regulation and how to promote this across government, ensuring due consideration is given to limiting the unnecessary burden of regulation on businesses and civil society organisations; while supporting the development of appropriate, evidence-led regulation. The RPC is an independent body, sponsored by the Department for Business and Trade.
