Senior Conservative politicians and figures have called for greater parliamentary accountability for the UK’s regulators, including those overseeing the financial industry.
The Regulatory Reform Group (RRG), comprising Tory MPs and peers, says regulatory reform is urgently needed to tackle a “democratic deficit” left by Brexit, which it believes is limiting productivity and economic growth.
Its report, The Purpose of Regulation, cites a lack of strategic direction among regulators, strained relationships between industry and watchdogs, and difficulties between regulators themselves, as well as incomplete lines of accountability around objectives and performance measurement.
The RRG calls for a new cross-parliamentary committee to scrutinise regulators’ performance. This would take “a holistic view” of the regulatory environment performance on goals such as consumer protection, growth and competitiveness, and environmental, social and governance, as well as market stability and risk.
RRG members backing the report include former Treasury economic secretary Richard Fuller, Lord Tyrie, a former Treasury Select Committee chair who has also chaired the Competition and Markets Authority, and former Lord Chancellor Sir Robert Buckland.
