Impact assessment in the UK policy-making

Abstract

This paper documents the UK experience of IA (impact assessment) as a tool for moving towards better regulation. It builds upon the existing body of literature, which documents the UK's experience of IA. It charts the history of IA and assesses the current situation in the context of the use of IA, both by government departments and utility regulators (Ofgem and Ofwat). The objective of the paper is to study the strengths and weaknesses of IAs in the UK and identify areas for further improvement.