Department for Children, Schools and Families

Reducing Bureaucracy

Better Regulation and Reducing Unnecessary Bureaucracy

The Department for Children, Schools and Families is taking action to reduce the level of unnecessary bureaucracy imposed on the public, private, and third sectors. Although we have already achieved many successes in this area, nevertheless, we also believe that further progress can and should be made, and good, practical, suggestions for improvement can be proposed by those directly affected by our policies.

If you feel that there is a particular piece of bureaucracy that you consider is unnecessary, and you have a practical suggestion for improvement, then we would definitely like to hear from you. The Better Regulation Executive (part of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) has a simplification website, and this can be accessed here: http://www.betterregulation.gov.uk/

The Department will respond within 90 working days of you registering your proposal, and we will set out, and justify, the course of action that we propose to take, with a timetable for delivery, or, an explanation as to why it is not possible to take your proposal forward. You may be contacted earlier in the process, while your proposal is being considered, in addition to receiving a formal response.

If your proposal is taken forward, you can expect to be kept informed of further progress. But do please bear in mind that the timescale for actual change will vary depending on the measure in question and the nature of the legislative (or other) amendment required to deliver it. For example, it takes less time to rewrite guidance than to get legislation through Parliament, or, to get changes made at European level.

The Department’s Gatekeeping Group

The Implementation Review Unit (IRU) is an independent ‘gatekeeping’ group of frontline practitioners that reviews existing and new policy initiatives, with the aim of assessing and reducing any unnecessary bureaucracy imposed on schools. The Implementation Review Unit holds the Department, and its agencies, accountable for ensuring that policies are practicable, and have maximum impact on the achievements and well-being of children.

The Department also has links to other gatekeeping groups through the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills. These include the Higher Education Regulation Review Group (for higher education generally), and the Better Regulation Group (for further education and skills). These groups share the Implementation Reviews Unit’s objectives, including a common theme of better data collection.

Simplification Plan

The first Simplification Plan was written by the former DfES in 2006 and subsequent plans will be published annually. This year as a result of the Machinery of Government changes, measures from the 2006 plan that relate to children, schools and families will be now be taken forward by the Department for Children, Schools and Families. The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills will take responsibility for those measures from the 2006 plan that relate to further and higher education and publish their own plan from 2007 onwards.

Contacts

For more information on the work we are doing, please contact the Department’s Better Regulation Unit:

Sarah Battarbee: sarah.battarbee@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk

Jim Constantinou: jim.constantinou@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk

Juremi Lewis: juremi.lewis@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk


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