LBRO calls for reduction in central government data requests

Local regulatory services in England and Wales – including licensing teams – are spending a combined £6m a year dealing with central government requests for data, research has revealed.

A study commissioned by the Local Better Regulation Office highlighted the burdens faced by local authority environmental health services, licensing and trading standards. Nearly half of the information requests are compulsory and they are increasing in length and complexity.

The LBRO, which calculated that the cost is equal to roughly half the salary of of an extra environmental health or trading standards officer per council, said it is looking at ways to reduce the burden. “This includes establishing how the data is used and how critical it is to future decision-making, cutting the number of forms and questions asked, removing duplicate requests, encouraging use of common terminology and developing common data sharing protocols,” it added.

The reporting burden falls particularly heavily on district councils as they deliver environmental health services, where the most requests are made.

LBRO chair Clive Grace said: “We cannot ignore the finding that inefficiency in the system is taking away resources from the front line. In the current economic climate, reducing waste and inefficiency within the public sector is more important than ever and our coalition of national and local regulators will be working closely to reduce these burdens.”