Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
page title: Higher Education Gateway

Better Regulation

Higher Education Regulation Review Group (HERRG)

Steve Bundred, Chair of the HERRG presented his final Report on HERRG’s works to Baroness Delyth Morgan in summer 2008. To see the Report, click here.  The Government will publish a full response to the Report early in October.

The previous Annual Report went to DIUS Ministers in September 2007, reflecting the work of HERRG over the previous year and informed by the judgement and expert knowledge of Group members. Steve Bundred spoke to UUK Conference about HERRG’s work and his Report in September 2007; his speech can be seen at the bottom of the page.

Previous Annual Reports from HERRG were "Less regulated: more accountable, 2006", highlighting HERRG's achievements over its first two years and its first Annual Report, “Less regulated: more accountable, 2005” published in June 2005. 

In its first year the Group concentrated on working with the Higher Education Funding Council in England (HEFCE), who agreed to reduce the number of special funding streams, abolish multiple data demands during the year and monitor by exception. In its second year the Group's work focused on ensuring better coordination of quality assurance and data collection, brokering a better regulation concordat between funding, inspection and data collection bodies.

This work bore fruit, when HERRG launched the HE quality assurance and data collection Concordat in May 2006. The Concordat approach to securing savings without compromising quality standards should enable real progress to be made. Signatories to the Concordat commit to practical plans for working together on a less burdensome, more proportionate approach to quality assurance and data collection.

During its second two-year term, HERRG’s main focus has been on extending membership of the Concordat, encouraging signatories to take forward the commitments and specific plans they have made in signing up to the Concordat and using this process to embed the principles of better regulation across the sector and into its way of working and thinking.

HERRG’s second Concordat workshop took place on 23 June 2008, attended by Concordat Signatories, who had reported on their progress, Baroness Delyth Morgan, Minister at DIUS – who gave the keynote speech – and a significant number of professional bodies and HE sector representatives. Presentations were made by David Eastwood from HEFCE, Richard Shearman from Engineering Council UK and Dan Palmer of the British Standards Institute. The speeches and presentations and a summary of the discussions can all be seen below.  Concordat signatories provided updates of their progress toward its principles and new signatories set out how they intended to do so - these were all presented to the workshop and can also be viewed below.

The first workshop for HE Concordat signatories took place in May 2007. The keynote address from Bill Rammell, Minister of State, the introductory speech of Steve Bundred, HERRG Chair, and the presentations from Professor David Eastwood, HEFCE's Chief Executive, Peter Williams, QAA's Chief Executive, David Rhind, on behalf of UUK and Roger Hargreaves from the Better Regulation Executive and the report on the workshop can be viewed at the bottom of this page.

Steve Bundred was appointed as the new Chair of the HERRG from 1 August 2006 when the Group was reappointed for a further two years. He is the Chief Executive of the Audit Commission.

Any views or thoughts about the work of the HERRG or any suggestions for further work to reduce regulatory burdens should be sent to the HERRG secretariat or telephone 020 3300 8367

Useful links:

Better Regulation Executive (BRE) 

Risk & Regulation Advisory Council

Bureaucracy Reduction Group (BRG) - for further education

Implementation Review unit (IRU) – for schools      

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