Regulatory Review Group minutes: November 2024

Attendees and apologies

• Professor Russel Griggs OBE, Chairman 
• Ewan MacDonald-Russell, Scottish Retail Consortium
• Fiona Richardson, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities 
• Susan Love, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants 
• Douglas White, Consumer Scotland
• Craig Brown, Society of Chief Officers of Environmental Health in Scotland (Substitute)
• Wendy McCutcheon, Scottish Government
• Hazel Burgess, Scottish Government
• Alex Kidd, Scottish Government (Secretariat) 
• ​​​​​​​Shivani Kirpal, Scottish Government (Secretariat) 

Apologies

• David MacKenzie, Trading Standards 
• Brian Lawrie, Society of Chief Officers of Environmental Health in Scotland
• James Fowlie, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities

Items and actions

Welcome, introductions and approval of minutes

Professor Russel Griggs OBE welcomed and thanked attendees for participating in this in-person Regulatory Review Group (RRG) meeting. Minutes from the previous meeting (29 October) were agreed. 

Approval of non-surgical cosmetics regulation letter

The Non-Surgical Cosmetics Regulation draft letter was considered by the RRG. Members suggested amendments to the letter before it is finalised and sent to Ms Minto, the Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health. 

Resource issue letter for all ministers

The RRG requested that a letter be sent to Ministers on the issue of resourcing. This is because new legislation and regulations can require significant resources from agencies/trading bodies to enforce them, however, these organisations can often lack the resources to do this successfully. Given the current budget pressures across the public sector, the RRG recognised that it might not be possible for the relevant organisations to receive additional financial resources. Therefore, the RRG suggested that a strategic review of current regulations/legislation takes place to ensure that there is a prioritisation of regulations/legislation. Members noted that additional resources/prioritisation would allow enforcement officers to focus on preventative work and be more proactive instead of just reactive.

The RRG suggested using case studies within the letter to demonstrate the need for trading bodies/agencies to be well-resourced and the benefits this can bring to not only the Government, but to businesses, consumers, and the economy alike. 

Progress monitoring report and 2025 workplan

The RRG agreed with the workplan but noted that it is flexible and may be modified in the future. The secretariat will update the RRG if the workplan changes.

The Monitoring report will be updated and sent prior to the next meeting. 

Next steps/any other business

British Standards Institute (BSI) and the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) will be attending the next RRG meeting to deliver a presentation on the use of Standards to help reach policy goals. 

The first meeting of 2025 will take place in person.