The "Enforcement Concordat" - which was formally signed on 5 March 1998 by Peter Kilfoyle (on behalf of central government) and by Councillor John Ryan (on behalf of the Local Government Association) - is a non-statutory code that describes for businesses and others what they can expect from enforcement officers. Central and local enforcement bodies commit themselves voluntarily to its principles and procedures.

The Health and Safety Commission has signed up to it.

The Background to the Concordat is as follows. The 1994 Deregulation and Contracting Out Act gave Ministers the powers to make certain changes to the enforcement procedures of enforcement bodies. Click to see section 5 and Schedule 1 of the Act

Following the 1997 election, the Government decided not to pursue the section 5 procedures in the 1994 Act but to adopt a new approach based on what it calls "co-operation between enforcers and those subject to enforcement".

Representatives of business, the voluntary sector, the enforcement community and consumer groups were closely involved in the development of the Enforcement Concordat.

The main principles of the Act are as follows:

 The Concordat also sets out procedures, including that:

According to the explanatory Memorandum from the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 which repealed section 5 of the 1994 Act, ,

"the Concordat has similar objectives to the now repealed enforcement provisions in section 5 of the 1994 Act but excludes those elements with which enforcers and businesses had difficulty. Enforcers signing up to the Concordat do so voluntarily, and are encouraged to monitor their progress against it."

To see the Concordat in full, click here. To download a PDF version, click here

It should be noted that Regulatry Reform Act 2001, has repealed section 5 of the 1994 Act and replaced it with a power for Ministers to set out a "code of good enforcement practice".

This is supposed to provide a safeguard "if problems are encountered with the voluntary approach" i.e if regulatory bodies not not abide by the Enforcement Concordat.

According to paras 31 and 32 of the Act's Explanatory Memorandum,

"The provisions are designed to provide assurance to business, the voluntary sector and others that the Government would be able to bring pressure to bear on enforcers that failed to apply best practice along the lines of the Concordat. A code made under this power would not be directly binding on enforcers. But businesses found by a court or tribunal to be in breach of a statutory requirement would be able to ask for the enforcer's failure to follow the code to be taken into account in determining the appropriate penalties, award of costs or other action.

The power is intended to counter unjustifiably inflexible or over-zealous enforcement. The provisions of the Act allow a code to be tailored to address the particular enforcement problem that had emerged. Before making an Order the Government must consult publicly on why and how the power should be used; any such consultation will follow the Government's Code of Practice on Written Consultation. This will explain the underlying circumstances, the enforcement bodies or activities that would be affected and the proposed content of the code. In accordance with the requirements of Good Policy Making: A Guide to Regulatory Impact Assessment published by the Cabinet Office, the consultation document will be accompanied by a thorough regulatory impact assessment, setting out the expected benefits to business as well as the impact on enforcers."

The Department of Trade and Industry have published a guide concerning the Enforcement Concordat. To download a copy, click here (PDF). Paras 5 , 6 and 10 state:

Implementing the Principles of Good Enforcement brings signifi cant benefi ts to enforcers, business and society as a whole. By facilitating compliance, enforcers can achieve higher compliance rates and reduce the number of costly prosecutions they have to undertake. This will allow them to target those who fl out the law or act irresponsibly. Business, in particular small to medium enterprises, will also fi nd it easier to get compliance right fi rst time, which will contribute to the safety of consumers and employees.

By encouraging enforcers and business to work together, without undermining enforcers’ duty to take formal action where necessary, the Concordat will create a level playing fi eld for competition between law-abiding businesses, which will help to enhance the economic vitality of local communities.

Helping business to comply with regulations and to meet their legal duties is therefore the goal of the Enforcement Concordat. However, it recognises that enforcers must be able to take immediate action when required (for example, to > ensure public health and safety or to protect the environment) and does not restrict enforcers’ ability to take fi rm action against those who fl out the law or act irresponsibly. This combination of assistance and quick, fi rm action when necessary will ensure the compliance services.to consider as they work to implement that is needed to protect the public and preserve fair competition.