local regulation presentation - tauranga
DESCRIPTION
Regulation touches almost every aspect of our lives and is vitally important in shaping the welfare of communities and the performance of the economy. The Productivity Commission presented the draft report, Towards Better Local Regulation, at the Rethinking Local Government Conference 2013 conference, Tauranga Chamber of Commerce, as part of the consultation process aimed to gather feedback and submissions on the report. The Commission also discussed data from the surveys of business and local government.TRANSCRIPT
Towards better local regulationPresentation – Rethinking Local Government
Judy Kavanagh, Principal Advisor, NZPC
1 February 2013
Local government is:
“While local government is a creature of statute, it operates as a largely autonomous provider of services, funded separately by property taxation and held accountable by voters. In the absence of well-defined constitutional or fiscal relationships, local and central government are most accurately regarded as two spheres of a system of collective decision-making, each with revenue-collection powers to fund the implementation of its particular policies and programmes…” – (Local Futures Research Project, 2006)
What is local government regulation?
• Regulatory workload driven by central government
• A wide range of regulatory functions (conferred by 30 pieces of primary legislation + secondary instruments)
• Not using the general bylaw-making powers to get into new areas of regulation
Local government regulatory functions
land and resource use
building standards
waste management
health hazards
other regulations
liquor and gambling activity
hazardous substance
storage
food and hygiene
Local government
Local government regulatory activity as a proportion of local government operating expenditure
(Regulatory areas that took up the most staff time and resources in the past 3 years: building & construction consents; planning, land use or water consents)
(Building consents/controls; Resource consents; Environmental health and licensing; & Animal control)
Local government is part of a broader regulatory system with many actors
Policy problem identified
Policy development process
Cabinet review process
Parliamentary process
Implementation monitoring
and enforcement
Judical interpretati
on and review
Post-implementation
review
The performance of the entire system determines how well regulations achieve their objectives
• Outcomes of regulation can be difficult to measure• Regulation will be more successful if:
– there is good design– councils have processes that assist them to allocate
resources where they are expected to generate the largest benefits
– there is the right capability
New purpose statement - Amendments to Local Government Act 2002
Replaces section 10(b) with:“to meet the current and future needs of communities for good-quality local infrastructure, local public services, and performance of regulatory functions in a way that is most cost-effective for households and businesses.”
The Commission’s survey of business
Performing regulatory functions – the potential of cooperation
• Cooperation across multiple local authorities can improve effectiveness
• 89% of councils coordinate/collaborate with other councils on regulatory functions
Forms of coordination, collaboration and transfer of knowledge
Deciding whether or not to cooperate
Early conclusions
• Gaps in the way regulations are made at the central government level, with a lack of implementation analysis
• Evidence to suggest that monitoring and enforcement of local regulations is an issue, and this is undermining the achievement of regulatory objectives
Further lines of inquiry
• When is variation in regulatory practice due to local circumstances, and when is it just ad hoc?
• What are the outcomes of regulations (including but not limited to, economic outcomes)?
• How are regulations being implemented?
Drivers of resource allocation to regulatory functions
Performance measures? Customer service?
Public service ethic?
Formal accountability?
Next steps
• Further engagement• Submissions• Areas for further investigation and analysis
Submissions and discussion forum: www.productivity.govt.nz Follow us on Twitter: @nzprocom
Submissions by 6 March 2013
Final report to government by 1 May 2013