In April 2011, the Coalition government launched a crowdsourcing initiative, the ‘Red Tape Challenge’, which invited the public to identify regulations to be improved or removed. The initiative was the brainchild of No. 10 Advisor Steve Hilton and was driven by Cabinet Officer minister Oliver Letwin MP.
Other policies were already in place to stem the flow of regulation, this initiative aimed to reduce the UK’s regulatory stock (over 21,000 statutory regulations were in force at the time).
It attracted considerable support from within the Conservative party and the highest levels of the Civil Service, as a practical means of tackling ‘excessive’ regulations which were seen as an impediment to economic activity (in particular health & safety and employment legislation).
In this paper we explore the outcomes and effectiveness of the Red Tape Challenge.
In April 2011, the Coalition government launched a crowdsourcing initiative, the ‘Red Tape Challenge’, which invited the public to identify regulations to be improved or removed. The initiative was the brainchild of No. 10 Advisor Steve Hilton and was driven by Cabinet Officer minister Oliver Letwin MP.
Other policies were already in place to stem the flow of regulation, this initiative aimed to reduce the UK’s regulatory stock (over 21,000 statutory regulations were in force at the time).
It attracted considerable support from within the Conservative party and the highest levels of the Civil Service, as a practical means of tackling ‘excessive’ regulations which were seen as an impediment to economic activity (in particular health & safety and employment legislation).
In this paper we explore the outcomes and effectiveness of the Red Tape Challenge.