The Better Regulation Executive website is here. The government is still accepting applications to fill the post until 31 May 2005.

As we’ve reported in the past, there is a new breeze blowing throughout the UK regulatory sector… emphasising deregulation / light-touch regulation / cost-benefit analysis, etc. All of this is related to weak economic growth in the Eurozone. Regulation, in some respects, is viewed as a jobs and growth killer.

Because it is considered a new, modernised regulator that was created in this climate, Ofcom is most likely off the BRE’s radar screen. In fact, as we’ve said before–despite its shortcomings–Ofcom is probably considered a role model in this area. Other regulators have much to learn from Ofcom.

What does this mean for those campaigning for ‘public-service’ style obligations to be placed on (or retained for) UK media and communications service providers? Take a guess, folks.

One significant intellectual / structural model for the BRE was the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) which is the means by which the U.S. President attempts to control the vast American bureaucracy. OMB control was basically established in 1981. Whether or not OMB oversight of regulation has produced better policy outcomes has been the subject of an extensive debate.

Keep in mind a key fact that you will never see discussed very much: These efforts are not just about improving regulation from an efficiency perspective, they are also about controlling regulation from a political perspective.