A 130-page report on the role that regulatory reform might play in encouraging innovation and growth has recommended the reinstatement of the "one in, two out" duty on all government departments, including the HSE, under which the introduction of one set of Regulations must be accompanies by the removal of two others. The review, which was commissioned by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was chaired by a former leader of the Conservative Party and a leading advocate of Brexit, lain Duncan-Smith, who notes that he was asked to "look at ways to refresh the UK's approach to regulation now that we have left the EU, and to seek out opportunities to take advantage of our new-found regulatory freedom". The report makes over 100 -mainly vague - recommendations that would "make a material difference to the UK's economic growth, competitiveness and productivity, without reducing our commitment to gold standard protections for consumers, workers and the environment". The only explicit reference to health and safety at work is that the HSE should allow spraying of agrichemicals from drones, although some of the wider recommendations could have a significant impact, notably a proposed new "proportionality principle", which "would make regulation proportionate to both the scale of the risk being mitigated, and the capacity of the organisation being regulated".
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