Good practice in rulemaking: guidance for regulators

This guidance is to support regulators in implementing and using their new powers (once reformed) which will allow them to make and amend their own operational rules.  

This guidance currently applies to the rulemaking process set out in the Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates Order (AAPA Order). 

This Order is expected to act as the template for reform across the healthcare professional regulators. It does not apply to any regulator until and unless their powers are reformed to bring them into line with those set out in the AAPA Order. 

The Government is currently in the process of reforming the legislation for nine out of the healthcare professional regulators we oversee, giving them a range of new powers and allowing them to operate in a very different way. This will include changes to how regulators make and amend rules outlining their operational processes.  

This guidance is intended for healthcare professional regulators to use when developing their own rulemaking guidance and processes. For most regulators, this will only be applicable once their legislation has been updated in line with the government’s programme of regulatory reform.  

This guidance is not mandatory, and regulators can take a different approach in shaping their approach and guidance on rulemaking. However, we will have regard to our guidance when we assess how regulators are using their new powers under our review of their performance. There is further information in the guidance about how we will use this guidance in relation to our performance review.