82 – 4. ACCOUNTABILITY
AND TRANSPARENCY THE GOVERNANCE OF REGULATORS © OECD 2014 statement should outline relevant government policies, including the government’s current objectives
relevant to the regulator, and any expectations on how the regulator should conduct its operations. The statement needs to be consistent with the extent of independence of decision-making enshrined in the regulator’s enabling legislation. The regulator should formally respond by outlining how it proposes to meet the expectations of government in its corporate plan or similar document, such as a statement of intent. This document should include key performance indicators agreed with the relevant minister. Where competing priorities exist within a regulator’s
functions fora given objective, the corporate plan should outline a set of prioritising principles. The statement of expectations and corporate plan (including key outcomes, outputs, quality and timeliness performance indicators and targets agreed between the minister and the regulator) should be published on the regulator’s website. The performance of the regulator should be clearly aligned to the achievement of the government’s policy objectives.
Through this process, it becomes clear to all stakeholders what the regulator is thereto achieve and what it is accountable for. The statement of expectations and corporate plan should be reviewed by the minister and regulator when there is a significant change in government policies or change in the operational environment, or anew minister is appointed. Involving
relevant stakeholders, where appropriate, in defining the expectations will improve the extent of stakeholder buy-in of the regulatory activity and the outcome.
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