Regulators budget 'to top £1bn'

27 top regulators earn more than the prime minister, report says.

Written by Rachael Singh

Accountancy Age, 07 Mar 2008

The combined budgets for the UK's regulators are set to hit £1bn this year, a new report claims.

The 27 high-ranking officials of the various regulatory bodies are also revealed to earn more than £187,000, the salary of the prime minister.

The TaxPayers' Alliance survey, commissioned by the Daily Telegraph, analysed the country's top 10 regulators, including Ofgem, Ofwat, the Financial Services Authority, the Food Standards Agency and Ofcom.

The report also raised concerns about 'revolving doors' between regulators and the companies they monitor, examples including a former regulator for electricity and gas market regulator Ofgem joining Centrica, the parent company of British Gas.

Michael Meacher, a former minister believes that 'regulators know that if they don't rough up the industry too much, they will get a plum job when they leave'.

Corin Taylor, the research director at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'Britain's quango state is getting out of control. The regulators are sucking more and more money from taxpayers, are often failing to do their job properly and are virtually unaccountable.'