Protecting All We Care About: The State of UK Regulatory Enforcement

Executive Summary

The UK’s regulatory system is struggling. As a result, workers, consumers and local communities are being left to pick up the pieces when things go wrong.

Although the issues we face range across work, food, housing and the environment (see table), the causes follow a similar pattern:

• Deep funding and staffing cuts to regulatory agencies that create massive backlogs and effectively hobble their ability to maintain reasonable levels of vigilance;
• Far too many investigations resulting in only warnings rather than serious financial penalties or loss of privileges such as public contracting rights, such that deterrence is too weak;
• Contradictory missions, where regulatory agencies are expected to be both a watchdog and a promoter of an industry;
• Over-reliance on individual workers, consumers and citizens initiate complaints — rather than regulators — to hold those who cause harm accountable;
• Agency fragmentation, which creates enforcement gaps, undermines transparency, discourages public engagement, and allows
  recidivist companies to escape sanctions.

All of these recurring, systemic problems can be solved. We recommend:

• Close the enforcement gap by restoring regulatory budgets: Between 2009-2019, key regulators suffered funding reductions of up to 72%. Only with reinvestment can regulators reverse the haemorrhaging of staff specialist skills and expertise;
• Impose meaningful sanctions on rule-breakers: End weak and ineffective penalties that allow bad actors to treat sanctions for non-compliance as a cost of doing business. Fines for serious and repeat regulatory breaches need to be significantly increased. The worst offenders across all regulatory domains should be named and shamed;
• Make public and environmental protection the prime purpose of regulation: Replace ‘growth duty’ missions with a statutory
  obligation to prioritise public and environmental protection. Beef up the public’s power to take action when regulators fall short by giving the public and civil society a legal right to challenge regulatory inaction and enforce the rules themselves through collective lawsuits and ‘citizen suits.’

Foreword from Unchecked UK

This report is an examination of the state of the UK’s regulatory system. It sheds light on a growing crisis that threatens the very foundations of our society — the sensible, well-enforced rules that keep us safe, protect our environment, and allow businesses to thrive.

The UK has a proud history of using regulation to create the decent society we all want to live in. From tackling modern slavery to preventing sewage pollution, from ensuring the safety of the food we eat to holding landlords to account, these protections matter deeply to the British public.

However, the evidence presented in this report, drawn from a wide range of sources including the groundbreaking Violation Tracker UK database, paints a concerning picture. Severe budget cuts, jurisdictional fragmentation, and a lack of coordination between agencies are allowing rogue companies to undermine the protections that matter to all of us. Workers, consumers, and local communities are increasingly being left to pick up the pieces when things go wrong.

The findings from Violation Tracker UK, which documents over 100,000 cases of corporate wrongdoing since 2010, reveal the systemic nature of regulatory breaches across many sectors of the UK economy, from environmental violations by water companies to health and safety failures by major retailers. Importantly, the database puts the spotlight on the repeat offenders who break the rules with impunity —suggesting that current enforcement measures are not providing a sufficient deterrent and are now effectively priced into their operations. This needs to change.

Unchecked UK’s research has also highlighted the dangerous ‘enforcement gap’ that has emerged in the UK over the past decade. Between 2009 and 2019, the budgets of major regulators fell by a staggering 41% on average, and staff numbers dropped by over a third. The Violation Tracker findings suggest that this situation has only worsened as a consequence of the combined impacts of several factors: the backlogs created by the pandemic, Brexit (which has piled significant new responsibilities onto UK regulators), ongoing budget cuts, and the increasing complexity of the threats we face as a consequence of the rise of AI and other technologies.

As a result, regulatory agencies are understandably struggling to carry out even basic duties. Water quality sampling has been cut by a third. Food inspectors are checking fewer sites each year. Fire safety audits have plummeted.

What’s more concerning is that the data suggests these are not isolated cases, but part of a wider pattern of declining standards and protections. We need to reverse this trend.

As this report makes clear, failing to invest in enforcement is a false economy. Whether it’s tackling air pollution, clamping down on fly tipping or prosecuting minimum wage cheats, the benefits of holding offenders to account far outweigh the costs.

The British public understands this. Poll after poll shows they want to maintain and strengthen protections, not weaken them. They expect businesses to play fair and face consequences when they don’t. This is not red tape — it’s about creating a level playing field, defending our shared values, and ensuring no one is above the law.

As we look to the future, restoring the UK’s regulatory system must be an urgent priority. We need properly resourced, accountable agencies that put public and environmental protection first. We need to give regulators the tools to clamp down on businesses that profit from harm. Relatively small investments into putting the regulatory system back on track would deliver a huge impact to our environment, our international competitiveness, our health, and our general peace of mind.

These concerns are too important to become stuck in an ideological tug-of-war, pulled between those who understand that regulation is essential to delivering the kind of economy that puts people and the environment at its heart, and those who claim that it is a deterrent
to growth. It’s time to move past these outdated battles and build a new consensus. One that sees sensible, well-enforced protections as a foundation for a thriving, innovative economy and a good society – not a barrier to them.

The evidence and recommendations set out here, supported by the insights from Violation Tracker UK, provide a powerful case for change. We urge public officials, businesses, and civil society to act on these findings — and protect all that we care about in our country.

Carum Basra, Deputy Director of Engagement,
Unchecked UK

*While Unchecked UK has collaborated closely with Good Jobs First on this report and the accompanying conference, the report’s primary author is Good Jobs First, drawing significantly on their Violation Tracker UK data. Unchecked UK has contributed to and endorsed the report’s content, but is not the lead author.

Introduction from Good Jobs First, Creators of Violation Tracker UK

Since we launched Violation Tracker UK in the fall of 2021, we have been heartened by the database’s ever-widening circle of users and applications. The June 2024 conference with which we are issuing this report will enable people from all the different issues areas we have engaged to meet and share experiences and solutions.

That is vital because it is clear there are far-flung systemic problems with the UK’s regulatory regimen. Good work, safe food, and stable living standards are fundamental to a healthy society, and regulation is key to maintaining democratic oversight of them. However, without adequate enforcement, rules alone cannot ensure a good quality of life. From widespread non-payment of the minimum wage to water pollution to a sharp rise in fraud, the UK regulatory system is failing to protect the public.

Our research at Good Jobs First using Violation Tracker UK data finds consistently that across offence types, sectors, and agencies, UK enforcement levels are low, with few prosecutions and small fines. Fragmentation in the regulatory system has led to enforcement gaps and overlaps, while more and more, sometimes contradictory, duties are given to existing agencies, causing heavy work loads.

Whilst workloads are increasing, funding is often not, with major cuts delivered after 2010 still harming oversight. This is particularly the case with local authorities where spending power is still 11% below 2009/2010 levels. When corporate misconduct is uncovered, it can be
years until companies face the consequences. Victims are often left out of the picture as regulators and individuals navigate the court system.

We welcome feedback on this report and on Violation Tracker UK itself. It has already grown enormously in its span of coverage thanks in no small part to suggestions we have received from frontline activists. And we also welcome news of how you may have used the data in reports, testimony, academic research, journalism, or policymaking.

Read the rest of the report here.