To what extent has self-regulation always been central to the workings Essay

To what extent has self-regulation always been central to the workings of health and safety legislation or is it mainly a post-Robens Committee development - Essay Example t of the private ends of its membership--or it may act governmentally in so far as public policy tasks are delegated to private actors or institutions. Both forms of activity may, indeed, be combined. The process of self-regulation may, moreover, be constrained governmentally in a number of ways--for instance by statutory rules; oversight by a governmental agency; systems in which ministers approve or draft rules; procedures for the public enforcement of self-regulatory rules; or mechanisms of participation or accountability. Self-regulation may appear to lack any state involvement but in reality it may constitute a response to threats by government that if nothing is done state action will follow.( S.Dawson, P.Willman, A.Clinton and M.Bamford, 1980). A second variable concerns the extent of the role played by self regulators. A full role may involve the promulgation of rules, the enforcement of these on the ground, and the monitoring of the whole regulatory process. Self-regulation, however, may be restricted to one of these functions where, for instance, rules are drafted by a self-regulatory organization but are enforced and monitored by a public agency. Self-regulation may merely operate as an element within a regulatory regime. (Bernardo Bortolotti, Gianluca Fiorentini, 1999). The degree of binding legal force that attaches to self-regulatory rules is a third variable to be noted. Self-regulation may operate in an informal, non-binding, voluntary manner or it may involve rules of full legal force that are enforceable in the courts. Finally, self-regulatory regimes may vary in their coverage of an industrial sector--they may apply to all those who participate in an activity (perhaps because screening or licensing of entry is applied) or they may cover only those who join an association voluntarily. (P.Bartrip, 1996). Following the failed laissez-faire experiment in the nineteenth century, a raft of regulation was created to protect the health and safety of