B1.1.2 Legislative Instruments
Legislative instruments are an essential part of policy. Unfortunately, simply knowing that a course of action is the right thing to do, is not enough encouragement for most organisations. In fact, many organisations do not even know what the right thing to do is in many cases.
Legislation is the way in which the Government instructs people and organisations to act in a certain way, complete certain actions or to prohibit certain actions. Legislation is enforced, in that those who do not comply are punished (through fines or imprisonment).
The legislative system is discussed in more detail in the later part of this Module.
The UK Government held a “Red Tape Challenge in 2011” where it asked for views on the current health, safety and environmental legislative controls. The results are available in the following report. This make quite interesting reading, as the Government have pledged to simplify various environmental legislative requirements:
Red Tape Challenge – Environment