Impact assessments

An impact assessment is both: 

• A continuous process to help think through the reasons for intervention, to weigh up various options for achieving an objective and to understand the consequences of a proposed intervention; and 
• A tool to be used to help develop policy by assessing and presenting the likely costs and benefits and the associated risks of a proposal that might have an impact on the public, private or third sector, the environment and wider society over the long term. 

We are committed to consistency and transparency in our decision-making and, as a matter of good practice, we adopt the government's impact assessment approach, where appropriate to do so. The government's guidance was produced by the Better Regulation Executive. We also follow the principles in the HMT Green Book and Department for Transport's Transport Analysis Guidance (WebTAG).