Following the report in 2003 of the Better Regulation Review Group, the Higher Education Regulation Review Group (HERRG) was set up in 2004, to advise the Government on the better regulation of higher education in England and to promote the better regulation of the sector more generally.
The HERRG was chaired initially by Dame Patricia Hodgson, and then by Steve Bundred. It was wound up in 2008, and its work is now being developed by the Higher Education Better Regulation Group.
One of the main instruments developed by the HERRG for the better regulation of higher education has been the Higher Education Concordat on quality assurance arrangements and data collection. The Concordat adopts a wide definition of “regulation” including data collection and quality assurance as well as the more traditional forms of regulation, and uses the 5 Principles of Good Regulation (proportionality, consistency, transparency, targeting and accountability) as part of its approach to its work.