And yes, perhaps the rules should be followed regardless of what they are, but perhaps the government bureaucracy is such that it's just too hard to change rules.
I'm one to think that the UK is generally overregulated, excessively obsessed with safety, and the regulation ethos is inconsistently applied. The government and civil service are also incompetent to the extreme. There also isn't a culture of accountability in government.
I also think that regulation is often simply used as a revenue generation measure, which is not what it is supposed to be about.
Perhaps a good middle ground is for a company that is at threat of investigation is simply asked to leave the UK or pay a fine.
As someone who moved to the UK from the states recently, this has not been my experience at all. Any paperwork i've had to do with the government (immigration, NHS, drivers license, car tax) has been incredibly smooth. On top of that, the city council in the area I live seems great -- they put on a ton of events, and have lots of services that seem to get used well.
Most of the incompetence i've seen is from private companies (e.g. banks and real estate).