Revolutionising Regulation: The UK’s New Innovation Office Takes Centre Stage

Commitments to boost investment and innovation in the UK were central to the Labour party’s manifesto, as we wrote about in our previous blog.

Now, the Labour party looks to deliver on some of these promises, with this week’s investment summit attracting £6.3 billion in UK data centre investment, commitments from the Prime Minister to reduce regulatory red tape to foster economic growth, and the establishment of the “Regulatory Innovation Office” (“RIO”). 

According to a government press release, the objective of the RIO is to “reduce the burden of red tape and speed up access to new technologies that improve our daily lives”, which it aims to achieve by working with regulators and law makers to ensure quicker approvals, harmonising how regulators work together, supporting key affected industries, and advising on regulatory reforms and barriers to entry. Indeed, to increase innovation, the government states the RIO will “bring regulators together” and “work to remove obstacles and outdated regulations to the benefit of businesses and the public”. 

The RIO aims to target the use and application of fast-growing and new technologies, such as AI and drones, in the sectors of engineering biology, space, healthcare delivery, and autonomous technologies. For example, in relation to the use of AI in the healthcare system, the RIO plans to “support the healthcare sector to deploy AI innovations safely, improving NHS efficiency and patients’ health outcome.” 

We have already seen some initiatives aimed at co-ordinating certain regulators – for example, the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum comprises four key digital regulators (the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Financial Conduct Authority, the Office of Communications and the Competition and Markets Authority). However, commentators and business executives are welcoming this new regulatory office, which should also be able to support the sectors and technologies that do not fall neatly into one regulatory basket, while removing regulatory obstacles which could previously have stifled potential innovators from pursuing new and exciting technologies.

The hope from the government is that increasing regulatory co-ordination and decreasing regulatory burdens will be a big win for companies and the UK economy alike, creating billions of pounds in additional investment and opportunity in the UK. 

The RIO is currently seeking a chair to head its operations and we anticipate that once that chair is found, further detail on how the RIO will work with regulators and industry, and what it will do to achieve its goals, will become known.