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Business Secretary outlines commitment to ensuring
regulators are active, forward-thinking and ready to ensure UK
is at the forefront of future industries
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Move reflects government drive to transform regulation
to support innovators to bring new ideas to market
Business Secretary has outlined his commitment to
building on the UK’s exceptional reputation for regulation by
ensuring UK regulators are ready for the industries of the
future, at the first Ministerial Working Group on Future
Regulation.
The Group, which convened for the first time yesterday, is a key
commitment in the UK’s modern Industrial Strategy and is
responsible for ensuring the government can shape the right
regulatory environment to put the UK at the forefront of future
industries, from driverless cars to artificial intelligence. It
will also take forward recommendations by the Prime Minister’s
Council for Science and Technology on how to make the UK
regulations more favourable to innovation.
The Council’s recommendations have been published, together with
the government’s response. These
include establishment of a new horizon-scanning function to
ensure that regulation keeps pace with emerging technologies and
better access to regulatory advice and support for innovators.
Business Secretary said:
We have a world-beating regulatory environment in the UK which
has set standards that have been exported around the world. But
we can’t move forward by standing still and we must prepare for
the technologies and industries of the future.
I am grateful to the work done by the Council and for their
recommendations on how we can put the UK at the forefront of
these industries. Through the Working Group on Future
Regulation we are going to build on our exceptional
foundations, ensuring our regulations keep pace with the
technological advances that will reshape our economy.
By being the ‘prime mover’ in reforming regulation to support
technological innovation, the government will be able to grow
domestic industries and attract investment from the rest of the
world.
The new group reflects the government’s drive to transform
regulation to support innovators to bring new ideas to market. In
early October the government announced that it would invest in
£10 million in 15 projects through the Regulators’ Pioneer Fund.
Projects will help regulators keep pace with technological
advances of the future from virtual lawyers to flying cars.
Members of the Ministerial Working Group on Future Regulation
are:
- Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial
Strategy – Rt Hon MP (Chair)
- Secretary of State for Health and Social Care – Rt Hon
MP
- Secretary of State for Transport – Rt Hon MP
- Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport – Rt
Hon MP
- Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth – Rt Hon
MP
- Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and
Innovation – MP
- Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury – MP
- Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Better
Regulation) – Rt Hon
- Government Chief Scientific Advisor – Dr FRS, FMedSci, FRCP
- Chair of the Regulatory Policy Committee – Anthony Browne
- BEIS Director General for Market Frameworks – Jaee Samant
- BEIS Director for Better Regulation – Carl Creswell
This group, which will meet on a quarterly basis, will be
responsible for:
- Strengthening the Government’s horizon scanning for emerging
regulatory challenges arising from innovative products, services
and business models
- Commissioning departments to develop regulatory reform
proposals to enable innovative products, services and business
models
- Promoting action by regulators to develop innovation-enabling
regulatory approaches
- Seeking to resolve complex regulatory issues that cross
sectoral, departmental or regulator boundaries; and
- Driving the exchange of best practice in innovation-enabling
approaches across Whitehall
