UK to seize Brexit opportunities and unleash innovation by overhauling approach to red tape: 22 July 2021

22 Jul 2021 10:14 AM

Bold proposals to reform and modernise the way regulation and rules are set in the UK to slash Brexit red tape have been unveiled by Ministers today.

For the first time in a generation, the UK has the freedom to make and implement rules that put British businesses and consumers first – freeing businesses from overbearing bureaucracy and reducing costs for consumers, whilst boosting competition, innovation and growth across the economy.

The consultation launched today marks an initial response to the report by the independent Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform (TIGRR) commissioned by the Prime Minister, exploring a number of recommendations on the UK’s regulatory framework.

This includes looking at ways to dispense with unnecessary red tape that no longer meets the UK’s needs, including those the UK inherited when it was a former member of the EU – for example reintroducing a way to ‘offset’ new regulations, like the One-In-Two-Out method whereby to introduce a new regulation, unnecessary regulations would need to be removed.

To enable innovative companies to trial ground-breaking ideas safely, the Government could also look to make more use and impact of ‘sandboxes’, where certain regulations are lifted to test new products in a real-world setting, under the regulator’s supervision – this was another reform recommended by TIGRR.

Another TIGRR proposal to move away from the EU’s excessive use of the ‘precautionary principle’ inherited in the UK and adopt a ‘proportionality principle’ in our regulatory framework has been set out. This would mean regulation is reset to focus on outcomes, not process, and be proportionate to the issues and impacts on businesses and people.

Proposals set out today also look at regulation across its lifetime, including:

Lord David Frost, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office, said:

Now is the time to think boldly about how we regulate, as we seize our new opportunities as an independent nation.

For the first time in a generation, we are free to implement rules that put the UK first. This is the next step in driving forward ambitious reform, following the work of the Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform.

Our job is to help people and businesses thrive across the UK. That was what taking back control was about. Reforming the way we regulate will be a big part of delivering that for people.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said:

Taking back control means setting regulation in a way that works best for British businesses, workers and our wider economy.

As an independent trading nation once more, we will use our newfound freedoms to promote competition, unleash innovation and enable the development of new technologies – without imposing unwieldy burdens on business.

By taking a more nimble approach, suited to our national interest, we can maintain our valued high standards and cement the UK’s status as an attractive place to start and grow business.

The consultation sets out five principles that will underpin the Government’s approach to regulation to ensure it benefits the British people: