Regulation is key on post-Brexit agenda

The Government launched its ‘Benefits of Brexit’ policy paper on 31 January 2022 – detailing potential advantages of leaving the EU, with particular focus on regulation and economic opportunities.

The paper points to specific sectors where the UK can be a world-leader in the coming decades such as financial services, digital and data, and life sciences and where the UK can be the ‘rule-setter’ in regulation.

Innovation, competitiveness, and investment are at the heart of how the UK Government views regulation going forward. Among the policies announced, the Government will support regulatory sandboxes to encourage regulation, use subsidies to achieve policy goals, and give the MHRA more powers to support getting high-quality products to market quicker. Much of the content is principle-based and lacks specifics on how the policy ideas would be implemented in practice. More information is expected from government in the coming months.

The CBI is calling for the creation of an Office for Future Regulation

The CBI welcomes the emphasis on innovation in regulation policy to make the UK a more attractive place to do business. It is not a case of a bonfire of rights or divergence for the sake of it but instead in using it to unleash growth in future focussed sectors. Following a lack of a clear direction from Government on regulation for years, the CBI’s Director General Tony Danker called for the creation of a new Office for Future Regulation in his recent speech on growth, so that it gets the right level of attention from government, and for business to be engaged throughout the process of policy-making.

Get involved on the CBI’s work on regulation policy

The CBI is working with members to understand what regulatory opportunities they can see in their industries and to get reaction from this week’s policy paper. This comes at a time when the CBI is conducting a review of its regulation policy.

Get involved here.