Lord Willetts, King's Visiting Professor and Chair of the Regulatory Innovation Office, discussed his new report with the Policy Institute
Minister for the Digital Economy Baroness Liz Lloyd joined Lord David Willetts at King's this week for a roundtable to launch Willetts' new report on how regulatory reform can help promote economic growth in the UK.
Published by the Policy Institute at King's, Regulation and innovation: promoting growth through regulatory reform sets out how a new approach to regulation can unlock innovation and drive the growth Britain needs, building on the government's Regulatory Action Plan, launched in March 2025.
Baroness Lloyd delivered remarks on the report, the first personal essay on regulation by Lord Willetts since he took up his role as Chair of the government's Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO) last year.
Drawing on his experience at the RIO, the report identifies several critical challenges that must be addressed, including regulatory fragmentation, excessive risk aversion, slow approval processes and outdated legislation.
The paper also highlights a number of opportunities to enhance the UK's competitive position. These include improving coordination between regulators, using AI to make regulation more accessible, creating smoother pathways from lab to market, and learning from international best practice.
Lord Willetts, a Visiting Professor at the Policy Institute, said that although "real progress" has been made in tackling regulatory barriers to innovation and emerging technologies, "we can do far more".
"With strong support from ministers, we can do even more to promote the wider benefits of new technologies and boost growth," he said.
The report launch was attended by senior figures from business, academia and government, and was chaired by the Policy Institute's Director, Professor Bobby Duffy.
