UK to become world’s fastest market to commercialise innovation with regulatory shake-up

UK to become world’s fastest market to commercialise innovation with regulatory shake-up
The Government has announced regulatory reforms to help businesses test and commercialise new products faster. Marking one year on from the launch of the Modern Industrial Strategy, the changes will boost investment, support innovation, and build on £380 billion in private investment.
- Businesses will be able to test products and bring them to market faster under reforms designed to remove barriers to innovation and growth.
- One year on from the launch of the Modern Industrial Strategy, new report shows Britain has attracted more than £380 billion in private investment and £38 billion of export announcements has been secured across key sectors, supporting over 155,000 jobs.
- Business Secretary Peter Kyle says Britain must be honest about what is holding innovative businesses back, with new reforms helping regulation keep pace with the technologies of the future and drive growth further.
Britain’s innovators will be able to test and bring new products to market more quickly thanks to transformational reforms to the UK’s regulatory system being announced today [Tuesday 7 July], helping unlock investment, create jobs and drive economic growth across the country.
As the Government marks one year since the launch of its Modern Industrial Strategy, Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle visited Ocean Infinity in Southampton yesterday to showcase how Britain can strengthen its position as a world leader in autonomous maritime technology.
The company designs, develops and operates cutting-edge autonomous vessels and underwater vehicles, along with the full technology stack required to run a large fleet and carry out a complete range of missions. Its capabilities support customers across defence, energy, shipping and deep-sea search and recovery.
However, much of the legislation governing the sector was written long before autonomous vessels existed, creating challenges to rapid testing and deployment. The new reforms will help ensure regulation can keep pace with innovation.
During the visit, the Business and Trade Secretary saw firsthand how new sandboxing powers could help firms such as Ocean Infinity test and deploy autonomous ships more quickly. By creating a clearer route to market, the reforms will help attract investment, support skilled jobs and strengthen the UK’s position in a rapidly growing global industry.
Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said:
A year ago we launched our Modern Industrial Strategy with a clear ambition to back the sectors and businesses that will drive Britain’s future prosperity.
But we must be honest about what is still holding us back. Too often, innovative businesses face a regulatory system that was not built for the digital age and cannot move at the pace modern innovation demands.
The Regulating for Growth Bill changes that, giving businesses a faster route from idea to market and ensuring every part of government — from investment and procurement to skills, infrastructure and regulation — is aligned to create the conditions for success, helping cutting-edge firms throughout the country to start, scale and grow.
Ocean Infinity CEO, Oliver Plunkett said:
We’ve been operating robots, fully uncrewed boats and lean-crewed ships at sea for a decade. We’ve overcome all of the technological challenges we’ve faced. But our success and our ability to continue to grow isn’t just a matter of technology. The role of people and regulation is just as important, probably more so. People have adapted and embraced the new jobs we’ve created, doing things that didn’t exist before. But regulation hasn’t moved as quickly.
The first step towards fully commercial, safe and long-term sustainable use of robotics in the maritime industry is a practical and fast way to test and prove these systems safely in the real world. From there, if we get this right, the UK can build on its incredible heritage as a maritime nation to be the global leader, not just in developing the technology, but in actually putting it to work.
These reforms are a fantastic step. They give companies like Ocean Infinity the confidence to continue to invest, scale and deliver real capability from the UK into the global market knowing there is the clear support and encouragement of government and the regulator.
One year on, the Modern Industrial Strategy is helping create the conditions for long-term growth by focusing government support on the sectors and places with the greatest potential to drive the UK’s future economy, contributing to the securing of more than £380 billion in private investment and £38 billion of export announcements has been secured across key sectors, supporting over 155,000 jobs.
Since launch, the Government has committed more than £9 billion to cutting-edge research and the commercialisation of new technologies, supporting frontier sectors such as AI and helping British firms develop the industries of the future. Alongside this, the Government has established a new £500 million Sovereign AI Fund and taken action to accelerate electricity grid connections and unlock priority investment projects worth £8.5 billion.
It has also committed over £1 billion to train people with the skills to work in key industries – from the launch of 29 Technical Excellence Colleges to serve 100,000 students, to a nationwide push to upskill 10 million workers in AI by 2030, through the AI Skills Boost.
CBI UK Competitiveness Director, Jordan Cummins, said:
A year into the Industrial Strategy, investment is starting to flow and businesses are looking ahead to the opportunities that sector deals and regulatory reform can provide. Central to this is our ability to compete internationally, particularly in scaling innovation, where regulation, policy and technology are so intertwined. Actions set out in the Regulation Action Plan, notably on sandboxing and regulatory efficiency, show how the UK is starting to think more radically about the tools we have to deploy when attracting and retaining globally mobile investment.
Dame Clare Barclay DBE, Chair of the Industrial Strategy Council said:
The UK is a nation of innovators. Harnessing our world-leading ideas and turning them into commercial successes requires an agile, pro-innovation regulatory regime. Today’s announcement on regulatory sandboxes is highly welcome. Done well, regulatory sandboxes will be a powerful tool to ensure our brilliant innovative businesses can test and take their ideas to market rapidly whilst protecting the public interest, ultimately benefitting consumers and the economy.
But businesses have also been clear that unlocking future growth will require more than investment alone. In many sectors, regulation cannot keep pace with technological change, creating barriers for firms looking to test, commercialise and scale new products. That is why the Government is taking the next step by reforming the regulatory system to better support innovation and growth.
The Regulation for Growth Bill will introduce new statutory sandboxing powers, allowing businesses to test innovative products and services in controlled real-world environments, working closely with regulators to monitor safety and maintain public confidence. It will sit alongside a strengthened Growth Duty for regulators, helping create a regulatory system that supports innovation, investment and economic growth.
The new sandboxing powers mark a significant shift in how innovation is regulated, enabling businesses and government to work together to remove barriers before they hold back growth. They will help enable innovation across Industrial Strategy sectors including AI, life sciences, autonomous maritime technology and next-generation delivery services, while reducing uncertainty, accelerating the route from testing to commercial deployment, and allowing successful regulatory changes to be made permanent.
Together, the Industrial Strategy and Regulation Action Plan are helping create a more competitive environment where businesses can develop, test and scale new technologies in the UK, ensuring Britain remains a leading destination for investment, innovation and growth.
Notes to editors
- In March 2025, the Government pledged to reduce the annual administrative burden of regulation on business by 25% by the end of this Parliament. It has already delivered £1.5 billion of the £2 billion in annual savings identified so far, putting it over a third of the way towards its £5.6 billion target.
- Further details on the Regulation Action Plan and the Regulating for Growth Bill can be found here.
- The Modern Industrial Strategy was published in 2025 and sets out a 10-year plan to increase investment across eight priority sectors.
- The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy: year one report can be found here.