Speech by Minister Justin Madders, The Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets delivered at the UKRN 2025 Conference (May 2025)

Speaker: Minister Justin Madders, The Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets

Event: UKRN Conference 2025

Delivered: 21st May 2025

Note for Publication: This published speech differs from the original delivered version to account for personal reflections and notes.

Speech:

Good morning and thank you for that warm introduction.

It’s great to be here with so many regulatory professionals who share this government’s ambition to create the conditions for a better regulatory landscape.

As you all know, regulation underpins and impacts almost all areas of the UK economy. As a father of three, I have always liked the comparison between regulation and parenting. Too much and the economy feels molly-coddled. Too little and chaos reigns! But genuinely, I am sure you and I agree that when used effectively, regulation can play a vital role in supporting economic growth throughout the country.

And of course, growth is this government’s number one mission to deliver higher living standards for everyone, more investment in public services and more money in people’s pockets.

To do that, we need regulation and regulators creating the right outcomes for consumers, businesses and the environment.

However, we also know the current regulatory landscape is not functioning as well as it could. Our system too often holds back growth and inhibits private sector investment. Whilst countries such as Singapore and Australia have continued to improve their regulatory systems, the UK has fallen behind.

Time and again, businesses have told us that regulation can be too complex and duplicative. It can stifle progress and innovation. Our whole regulatory approach has become far too risk averse.

And over the last 20 years, billions of pounds of regulatory costs have contributed to the UK economy being less attractive for new investment. Some studies suggest the impact of this red tape could be as much as 3-4% of our GDP.

We recognised that a fresh approach was needed. And that’s why we made a commitment to reshape the State, with the Chancellor bringing forward the Action Plan for Regulation to overhaul the regulatory environment so that it helps – not hinders – growth.

This Action Plan aims to overhaul the regulatory environment so that it supports growth, is targeted, proportionate, transparent and predictable as well as adapting to keep pace with innovation.

We are doing so by establishing a baseline for the administrative costs of regulation. And we are committing to reduce admin costs for businesses by 25% by the end of this Parliament.

We want to consolidate and merge regulators where necessary. And we are making sure regulators have clear duties and steers with a strong focus on growth and investment. We are also strengthening the model of accountability and formalising performance reviews.

And all of this work will be aided by simplifying the duties of key regulators.

A great example of this is our current review of Ofgem, which looks to streamline their duties and objectives. This will allow Ofgem to focus on what really matters – protecting consumers and prioritising growth in the energy sector.

Another notable action has been our new, strategic steer for the Competition & Markets Authority – ensuring their work is orientated around this government’s growth priorities. We want them to be proactive, transparent, timely, predictable and responsive in their engagement. And I know, under Sarah Cardell’s leadership, the authority is already making great strides in this work.

And we are working with regulators more broadly to strengthen transparency, so that businesses and the public can see how regulators are performing. This will take the form of regulators publishing clear, time-bound targets for processing authorisations.

Finally, we have our brand-new Regulatory Innovation Office which is working alongside departments and regulators to make the UK the best place in the world to commercialise technologies and innovation.

What does that look like in practice? Well, to pick one example, we are working with the Department for Health and Social Care to unlock the potentially transformative benefits of AI for the NHS. We are working with industry, clinicians and health regulators on using AI to accelerate drug discovery and healthcare delivery, all while safely and effectively regulating in this area.

That’s why we launched our AI Action Plan earlier this year to make sure we seize the opportunities on offer. This is not a technology that is coming over the horizon, it is well and truly here. It is in our schools, in our hospitals, in our cars and in our phones. We need to make the most of it.

With regards to regulation, that means having the right regulatory regime to address risks but support innovation. Innovation that drives AI trust and adoption. In other words, it’s about creating the right environment and conditions for AI to thrive in our economy.

My thanks go out to the regulators we have worked with us in this area over the past few months… those who have been developing measures which will have a tangible effect on driving growth and investment; measures which are implementable within the next 12 months.

What’s next on this? Well, departments across government will continue to work closely with those regulators which saw specific commitments detailed in our Action Plan. And we will continue to work with all regulators in our ongoing programme of regulatory reform.

Overall, the feedback to our regulation Action Plan has been positive. We obviously worked closely with the UKRN prior to its publication. And I am hugely grateful for this, and your public support for our reform agenda. The Government is grateful.
Future Ambitions

So, that’s an overview of the important work that’s underway.

But I would like to finish with some thoughts about what the future holds.

Beyond our Regulation Action Plan, we want to address the legislative frameworks so that growth, investment and innovation are at their core. We want to make your jobs easier. We know that the regulatory requirements outlined in legislation have become complex after years of layering. Some regulators face hundreds of legislative obligations. And the result is that it becomes nigh on impossible to juggle everything while also prioritising agility. We get it.

We want to simplify these duties so that regulators are clear in what they are required to do, which in turn will provide greater clarity for businesses and investors.

Combined with improvements to regulatory accountability, a streamlined landscape could help us reduce burdens and better support growth.

We want to engage with businesses, industry and regulators – with trusted partners like the UKRN – to develop our thinking on these issues. We are very much in listening mode and are keen to hear your thoughts.

…because if the reforms I have spoken about today are going to work, they must work for everyone. They have to work for businesses, for you, the regulators and for anyone who interacts with regulation.

So, thank you very much for the part you are all playing in your respective industries but also our economy at large. Your roles couldn’t be more important to creating a healthy, growing market economy; the pro-worker, pro-innovation, pro-wealth creation economy we promised at the general election last year. And which we are now building together. Thank you.

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