Government funds UK regulators to drive innovation
Image courtesy BEIS / gov.uk
The Regulators’ Pioneer Fund is funding 24 regulator and local authority led projects across the UK that will help to remove regulatory barriers to innovation, supporting businesses across key UK sectors – from net-zero to healthcare – bring their products and services to market more quickly. If successful, these projects could lead to faster deployment of low carbon technologies like carbon capture and hydrogen, more tailored treatment for disease in the NHS and drones to deliver cargo and medicines safely.
Minister for Innovation George Freeman said: "The pace of new technology - from AI in healthcare to drone delivery to nutraceuticals - is creating a huge opportunity for the UK to be a global leader in testing new technologies and setting appropriate regulatory standards, which are key to investor and customer confidence.
"That’s why our Innovation Strategy and Taskforce on Innovation Growth & Regulatory Reform (TIGRR) reforms are key to making the UK a global testbed and innovative regulator.
"Today’s funding will support 24 pioneering testbeds to experiment and innovate, while helping our brightest businesses in bringing game-changing products and services to market."
Among those receiving funding today is £961,650 to the Civil Aviation Authority to collaborate with the aviation industry and academia to enhance the understanding of hydrogen-related risks to aviation safety, identify gaps in policies and propose recommendations to develop new net-zero policies. Hydrogen propulsion solutions offering the potential for no carbon emission flights are at an early stage of development. This project will help to make the UK a world leader in the use of hydrogen in aviation, influence the development of future global standards and make the UK a prime destination for investment in this area, driving economic growth.
Argyll and Bute Council receives £250,000 to partner with Skyports and Air Navigation Solutions Limited to undertake trials over the west-coast of Scotland testing the safe integration of drones within manned and unmanned airspace. This could enable the timely and safe delivery of medicines and cargo in remote locations.
Over £555,000 goes to the Health & Safety Executive to lead a project to develop and test innovative approaches to specific health and safety challenges in the construction sector. This could include wearable technologies monitoring the health of workers or drones that are used for inspection on construction sites.
Coventry City Council will use £268,175 to lead a project to explore the use of commercial drones, which could offer significant potential for fast, safe, cheap and sustainable delivery in urban areas, but are constrained by regulatory barriers that restrict usage. Starting at the local level, a series of workshops will bring together relevant stakeholders and regulators to identify solutions to these barriers, with findings shared more widely to allow the whole UK to benefit.
Plymouth County Council will receive £842,490 to develop a framework for testing autonomous and prototype maritime vessels for research and development (R&D), which will be initially implemented within Smart Sound Plymouth. Working with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Plymouth Marine Laboratory and the Universities of Plymouth and Exeter, this project will put the UK in the leading role as an international centre for zero emissions and autonomous vessel innovation and manufacturing. These vessels can be deployed across multiple maritime sectors, including as platforms for academic research, monitoring and mapping and transporting cargo.
Today’s funding is a prime example of how the UK is creating a new regulatory framework that prioritises innovation, growth and inward investment. This follows the Chancellor’s announcement at the Autumn Statement where he revealed the Government is tasking the Government Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance to lead work to consider how the UK can better regulate emerging technologies, enabling their rapid and safe introduction.
To ensure the UK continues to seize these opportunities, the independent Regulatory Horizons Council has today published two important reports on the regulation of Artificial Intelligence as a Medical Device (AIaMD) and neurotechnology. The reports provide government with advice on areas where regulatory reform can enable technological innovation in these crucial fields to facilitate their rapid and safe introduction.
Building on this, the government has also today commissioned the Regulatory Horizons Council to undertake a review on the regulation of quantum technologies - an emerging sector with anticipated impacts across many areas including space, finance, pharmaceuticals and materials. Creating a regulatory environment that promotes innovation and growth of the UK quantum industry will enable the UK to lead the debate in international fora and ensure that quantum technologies are used for the benefit of UK society, with global productivity gains from quantum anticipated to be worth $100 billion within the next few decades.
The funding of projects is subject to agreement of contracts. The selected Regulators’ Pioneer Fund projects will launch in January 2023 (for eight month projects) and September 2023 (for 12 to 18 month projects). To maximise the value of these projects and mainstream proven regulatory approaches to support innovation, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) will continue to convene a ‘Regulators’ Innovation Network’. This serves as a forum for regulators to share best practice and foster a culture of collaboration and experimentation that will enable businesses to bring their innovations to market.
