一个支持创新的RIO

Authors Vinous AliDeputy Executive DirectorStartup Coalition Kir NuthiHead of Tech RegulationStartup Coalition AboutStartup Coalition The Startup Coalition is an independent advocacy group that serves as the policy voice for the UK’stechnology-led startups and scale-ups. We were founded in 2010 by Mike Butcher, Editor-at-Large ofTechCrunch, and Jeff Lynn, Chairman and Co-Founder of online investment platform Seedrs. We fightfor a policy environment that enables early-stage British tech companies to grow, scale, and competeglobally. Our network includes over 4000 startups, scale-ups, and investors. We have been instrumental inbuilding proactive coalitions of businesses and investors on issues integral to the health of the UK’sstartup ecosystem. Our work has seen many successes, from the establishment of the Future Fund tothe creation of the Scale-up visa. Acknowledgements We are grateful to all the startup founders who contributed to this report and the experts who supportedus by providing insight. Foreword Fourteen years ago, when the Startup Coalition was founded as The Coalition for a Digital Economy, wechampioned policies that helped transform East London’s scrappy startup ecosystem into a key driver ofthe UK's growth. However, the policy landscape and environment could not be more different today. The tech sector’s trust in the Government and its regulators as enablers and partners of innovation andinvestment has been waning. Therefore, the Government's growth reset and HM Treasury’s (HMT)regulation-focused Action Plan come not a moment too soon. Without reform, regulatory red tape and bureaucracy threaten to make the UK a poorer choice forfounders and those investing in them. We believe the Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO) could play acritical role in ensuring this doesn’t happen, but for it to succeed, it will need to do things differently fromthe get-go. ExecutiveSummary For the Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO) to add value, it will need to sit above regulators as thecoordinating authority - the first amongst equals - with a bird’s-eye view across the economy andout over the horizon, as well as the power to direct and guide regulators toward innovation andgrowth. Early signs from the Government suggest they understand the need for drastic reform to unlock the kindof innovation that will power growth through this Parliament and beyond. The very creation ofRIO soearly in the Government’s term is, in itself, a positive signal. But without the mandate to spread its wings and operate across the economy - and the regulators thatshape it - RIO will likely fall short of its potential. Fundamentally, we understand that regulators need toretain their full independence - it’s the secret sauce that makes authorities like the Competition andMarkets Authority or the Food Standards Agency the ultimate experts on their sectors. We see RIO asthe vehicle to help these regulators truly go for growth, take calculated risks, and keep up with thechanging pace of innovation. For that reason, we believe RIO must be equipped with the authority and resources to: 1.Clear the way for investment by listening to the market and tracking global leaders andregulators to get a jump on regulatory constraints brewing in the UK.2.Hold regulators to accountthrough regular audits based on clear metrics like approval timesand startup engagement, including through a £25m‘Innovation Accelerator Fund.’3.Act as the front-door for startupsthatprovidesguidance, streamlines their routes to market,and helps remove outdated regulatory or legislative blockers. Fundamentally, RIO needs to be the cheerleader for growth and tech adoption. Its current focus on a fewimmediate and high-growth sectors is a starting point, but it won’t be enough to fix the pipeline foremerging technologies that have the potential to reshape the UK’s economy and future. We want RIO to be as ambitious, bold and disruptive as the innovators it’s meant to support. This papersets out tangible recommendations to make that happen. Background Manyfounders find engaging with regulators difficult,from understanding which regulators have‘jurisdiction’ to knowing how and when to engage them. This is compounded by the fact that regulationitself has grown in layers over time, often without coordination. The result is a complex maze for UKstartups to navigate. In truth, it is not just the bureaucracy holding things back. Many rules are simplyoutdated, created for a very different technological era. In short, change is long overdue. TheRegulatory Innovation Office The 2024 Labour Manifesto succinctly defined the problem: ”regulators are currently ill-equipped to dealwith the dramatic development of new technologies, which often cut across traditional industries andsectors.”1RIO was established as the answer. Created within the Department of Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in October 2024, RIO hasbeentasked with accelerating innovation,reducing regulato