Annual Conference Rapporteur 2025
Our third Annual Conference took place in London on Thursday 27 March 2025 and was attended by over 200 members of the regulatory community and stakeholders. The theme of the conference was:
“Good regulation – protecting citizens, supporting growth, and building trust”.
Our conference highlighted the role of good governance in protecting citizens, supporting growth, and building trust. Discussions covered challenges like scrutiny and tech impact, the importance of engaging confidently, and the need to streamline processes for innovation.
Conference Rapporteur, Shivani Chivukula, reports on the conference highlights below. Shivani is a research assistant at the Institute for Government, working in the Institute’s public bodies and regulation team.
On the day, attendees heard from regulatory experts, government ministers, and organisations on how to restore public trust in good regulation, by striking the right balance between risk reduction, consumer fairness, and economic growth. Speakers and panellists included representatives from the healthcare, energy, business, data protection, food safety, and creative sectors.
Justin Madders, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade), delivered the keynote speech, touching on the impact of good regulation on workers and consumers and the newly established Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO), who will work with government departments and regulators to make the UK an attractive avenue for tech and AI business opportunities that deliver public benefit.
Throughout the conference, speakers and attendees engaged in breakout sessions and thematic panels on trust, innovation, progress, and citizens protection in regulation.
Mutual trust between the public and regulators was identified as a key element for effective regulation, which can be achieved through targeted public engagement strategies aimed at increasing public trust and awareness. Open and visible decision-making processes coupled with publicly available resources are two factors known to contribute to the increase of public trust in regulation. Transparency, accountability, and enforcement are also essential in restoring public trust.
When it comes to innovation, it was noted that this remains a cultural challenge for regulators, who are still operating in conservatively prescriptive regulatory environments where the risk appetite remains low and red tape is pervasive. To shift this attitude, regulators should acknowledge the inherent tension between managing risk and fostering innovation, by embracing calculated risk and working to promote and reward creative thinking though workplace performance and other incentives, as well as through leading by example. Regulators should also think about how to reduce duplication and streamline processes for innovators. Moving from a “don’t do” to a “how to” approach will be crucial to achieve this.
Changes in government rhetoric have not helped regulators in managing these tensions, since the new government seems to have reverted to treating growth and regulation as separate and often opposing agendas, instead of addressing them as complementary ones. This has translated into widespread concerns within the electorate about economic fairness and security, which has further shifted the broader narrative around regulation. Members of the audience have highlighted how public engagement on this front has not been successful, as public consultations are turning into expert-only conversations between government and regulated sectors, effectively sidelining public input. In addition, legal services regulators in particular struggle to earn the trust of the public and of its fellow regulators.
Read the full report of the day below.