Britain’s regulatory rulebook is in need of a rewire

The UK used to be the envy of the world for regulation. Independent. Agile. Balanced. Driving investment without losing sight of the consumer. And unlike, say, Germany, the UK has a long history of regulation, as a result of the privatisations of the 1980s and 1990s.

At a time when public money is tight and the country is desperately in need of higher growth, reforms to regulation should be playing an outsize role in boosting our prosperity.

Everything from house building to the transport system and energy security depends on well-judged regulation that encourages investment.

That will mean taking a much tougher look at the raft of regulations that exist today, many of them put in place with good intentions following a crisis – such as the 2008 financial crash, or the Grenfell fire in 2017.

Poorly judged regulation has consequences for growth and living standards. The UK has lost out to the United States as the world capital for global banks. Housebuilding in London has plummeted, with the mayor recently having to lower the targets for affordability.

We need a fundamental rewriting of the regulatory rule book, to drive investment while keeping people and the environment safe.

John Fingleton’s recent review into how best to speed up the construction of nuclear power plants provides an excellent blueprint: fewer regulators, less bureaucracy, more speed.

I would say, in addition, that the need for the government to exert control over decisions that have been outsourced to independent regulators but properly sit with ministers.

It cannot be right that secretaries of state can find themselves having less control over issues critical to growth and investment, such as the construction of nationally critical infrastructure, than heads of regulators.

Sharon White is the chair of Frontier Economics and she is a former chief executive of Ofcom