Time is Money: How Regulators Can Support Growth (Industry and Regulators Committee Report)

Lord Nagaraju Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd November 2026 Grand Committee

[Lord Nagaraju (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter of Kentish Town, and the members of the Industry and Regulators Committee for its report. I declare my interests as the director of AI and AI policy companies.

The report makes a compelling point: good regulation can encourage investment and innovation, but unnecessary complexity, uncertainty and delay can hold back economic growth. I want to focus particularly on artificial intelligence, because the committee heard direct evidence of how regulatory barriers can affect innovation in this sector. The committee heard from MyCardium AI, a company developing AI technology to improve heart scans. Its representative explained that the company’s pilots were taking place overseas because establishing an initial pilot or equivalent regulatory sandbox was more difficult in the UK. Importantly, the same company emphasised that clinical safety must remain paramount and welcomed rigorous regulatory scrutiny. This example captures the challenge before us. We should not have to choose between innovation and public protection; we need a regulatory system that delivers both.

Britain has world-class research and considerable technological talent, but scientific breakthroughs must be translated into products and services that improve people’s lives and contribute to economic growth. The committee rightly recommends clearer regulatory guidance, faster decision-making, early engagement with businesses and greater use of regulatory sandboxes. These recommendations are particularly relevant to AI, where technology can develop faster than traditional regulatory processes. The committee also recognises the values of principles-based and outcomes-focused regulation, which can provide certainty while allowing flexibility for innovation. I welcome the Government’s proposal to introduce statutory sandbox powers through the forthcoming regulating for growth Bill, but sandboxes must provide practical results and not simply opportunities for experimentation. They should help regulators to understand new technologies and give businesses clear guidance about the requirements they must meet.

We must also ensure that smaller companies benefit. The committee rightly cautions that paid-for fast lanes could disadvantage businesses unable to afford them. Faster and more predictable regulatory decisions should benefit all applicants. I therefore ask my noble friend the Minister two questions. First, how will the Government ensure that smaller AI innovators can access early regulatory guidance and appropriate sandbox opportunities without compromising safety? Secondly, will the Government establish clear, measurable expectations for regulatory decision-making times so that businesses can invest and plan with greater confidence?

Britain’s challenge is not simply to develop the technologies of tomorrow but to ensure that innovations developed here can be tested, adopted and scaled here. Effective regulation should protect the public while giving responsible innovators the certainty and confidence to succeed. That is how regulation can become an enabler of economic growth.