UK Regulation Innovation Office - Innovation Consultation on Regulatory Barriers

Tuesday 19th May 2026, 9:00am to Friday 19th June 2026, 5:00pm

Online Consultation

Following on from a successful pilot in UK Regulation Innovation Office (RIO) priority sectors, defence and robotics, this phase is designed to help the RIO understand the regulatory barriers that are holding back innovation across all science and technology sectors and to inform the future design of the RIO Front Door service.

This consultation is open to businesses both within and outside the UK Regulation Innovation Office (RIO)'s current priority sectors and is designed to gather information and insight. 



gathering innovation business insights

The UK Regulation Innovation Office wants to understand from businesses what type of service would help innovation businesses outwith RIO priority sectors.

They will not follow up with every business that submits information and may contact some businesses to explore issues in more detail, or to test elements of the service as part of the design process.

Please note, the RIO does not resolve individual businesses’ applications to regulators; they do not advocate on behalf of individual businesses or intervene in live regulatory decisions.


Find out more



How will the insights be used

Insights from businesses will be used to identify common regulatory barriers, gaps, and points of friction across the system.

This includes building a clearer picture of where businesses are struggling, such as:

  • uncertainty about which regulator is responsible
  • issues that fall between 2 or more regulators
  • areas where existing regulatory pathways do not work well for innovative businesses

By analysing patterns across submissions, we will identify where parts of the economy are most constrained by regulatory barriers, to help inform where we can have the most impact

The insights will also inform the next phase of the RIO Front Door service to businesses, including but not limited to:

  • a clear framework defining the scope of the RIO Front Door service, enabling businesses to understand whether it is the appropriate route for their issue
  • the types of support RIO can offer, including for businesses outside current priority sectors
  • how we will manage demand from businesses with limited team capacity



Complete the Front Door pilot phase 2 business insights form


The deadline for participation is 19th June.

ROI will publish how they have used the evidence and the conclusions in Autumn 2026.



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