New regulatory sandbox powers



In yesterday's King’s Speech, the government announced that it will enable cross-economy “sandboxing powers” which will allow businesses to test new products and technologies in a controlled environment. This will be legislated via the Regulating for Growth Bill.

AI sandboxes will enable "responsible testing and adoption of AI-enabled products and services across multiple sectors where existing regulatory frameworks currently slow innovation."

Sandboxes are also mentioned in relation to technologies such as medicines, autonomous maritime and defence technology.

“International examples show the power of agile frameworks. Singapore’s Pro‑Enterprise Sandbox and Canada’s experimentation frameworks have boosted investor confidence and reduced time‑to‑market, while the UK’s own Financial Conduct Authority ‘Innovate’ initiative helped firms launch faster and raise more capital. These successes highlight how structured regulatory flexibility drives competitiveness,” the government says.

There will also be Digital Access to Services Bill (and the government will proceed with the current plans for non-mandatory digital IDs) but the legislative plans do not include a general AI Bill.

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