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September 2026
Looking beyond the rules: What makes regulation effective?
Effective regulation is proportionate, clearly communicated and designed to deliver its intended outcomes. As regulatory landscapes become more complex, I have come to see collaboration, accessible information, user-centred design and the ability to evolve alongside innovation as increasingly important in helping organisations understand their responsibilities, comply with confidence and support better regulatory outcomes.
In this blog, I explore what makes regulation effective, examining the growing focus across government, regulators and industry on proportionate approaches, greater collaboration, clearer regulatory information and regulatory systems that can evolve alongside innovation and changing user needs.
Discussions about regulation have often focused on a familiar question: do we have too much regulation?
Increasingly, however, I think that debate is evolving.
Recent discussions across government, regulators and industry, including Baroness Dianne Hayter’s recent Institute of Regulation podcast, TSO’s Regulating for Growth roundtable series, and the Government’s Regulation Action Plan, suggest the conversation is moving in a consistent direction.
The focus is no longer simply on the amount of regulation. Instead, attention turning to how regulation can deliver better outcomes while supporting innovation, economic growth and public confidence.
Effective regulation has always required balance, in my view.
It must protect people, businesses and markets while also providing the confidence and certainty organisations need to invest, innovate and grow.
Yet as regulatory landscapes become increasingly complex, I believe the challenge is no longer simply creating regulation. It is ensuring regulation is proportionate, clearly communicated and capable of adapting to changing technologies and user needs.
To me, the question is becoming less about introducing new rules and more about improving how regulation works in practice.
Although these discussions come from different perspectives, I’ve noticed growing alignment across the regulatory landscape.
Government is focusing on regulatory reform to support economic growth and improve productivity.
Regulators are recognising the importance of collaboration, clearer guidance and more user-centred approaches.
Businesses continue to highlight the need for greater consistency, proportionate regulation and clearer communication to help them comply with confidence.
Together, I think these conversations point towards a shared ambition: creating regulation that is more effective, easier to navigate and better equipped to support a rapidly changing economy, underpinned by better regulatory relationships.
Effective regulation recognises that different organisations face different challenges.
The Institute of Regulation (IoR) discussion highlighted the importance of ensuring regulatory approaches remain proportionate, particularly for smaller organisations that often have fewer resources to manage compliance. At the same time, I believe maintaining public trust and confidence remains essential.
Finding the right balance is fundamental to effective regulation.
Modern regulation rarely exists in isolation.
As organisations increasingly operate across multiple regulatory frameworks, I believe collaboration between regulators, government and industry becomes increasingly important.
This mirrors discussions from TSO’s Regulating for Growth roundtable series as well as our IoR Panel on Effective Regulatory Relationships, where participants consistently identified collaboration and shared understanding as key enablers of better regulatory outcomes.
One of the strongest themes I’ve seen emerging from recent discussions is that organisations generally want to comply but often struggle to understand what regulation requires and where to find the right guidance.
How regulation is published is, to my mind, a key part of the answer.
I believe effective regulation depends on information that is clear, accessible and designed around user needs, enabling organisations to understand their responsibilities and apply regulation confidently.
Innovation is moving quickly, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, digital services and emerging technologies.
I think regulatory frameworks need to evolve alongside these developments without creating unnecessary barriers to investment or innovation.
This aligns closely with the Government’s Regulation Action Plan, which highlights digital transformation, AI readiness and smarter regulation as priorities for the future.
To me, effective regulation is not measured simply by the number of rules that exist.
It is measured by whether those rules are proportionate, understandable and capable of delivering the intended outcomes.
That requires thoughtful regulatory design, clear communication and information that supports both people and technology.
Make it easy to find: It can be difficult for regulated organisations to find the regulation that applies to them. TSO is currently helping government to explore how regulatory information can be indexed, tagged, structured and published consistently to make it easier for organisations to find relevant regulation.
Make it easy to use: Content architecture, structured data, user experience and accessibility are all essential to making regulation usable. Increasingly, I see businesses wanting regulation as structured data that can be integrated directly into systems.
Make it easy to understand: One of the biggest challenges, in my experience, is helping people understand what they need to do, not just what the rules say. Guidance and learning materials focused on audience insight can help not only to improve understanding but also improve compliance as a result.
Whether viewed through the lens of government, regulators or industry, I think the direction of travel is becoming increasingly clear.
The future of regulation is not defined by introducing more rules or removing existing ones. It lies in creating regulatory systems that are proportionate, collaborative and designed around the needs of those who rely on them.
As regulation continues to evolve, I believe improving the quality, accessibility and usability of regulatory information will be just as important as the regulation itself.
September 2026
September 2026
