The UK government used AI to count its own red tape and found 7,000 rules
Key Points
- A bespoke AI tool found around 7,000 consultation duties across the UK statute book
- Ministers wrote to all Secretaries of State on 7 September ordering fewer consultations
- Folic acid in flour took seven years and cat microchipping needed three consultations
- Parliament will be able to designate major infrastructure projects with protection from legal challenge
- A new vision for public participation and updated Attorney General guidance follows in the autumn
The Cabinet Office said on Thursday (10 September) that a bespoke AI tool had identified around 7,000 consultation duties in the statute book, as ministers ordered departments to scrap needless “box-ticking” consultations.
The First Secretary of State, the Chancellor and the Attorney General wrote to every Secretary of State on Monday (7 September) telling them to pare back administrative burdens and speed up decision-making.
The Cabinet Office said the system had outsourced accountability to external stakeholders through consultations, arm’s-length bodies and regulators, costing the public years of progress.
It pointed to the addition of folic acid to flour, which took seven years to introduce because the government ran duplicate consultations despite overwhelmingly positive responses.
Between 2019 and 2023, the government asked the public three times for views on legislation to microchip cats, including one exercise gathering views on the legal definition of a cat.
“If we can’t microchip cats without getting tied up in red tape, it should come as no surprise the public is losing faith that governments can get things done,” said Louise Haigh, First Secretary of State.
“Governments are elected to lead – not hide behind process. We are taking steps today to speed up decision-making and deliver the change our country needs,” she added.
An expert central team in government has already started intercepting new consultation duties before departments add them to Bills, and the Cabinet Office said the team would continue that work.
Departments must now only run consultations where there is a clear reason to do so, and the Attorney General will publish updated guidance stating that legal risk should inform ministers’ decisions rather than dictate them.
The changes also give Parliament the power to designate and approve the country’s most important infrastructure projects, granting them enhanced protection from legal challenge.
A fixed Challenge Window will force legal objections to surface earlier in the process, which the government said would prevent delays after consent has already been granted.
The Cabinet Office said endless written surveys rarely capture the true views of communities, and it will set out a new vision for public participation with practical guidance in the autumn.
The release did not name the AI tool, say who built it or explain how the government verified the 7,000 figure.
