Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what criteria will be used to evaluate projects funded under Round 4 of the Regulators' Pioneer Fund; whether those projects will be assessed against measurable outcomes and impacts; and what assessment he has made of the value for money of previous rounds of that Fund.

The Regulators’ Pioneer Fund supports regulators and local authorities to test innovative regulatory approaches that enable emerging technologies and innovation. Round 4 projects were assessed against need, alignment with Fund objectives, capability, governance, deliverability and value for money, and monitored against agreed outputs, outcomes and milestones.

Round 4 evaluation will commence once project delivery has concluded. An independent evaluation of Round 3, published in May 2026, found strong evidence that the Fund strengthened regulators’ capability to support innovation and collaboration. As some wider innovation impacts take longer to materialise, we intend to continue monitoring completed projects to capture this.