Government & Public bodies

Government recognises the important role that standards play in supporting the public policy interest.  As the UK’s National Standards Body, BSI operates in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding with UK Government that sets out our role in supporting public policy.  The MOU highlights how standardization is a key factor in support of a number of government policies, including competitiveness, innovation, trade, the protection of consumer interests, environmental protection and public procurement.  BSI works across UK Government and regulators to offer a tool for Government to deliver its objectives in these and other policy areas.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) leads on government activities in standardization.  BEIS works closely with BSI to use standards to deliver government’s policy objectives and to promote the role of BSI to other government departments.

Standards also offer government a tool for delivering better regulation, through self-regulation, earned recognition and co-regulation.  Voluntary standards offer a flexible, adaptive and collaborative alternative to regulation by providing common languages, terminologies, guidelines and good practice developed by and for stakeholders.  BSI’s robust standards development process, with full stakeholder engagement and open public consultation, provides the credibility to be used for public policy purposes.  Using standards as an alternative to regulation can also save valuable parliamentary time.

Through our engagement activities, BSI informs key government stakeholders of how standards can be used to help government deliver its policy objectives.  We do this through regular face-to-face meetings with senior Civil Servants and through responding to public consultations and parliamentary inquiries. 

BSI, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), LGC and NEL all have a role to play in ensuring that the appropriate framework for transforming science into commercial products and services is in place and in delivering the productivity gains that are essential to the UK’s economic performance.

The IIP is working to maximise the impact of investment in the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. The Innovation Infrastructure Partners are neutral, trusted conveners bridging across all sectors of the economy and internationally respected as working on behalf of UK PLC.

Learn more about the Innovation Infrastructure Partnership

The Government’s new Office for Product Safety and Standards has teamed up with BSI to launch the first Government-backed Code of Practice (PAS 7100) for product safety recall in the UK.

Read more about it

Standards make a huge economic contribution to the UK. They are a vital part of the strength of UK industry and play a crucial and often invisible role in supporting economic growth.

Learn more about how standards help economy

BSI and the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) have developed a handbook for Government ministers entitled 'Standards and accreditation – tools for delivering better regulation'. This handbook explains how standards and accreditation can help Government to deliver policy through self-regulation, earned recognition and co-regulation and in line with better regulation principles.

Ministers' Handbook - learn more and download it now

Head of Innovation Policy at BSI, Daniel Barlow, was recently interviewed by Infinity Health, where he shared the role that we play within UK healthcare.