Chancellor cuts pointless admin in nearly £6 billion business blitz

Doubling down on action already taken to spur economic growth by easing the burdens that hold businesses back, Rachel Reeves will signal the government will be scrapping pointless paperwork and speeding up planning to deliver on the Prime Minister’s 25% admin reduction target – a central commitment in the Modern Industrial Strategy to make it easier and quicker to do business in the UK.  

The crackdown on needless form-filling will see over 100,000 firms qualify for simpler corporate reporting rules, freeing up businesses such as micro-breweries up and down the land from having to account for every hop they buy and removing the need for small business owners like family-run cafes to submit lengthy Director reports to Companies House. 

Addressing an audience of more than 350 business leaders, local mayors and investors at the government’s first ever Regional Investment Summit in Birmingham, the Chancellor will say

Our mission is clear to create the right environment for investment through our regulatory reforms, to crowd in capital through our public financial institutions, to break down silos to collaboration on local projects, and to support innovation and growth throughout the UK.

Businesses will also save time and money when building, with the Chancellor setting out plans for digital planning checks that could see developers sending photo evidence to authorities online which are then approved using trained AI models. 

A new online map of underground cables and pipes will also help planning officials and builders avoid lengthy and costly delays caused by accidental damage, without having to contact multiple utilities companies. 

These changes mean that six months after we announced March’s Regulation Action Plan we have already identified and announced £1.5 billion in savings which will contribute to the target. This is just the beginning, as delivering the 25% target will allow us to put nearly £6 billion per year back into the pockets of businesses by the end of the Parliament. 

This will boost productivity by saving companies with employees around on average 200 hours on administrative activities a year.

At the inaugural summit, the Chancellor will also announce a series of new private and public sector investments in regions across the UK – creating jobs and prosperity for working people up and down the country.  

In a signal of how the government’s regulatory reforms and pro-business approach is giving major businesses the confidence to back Britain, private firms will announce over £10 billion of new investment in projects spanning the British Isles. This includes £6.5 billion in investment from Welltower creating thousands of new beds in elderly facilities.

The Chancellor will also announce the government will be investing millions more in regional projects to deliver growth – the government’s priority mission. 

She will reveal that the Crown Estate has purchased land in Harwell East with the potential to build new advanced manufacturing spaces and laboratories – creating 400 new homes and 30,000 jobs nationwide, including 10,000 for working people in Harwell. Once completed, the site is expected to add £2.5 billion to the economy.   

Crowding-in further investment, the National Wealth Fund will also provide £104 million to finance onshore and offshore wind projects in Norfolk and Orkney as well as to build a heat network in Hull. A team of specialists will also be sent to help mayoral strategic authorities speed up key infrastructure projects in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, West Midlands and Glasgow City Region, ensuring these projects are attractive to investors. 

Welcoming the £10 billion pledge from private investors, the Chancellor will add

Over the last year, we have welcomed billions of pounds of foreign investment in the UK in addition to the domestic investment made by businesses every day. But these are not just numbers. These are higher wages. They are better homes. It’s the transport, energy and digital infrastructure that underpins our nation.

Commenting on the cuts to regulation, Business & Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said 

A central part of our Industrial Strategy is slashing needless red tape that blocks business growth, and today is precisely about that. 

We are backing Britain, backing British businesses to thrive and grow and as part of our Plan for Change, these changes will boost jobs and grow the economy right across the country.” 

Ahead of the Budget on November 26th, the Chancellor has been clear that growing the economy is her number one priority.

The Regional Investment Summit, which will be attended by business leaders, investors and local leaders to reverse decades of underinvestment, will build on the £150 billion investment commitments made during the State Visit so that, across the country, the benefits of growth are felt in towns, local high streets and communities.  

Already permitting reforms announced by the Chancellor in March have cleared the way for a major offshore wind farm in Teesside that will power over a million homes and support 2,000 jobs. 

Also, In Blyth a new AI Growth Zone is attracting billions in private investment following the UK–US Tech Prosperity Partnership, expected to create thousands of skilled jobs in data and energy and cementing the North-East as a clean-energy and digital powerhouse.

Further information

External commentary on government’s regulatory measures

Jane Gratton, Deputy Director of Public Policy at the BCC, said

Plans to cut the cost of regulation will be welcomed by businesses. 

The burden of unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy ramps up their costs and damages competitiveness. Now is the time to boost growth, and changes like this can help.  Firms will need to be consulted to ensure any initiatives have maximum impact.

The focus must be on freeing up businesses to invest. This includes speeding up infrastructure development, reducing delays in the planning system, and maximising the impact of technology.  

Over two fifths of firms tell us they are currently planning to raise prices, and with continuing uncertainty around tariffs, a 25 percent cut in the cost of the regulatory burden will be positively received.

John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager, Amazon

Amazon welcomes the government’s continued focus on ensuring the UK’s regulatory framework supports innovation, investment and growth. Earlier this year we announced plans to invest £40 billion in the UK over the next three years, creating well-paid, quality jobs across every region of the UK. We look forward to working with policymakers to maximise the impact of that investment, expanding training for employees, and improving services for customers.

Verity Davidge, Director of Policy at Make UK, said

This is a positive and welcome step by government as the Regulation Action Plan is desperately needed to drive greater economic growth and investment. The manufacturing sector is currently being held back by overburdensome, confusing and duplicative regulation which is stifling growth in the sector, especially for SMEs. Moving forward it’s vital to see a principles-based approach to regulation, rooted in simplicity, clarity, and proportionality, which would be positive for both businesses and consumers. We are pleased that the government is taking this opportunity to transform the business regulatory landscape and drive forward the change that is needed.

David Postings, Chief Executive, UK Finance said

We fully support the government’s target of cutting regulatory compliance costs by a quarter, and are encouraged by the work financial services regulators are already undertaking to deliver this ambition. 

Ensuring the regulatory framework is simpler and more proportionate is a key part of ensuring the UK has a pro-growth operating environment. This will in turn help the financial services sector to thrive and support growth in the wider economy.

Richard Moriarty, Financial Reporting Council (FRC) CEO, said

We welcome the government’s next steps in their commitment to simplify and modernise the UK’s corporate reporting framework. Our stakeholders prioritise and value decision-useful strategic information when making investment decisions, and these proposals will help focus corporate reporting on the information which is most important to them. There is clearly a real demand and ambition from preparers to see what can be removed from reporting requirements that doesn’t add value and creates unnecessary burdens.

About Regional Investment Summit attendees

Over 350 senior business figures, investors and local leaders will attend the Summit, spanning sectors including financial services, professional and business services, real estate, energy, digital technology, transport, life sciences and manufacturing.

These private sector leaders will be joined by public sector representatives from central government, the English regions including (12 of the 14 mayors and the deputy mayor of London), devolved governments, public finance institutions including the National Wealth Fund and British Business Bank, regulators and other key public bodies.

The Regional Investment Summit’s official sponsors are E.ON, HSBC, IBM, KPMG, and Lloyds.

Regulation 

The regulatory changes set to be unveiled by the Chancellor, together with cuts to red tape announced since March’s Regulation Action Plan, will contribute £1.5 billion towards the £5.6 billion administrative savings target per year by the end of parliament.

Key measures set to be revealed by the Chancellor tomorrow include 

• Increasing size thresholds for corporate reporting and cutting duplicative requirements, meaning lighter-touch requirements for up to 44,000 medium-sized private companies and around 7,000 subsidiary companies who will no longer be required to produce Strategic Reports.   

• Removing the need for any company to submit Directors’ Report to Companies House.

• Digital verification of planning documents, speeding up approvals for local projects.

• An online register of underground pipes and cables to prevent length and unnecessary delays caused by accidents.

• Less frequent data returns for thousands of banks, insurers and asset managers, with the Financial Conduct Authority scrapping lower-value returns and the Prudential Regulation Authority cutting the number of times firms need to update financial reports. 

Public investment bodies

• The National Wealth Fund is loaning £104 million for onshore and offshore wind projects in Norfolk and Orkney and the heat network in Hull.
• The National Wealth Fund has launched their Regional Project Accelerator. This includes supporting their Strategic Partnerships with priority projects Clyde Metro project in Glasgow, Trafford heat network in Greater Manchester, delivery of the West Yorkshire Mass Transit in Leeds and Bradford, and Greenpower park in Birmingham.
• The government has published an overview of UK public investment bodies, outlining their support, funding offers, and guidance for businesses, investors and local government bodies.