UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to launch a sweeping “blitz on business bureaucracy” aimed at cutting red tape and saving British companies nearly £6 billion annually.
Announcing the plan at the inaugural Regional Investment Summit in Birmingham on Tuesday, Reeves will outline how she plans to end “pointless paperwork” and “unnecessary form-filling” faced by small businesses but committed to delivering transparency and certainty for businesses around mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
The Treasury’s proposals are part of a wider drive to boost growth by cutting back on regulatory entanglements, according to the government.
This development follows as the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) appeals to Reeves to seize the November budget and make substantial amendments on current tax law. In an October 13 news release, the think tank said this reform is significant in that it will allow Reeves to raise more money while mitigating the negative economic impacts.
As for the IFS’s advice to the chancellor, officials at the London-based research institute cautioned Reeves against raising the current rate of tax in order to raise those extra funds (some 30 billion pounds, or about $40 billion) that she needs to meet her goals for boosting public finances.
“What we really do not want in November is the encouragement of aimless changes and half-hearted solutions,” said Isaac Delestre, a senior research economist at the IFS. Delestre views November’s budget as a chance for real progress. Therefore, he urges the chancellor to use this budget to establish a more sensible tax system.
CMA faces overhaul as Treasury pushes for faster, fairer M&A reviews
Reeves will announce that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will undergo significant structural changes to improve efficiency and accountability. These are replacing its current panel-based decision-making with a board committee structure and carrying out detailed “phase 2” merger probes in-house rather than outsourcing them to independent experts. Any changes would have to undergo consultation and result in new legislation.
The chancellor has made little secret of her impatience with regulators recently boasting that she had “got rid” of the chair of the CMA and plans to “take out” more as part of her pro-growth agenda.
£10 billion investment drive unveiled at Birmingham summit
The summit, described as last year’s overseas counterpart that attracted £63 billion of foreign investment into the country, is bringing around 350 business leaders, mayors and investors to Edgbaston cricket ground. Sponsored by Eon, HSBC, KPMG and Lloyds it will see bosses from British Land, Hammerson, Deutsche Bank, Kraft Heinz and Morgan Stanley attend alongside figures from West Bromwich Albion, Birmingham City FC as well as the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
The government is expected to unveil £10 billion in new private investment, including a £6.5 billion injection from U.S. real estate firm Welltower into the care home sector. The Crown Estate will also announce a project expected to unlock £4.5 billion in value through land purchases at Harwell East science park, paving the way for new manufacturing spaces and 400 homes.
Industry leaders have welcomed the Harwell East project, with CATCH UK, a chemical industry group, emphasizing the need for “urgent corrective action” to ensure domestic producers remain competitive.
Meanwhile, the National Wealth Fund (NWF) will reveal £104 million in financing for clean energy projects, including onshore and offshore wind developments in Norfolk and Orkney and a heat network in Hull.
The fund, which has already invested heavily in the Sizewell C nuclear project, will also deploy experts to help local authorities accelerate infrastructure projects in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, West Midlands, and Glasgow City Region amid criticism of limited local capacity and expertise.
John Foster, policy chief at the CBI, praised the move, saying:
“For businesses to fully contribute to this mission, they need room to invest, not to be constantly battling costly regulation that adds little or no value.”
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