Government slashes red tape and tariffs to give businesses breathing space
British businesses will get a bit more breathing space as the Chancellor announces new plans to slash the red tape choking firms.
- Businesses across Britain to save almost £800 million as Prime Minister and Chancellor strip back outdated paperwork, unnecessary form filling, and extends suspensions on tariffs for business
- Government introduces new measures developed in partnership with small businesses to cut bureaucracy, as Prime Minister and Business Secretary meet with small business leaders at No10 North
- Announcement comes ahead of the Budget next week that will give businesses some breathing space for today and hope for the future
British businesses will get a bit more breathing space as the Chancellor announces new plans to slash the red tape choking firms, while the Government accepts further recommendations from team of business leaders.
From family-run bakeries to high tech manufacturers and financial services firms, businesses across the country are set to save almost £800 million in administrative and tariff costs per year with government making changes that mean less time filling in forms, removing duplicate requests for information, leaving more time to run and grow business.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said:
If you run a business, you want to spend your time serving your customers, creating jobs and growing your firm, not filling in unnecessary forms.
It’s not right that pointless bureaucracy gets in the way of people working hard to build something that matters to their high street.
So we’re getting government off their backs and giving businesses the breathing space to grow. Because when businesses succeed, they create good jobs, strengthen their communities and bring growth to every part of the country.
The changes announced by the Chancellor today include:
- Making compliance guidance clearer, simpler and small business-friendly,
- Further simplifying the UK’s corporate reporting requirements, reducing reporting burdens for firms. These reforms could save businesses operating as part of a wider national group up to £20,000 per year.
- Extending import tariff suspensions on products favoured by businesses.
The Prime Minister and Business Secretary will today meet with small business owners and representative organisations, including the Federation of Small Businesses, at Number 10 North. There, they will accept recommendations from the Small Business Taskforce, which has seen government work in partnership with business leaders over the past months to identify and reduce the bureaucracy holding firms back.
These changes mark a new partnership with business, shaped by real-world experience and a government determined to listen, adapt and bring down costs.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey MP said:
British firms are fed up with form-filling and pointless paperwork that eats into valuable time and money when they simply want to get on with running their businesses.
That is why we are cutting unnecessary bureaucracy and giving businesses the breathing space they need to invest, innovate and create good jobs.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said:
A baker should be filling pasties, not forms. This sounds simple but thousands of businesses are spending hours having to prioritise complicated paperwork and duplicate reporting over grafting, investing and achieving their full potential.
We’ve heard loud and clear that this must change if we are to unlock their potential, which is why we’re stripping away needless bureaucracy, simplifying how businesses deal with government, and making them an equal partner with a voice in shaping the rules that affect them.
The changes announced by the Chancellor today include over £600 million per year in regulatory admin savings for businesses, for example:
- Streamlining company reporting requirements, saving firms up to £290 million per year;
- Reducing duplicative reporting burdens for asset managers , saving £105 million a year.
- Streamlining the home-buying and selling process, saving businesses in the transaction chain £116 million a year
Additionally, the Government is extending import tariff suspensions on more than 250 products favoured by businesses, saving up to £155 million per year.
The changes support the government’s plan to cut the administrative burden of regulation on businesses by 25% by the end of Parliament. Delivering this will save UK businesses with employees 280 million hours per year.
For small business, acting on what businesses have said will reduce unnecessary red tape the most, the government will:
- Make it simpler for small firms to bid for public contracts by standardising requirements in sectors such as construction.
- Streamline ONS business surveys to reduce the number of data requests businesses have to fill out.
- Make it easier for businesses to find support and guidance on GOV.UK, and give small businesses a way to report disproportionate regulations.
- Implement the government’s “Tell Us Once” ambition, including by pausing the Companies House profit and loss filing requirement for April 2028.
By accepting the majority of these recommendations, developed between government and business, ministers are putting the interests of business back at the heart of government and creating a stronger partnership between government and those driving our economy.
Small businesses are the backbone of the British economy, supporting around 13 million jobs, driving innovation, and bringing communities together.
Together, these changes represent the future partnership between government and business. A relationship informed by the real-world experience of those who run and grow businesses every day, and built on government that listens and adapts to bring down the cost of doing business.
Tina McKenzie, National Chair, Federation of Small Businesses said:
The Regulatory Taskforce has been a good example of business and Government working in partnership to address a common problem. Currently, the weight of compliance can be a struggle, costing time, money, and stress that small businesses can ill afford. Today’s report is an important first step in addressing that.
The Taskforce’s report sets out clear, practical, and tailored recommendations to help lessen the burden of red tape on small businesses, enabling them to devote more resources to growth and job creation. Pausing the plans for full profit and loss accounts to be filed at Companies House by the smallest businesses is a huge step in the right direction, averting a huge new weight of red tape on the very businesses with the fewest resources to deal with it.
Rain Newton-Smith, CBI Chief Executive, said:
Good regulation protects consumers and the environment, but unnecessary red tape holds back investment and growth. The Government’s acceptance of the Small Business Taskforce’s recommendations, alongside progress on corporate reporting reform, is a welcome step towards giving smaller firms more time and headroom to focus on their businesses.
The test now is delivery. Cutting unnecessary admin can free firms to invest, compete and grow – and business will want to see that ambition translated quickly into meaningful reductions in the burden they face.
Josie Morris MBE DL, CEO, Woolcool and member of the Small Business Forum said:
MSMEs continue to face a challenging economic climate, so today’s announcement is very welcome. These measures will help to ease some of the regulatory and cost pressures facing businesses like Woolcool, and it’s refreshing to see the Government taking tangible action and working positively and collaboratively with the MSME community.
MSMEs play a vital role in the UK economy and our future success. I encourage the Government to build on today’s announcement, continue its support and maintain its close engagement with the MSME community. This continued collaboration can only lead to positive outcomes.
Andy Hook, Managing Director of Hooked-On Group and member of the Small Business Forum, said:
I’m delighted to see the government working with small businesses like ours to reduce the regulatory burden we face. This government is not only listening to us, but taking practical steps to make running a business easier. This will give us more time to focus on what really matters: developing and growing our businesses. I welcome these announcements and look forward to seeing further initiatives and recommendations from the Small Business Taskforce.
More information
- Statistics on number of people employed by small businesses can be found here: Business population estimates for the UK and regions 2025: statistical release - GOV.UK
- The full detail of HMG’s existing £2 billion of net progress against the 25% target was published in July. The target is converted into employment hours using the economy-wide average hourly wage with a non-wage uplift applied. The methodology behind the target can be found here.
- The full detail of individual administrative saving measures announced today and which qualify toward the 25% target will be published on GOV.UK on 28 October.
- Extending suspensions on import tariffs follows a public consultation. This will ensure tariff free imports on over 250 goods that were due to expire on 31 December are extended until December 2028. All suspensions that were consulted on are being extended, apart from those that no longer have a material effect. Import tariff suspensions due to expire in June 2027 will also be extended by 6 months to December 2027, providing continuity for businesses while a formal review of a possible further extension takes place.
- The extensions will maintain reduced import costs for businesses of up to £155 million a year across many sectors, including the chemicals, plastics, hydrogen, automotive, and food and drinks industries.
- A new window will open from 11 November to 3 February, giving businesses the opportunity to submit views on whether existing tariff suspensions should be extended beyond 2027 and suggest further new suspensions to bring down costs for businesses.