NEWS

Chancellor's 'blitz on business bureaucracy'

Chancellor Rachel Reeves recently announced a 'blitz on business bureaucracy', with cuts to red tape that the government says will save firms £6 billion.

Ms Reeves says 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.

The government says the crackdown on 'needless form-filling will see over 100,000 firms qualify for simpler corporate reporting rules', removing the need for small business owners like family-run cafes to submit lengthy Director reports to Companies House.

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.

John Foster, Chief Policy and Campaigns Officer at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said: 'There is a fierce urgency in the need to get the UK economy growing at a sustainable rate so it can make a meaningful difference to our nation's prosperity. For businesses to fully contribute to this mission they need room to invest, not be constantly battling costly regulation that adds little or no value.

'The government deserves credit for recognising this challenge and taking action to address it. We now need business and government to work together at pace, to deliver a growth-enabling regulatory system that sensibly balances appetite to risk while giving businesses confidence to invest and thrive.'

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03/11/2025