Rachel Reeves unveils plan to cut red tape for business

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she plans to remove “unnecessary form filling” in a bid to boost business growth.

Speaking at a regional investment summit in Birmingham, the chancellor said the reforms would boost growth and “make the UK the number one destination for global capital”.

Ahead of next month’s Budget, Reeves acknowledged that “for too many people” the economy “is not working as it should”.

The government has been criticized by firms who say increased employers’ National Insurance contributions and the Employment Rights Act are increasing the burdens faced by businesses.

The Chancellor said the changes would save firms around £6bn a year by the end of the parliamentary term.

The measures also include plans to reform the company merger process. The Treasury said new “simpler corporate rules” would eliminate the need for small businesses to submit lengthy reports to Companies House.

The changes will apply to more than 100,000 firms, such as family-run cafes.

Earlier on Tuesday, Business Secretary Peter Kyle defended Labour’s approach to business, telling the BBC the government would implement the changes in a “pro-worker and pro-business” way.

The measures could include temporary exemptions from regulation for new AI software, Kyle told the Today programme.

“In certain cases where new AI technology is being developed, we may remove it from all regulation for a period of time to give it room to grow, evolve and commercialize really quickly,” he said.

This, he said, would allow the technology to be used “to benefit the health, wealth and education of our nations.”

“We will use this in a very targeted, very safe way.”

The government has pledged to reduce the administrative cost of regulation by a quarter by the end of this Parliament.

Kyle said the previous government “didn’t do enough on liberalization” despite promising to do so, especially after Brexit.

“If you look at some of the reporting that directors have to do, for example the reports that directors make to Companies House, I’m eliminating a lot of that today because some of it is so redundant,” he said.

But on whether the government’s changes to employment rights would impose costs on businesses, Kyle insisted the changes would be fair to both employers and employees.

“We ensure that the rights and responsibilities that people have as employers and employees in the workplace are fulfilled. [are] “It’s appropriate for the times we live in.”

Jane Gratton, deputy director of public policy at the British Chamber of Commerce, said the plans would be welcomed by businesses.

“Unnecessary bureaucracy and the burden of bureaucracy increases costs and harms competitiveness,” he said.

But Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrats’ Treasury spokeswoman, said: “If the Chancellor was serious about cutting red tape, he would tackle the mind-boggling two billion extra business paperwork created by Brexit by pursuing an ambitious bespoke UK-EU customs union.”