UK Government Announces £800m Annual Package of Regulatory and Tariff Cuts for Businesses Ahead of 28 October Budget

The UK government announced on 23 October 2026 a package of measures designed to reduce regulatory and administrative costs for British businesses by almost £800 million per year, timed to give firms 'breathing space' ahead of Chancellor John Healey's Budget on 28 October 2026. The headline measures include over £600 million per year in regulatory administration savings through three principal changes: streamlining company reporting requirements (saving up to £290 million per year); reducing duplicative reporting burdens for asset managers (saving £105 million per year); and streamlining the home-buying and selling process across the transaction chain (saving £116 million per year). A further £155 million per year in savings will come from extending import tariff suspensions on more than 250 products favoured by businesses. Additionally, the government announced it would pause the Companies House profit and loss filing requirement for the smallest businesses that was due to come into force in April 2028, a measure welcomed by the Federation of Small Businesses. The government also accepted recommendations from its Small Business Taskforce to standardise public procurement requirements in sectors including construction and to streamline ONS business surveys. The announcement was made jointly by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Chancellor John Healey and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, who met with small business leaders at Number 10 North alongside the Federation of Small Businesses and the CBI. The changes form part of the government's broader commitment to reduce the administrative burden of regulation on businesses by 25% by the end of Parliament, which the government says would save UK businesses with employees approximately 280 million hours per year.