APPG for Entrepreneurship Newsletter: November 2025

This will be the last newsletter we send prior to Rachel Reeves stepping up to the Despatch Box and delivering her Autumn Budget. There may still be more than three weeks to go, but that hasn’t stopped Westminster from engaging in its usual parade of briefing and counterbriefing about what various interests want to hear the Chancellor say when 26 November finally rolls around. For our part, we’ll use this time to look into some of the ideas being bandied about that will hold the most significance for Britain’s entrepreneurial community.

Above all else, budgets are fiscal events. To simplify massively, that gives chancellors who preside over them two main dials to twiddle – one labelled ‘tax’, the other ‘spending’. It’s perhaps the worst-kept secret in Westminster right now that the tax one is set to be turned up. What will happen with spending has been subject to less speculation, but given the Government’s record of implementing cuts – or not – over the last year, it’s unlikely that major restraint is on the cards. With talk of needing to fill a £20 billion ‘black hole’ if the Chancellor is to meet her fiscal rules, something is going to have to give.

Amid all of the speculation, one factor looms large – Labour’s election promise to keep the rates of Income Tax, VAT and National Insurance Contributions on “working people” fixed. Given that these three taxes alone comprise almost two thirds of annual revenue to the Treasury, the pledge not to touch them ties more than a hand behind the Chancellor’s back. Inevitably, it’s leading to some creative thinking. Media reports suggest that officials believe the ‘working people’ caveat could give them the cover to raise taxes on those earning more than around £45,000 a year, while extending the current freeze on personal tax thresholds (due to expire by 2028) could net significant sums as people are dragged into higher tax bands, as would broadening out the VAT base.

The refusal to touch headline rates has also meant greater focus on other, smaller taxes that could be raised in order to generate revenue. A so-called ‘settling-up tax’ or ‘exit tax’ is under consideration according to numerous outlets, which would require people emigrating from the country to pay a 20% levy on their business assets, and thus prevent them from avoiding Capital Gains Tax. How seriously we should take this proposal is up for debate, though I defer to the ever-reliable tax guru Dan Neidle, who decidedly thinks not. (Incidentally, if you haven’t yet seen his discussion of whether the stick of an exit tax could have kept Revolut founder Nik Storonsky from departing our shores, make it the first thing you read after finishing this.)

Meanwhile, Capital Gains Tax is another moderately-sized tax that theoretically could be pushed up higher or see reforms to how it is levied – though the Chancellor will be wary given the fierce pushback from entrepreneurs when she pulled this move at the last Budget. Similar arguments could be levied at any changes to Inheritance Tax, as are being rumoured.

If it isn’t abundantly obvious by this point, what’s clear is that the Chancellor faces some incredibly challenging choices. Nobody could begrudge her commitment to balance the books, but viable options for doing so are thin on the ground. So far one word we haven’t mentioned though is growth. For any chancellor lucky enough to find some, economic growth can mask a multitude of fiscal sins. When businesses are booming, Treasury coffers fill up nicely. Pressures to curtail spending abate, and suddenly there’s more leeway for rationalising the tax system.

Unfortunately, unlike with tax and spending, there’s no magic dial Rachel Reeves can just turn to get more growth. Expanding the economy depends on countless decisions going right, and many other factors beyond any chancellor’s control. But where she does have influence, she should use it decisively (see below for some links in our Adviser Update for ways to do just that).

Britain’s entrepreneurs remain the country’s most effective engine of growth. If on 26 November the Chancellor gives them the space and stability to thrive, her fiscal conundrum will become that little bit easier to solve.

Adviser Update

Latest news, research and events from our Advisers

​​Startup Coalition shared their Budget submission. Read it here.

FBUK are hosting a Family Business Week Reception on the evening of the Autumn Budget at One Great George Street. Learn more here.

The Enterprise Research Centre published new research on the productivity costs associated with workplace mental health and wellbeing. Read it here.

They will also be convening their annual State of Small Business Britain Conference on Tuesday, 2 December. Learn more here.

The Entrepreneurs Network published their latest report, examining what young founders say they need to thrive. Read it here.

They will also be organising a meetup for entrepreneurial ecosystem builders in Oxford on Monday, 10 November. Learn more here.

In Parliament

Questions and comments relating to entrepreneurship this month

While discussing the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund, Minister for AI and Online Safety Kanishka Narayan MP noted that:

“[D]espite the UK’s global leadership in many areas of life sciences manufacturing, we must acknowledge that, in recent years, growth in manufacturing sites and jobs has not kept pace with the expansion of the life sciences sector as a whole. That is why this summer the Government published the life sciences sector plan – a comprehensive strategy to ensure growth in all parts of the sector. The plan sets out the UK’s ambition to secure more life sciences foreign direct investment than any other European economy by 2030, behind only the US and China globally by 2035. Central to that ambition is boosting manufacturing through delivery of the life sciences innovative manufacturing fund, one of six headline commitments in the sector plan. Launched last October, the fund demonstrates this Government’s commitment to the continued growth of our life sciences sector, with up to £520 million of funding available to support private sector capital investments until 2030.”

On Ada Lovelace Day, Victoria Collins MP argued that:

“[F]ailing to empower women in STEM is a loss not just for women, but for all of us, and for science, innovation and the economy. That is why, when I started a tech company, the very first thing I did was look for mentors, because I felt that I could not do it without them. It was by interviewing and talking to so many great women that I felt inspired and able to move forward. Ada Lovelace stands as a shining example of a woman who shattered barriers, paving the way for modern science and innovation. However, far too many women like her have been erased from history. Rosalind Franklin’s image of DNA was crucial, yet the Nobel prize for that discovery went to three men. Esther Lederberg made breakthroughs in genetics that were overshadowed by her husband’s receipt of the Nobel. Dorothy Hodgkin’s scientific achievement was reported in the press under the headline “Oxford housewife wins Nobel”. She remains the only British woman to win a science Nobel prize. That is not good enough. The instrumental role of women in STEM needs to be celebrated everywhere.”

In a debate on Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, Sarah Coombes MP observed that:

“In the US, where the roll-out of autonomous vehicles and robotaxis is far ahead of here, the safety statistics on automated versus human-driven vehicles look impressive. Waymo, the Google-owned company that runs self-driving taxis there, claims that its vehicles have 80% fewer injury-causing crashes compared with the average human driver, but within the human average there will be drivers who are neither careful nor competent, so these figures are quite hard to compare. What progress has the Minister made on expanding the safety expectations for automated and connected vehicles, and what is the timeline on the remaining regulations that need to be set out? Furthermore, what do the Government hope the safety gains from automated vehicles could be? Proving the reliability and safety of automated vehicles is essential for public acceptance of this new technology. Lots of people might feel reticent to get in a self-driving car because they do not feel safe, but I found my own experience yesterday in a Wayve autonomous vehicle reassuring. During the journey, we had cyclists jumping red lights, pedestrians walking out on to the road and other drivers cutting across our right of way. The car dealt with it all. The whole journey felt safe and smooth the whole time. Some critics say that these cars cannot handle British roundabouts because they were made for American grid cities. I can confirm that the Wayve car handled the roundabouts with ease. We had a safety driver sat ready to take the wheel if any issues arose, but none did.”

Over in the Lords, Financial Secretary to the Treasury Lord Livermore told Peers:

“The Government will bring forward final legislation to create a financial services regulatory regime for crypto assets this year, which will include issuing qualifying stablecoin in the UK. This will provide crypto asset firms the regulatory certainty needed to invest and help drive innovation in our financial services sector, and at the same time ensure that customers are protected from the worst harms when they make use of crypto asset services.”

Lord Livermore also used a debate on GDP Per Capita to declare:

“[W]e are in a global race for talent, with many countries seeking to improve the attractiveness of their immigration systems for highly talented individuals. The immigration White Paper announced that the Government will review the visa offer for highly talented individuals by expanding the high potential individual visa and reforming the global talent and innovator founder visas. We have also agreed that we will work towards an ambitious youth mobility scheme with the EU, creating maximum economic and cultural opportunities between the UK and the EU. Any scheme would give young Brits the opportunity to travel, to experience other cultures and to work and study abroad.”

In a debate on the Employment Rights Bill, Lord Hunt of Wirral criticised the legislation:

“Under these new so-called union access rights, small businesses already struggling with costs, labour shortages and regulation will now face inspectors at their doors; refuse entry and they face thousands of pounds in fines. What a message to the entrepreneurs, builders and wealth creators who keep this country moving.”

Looking Forward

Consultations and calls for evidence from government departments and Select Committees

Competition and Markets Authority – Revised merger remedies guidance (Deadline: Thursday, 13 November 2025)

Business and Trade Committee – Priorities of the Business and Trade Committee for 2026 (Deadline: Friday, 14 November 2025)

Economic Affairs Committee – The UK’s fiscal framework (Deadline: Monday, 1 December 2025)

Home Office – Extending the Right to Work Scheme (Deadline: Wednesday, 10 December 2025)

Department for Business and Trade – Unlocking business: reform driven by you (Deadline: Tuesday, 16 December 2025)

Department for Business and Trade – Make Work Pay: trade union right of access (Deadline: Thursday, 18 December 2025)

Department for Business and Trade – Make Work Pay: duty to inform workers of right to join a union (Deadline: Thursday, 18 December 2025)

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology – AI Growth Lab (Deadline: Friday, 2 January 2026)

Department for Business and Trade – Make Work Pay: leave for bereavement including pregnancy loss (Deadline: Thursday, 15 January 2026)

Office for National Statistics – Census 2031 Topic Consultation (Deadline: Wednesday, 4 February 2026)