APPG for Entrepreneurship Newsletter: May 2025

We’re so back. After a brief hiatus, I’m delighted to say that the APPG for Entrepreneurship is officially reconstituted, and raring to get going again. We’ve got a new Chair, new Officers, new Members and new Advisers, but our purpose remains resolutely the same – to ensure that Parliament is kept up-to-date on what is needed to create and sustain the most favourable conditions for entrepreneurship.

We’ve got a lot planned for the foreseeable future. We’ll continue to produce original research, host virtual and in-person events, convene key members of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and, of course, publish this monthly newsletter. And while we’ve got plenty of ideas of our own, we’re all ears for other proposals of what to focus on. If there’s an issue relating to entrepreneurship in any way, shape or form that you think is getting neglected in the policy world, do let us know.

Before writing this, I leafed through previous issues of the newsletter to refresh my memory of what we’ve covered before. There are the obvious things – reactions to political events like Budgets, Cabinet reshuffles and party conference seasons. Then there are the less run of the mill ones – looking into a specific issue or piece of research that caught my attention at the time. As the newsletter spools up again, I’m keen to lean more into the latter. Examples include whether entrepreneurship is contagious, to what extent countries have ‘brands’, the relationship between universities and startups, and the role local government can play in supporting innovation.

Without asking you to do my homework for me, all of this is to say that I’m also very much open to suggestions. Perhaps you’ve spotted something interesting that straddles the intersection of entrepreneurship and policymaking, whether it’s a formal research paper, snippet of data or even just an idle musing that deserves to have its tires kicked. Whatever it is, don’t hesitate to ping it my way.

By its very nature, this newsletter is not here to make divisive, sweeping pronouncements or come down definitively on a policy stance. Rather, I like to think of it as a place for issues and ideas to be entertained and scrutinised, bringing in different perspectives and hopefully constructively advancing debates forward.

We’re extremely excited to be up and running once again, and can’t wait to get back into the swing of things. All that remains to be said here is thank you for continuing to read the newsletter, and do please share it far and wide with whoever you think might find it useful to subscribe.

Adviser Update
Latest news, research and events from our Advisers

Today, our Secretariat, The Entrepreneurs Network, is heading up to Cambridge to bring the next generation of founders together as part of their Young Entrepreneurs Forum (RSVP here).

On 15 May, the ScaleUp Institute will be in Belfast to delve into the funding landscape and options to raise capital in 2025 and beyond (RSVP here).

In Parliament
Questions and comments relating to entrepreneurship this month

In the Commons, John Glen asked:

“Will the Prime Minister convene an urgent No. 10 summit with City leaders and the regulators to provide a reset and to maximise the chances that the City can lead economic growth and recovery in these times of grave uncertainty and turmoil?”

To which Keir Starmer responded:

“The right hon. Gentleman is right that we need to go further and faster in kick-starting growth and attracting the investment we need to create jobs, and that our regulators must regulate for growth and not just for risk. We do want that continuity of leadership that he mentioned, and we are convening and getting people together to drive growth. We will take away the ideas that he put on the table.”

During a debate on automation, John Slinger stood up for the robots:

“It is not the robots that we should be worried about; it is not building enough of them. I think it is safe to say that we are in the middle of the creation of – willing or otherwise – a new technological, industrial, defence, trading and perhaps even geopolitical paradigm right now. As it is being reforged, with the metal still molten, the need for home-grown advanced manufacturing and innovation is growing, as is the importance of improving productivity and unleashing innovation. I hope that in today’s debate I have spoken up for the robots and for automation, because they are not the dystopian usurpers of human inspiration and productive labour; they are, in fact, the enablers of it.”

In a debate on university funding, Rachel Maskell said:

“If we are going to realise the knowledge and scientific, innovative and technical opportunity that this country presents to the world, we must have a global outlook on the investment we must make into higher education. There have been many factors impacting universities, many of which we have heard. On international students, I urge the Minister to make representation to the Home Office to ensure that dependants can accompany academics and students as they come to this country, and that we look again at visa costs and NHS surcharges. That will enable people to come [to] our country to put in to it and bring benefits – including the economic benefit that we know has been deeply damaged with the change in visa rules.”

In the Lords, Lord Drayson observed:

“Less than 5% of UK pensions were invested in UK equities, the UK stock exchange had fallen to 21st place, level with Kazakhstan in world IPO rankings, and the talk in founder-entrepreneur circles was about how quickly they could move their companies to the US to escape the aversion to risk and lack of scale-up capital that exists in the UK.”

Looking Forward
Consultations and calls for evidence from government departments and Select Committees

House of Lords Science and Technology Committee – Financing and Scaling UK Science and Technology: Innovation, Investment, Industry (Deadline: Friday, 9 May)

House of Commons Energy Security and Net Zero Committee – National planning for energy infrastructure (Deadline: Monday, 12 May)

House of Commons Public Accounts Committee – UK Research and Innovation (Deadline: Thursday, 22 May)

House of Commons Public Accounts Committee – Collecting the right tax from wealthy individuals (Deadline: Thursday, 29 May)

House of Commons Public Accounts Committee – Governance and decision-making on major projects (Deadline: Thursday, 10 June)

Department for Business and Trade and HM Treasury – Small business access to finance (Deadline: Thursday, 8 May)

Competition and Markets Authority – Review of merger remedies approach (Deadline: Monday, 12 May)

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Ministry of Defence – Nuclear regulation: input to the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce review (Deadline: Monday, 19 May)

HM Revenue and Customs – Research and Development tax relief advance clearances (Deadline: Monday, 26 May)

HM Treasury – Alternative Investment Fund Managers Regulations consultation (Deadline: Monday, 9 June)

Office for Equality and Opportunity, the Race Equality Unit and the Disability Unit – Equality (Race and Disability) Bill: mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting (Deadline: Tuesday, 10 June)

Department for Work and Pensions – Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper (Deadline: Monday, 30 June)

HM Revenue and Customs – Modernisation of the Stamp Taxes on Shares Framework – 1.5% charge (Deadline: Monday, 21 July)