APPG for Entrepreneurship Newsletter: September 2025

/

When is a reshuffle not a reshuffle? Despite rumours that Prime Minister Keir Starmer would start the autumn off with a reorganisation of his top team, what we eventually got was a rather more subdued affair. Congratulations and best wishes are nonetheless due for Darren Jones MP, who now occupies the newly created position of Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister; for James Murray MP, who will move into Jones’ former role as Chief Secretary to the Treasury; and to Dan Tomlinson MP, who will fill the empty shoes left by Murray as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury.

Meanwhile, though not an MP, also making moves was the economist John van Reenen. After Labour won the 2024 General Election, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves installed van Reenen as the Chair of her Council of Economic Advisers. He will now report directly to Reeves as an expert adviser, drawing on his extensive academic background investigating the determinants of economic growth and innovation.

Entrepreneurs and enjoyers of higher living standards alike should welcome his appointment. If I can indulge in a little anecdata, a quick search of my inbox finds that it’s littered with emails from people on all sides of the political debate positively citing studies van Reenen has authored – whether they’re on the importance of good management, the root causes that influence who becomes an entrepreneur, or where innovative spillovers actually come from. (For those with enough time on their hands, you can find all of his publications on his website here.)

One piece of research that has stuck with me over the years is his 2019 paper A Toolkit of Policies to Promote Innovation. Written with the equally distinguished Nicholas Bloom and Heidi Williams, this paper quickly yet comprehensively makes the case for why governments should support endeavours to promote innovation, before evaluating some of the most common ways they try to do so. Specifically, they examine tax policies to favour research and development, government research grants, policies aimed at increasing the supply of human capital focused on innovation, intellectual property policies, and pro-competitive policies.

They conclude with the neat little table featured below, which summarises the evidence base for different approaches to advancing innovation. As one can see, they reserve high praise for R&D tax credits, efforts to boost skilled immigration, and increasing the level of competition both within and between markets. They are altogether less enthusiastic about ‘patent boxes’ (which they dub “an example of a harmful form of tax competition that distorts the tax system under the guise of being a pro-innovation policy”), and they take an uncertain view on reforming intellectual property rules.

As van Reenen and his co-authors note, their assessments are only subjective, and “others will undoubtedly take different views on the policies listed.” As far as I’m concerned, however, their analysis is rigorous, persuasive, and more than worthy of close attention from any government.

One of the primary reasons why we run the APPG for Entrepreneurship is to better educate parliamentarians about key economic concepts relating to the startup world, innovation, and the economy at large. Only by sifting fact from fiction can policies be crafted that genuinely make a difference. Part of how we do that is by drawing on the insights of people like van Reenen who dedicate their lives to understanding what really makes an economy tick. With the Autumn Budget just around the corner, let’s hope he can hit the ground running in his new role.

Adviser Update

Latest news, research and events from our Advisers

Enterprise Nation’s Daniel Woolf explains why America scrapping its de minimis threshold is “another kick in the shins” for Britain’s small businesses. (If you haven’t subscribed already, they also have a new newsletter which is well worth signing up for.)

The Enterprise Investment Scheme Association is hosting a string of events up and down the country as part of its Ready, Steady, Grow 2025 series. Find out where your closest one to attend is by clicking here.

The Entrepreneurs Network has opened their Entrepreneurs Survey for responses – if you’re a founder, it takes less than ten minutes to make your voice heard on the key issues that impact you most.

They are also organising a roundtable all about making R&D tax credits work better. If you’re free on the morning of Thursday 25 September and have expertise to share on the subject, request a place here.

In Parliament

Questions and comments relating to entrepreneurship this month

Nothing to report! Both Houses of Parliament have been in recess since our last newsletter. Normal service for this section will resume next month.

Looking Forward

Consultations and calls for evidence from government departments and Select Committees

Joint Committee on Human Rights – Human Rights and the Regulation of AI (Deadline: Friday, 5 September 2025)

Science, Innovation and Technology Committee – Innovation and global food security (Deadline: Sunday, 7 September 2025)

Competition and Markets Authority – Draft guidance for businesses on price transparency (Deadline: Monday, 8 September 2025)

HM Treasury – FS Sector Strategy: Regulatory Environment - Cross-Cutting Reforms (Deadline: Tuesday, 9 September 2025)

Business and Trade Committee – Financing the real economy (Deadline: Friday, 12 September 2025)

Financial Services Regulation Committee – Growth of private markets in the UK following reforms introduced after 2008 (Deadline: Thursday, 18 September 2025)

Office for Digital Identities and Attributes and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology – Adoption of trust services: call for views (Deadline: Saturday, 20 September 2025)

Competition and Markets Authority – Revised draft markets regime guidance (Deadline: Wednesday, 1 October 2025)

Cabinet Office – Consultation on the NSI Act Notifiable Acquisition Regulations (Deadline: Tuesday, 14 October 2025)

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology – Proposals to update the Telecommunications Security Code of Practice 2022 (Deadline: Wednesday, 22 October 2025)

Department for Business and Trade – Late payments: tackling poor payment practices (Deadline: Thursday, 23 October 2025)

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – Consultation on streamlining infrastructure planning (Deadline: Monday, 27 October 2025)