APPG for Entrepreneurship Newsletter: April 2026

Our guiding mission here at the APPG for Entrepreneurship is “to ensure that Parliament remains closely informed about what’s needed to foster the best possible environment for entrepreneurs to succeed.” We are always thinking about how to fulfil that objective in new and innovative ways — most recently evidenced by our A-Z of Entrepreneurship. That being said, there is often little substitute for convening a good old-fashioned policy roundtable — bringing parliamentarians and subject-matter experts together to trade insights and practically move agendas forward.

We’re no strangers to the format, but we’ll be the first to hold up our hands and acknowledge that we’ve probably not taken full advantage of them. Until now, that is. Indeed, we’re ramping up our roundtable game — having just held one on unlocking the potential of female-founded spinouts, adeptly chaired by our Officer Victoria Collins MP. We’ve got another in the works on R&D tax breaks, which will be chaired by Lord Marks of Hale; and a further one on financially excluded communities, which will be chaired by Lord Kamall. (For any Parliamentarians reading, if you’d like to get involved, just drop us an email with the policy area in mind that you’d like to dissect.)

Following each roundtable, we’ll produce an anonymised write-up of what was discussed — to ensure that the evidence shared, and the thoughts on how to turn ideas into lasting impact, can be disseminated far and wide. (You can read what was said in our recent spinouts session by clicking here.)

“Politics,” the German economist Max Weber once observed, “is a strong and slow boring of hard boards. It takes both passion and perspective.” We agree. But even the most patient effort is only as effective as the information guiding it. To extend the metaphor further, our roundtables are about sharpening the drill — ensuring that those making policy are better informed by both the experiences of those building businesses from the ground up and the expertise of those whose job it is to help them.

In an era of fast-moving policy challenges, we hope these conversations allow us to respond with greater speed and clarity than traditional processes often permit. Stay tuned for more on this front.

Adviser Update

Latest news, research and events from our Advisers

UK Private Capital shared their response to HM Treasury’s recent call for evidence on tax support for entrepreneurs. Read it in full here, or check out Chris Elphick’s LinkedIn post here for the tl;dr.

London & Partners published their Business Support Strategy, a framework to help London’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to start, scale and grow. Read it in full here.

The EIS Association opened applications for the 2026 EISA Awards. Learn more here.

CaSE released fresh polling data exploring how people in Scotland and Wales think and feel about R&D, and politically salient issues, ahead of the May 2026 Holyrood and Senedd elections. Read it in full here.

Tech London Advocates and Global Tech Advocates are hosting ‘Women Leading Deeptech’ on 20 May. Learn more here.

The Entrepreneurs Network published two pieces of research in March: the latest wave of their Entrepreneurs Survey, which you can read here; and a policy paper on how Britain can play a leading role in the growth of the global stablecoins industry, which you can read here.

The Entrepreneurs Network are also hosting a roundtable for founders of robotics firms on 22 April, and an Ecosystem Builders event in Exeter on 24 April.

In Parliament

Questions and comments relating to entrepreneurship this month

In a debate on minimum wage rates, Lord Fox said:

“I am sure the Minister would acknowledge that an important precursor to people having wages is for them to have a job. I am sure that he would also recognise, perhaps reluctantly, that the number of jobs available, particularly for people at the lowest end of the wage scale, has taken a hit of late. So, can the Minister undertake to visit his friends in the Treasury and explain that their unheralded increase in employer NIC contributions has seriously hit the job prospects of the very people that his party said it was here to help?”

In response, Lord Leong replied:

“I fully acknowledge that businesses face challenges and that micro-businesses operate with narrow margins and encounter real pressures, and these businesses are the ones that employ young people. However, the evidence consistently shows that paying staff fairly strengthens businesses in the long run: higher wages and lower staff turnover boost morale and productivity and help businesses keep experienced workers. Crucially, these wages are then spent within local communities, often in small shops, cafés and services right across the country. A national living wage supports not only workers but the resilience of local communities.”

In a debate on UK-based tech companies, our Officer Victoria Collins MP said:

“The funding desert for scale-ups, that valley of death that we heard about, is well known, but it is worrying how normalised it has become. Ben Rose, the co-founder of Supercede, warns that many tech firms are forced to attract capital from overseas to continue growing at pace — we all know that story, unfortunately. Mark Thomas, the CEO of Appnalysis, notes that the £250,000 limit of the celebrated seed enterprise investment scheme has been eroded by inflation and rising costs to the point that it barely buys 12 months of runway. He asks that the Government look at increasing the limit of the scheme. Leo Rogers, the CEO of Curvo AI, calls for R&D tax credits to be extended to cover compute costs, which in the world of AI are really important. The hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare (Dan Aldridge) mentioned the important issue of financing smaller start-ups, which was mentioned by several entrepreneurs who contacted me. They said that would be helpful to get off the ground and to keep going. Sometimes the funding is there, but the communication of where to find it is not.”

In a debate on immigration reforms, Rachel Maskell MP said:

“The policies that have been brought forward for our universities are forcing them into financial ruin. International students have choices, and they used to choose to come to British universities; they are now going overseas. I know from the two universities in my constituency the consequences of the policy. Remove the international student levy, which they should not be paying, and remove the NHS surcharge, which clinicians revile. Ensure that instead we give universities the opportunity to be more inclusive and to have more home students, which the policy clearly rails against.”

In a debate on technology sovereignty, Samantha Niblett MP said:

“As AI becomes embedded across both the public and private sectors, we must recognise the risks posed by concentrated powers in the hands of a small number of overseas tech companies. At its most basic, sovereignty means the ability to make deliberate choices in our own interests, according to our shared values, so it is concerning that so many public sector contracts continue to go to overseas tech giants. In November ’22, Palantir was awarded a three-year Ministry of Defence contract worth £75.2 million, followed by, in December ’25, a further three-year contract worth £240.6 million, both without a formal competitive tender. I would love to see more of those major contracts going to home-grown innovators — companies based in the UK paying taxes here and helping to grow our economy. That is why I am really pleased to hear about the commitment to have a sovereign AI venture fund of £500 million to foster AI development. I would welcome seeing how much of that goes to female founders. The UK is by no means the little guy in this fight. Our start-up ecosystem is the third largest in the world. We have a real opportunity to grow. If we get this right, tech sovereignty can mean high-quality jobs across our regions, and it can ensure that we become the most trusted and safest country in the world for technology.”

In a debate on International Women’s Day, Baroness Lloyd said:

“The British Business Bank, which backs the taskforce, also runs a number of its own empowering initiatives. The bank’s £400 million Investor Pathways Capital programme is an example. It is reducing barriers to entry for new and emerging fund managers. We know that women are twice as likely to back women-led businesses than men, which is why 50% of this capital is ring-fenced for female fund managers. The bank’s diverse angel syndicate initiative also encourages a wide group of investors to back early-stage businesses. The figures from the programme’s pilot were impressive: 185 new angel investors were engaged, and 176 of them were female. This is a strong example of the British Business Bank channelling investment to women-led small businesses with big ambitions. When those founders succeed, our economy and our country succeed.”

Looking Forward

Consultations and calls for evidence from government departments and Select Committees

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero — Future of the UK downstream oil sector (Deadline: 20 April 2026)

Department of Health and Social Care — Proposed 2026 changes to the statutory scheme for branded medicines pricing (Deadline: 21 April 2026)

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology — Mobile Market Review (Deadline: 21 April 2026)

Department for Transport — Reviewing the law for powered mobility devices (Deadline: 22 April 2026)

Department for Business and Trade — Make Work Pay: protection from detriments for taking industrial action (Deadline: 23 April 2026)

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology — Building a future tech sector that works for everyone (Deadline: 23 April 2026)

Department for Business and Trade — Make Work Pay: improving access to flexible working (Deadline: 30 April 2026)

Department for Business and Trade — Make Work Pay: modernising the Agency Work Regulatory Framework (Deadline: 1 May 2026)

Department for Education — AI and other digital technology in children’s social care (Deadline: 1 May 2026)

Migration Advisory Committee — Global Talent and Innovator Founder visas (Deadline: 1 May 2026)

HM Revenue and Customs — Cryptoasset taxation — stablecoins (Deadline: 7 May 2026)

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government — Fees for planning applications (Deadline: 18 May 2026)

Department for Business and Trade — Make Work Pay: threshold for triggering collective redundancy obligations (Deadline: 21 May 2026)

HM Revenue and Customs — Modernising and standardising company tax returns (Deadline: 2 June 2026)

HM Revenue and Customs — Reporting company payments to participators (Deadline: 10 June 2026)

Department for Business and Trade — Open for business: implementing a UK corporate re-domiciliation regime (Deadline: 19 June 2026)