APPG for Entrepreneurship Newsletter: March 2026
/Anyone who has ever worked in Westminster will know just how pervasive jargon and buzzwords can be. While acronyms and the like may save a precious few seconds for those of us deeply embedded within the debate, they can nonetheless leave outsiders isolated.
No policy area is immune, and while I’ve no solid evidence to suggest entrepreneurship disproportionately suffers from it, it can certainly feel that way. Do you know your EIS from your EMI? What’s the difference between Enterprise Zones and Economic Development Organisations? When does a startup become a scaleup?
As the Secretariat for the APPG for Entrepreneurship, we regularly get questions from entrepreneurs who need pointers to navigate Britain’s labyrinthine policy landscape. At the same time, Members of Parliament are often keen to direct confused constituents to helpful resources, but don’t always know where to begin. It’s not our job to actually deliver that help — others are far better placed to — but we thought that the least we could do is compile a repository of convenient explainers of some of the topics that matter most to Britain’s founder community.
That’s where the A to Z of Entrepreneurship comes in. With assistance from policy experts drawn from across the entrepreneurial ecosystem, we’ve pulled together nearly 50 short overviews to demystify key concepts, policies and initiatives.
Our guide covers everything from Accelerators to Zombie Firms, with plenty in between. Moreover, rather than this being a ‘one and done’ project, we want the A-Z to be a living, breathing, and ever-evolving archive — continually being updated and expanded as and when policies change. To that end, if there’s an issue you think we’ve neglected to mention, do get in touch — especially if it begins with Q, X, Z, or indeed any other letter that you’d be proud to play in Scrabble.
Adviser Update
Latest news, research and events from our Advisers
The UK Business Angels Association has a handful of upcoming events. On 23 March they are convening an online training course on How Early-Stage Investment Works; on 26 March they are organising the Early-Stage Investment Summit London; and on 30 March they are hosting another online training course on Venturing into Investing.
Campaign for Science and Engineering launched a new evidence-led review exploring how shifts across the full breadth of the voter landscape might affect R&D advocacy. Learn more here.
The Entrepreneurs Network are hosting a number of Ecosystem Builders events — designed to bring together the individuals and organisations whose mission is to drive innovation, develop the UK’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and strengthen innovation communities. They’ll be in Birmingham on 5 March, Canary Wharf on 9 April, and Exeter on 24 April.
The Entrepreneurs Network are also inviting founders to participate in their latest Entrepreneurs Survey. You’ll have to be quick though, as it closes to respondents at 12pm sharp on Wednesday 4 March.
In Parliament
Questions and comments relating to entrepreneurship this month
In a debate on National Insurance Contributions, Baroness Neville-Rolfe said:
“Small and medium enterprises have been hammered under this Government. They have introduced policies that will cost businesses £25 billion annually in tax compliance alone, according to the firm Together Accounting. Their previous NICs hike added a further £25 billion burden and there are business rate hikes, minimum wage increases and the Employment Rights Act. Is it any wonder that 52 businesses per 10,000 are entering insolvency, nearly double the rate from just five years ago? The Federation of Small Businesses reports that 63% of businesses now cite tax as their primary concern. Business confidence has plummeted.”
In a debate about Student Loan Repayment Plans, Aphra Brandreth MP said:
“Young people are today’s innovators and tomorrow’s entrepreneurs—our future high-skilled workforce, our teachers, doctors and nurses—and the foundations that we set today, and the start that we give them, are an investment in the future of our country and economy. That is why the student finance system matters so much.”
In a debate about Cyber Security and Resilience, Dr Ben Spencer MP said:
“There is a sense in the UK that we are getting gummed up by regulation and obsessing more and more about limitations and restrictions to businesses. In that environment, people and organisations that do well financially, succeed and grow are seen as either targets or cheats—as something that we can go for, tax and punish. We have lost or diminished our can-do attitude when it comes to supporting the risk takers and the entrepreneurs, who are the people and organisations building the MSPs and data centres on which our economy relies.”
In a debate about Fast-Track Visas and Skilled US Citizens, Mike Tapp MP said:
“A world-class visa system is essential to attracting and retaining the best international talent. Our system is just that, but we are committed to going further and have already introduced pro-talent reforms. That includes expanding eligibility for the high potential individual visa to the top 100 global universities; enabling international students to transition seamlessly from study to entrepreneurship on the innovator founder visa; simplified access for top science talent; and a broadened list of eligible prizes for the global talent visa.”
In a debate about Rural Mobile Connectivity, Helen Morgan MP said:
“Improving rural phone signal would not just help vulnerable individuals. It would help local businesses, grow the economy and help our health and social care system. Smartphones are an essential part of daily modern life, whether that is for a GP patient who needs to book an appointment or request a repeat prescription or for a small business owner who needs to take payment from a customer. I have spoken to countless elderly people who struggle to access key services. I have heard from farmers, landscape gardeners, taxi drivers and dog groomers whose businesses all suffer because of signal problems.”
In a debate about Taxation on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, Gregory Stafford MP said:
“In my constituency, I repeatedly hear the same message from business owners about staffing pressures, soaring energy bills and rising financial costs, which in many cases have more than trebled as a direct result of decisions taken by this Government. That is not anecdote; it is reflected clearly in the data. Research from Xero shows just how precarious the situation has become: two in five SMEs do not even know whether they were profitable last month. That is not confidence; that is business flying blind.”
Looking Forward
Consultations and calls for evidence from government departments and Select Committees
HM Treasury — Reforming the customs treatment of low value imports into the United Kingdom (Deadline: 6 March 2026)
Financial Services Regulation Committee — Growth and proposed regulation of stablecoins in the UK (Deadline: 11 March 2026)
Ministry of Defence — Review of MOD legislation governing autonomous systems (Deadline: 13 March 2026)
Energy Security and Net Zero Committee — Reviewing the electricity market (Deadline: 27 March 2026)
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 Business and Trade — Make Work Pay: modernising the Agency Work Regulatory Framework (Deadline: 1 May 2026)
Department for Business and Trade — Make Work Pay: threshold for triggering collective redundancy obligations (Deadline: 21 May 2026)