In this edition’s eNews, we look at the government’s plans to overhaul corporate reporting and reduce red tape for businesses, the growing use of AI tools among UK small businesses, and the Chancellor’s pledge to make Great Britain a hub for economic growth ahead of the Autumn Budget. We also cover the latest labour market figures from the ONS, calls from business leaders for measures to restore confidence and encourage investment, and new research suggesting the UK has missed out on nearly £2 trillion of business and infrastructure investment over the past 25 years.
- Government launches overhaul of corporate reporting
- Nearly half of UK businesses using AI tools
- Chancellor pledges to make Great Britain ‘growth Britain’
- ONS releases labour market overview for September 2026
- Business group urges Chancellor to ‘restore business confidence’
- UK missed out on £2tn of investment, study finds
Government launches overhaul of corporate reporting
The government recently launched an overhaul of corporate reporting that it hopes will save UK businesses more than £450 million per year.
As part of the changes, the government will replace paperwork reporting with digital systems and explore how AI can further drive efficiency.
Simpler rules will make British businesses more attractive to investors, the government said. In turn this will help to drive the creation of good jobs that make the country better off.
The government will tackle corporate reporting burdens by simplifying reporting rules for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It said such businesses ‘often lack the resources to spend hours combing through paperwork’.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds commented: ‘For years, hardworking firms in this country have been weighed down by pen-pushing paperwork and frustrating costs, ticking boxes that do nothing to help them grow their business.
‘We’re stripping back outdated bureaucracy and building a common-sense system fit for a 21st-century economy. This will cut the cost of doing business, giving breathing room to bosses across the country, and free them up to focus on what they do best, creating jobs and growth.’
Press release: Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade
Nearly half of UK businesses using AI tools
Research carried out by insurer Simply Business has revealed that 47% of UK small business owners are using artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
The latest figure represents a significant increase compared to 2025, when just 22% of firms stated they actively used AI.
An additional 13% plan to start using AI in the next six to 12 months, Simply Business found.
Creating content, problem solving and generating ideas were amongst the top uses for AI, the research showed. 46% said they utilise AI to save time on administrative tasks.
Julie Fisher, UK CEO of Simply Business, said: ‘Adaptability and resilience are central to the DNA of small business owners and time and again they’ve proven they’re drivers of innovation – finding new ways to grow even in the face of challenging trading conditions.
‘One of the most significant shifts we’ve tracked this year with our annual SME Insights Report is around AI adoption. Almost half say they now use AI in their business, up from 22% in 2025.’
Press release: Simply Business
Chancellor pledges to make Great Britain ‘growth Britain’
In a speech ahead of the Autumn Budget on 28 October, Chancellor John Healey pledged to make Great Britain ‘growth Britain again’ by strengthening the UK’s economic growth trajectory.
Mr Healey said that he understands that small businesses in the UK are facing significant cost pressures, from rising energy bills to higher labour costs.
He stated that growth is the only way to combat cost increases for businesses and the public. The Chancellor intends to make the UK a ‘country of wealth creation’ by ensuring government policies help generate confidence in British businesses.
In his speech, the Chancellor also stated he won’t respond to speculation regarding tax rises ahead of the Autumn Budget. He said the government is focused on ‘doubling down’ on growth, calling it the ‘first economic priority’ of this government.
Mr Healey said: ‘On my first day in the Treasury, I said that fiscal discipline was my first priority as Chancellor. It underwrites every promise this government makes.
‘And the Prime Minister and I are in lockstep in our commitment to meeting the fiscal rules at the upcoming Budget, from balancing the books with a buffer to protect against uncertainty to controlling borrowing to bear down on inflation and reducing long-term pressures on our public finances.’
Press release: HM Treasury
ONS releases labour market overview for September 2026
The ONS have released their latest estimates of employment, unemployment, economic inactivity, and other employment-related statistics for the UK.
Pay growth in the private sector fell to 2.9% in the three months to July, equalling the lowest rate since October 2020. The equivalent figure for the public sector was 6.3% largely driven by the timing of NHS pay settlements.
Under the triple lock, state pensions will grow by the highest of average wage growth, inflation or 2.5%. Whilst the inflation figure will not be confirmed until next month, it is unlikely to exceed the average wage growth released today of 3.9% giving pensioners a boost from next April.
Unemployment remained at 4.9% reflecting the continued pressure on businesses.
Julia Diniz, Economist at the Resolution Foundation, said:
‘The big winners from today’s ONS data are pensioners, who are set for another large rise in the state pension next spring thanks to the triple lock.
‘The biggest losers are workers in the private sector who are already earning less than they were last autumn. With wage growth slumping to its lowest rate in nearly six years, the UK’s private sector pay squeeze will tighten over the coming months as inflation rises.’
Press releases:
Business group urges Chancellor to ‘restore business confidence’
The Institute of Directors (IoD) has called on Chancellor John Healey to help restore confidence amongst UK businesses in the upcoming Autumn Budget.
The IoD recently published its Autumn Budget submission in which it urged the Chancellor to restore confidence, encourage private investment and create the conditions for stronger long-term economic growth.
It argued that persistent weaknesses in investment, productivity and business confidence ‘risk undermining future prosperity’.
The submission identified five priority areas where the Budget can help strengthen the UK’s growth prospects. The IoD urges the government to:
- create a competitive and predictable tax environment
- mitigate the investment and employment consequences of the Employment Rights Act
- sequence devolution to support productivity across the UK
- deliver economically productive infrastructure
- accelerate responsible AI adoption across the business population.
Anna Leach, Chief Economist at the IoD, commented: ‘This Budget must restore confidence and provide a clear signal that the UK is committed to being one of the most attractive places in the world to invest, grow a business and create jobs.’
Press release: Institute of Directors
UK missed out on £2tn of investment, study find
UK missed out on £2tn of investment, study finds
A study carried out by consultancy Oxford Economics has suggested that the UK has missed out on almost £2 trillion in investment in business and infrastructure over the past quarter of a century.
The study, which was commissioned by Getlink, the owner of the Channel Tunnel, found that private investors in Britain pay an ‘unpredictability premium’ as a result of inconsistent public policy and the rising costs associated with doing business in the UK.
It showed that only Greece has had weaker business investment than the UK in relative terms. The UK invested 18.9% of GDP in 2025 against an average of 22.5% across the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
According to Oxford Economics, if the UK had invested at the OECD average, an additional £1.9 trillion would have boosted the economy since the turn of the century.
It said that the burden and design of business taxation; the costs of delivering new capacity; and policy unpredictability have acted as barriers.
Innes McFee, Chief Executive of Oxford Economics, said: ‘The UK has been stuck in a low-growth rut since the late-2000s financial crisis, and it has become the country’s defining economic problem.’
Press release: Oxford Economics
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