Red Tape and Tariff Cuts to Save UK Businesses Almost £800m a Year

The government says businesses across Britain will save almost £800 million a year in administrative and tariff costs under a package of changes announced by HM Treasury on 23 October 2026. The measures cover simpler company reporting, a lighter touch for asset managers, a faster home buying process and extended suspensions on import tariffs.

Chancellor John Healey and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds announced the package alongside Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who met small business leaders at Number 10 North the same day. The government also accepted the majority of recommendations from its Small Business Taskforce, and said the announcement comes ahead of the Budget the following week.

Where the Almost £800 Million in Business Savings Comes From

The headline figure is built from two parts. According to the government, more than £600 million a year comes from cutting regulatory administration. The rest comes from keeping import tariffs suspended on goods that businesses rely on.

The largest single item on the administrative side is company reporting. Streamlining those requirements is expected to save firms up to £290 million a year. The government says separate reforms to corporate reporting could save businesses that operate as part of a wider national group up to £20,000 a year each.

Two further measures account for most of the rest. Cutting duplicate reporting for asset managers is put at £105 million a year, and streamlining the home buying and selling process is put at £116 million a year for businesses in the transaction chain. The government does not break down the remainder of the £600 million plus figure in its announcement, and says the detail of each qualifying measure will follow on 28 October.

What Happens to Import Tariffs on More Than 250 Products

Tariff free imports on more than 250 goods were due to expire on 31 December. The government is now extending them until December 2028, following a public consultation. All the suspensions that were consulted on are being extended, apart from those that no longer have a material effect.

A separate group of suspensions, due to expire in June 2027, will be extended by six months to December 2027. The government says that gives businesses continuity while a formal review of a possible further extension takes place. Together, the extensions keep import costs lower by up to £155 million a year, across sectors including chemicals, plastics, hydrogen, automotive, and food and drink.

Businesses that want a say in what happens next can use that window. It lets them submit views on whether existing suspensions should run beyond 2027 and suggest new suspensions to bring down costs.

Small Businesses, Companies House Filing Pause and Other Changes

The government says it worked with business leaders over several months through the Small Business Taskforce to identify where bureaucracy is holding firms back. Ministers have now accepted the majority of its recommendations, and the Federation of Small Businesses has called the taskforce a good example of business and government working in partnership.

For small firms, the government says it will make it simpler to bid for public contracts by standardising requirements in sectors such as construction. It will also streamline ONS business surveys so fewer data requests land on businesses, and make guidance easier to find on GOV.UK. Small businesses will also get a way to report regulations they consider disproportionate. Compliance guidance is to be made clearer, simpler and more small business friendly.

One measure was singled out by the Federation of Small Businesses. The government is implementing its Tell Us Once ambition, including by pausing the Companies House requirement for profit and loss filing from April 2028. FSB National Chair Tina McKenzie said the pause averts a huge new weight of red tape on the smallest businesses, which have the fewest resources to deal with it.

The 25% Red Tape Target, What Business Groups Say About It

The package supports a government commitment to cut the administrative burden of regulation on businesses by 25% by the end of this Parliament. The government says that would save UK businesses with employees 280 million hours a year. It says existing progress against the target stands at £2 billion net, published in July, and the target is converted into hours using the economy wide average hourly wage with a non-wage uplift applied.

Business reaction, as quoted in the announcement, was positive but cautious. CBI Chief Executive Rain Newton-Smith called the acceptance of the taskforce recommendations a welcome step, adding that "the test now is delivery" and that businesses will want to see the ambition turned quickly into meaningful reductions in the burden they face.

Ministers framed the changes as a new partnership with business. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said thousands of firms are spending hours on complicated paperwork and duplicate reporting, and that the changes aim to simplify how businesses deal with government. The government notes small businesses support around 13 million jobs.

The next concrete step comes on 28 October, when the government says it will publish the detail of each individual measure that counts towards the target. The tariff consultation window then opens on 11 November.