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Posted: Thu 5th Jun 2025
Read Enterprise Nation's submission to the government ahead of the 2025 Spending Review, which will be announced by chancellor Rachel Reeves on 11 June.
The submission centres around key policy priorities, closely aligned with the pressing concerns of our 130,000+ members.
The full submission is here and the recommendations are summarised below:
To support exporters and empower UK small businesses for global success, the Department for Business and Trade should revamp and reinstate the UK Tradeshow Access Programme
Ensure UK Export Finance (UKEF) is sufficiently resourced to meet its target of supporting 1,000 SMEs per year by 2029
Match-fund an industry-led supplier readiness programme to help small businesses become 'fit to supply' for public procurement and make the most of the Procurement Act
Champion free trade and British small businesses on the global stage
Co-develop an AI powered support tool, based on Enterprise Nation's Tech Hub, available to all SMEs
Reward businesses for adopting technology with new financial support modelled on Singapore's Go Digital and South Korea's Digital New Deal programmes
Offer targeted tax incentives, and time-limited subsidies, to support businesses with the cost of adopting AI and technology
Invest in new training programmes and support designed to introduce small business owners to emerging technology, and to ease their concerns where legal reasons are stopping them from using the tech effectively
To help increase AI adoption, launch campaigns to promote the benefits of using AI for small business owners
Prioritise the nationwide adoption of eInvoicing to boost the UK's digital economy
Expand the Making Tax Digital scheme to include companies with a turnover of less than £20,000 per annum
Continue the delivery of existing mentoring business support programmes
Build a talent engine for growth: co-fund a collaborative Talent Hub for small businesses
Improve existing support programmes to help older workers transition from unemployment into self-employment
Conduct a review on the feasibility of small business tax incentives to upskill their workforce
Embed enterprise education across the curriculum
Commission a national programme to support small businesses in high street rental auctions
Empower local authorities to have more responsibility over business rates reliefs and exemptions for small businesses, coworking spaces and charities
Introduce a levy on commercial-to-residential transfers to discourage tax motivated shifts from commercial to residential property
Enterprise Nation will have full coverage of the 2025 Spending Review on 11 June.
