The Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee published its assessment ahead of the forthcoming Budget. Ministers accepted 16 of the committee’s recommendations, partially accepted 18 and rejected 13. The committee said that, although it welcomed commitments to expand lending guarantees and support angel-investor roadshows, the overall response lacked the coordinated reform needed to direct more capital towards UK businesses.
The recommendations followed a year-long inquiry into investment in the UK economy. It received 60 written submissions and heard from 37 witnesses. Its proposals covered a range of routes through which businesses can secure finance: reforming the London Stock Exchange, expanding venture capital, strengthening angel-investor networks, improving regional access to banking and increasing the capacity of public finance institutions.
Among the recommendations the Government rejected were a review of further stock-market reforms, changes to share stamp duty and dividend tax relief, an ambition to triple venture-capital assets over ten years, and consolidation of public finance institutions. The committee argues that such measures could help bring long-term savings into investment in firms and infrastructure. Its assessment does not mean that the rejected proposals will be implemented; it sets out where ministers have not agreed to the committee’s suggested course.
The committee’s assessment argues that the UK needs to raise investment and improve the ability of its institutions to match capital with growing businesses. It identifies a risk that promising firms seek finance from overseas and treats the Budget due the following week as an opportunity for ministers to demonstrate greater ambition. These remain committee arguments, rather than a settled assessment of the likely effect of any particular policy.
The accepted and partially accepted totals show that the response did not dismiss the inquiry outright, even though the committee considers its scope insufficient.
The publication also marks a shift to a broader question: how people start and build businesses. The newly launched entrepreneurship inquiry will examine what it takes to turn an idea into a livelihood and then into a business that creates jobs and wealth. The committee is seeking evidence from people with varied experiences, including sole traders, market and online traders, tradespeople, people pursuing side ventures, employers and those who have encountered barriers to starting a business.
Written evidence is open until 12 November 2026. The inquiry is intended to consider practical experiences of entrepreneurship, not solely the financing of established or high-growth companies. Its inclusion of people facing barriers signals that the committee wants to hear about who is able to start a business as well as what helps a firm expand.
The two strands are related but distinct. The investment response concerns the Government’s position on a defined set of proposals about finance and institutions. The new inquiry will gather evidence on the wider conditions involved in becoming an entrepreneur. The process includes inviting stakeholders to assess the Government’s response and identify further action, while the entrepreneurship inquiry proceeds separately.
