A vision for UK industry to support businesses

• Articulate a new vision for UK industry.  
• Host a national competition to award hub status. 
• Establish a national supply side commission. 

Research, development and investment

• Increase target R&D investment beyond 3% of GDP.
• Start a new competition for integrated regional hubs to target R&D incentives.
• Equip the Small Business Commissioner to investigate R&D barriers. 

Starting, running and growing a business 

• Introduce business start-up passports. 
• Reintroduce growth vouchers and increase the threshold for British Business Bank start-up loans. 
• Create a taskforce on business banking. 
• Signpost and communicate advice and guidance to investors on changes to DC pension funds.

Smarter regulation

• Provide a regulation roadmap.  
• Establish a permanent body accountable directly to parliament for the regulatory framework. 
• Develop ICAEW's guiding principles for regulators and government.

Tax strategy

• Publish an overarching tax strategy including a tax simplification roadmap.  
• Address gaps in digital tax services to improve data access for agents. 
• Invest in HMRC to address poor service standards.

Securing talent and upskilling

• Publish an overall skills strategy including a plan to promote digital skills competencies and skills to promote the green transition.
• Develop an automated national skills map to enable individuals to map current competencies to career opportunities. 
• Set up a national standard for financial and tech literacy in schools. 
  

Access to labour

• Extend the success of apprenticeships by providing more flexibility to businesses.  
• Evolve the Shortage Occupation Llist.

Access to the workplace 

• Reaffirm and extend commitment to childcare measures. 
• Review the welfare and tax system to reduce cliff edges.
• Promote best practice in supporting equity and social mobility.

Road to net zero

• Deliver a net zero investment strategy in a wider whole-economy transition plan for the UK. 
• Introduce a net zero delivery tracker. 
• Prioritise close consultation with industry to provide clarity on the details of the CBAM levy.

Green finance

• Position London as the world’s first net zero, just and nature positive financial centre.
• Review ESG definitions and deliver the promised UK green taxonomy.
• Complete the Edinburgh reforms.

AI innovation and skills

• Develop trust frameworks for data sharing.  
• Work with businesses to scope the best ways to incentivise the use of AI.
• Publish a comprehensive new AI digital skills and technology plan for businesses. 
• Outline a specific AI skills plan for SMEs.

AI safety

• Design an AI governance framework. 
• Equip the regulator with powers to institute an independent, third-party review of AI use.
• Facilitate an ethical framework for AI developers, deployers and users.

Crypto and digital assets

• Define standards providing clear guidance on digital assets including valuation, safeguarding and audit.
• Ensure individuals can exercise their data protection/privacy rights in a blockchain environment.
• Support sandboxes to encourage investment and development of digital assets. 

Public finances

• Communicate a long-term fiscal strategy for the public finances.
• Require each government department to have a CFO.
• Take action to strengthen internal audit, the NAO and Select Committees.

Local authority funding and accounts

• Adopt ICAEW’s vision of local audit.
• Put greater investment and skills training into local authority finance teams.
• Make local accounts more accessible for scrutiny.
• Commit to replace competitive bidding with stable long-term funding.

Corporate governance, reporting and audit reform

• Commit to UK exceeding OECD corporate governance minimum standards.
• Introduce primary legislation to establish and provide statutory funding for a statutory regulator in the next parliament.
• Introduce for public interest entities reporting requirements on resilience, mitigation of fraud risk and on the implementation of an audit & assurance policy.

Accountability and trust

• Equip trusted intermediaries such as the Small Business Commissioner to champion the collective interest of the UK’s SMEs.
• Protect the public by restricting use of the term ‘accountant in public practice’ to those registered with a recognised supervisory body.

Corporate reporting standard setting

• Show leadership on sustainability by alignment with ISSB standards.
• Review the content of the annual report to make sure content is relevant, useful and avoids duplication.

Economic crime and fraud

• Prioritise implementation of the Economic Crime Plan 2 and the ECCT Act.
• Give Companies House the resources it needs to fulfil its new regulatory role.
• Conclude the AML review and introduce the OPBAS+ model.

Trade in services

• Signal government’s high-level trade vision for professional services and other services sectors.
• Promote MRPQ in all new FTAs and instruct regulators to work with professional bodies.

UK/EU trade

• Commit to publishing a new vision for UK-EU trade in the next parliament.

Trade administration, promotion and education

• Expedite projects to improve the administration of importing and exporting.
• Improve trade promotion by adopting a more targeted approach focused on market-leading service sectors and countries with established relationships.
• Increase the visibility of UK Export Academy and E-Commerce Trade Commission resources.