Among the proposed changes, the Treasury, led by Rachel Reeves (pictured) will seek to integrate the Payment Systems Regulator mostly within the remit of the Financial Conduct Authority. Credit: HM Treasury/Flickr
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves has pledged to cut the country's regulatory red tape in a move to bolster further investment, create more jobs and “put more money into working people’s pockets”.
In HM Treasury policy paper published today (17 March), it said the current regulatory environment in the UK "is not functioning as effectively as it should", acting as a restraint on growth and hindering private sector investment.
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"The world is changing and that is why we must go further and faster to deliver on our Plan for Change to kickstart economic growth," Reeves said. "Today we are taking further action to free businesses from the shackles of regulation."
Among the proposed changes, the Treasury will seek to integrate the Payment Systems Regulator mostly within the remit of the Financial Conduct Authority.
This will enable the FCA to "take on responsibility for ensuring the payments sector promotes innovation and competition, and will allow a more coordinated and streamlined approach", according to the Treasury, with consultations over the scheme's details set to take place over summer.
A package of measures will additionally enable the FCA to assist early-stage "innovative" firms to start conducting regulated activities, including "more dedicated support, issuing ‘minded to approve' notices to support fundraising, and considering whether we can update the legislative framework to allow relevant firms to conduct limited regulated activities with streamlined conditions".
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On the investment front, Reeves' ministry will work alongside the Office for Investment and the City of London Corporation to establish a concierge service that would make it easier for firms to make sense of the UK regulatory landscape and broaden barriers to entry.
The chancellor will also seek to consult on reforms within the Competition and Markets Authority that would limit the regulator's ability to investigate mergers by forcing it to "provide more certainty on where mergers will be subject to investigation in the UK".
Jonathan Reynolds, UK business secretary, said: "Unnecessary regulation chokes competition and stifles business – that is why we are taking action to unleash industry right across the UK to go for growth.
"With a regulatory system that encourages innovation and economic growth combined with our Industrial Strategy, our Plan for Change can make the UK the best place to startup, invest and thrive," he continued.
