Ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget delivery on Wednesday 28 October, HM Treasury has unveiled a package of regulatory reforms designed to slash red tape and ease administrative burdens across small and medium-sized enterprises.

Key measures in the announcement include pausing the requirement for microbusinesses, who make up 95% of those businesses operating within the beauty industry, to file full Profit & Loss accounts at Companies House until April 2028. They are also extending import tariff suspensions on over 250 essential goods such as chemicals, raw ingredients, and packaging, through to December 2028.

Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey MP said: 

“British firms are fed up with form-filling and pointless paperwork that eats into valuable time and money when they simply want to get on with running their businesses. That is why we are cutting unnecessary bureaucracy and giving businesses the breathing space they need to invest, innovate and create good jobs.” 

Responding to the announcement, Millie Kendall OBE, CEO of the British Beauty Council, said:

“The beauty and personal care sector is a vital engine of the UK high street and economy contributing £28.3bn to GDP and £8.8bn in taxes annually. But with 95% of our sector made up of small and micro-enterprises, far too many spend precious hours drowned in administrative paperwork and burdened with the associated costs of this regulatory red tape, rather than growing their business.

We therefore warmly welcome any measures, such as those announced by the Chancellor, that slash regulatory red tape and relieve administrative burdens from these founders and entrepreneurs, a majority of whom are women (86%).

Of particular benefit will be the pausing of enhanced Companies House filing requirements and the extension of crucial import tariff suspensions on key materials like chemicals, ingredients and packaging. This gives business much-needed breathing space at a time when trading conditions remain challenging.

Relieving these frictions that hold businesses back is a critical first step. As we look ahead to the Autumn Budget, we hope the Government builds on this positive momentum by tackling core operational costs such as employment pressures and business rates, to ensure British beauty businesses can truly thrive, invest, and innovate.”

The Chancellor of the Exchequer will announce the Budget on Wednesday 28 October.