U.K., Oct. 21 -- UK Parliament issued the following news:
Ministers have rejected or only partially accepted key proposals that are needed now to mobilise capital for British businesses and infrastructure, says the BIST Committee as it publishes the Government’s response to its report, Investing in the UK economy , today.
Read the response
The inquiry received 60 written submissions and heard from 37 witnesses. Its recommendations set out a programme to rejuvenate the London Stock Exchange , expand venture capital, strengthen angel investor networks, rebuild regional access to banking and transform the capacity of the UK’s public finance institutions.
The Committee’s assessment finds that the Government accepted 16 recommendations, partially accepted 18 and rejected 13. Among the proposals rejected are a review to identify a second wave of stock market reforms to boost the London Stock Exchange, changes to share stamp duty and dividend tax relief, a ten-year ambition to triple venture capital assets, and consolidation of public finance institutions to boost their firepower.
The Committee welcomes commitments to expand lending guarantees and support angel investor roadshows. But it argues that the response falls short of the coordinated reform needed to mobilise investment on a scale comparable with Britain’s international competitors.
Chair comment
Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, Chair of the Committee, said:
“Britain needs an investment revolution. Our ambition should be to lift UK investment to the highest rate in the G7. With over £3 trillion in long term savings, the UK is not short of capital. And as one of the world’s great science powers, we are not short of enterprise and ideas.
"But we simply do not have institutions with enough firepower to match capital to ideas on the scale British firms need. So time after time we’re losing high potential new firms - and high paying new jobs - to American investors.
“Our year-long inquiry set out a programme for change, drawing on 60 written submissions and evidence from 36 witnesses, and we will keep working with investors, businesses and experts to turn those proposals into action. And that is why today’s response falls short.
"We laid out a roadmap for transforming scale up finance across the waterfront of British finance. But while there are welcome steps forward in the Government’s response, I fear ministers have yet to grip the scale of reform needed.
"Too often, proposals for the next stage of reform are met with a defence of what is already being done. The Budget next week is an opportunity for ministers to show they share the ambition set out in our report, and understand what it will take to get there.
“Britain’s finance community knows what needs to be done. We need to rejuvenate the London Stock Exchange, dramatically expand our venture capital system, build up angel investor networks in every region and rebuild a regional banking network to match the best-in-class systems on the Continent.
"That’s how we restore business banking to our high streets, after the radical centralisation of banking decisions in London. Above all, our public finance institutions need the scale, ambition and coordination we see among competitors such as the United States, Germany and South Korea.
“Ahead of a Budget of difficult choices, mobilising the nation’s huge stocks of long-term savings is key to backing our winners and boosting growth in every postcode. We cannot build a stronger economy without getting much more of our own capital flowing into the businesses and infrastructure that will kickstart growth.”
The report was launched with Dame Julia Hoggett, Chief Executive of the London Stock Exchange, at its market opening ceremony , bringing together banks, investors, pension funds, lawmakers and academics. The Committee will now invite stakeholders to assess the Government’s response and identify the further action needed.
The Committee has also launched an inquiry into entrepreneurship in the UK , examining what it takes to turn an idea into a living and a living into a business that creates jobs and wealth. It wants to hear from sole traders, market and eBay traders, tradespeople, people running side hustles, employers and those who have faced barriers to starting a business.
The inquiry is open for written evidence until Thursday 12 November 2026.
Further information
About Parliament: Select committees
Visiting Parliament: Watch committees
Business Innovation, Science and Trade Committee
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