Political Monitor UK | August 4th Edition

Last week, the UK Government unveiled its Small Business Plan – a new package of reforms and targeted support interventions designed to ensure that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) can grow and thrive.

The Small Business Plan identifies the untapped potential of the SME sector in driving future UK economic growth, noting that accelerating SME growth by just 1% per year would deliver £320bn to the UK economy by 2030.

For APSCo, the key announcements relate to the Government’s planned investments in Skills. The document sets out how the administration will invest £1.2bn per year by 2028/29 on skills and apprenticeships, including its plans for shorter apprenticeships from August 2025 and short courses in target sectors from April 2026.

The Small Business Plan can be read in full here, while members can read our briefing note on the plan here. 

As a result of APSCo’s engagement with Labour Peer Baroness Ritchie Downpatrick, she has now sent a letter to the Minister of State for Skills, Baroness Smith of Malvern, seeking further information on our key skills asks. She has agreed in principle to support APSCo with a number of its key policy asks around reform of visas and labour market regulation over the summer.

APSCo, in collaboration with the CBI, is gathering evidence on how end-clients are managing IR35 and contracted-out services determinations. This initiative is a key step in building the case for a contracted-out services tool – provided it is sufficiently robust – which both APSCo and the CBI are likely to propose in their autumn budget submissions.

To support this effort, APSCo and OutSource members are strongly encouraged to urge their clients to complete the anonymous survey, which has been re-opened until Friday 29 August to allow for broader participation over the summer holiday period. This survey is a vital part of our preparation for Budget submissions, as your input will help shape the policy conversation.

In addition, If you are also able to contribute a case study, please contact tania.bowers@apsco.org, who can provide guidance on the required format.

Given the focus on SME businesses, we are looking for SME members supporting critical sectors identified in the Industrial Strategy including advanced manufacturing, life sciences, technology and professional services to talk to Tania Bowers.

We want to discuss the impact of the Government’s policy changes, the estimated costs of new regulations, and what members need from skills reform. These talks will form short evidence based case studies, which land well with politicians and will be used in Q4 engagement and consultations. Please contact tania.bowers@apsco.org or your account manager.

Both Houses of Parliament are on recess until 1^st September. As a result, most politicians are on holiday and political news is less prominent than usual.

However, we expect that the Government will continue to come under pressure on questions of crime and migration, while the ongoing industrial tensions between the Department of Health mean that conversations about strike actions will continue.

Employment Rights Bill:

With Lords Report Stage now completed, the Third Reading of the Employment Rights Bill has been scheduled for Wednesday 3^rd September, immediately after recess. The House of Commons will need to consider Lords amendments, but it is likely that the legislation will secure Royal Assent by October. 

APSCo submitted technical recommendations to the Minister for Employment and Labour Lords before the session, proposing five changes: easing "fire and rehire" restrictions, extending the reference period for guaranteed hours to 12 months, setting a 12-month threshold for day-one rights, retaining the current statutory sick pay waiting period, and requiring impact assessments for all new regulations. APSCo also urged reforms to and clearer timelines for expanding tribunal capacity.