CBI’s Soames to call for overhaul of UK regulation – Daily Business

CBI president Rupert Soames will today call for an overhaul of the UK’s regulatory landscape to help drive competitiveness.

Mr Soames, a former chief executive of Scottish temporary power company Aggreko, will tell a meeting of City financiers that regulation is not the enemy of enterprise but rather “one of our greatest assets.” 

He wants to see regulation that “embeds both innovation and compliance.”  

However, he will say clarity was lost along the way when “we let complexity creep in, and courage leak out.” 

During his address to the gathering at Singer Capital Markets, he will unveil the CBI’s Good Regulation Guide described as “a blueprint designed by business, to not just critique but offer constructive solutions.”

Findings from a 2025 CBI survey revealed that 38% of surveyed firms reporting a significant increase in regulatory burden over the past five years with some businesses incurring compliance costs of up to £50 million per year. 

Soames will state that “practical reforms are not enough without consulting those who live and breathe these regulations themselves: that’s business.” He will add that “the UK has a golden opportunity to reduce both trade and regulatory barriers with the EU, as part of the EU-UK reset.” 

With the forthcoming Industrial Strategy expected to address the challenge of regulation, the CBI is calling for the government to grasp the opportunity to reform the regulatory system to support the delivery of the government’s identified growth sectors, as well as creating a more dynamic regulatory environment for the economy.