Autumn Budget 2026 representation

Consultation publisher

HM Treasury

Response publication date

09 September 2026

Executive summary

The UK needs a skills system that supports economic growth, helps employers address skills shortages and provides clear pathways into work for people from all backgrounds. This submission calls on the government to strengthen vocational, professional and apprenticeship routes through stable long-term funding, improve awareness of non-academic pathways, and ensure local and national skills planning reflects professions such as accounting and finance that support businesses across every sector and region.

Alongside skills reform, employers need a more supportive environment in which to recruit, train and invest in people. The government should maintain a stable and competitive business environment, create a simpler and more predictable tax system, and ensure HMRC's modernisation programme delivers genuine simplification, better customer service and practical benefits for taxpayers. Supporting the adoption of digital accounting tools and e-invoicing would help improve productivity, strengthen compliance and narrow the tax gap.

Together, these measures will help support business confidence and the conditions needed for sustainable economic growth.