Rachel Reeves will meet with UK regulators on Monday after calling for more action to limit the red tape and promote economic growth.
The prime minister argued that the government's plans will reduce costly delays and conflicts and save billions, and said regulators must embrace a more streamlined decision-making process.
Reeves is expected to use the conference to announce details of how the government can reduce the costs of regulations quarterly, and to set up plans to slim down or eliminate the regulators themselves.
Top of the Prime Minister's target list is the costly hold-ups of major infrastructure projects when environmental concerns are raised.
Citing the long battle over covering HS2 through an ancient forest known as the bat tunnel, Reeves said there will be a contest between environmental regulators, environmental regulators, councils and government departments needed to suspend or overrun time and cost.
One proposal is to facilitate environmental permits at just one agency in which private sector contractors are responsible for the system.
The meeting follows the announcement last week that NHS England (known as the world's largest Quango) will be scrapped as part of an effort to overhaul its health services.
Reeves said: “Today, we are taking more action to free businesses from the bondage of regulations.
“By cutting red tape and creating a more effective system, we will boost investments, create jobs and put more money into our workers' pockets.”
The Prime Minister will meet eight regulatory representatives, including the Financial Conduct Bureau, Prudential Regulators, Environment Bureau, Nature England, the Drug Regulators and the Intelligence Commission.
Last week, Keir Starmer said the payment system regulator will be folded into the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to simplify the regulatory system. Reeves is expected to commit to scrapping more regulators over the course of Congress.
On Monday, authorities said they would announce the removal of the third Quango (a regulator of community interest companies) that will be folded into Company House.
It is understood that the Minister will be instructed to report to the Prime Minister by summer.
Since taking office, Reeves has made it clear that agencies must support efforts to expand investment and grow the economy. She is expected to use Monday's meeting to announce 60 measures that regulators agreed to undertake to promote economic growth.
These include reviewing the new drugs for rapid tracing, a £100 limit on contactless payments, simplifying mortgage rules, and holding two major drone flight tests to pave the way for drone delivery services.
Late last year, the prime minister said regulators must come up with “specific proposals” as the government tries to turn the UK's struggles into a better economy.
The UK avoided a recession in late 2024, but the economy has low trust in businesses and consumers, showing little signs of recovery as businesses emit workers. Figures released last week showed that GDP fell 0.1% in January.
Lane Newton Smith, chief executive of the British Federation of Industrial Federation, said that the UK's “regulatory godian knot” had hampered investments with high compliance costs as “tracking international competition.”
She said: “Today's announcement illustrates a shift towards a more proportional, outcome-based approach that should bring about more sustainable growth and investment.”
But conservative shadow prime minister Mel Stride said Reeves and “taxable budget that destroys her job” were the “biggest barrier to growth” in the UK.
He added: “As long as businesses remain under tensions in labor tax and union deficits, we cannot focus on growth priorities.”
