Get Involved

📍 UK
📆 5 December 2025
✅ CEA co-ordinated response
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Summary

The government has set an ambitious target to reduce the administrative burdens of regulation on business by 25%. Effective regulation provides important protections to consumers, businesses and the wider public. The UK’s regulatory system has many strengths. However, too many instances of outdated or excessive regulation, or poor regulatory practice, are undermining these benefits – and are inhibiting growth, innovation and investment.

This business questionnaire, ‘Unlocking Business: Reform Driven by You’, provides businesses large and small, entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts with the opportunity to drive the next phase of reform – building on measures already announced in March and October 2025. In particular, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) wants to receive evidence about:
1. Current activity costs. DBT wants you to share examples of specific rules that impose unnecessary costs or burdens on businesses, including both the direct costs imposed by individual regulations and indirect costs resulting from how they’re applied

2. Opportunity costs. DBT wants you to help them understand how regulations and the way they are applied may delay or prevent future business opportunities being taken up, including compared to other countries

DBT’s aim is to identify the exact aspects of regulations or their implementation that create problems, so they can pinpoint where to make changes. In doing so, you may also wish to highlight examples of good practice, which might be adopted more widely. If you cannot name a specific regulation or regulatory process, please describe the issue and its impact on your business as clearly and precisely as possible.

The CEA will be submitting a consolidated response on behalf of its members. We therefore request that you use the link below to complete the questionnaire.

Please provide your input by Friday 5 December 2025. This will allow the CEA to prepare a consolidated response on behalf of its members for submission to DBT in time for their final response deadline of 16 December 2025.

📍 UK
📆 15 December 2025
✅ Members to respond directly
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Summary

The Pan-Euro Mediterranean Convention on Rules of Origin (PEM) is a multilateral agreement between 25 contracting parties. It establishes common rules of origin (RoO) among its members to facilitate trade and support the integration of supply chains.

On 26 June 2025, the UK government published its Trade Strategy. This included a commitment to engage businesses on the potential merits of UK accession to PEM.  

The purpose of this call for evidence is therefore to seek business and partner input on the opportunities and risks that might flow from joining PEM.  

We are interested in the views and experiences of businesses across all sectors, sizes and regions that participate in the trade of goods, particularly in the trade of goods with PEM members. Stakeholders from within and outside of the UK are invited to respond.

📍 UK
📆 19 January 2026
✅ Members to respond directly
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Summary

The DBT SoS has announced the opening of the consultation on the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICs).

• British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme: consultation on scheme eligibility and approach - GOV.UK
• Annex A: Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes
• Annex B: indicative list of HS6 codes.

 The consultation seeks views on the proposed approach, including how eligible businesses should be selected.

The attachments to consultation doc includes an initial list of SiC and HS codes which could be used to determine eligible manufacturers.

Manufacturers have to match the SiC code, HS Code and have the requisite energy use to apply.  

Only manufacturers manufacturing certain products for selected applications will be supported.

The document also consults on two options to calculate the energy intensity.  Total electricity expenditure / Gross Value Added or total electricity expenditure / total expenditure.

Businesses eligible for BICS are to be exempt from paying the indirect cost of three schemes as part of their energy bills - The Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs and the Capacity Marke, reducing Bils by c.25%.

The proposed scheme applies in GB only, given that energy policy is largely devolved in Northern Ireland. 

📍 UK
✅ Members to respond directly

Summary

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is currently carrying out some analysis to understand the demand for hydrogen in the UK. The purpose of the research is to understand the factors that do or are expected to affect end-users’ willingness to pay for hydrogen, now and towards 2050. 

A team of consultants at Baringa will be conducting the research on behalf of DESNZ. Baringa would like to invite you, or the most relevant colleague(s) within your organisation, to participate in an interview (estimated length: 1hr) to inform this work. Please would you let the Baringa team know if you are willing to participate and if so your availability for the interview, and they will arrange a time that suits your availability. The Baringa team will also share a list of questions that they wish to discuss in advance of the interview. Further information about the study and interviews can be arranged with Baringa by contacting Evan Ng (evan.ng@baringa.com) and Zahari Mihaylov (zahari.mihaylov@baringa.com).

Due to compliance considerations, this topic is not suitable for joint discussion within OHEEG. However, we think that individual member companies and potentially other associations may wish to liaise directly with Baringa (and DESNZ) about the study.

Please note that any correspondence (and supporting information) about this topic should be sent directly to Baringa (on an individual basis).

📍 UK
✅ Members to respond directly

Summary

DBT/DSIT analysts are working with sector teams to monitor the latest potential supply chain shock relating to Nexperia semiconductors which are currently unable to be shipped overseas from their Chinese SC packaging facilities.

While the relationship between automotive and the automotive supply chains in Europe and the far east are reasonably well documented, less evidence exists in the potential impact of Nexperia Semiconductor shortages being used in applications in, for example, construction machinery, agriculture, energy and industrial power applications.

While the current disruption will be far less severe than previous semiconductor crises, there are potential pinch points if the matter is not resolved when current UK/EU stocks are run down.

Please get in touch if you are able to provide any information.

Summary

The UK Government will very shortly publish a regulation that bans the use of two chemical substances in construction equipment. The substances are Dechlorane Plus (a flame retardant used in electric cable insulation and connectors) and UV-328 (used in paints, coatings and plastic mouldings for protection against UV degradation). The CEA is generally supportive of environmental legislation, provided it is fair, proportionate and implemented in a practicable manner. However, in this case, the ban is planned to be imposed in February 2025 with no transition period during which CEA member companies could continue to supply their much-needed products while, in parallel, phasing out the use of Dechlorane Plus and UV-328 from their supply chain. Since learning of this development, the CEA has been highly active in advocating that the responsible government body, the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), allows, for a limited period of time, the continued sale of construction equipment containing Dechlorane Plus and UV-328 prior to the ban being enforced. On 6 January, the CEA formally wrote to Defra, advocating that they: (a) urgently review the situation, (b) do not enforce the new regulation, and (c) amend the law so that the ban is delayed by a reasonable period, enabling CEA members to phase out the use of these substances in a controlled manner. Read the full letter.

Summary

Unfortunately, there was no mention in the budget regarding Full Expensing. On 29 August the CEA, HAE, and CPA submitted a joint letter to the new Chancellor of the Exchequer affirming that increasing full expensing allowance for short-term rented plant in construction brings a net benefit to the Exchequer of £26 million, while increasing capacity for both the national infrastructure pipeline and housebuilding. This letter was originally sent in January 2024.  The challenge remains around 'when fiscal rules allow' and we continue to work on this area. Read the full letter.

Summary

A meeting is being scheduled with several trade associations to agree on how to approach assisting the Government on drafting secondary legislation when the time comes.

Summary

The Government has unveiled new measures to support small businesses and the self-employed by tackling the scourge of late payments. We have been liaising with the Department for Business and Trade to advise how the Government can assist businesses with this matter.

 

Summary

Through the National Manufacturing Skills Taskforce, the CEA and our members were represented at a two-hour meeting on 25 November with Skills England looking at the skills agenda. The meeting was made up of trade bodies, training providers, and employers. It was good to see so much collaboration, and a resounding call for a more joined-up approach to align the skills agenda both with the industrial strategy and also across borders concerned devolved governments. We will keep members updated on future developments.

 

Summary

The committee within the International Standards Organisation (ISO) that is responsible for the development of standards covering test methods relating to safety and machine performance of earth-moving machinery met on 17 March in Hamburg, Germany. The session was led by the CEA’s Senior Technical Consultant, Dale Camsell, and the Chair of the CEA’s General Technical Committee, Jason Ong (Komatsu).

Over 60 delegates from around the world, including Australia, Brazil, China, various European countries, India, Japan, South Korea and USA contributed to the meeting, where standardisation matters on topics such as visibility, energy use, determining functional aspects of wheeled loaders, and potential future work of the committee were discussed. The outcome of the meeting was very positive and the committee will next convene in Q3 2026.

📍 UK
📆 27 August 2025
✅ CEA co-ordinated response
➡️ Find out more

Summary

Through this CfE, DBT aims to gather a broad range of views on potential reforms to the current regulatory framework, assess their impact on UK businesses and consumers, and explore opportunities to streamline implementation. The CfE, which comprises 11 questions, seeks views on the potential benefits of enacting similar changes in Great Britain, as will apply in Northern Ireland and the EU, and on the impact of potentially continuing CE recognition for machinery in Great Britain. This will help to inform DBT when it considers future regulatory policy across the whole of the UK, hence your contribution could help to influence DBT’s position in this important matter.

Our ask is that you engage with this Call for Evidence. Please provide your input by 27 August 2025.

📍 UK/EU
📆 26 August 2025
✅ Members to respond directly
➡️ Find out more

Summary

The initiative aims at extending the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) scope to some downstream products to reduce the risk of carbon leakage. The latter occurs if EU producers of downstream goods move production abroad to avoid increased carbon costs, or if EU buyers switch to imports from third countries with weaker climate policies. Additional anti-circumvention measures would target practices aiming to avoid the CBAM financial obligation, without due cause or economic justification.

The consultation focuses on the following:

• The extension of the scope of CBAM to address the risk of carbon leakage downstream
• Possible measures to address the risks of CBAM circumvention
• Issues related to the existing rules for the default values and the conditions for using actual emissions for electricity in CBAM.