Administrative Burdens Advisory Board (ABAB)
The Administrative Burdens Advisory Board's goal is to make a noticeable difference for small business by supporting HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to help make tax easier, quicker and simpler.
The Administrative Burdens Advisory Board (ABAB) is an independent board comprising members from a range of business backgrounds and professions who represent the small business community.
ABAB was established in 2006 to provide valuable business insight and expertise to HMRC, acting as a ‘critical friend’ on issues relating to regulation and administration of tax for small businesses. ABAB also challenge HMRC on their performance, providing robust, independent scrutiny against key initiatives that affect small businesses.
With their vast business experience ABAB members are well placed to ‘tell it like it is’ when it comes to delivering a simpler and easier tax system for small businesses.
Since 2006 ABAB has helped HMRC to deliver administrative burden savings for businesses, offering expert advice in the government’s delivery of initiatives on various new policies and guidance. ABAB contributes to HMRC’s small business strategy, ensuring it reflects the needs of the smallest business.
ABAB’s mandate to provide external scrutiny was strengthened in 2012. It directly reports its assessment of HMRC’s performance to HM Treasury ministers via their annual report, published each spring. The report reviews HMRC’s progress against ABAB’s yearly priorities and other areas of interest.
How we work
ABAB:
- holds quarterly meetings with HMRC to discuss its performance and key initiatives that impact on business experience
- engages practically with HMRC on big issues affecting small business, currently:
- Making Tax Digital
- improving customer experience
- listens to and understands small businesses and their representative bodies’ concerns, and works with HMRC to help improve them
- provides feedback and critically assess HMRC’s performance against its commitments
Seeking your ideas: tell us what you think
ABAB wants to hear from small businesses on how HMRC can simplify and improve tax administration. The insight and understanding, particularly around issues currently causing small businesses unnecessary problems, will help us work with HMRC to influence and target future improvements in the way it is administered.
If you would like to send ABAB your views, please email us.
Annual report
The ABAB annual report summarises its work with HMRC to improve tax administration for small businesses.
You can read the Administrative Burdens Advisory Board annual report 2023 on a separate page on GOV.UK.
Previous annual reports
Previous years’ annual reports can be viewed on The National Archives website:
‘Tell ABAB’ annual survey and report
ABAB also engage directly with small businesses via an online survey, providing a channel to highlight any issues with administering tax and to gather views on HMRC’s customer experience. The results are published annually in the ‘Tell ABAB’ report. The survey attracted 7500 responses in 2023 and a record 10,052 in 2024 (annual average was 3000).
Thank you to those that participated in the 2024 Tell ABAB Survey. Results have been published in the Tell ABAB Report September 2024.
You can read the ‘Tell ABAB’ report 2023 to 2024 on a separate page on GOV.UK
Previous ‘Tell ABAB’ reports
Previous years’ ‘Tell ABAB’ reports can be viewed on The National Archives website:
- ‘Tell ABAB’ report 2022 to 2023
- Tell ABAB report 2021 to 2022
- Tell ABAB report 2019 to 2020
- Tell ABAB reports from 2014 to 2017
Board meeting minutes
Previous minutes are held on The National Archives website:
- 2023 minutes
- 2022 minutes
- 2021 minutes
- 2020 minutes
- 2019 minutes
- 2018 minutes
- 2017 minutes
- 2016 minutes
- 2014 to 2015 minutes
- September 2012 to October 2013
- December 2006 to July 2012
Membership
ABAB is made up of individuals who run small businesses as well as representatives (in their private capacity) from bodies that understand tax, serve small businesses and know and understand their needs.
The advisory board is chaired by Dame Teresa Graham DBE who is a non-executive director of a number of small businesses and the former deputy chair of the Better Regulation Commission.
Advisory board members:
- Dame Teresa Graham (Chair)
- Paul Aplin OBE
- Albert Azis-Clauson
- Malcolm Bacchus
- Rebecca Benneyworth MBE
- Bill Dodwell
- Graham Rogers
- Roger Southam
- Karen Thomson
- Asif Ahmed
- Kevin Sefton
- Jeremy Coker
- Sue Youngman
Terms of reference
ABAB supports HMRC to improve its customer experience for small businesses; making it easier, quicker and cheaper for small businesses to deal with the tax system.
ABAB provides external and independent expertise and support:
- acting as a critical friend to other government departments on issues that affect small business
- bringing their own relevant business, commercial and professional experience, networks, expertise and insight to customer’s issues, as well as direct feedback from small businesses and representative bodies
- helping HMRC to identify and prioritise areas for action
- acting as a sounding board to HMRC to help solve particular issues affecting small businesses
- supporting HMRC in the further development of its small business strategy (particularly in the customer experience area)
- monitoring and critically assessing HMRC’s overall progress against its commitments to improve the customer experience for small businesses
- reporting as ABAB sees appropriate on the above progress or other relevant issues to HM Treasury ministers and HMRC’s Executive Committee, as well as producing an annual report
- examining (through a structured work programme of specific projects) particular aspects of the tax system for small businesses, or elements of HMRC’s small business strategy, and producing, in conjunction with HMRC, proposals for improvements
Annex to terms of reference
Membership
- HMRC provides secretariat functions for the advisory board and working groups
- board members meet quarterly
- board members also provide support to HMRC working and consultative groups as needs arise
- membership will be refreshed as required to fully reflect the needs of businesses
Reporting
- the advisory board reviews HMRC’s progress on making a noticeable difference for small businesses
- it reviews their annual priorities and overall progress against HMRC’s commitment to improve the customer experience
- the group will report annually to ministers and the HMRC Executive Committee as required
- minutes of advisory board meetings will be published on this page
Confidentiality
All information and papers that HMRC shares with ABAB members will be shared in confidence unless they are already in the public domain or confidentiality restrictions have been expressly lifted.
Terms
Membership of the advisory board will be unpaid and carry with it no right to pension or gratuity on termination.