Ministers have been urged to shake up regulation and tax rules to help the UK rebuild its economy after the shocks of COVID-19 and Brexit and as it targets net-zero carbon goals.

The CBI is calling for a change in the remit of regulators so that they are required to prioritise “investment, innovation and agility”.

Its report – details of which were first reported by Sky News – is also calling for a tax plan that will help restore Britain’s battered public finances.

The plan must be “consistent with supporting business investment, net-zero ambitions and the UK’s international competitiveness”, the business lobby group said.

It also pointed to the importance of decarbonisation, innovation and “levelling up” in economic plans it estimates could deliver £700bn in commercial growth for UK companies.

The CBI argued that 2021 should be a “turning point” for UK economic policy.

CBI director-general Tony Danker said: “This country will never have a greater opportunity to transform our economy and society for the better than we have right now.

“This is the moment where we have a genuine chance to make big bets on how the UK economy will grow and compete.

“I know we have much to worry about in the short run. The COVID-19 crisis is far from over.

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“It’s not easy for many trading in a new regime with the EU. Many firms have a lot of debt and uncertainty about the future.

“But we know from crises that new realities are shaped.”

Britain suffered its biggest economic slump for three centuries last year as GDP shrank by nearly 10%.

It is expected to bounce back this year with growth forecast at its fastest pace since the Second World War as the economy reopens.

But the UK will now face the challenge of repairing its battered public finances and its old problem of lacklustre productivity growth.

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