Alex Depledge to leave Treasury adviser role after Budget

Alex Depledge, the UK Treasury’s entrepreneurship adviser, says she will leave the role on Thursday, the day after the Budget, after arguing that ministers treat scaleups as a peripheral part of economic policy. Depledge, a founder of Resi and Hassle.com, said the government’s approach underestimates fast-growing companies while giving greater attention to established industries.

The departure, reported by The Times and LBC, puts a public disagreement over the place of high-growth companies in UK growth policy alongside Chancellor John Healey’s first Budget. No direct Treasury statement confirming Depledge’s exit was included in the available reporting.

Why is Alex Depledge leaving the Treasury adviser role?

Depledge told The Times that entrepreneurship was being handled as a “good news bonus” at the margins of economic policy. She said keeping scaleups on the fringes undervalued their contribution, constrained ambition and weakened confidence among founders, investors and workers.

She described scaleups as being treated as “a bit of a sideshow” and “a nice to have,” arguing that policy should do more to support companies as they grow in Britain. LBC reported that Depledge said government funding and attention were being directed towards legacy industries while entrepreneurship was sidelined. Those are Depledge’s assessments of government priorities, rather than independently established findings.

The Times reported that she entered the Treasury in June 2025, appointed by then-chancellor Rachel Reeves. Depledge said her arrival was initially met with resistance inside the department, which she characterised as “organ rejection.” LBC also reported that she believed progress slowed after Healey succeeded Reeves and that she had to revisit arguments she considered already settled.

What has the government said?

Healey has said he wants to support British businesses making profits and entrepreneurs who challenge the status quo, according to The Times and LBC. LBC reported that he had ruled out an increase in capital gains tax, though the future of Business Asset Disposal Relief remained unclear ahead of the Budget.

The dispute leaves a narrow but consequential policy question for founders: whether the Budget will pair broad pro-business language with measures aimed at companies moving from startup to scaleup. The reporting does not establish what further measures, if any, will be announced.

Before joining government, Depledge founded property technology company Resi and cleaning marketplace Hassle.com. The Times reported that a German competitor acquired Hassle.com for €32 million, or £27 million.

This story draws on original reporting from Sifted.