Government announces new measures to tackle late payment to small businesses

The Small Business Minister, Kelly Tolhurst, has launched a call to evidence on proposed new measures to address the issue of large companies abusing their position in the market by delaying payments to small businesses. The call for evidence closes on 29 November 2018.

Almost a quarter of UK businesses have reported that late payments threaten their survival. Research conducted by the Federation of Small Businesses has determined that if this issue is addressed then £2.5bn could be added to the economy and an extra 50,000 businesses could remain open each year. The proposed measures include promoting innovative technologies, such as the latest accounting software, to assist small firms with the management of their payments processes. They aim to encourage trade bodies to highlight best and worst practices in payment behaviour in an effort to provide practical improvements and help small businesses grow.

The call for evidence seeks views on:

1. the experiences of businesses in relation to their payment practices
2. how successful existing payment practices are
3. what improvements may be made to existing payment practices
4. whether new measures should be introduced to