LONDON: A small business commissioner will help firms tackle the issue of the billions of pounds in late payments for goods and services, under government plans.
It estimates small firms are owed £26bn in late payments – and chasing debts costs them millions of pounds more.
Business minister Anna Soubry said the role would tackle the power “imbalance” between small and large UK businesses.
The Federation of Small Businesses welcomed the move but said it must be properly funded and be high profile.
Plans for a new small business conciliation service to help settle disputes – specifically over late payment – were announced in the Queen’s Speech.
The service aims to handle problems without the need for court action.
‘Culture change’
As part of the new Enterprise Bill, the government also wants to create a commissioner role to deal with outstanding payments and supply-chain bullying, where suppliers are forced to cut their prices in order to retain the custom of much bigger firms.
