Small Business Minister Paul Scully has announced that new proposals have been outlined by the government to ensure small businesses in the UK are paid on time.
There are currently £23.4 billion worth of late invoices owed to smaller sized firms across the country, and so the government is seeking to create a culture of prompt payment in UK business.
The proposals, as part of a new consultation, look to give new powers to the Small Business Commissioner. These include:
- The power to order companies to pay their partners, either as a lump sum or agreed payment plan, when a complaint against them for late payment has been investigated and upheld. Companies which do not do so could face further penalties, including fines. This will give a clear incentive for companies to pay their partners on time.
- The power to compel companies to share information during an investigation by the SBC. This will ensure cooperation with SBCinvestigations and provide more information about company payment practices.
- The power to launch investigations into suspected bad payment practice, without the need to have first received a complaint from a small business.
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Email Jaime- Expanding the scope for complaints to the SBC, to allow the Commissioner to investigate complaints about other businesses relating to payment matters in connection with the supply of goods and services.
- To review and report on wider business practices outside of payment matters, on instruction of the BEIS Secretary of State. This could be practices unrelated to payment matters specifically impacting small businesses such as supply problems, or broader issues like barriers to the adoption of payment technology.
- The power to claim investigation costs from an investigated company when there are adverse findings against them.
Small Business Minister Paul Scully, commented, “Late payments are a terrible burden for small businesses, not only disrupting their cash flow but posing a threat to their survival in many cases.
“We are committed to tackling this problem, supporting small businesses at this critical time for the British economy by helping them to secure payment on time.
“I am pleased to open this consultation on expanding the Commissioner’s powers and welcome the views of businesses that have been affected by this issue.”
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