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Small Businesses: Billing

Asked by Michael WheelerLabourDepartment for Business and TradeTabled Answered 12 March 2025UIN 34124

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department is taking steps to help small businesses respond to the payment of delayed invoices by larger businesses.

Answered by Gareth Thomas

In September 2024 we announced a package of measures to help ensure small businesses are paid promptly by the large businesses they supply.

This included the newly launched Fair Payment Code by the Small Business Commissioner, and upcoming legislation to require that large companies include payment performance reporting headlines within their annual reports.

We will soon launch a public consultation on further measures to address late payments and long payment terms, including strengthened powers for the Small Business Commissioner.

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