Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of enforcement mechanisms available to the Small Business Commissioner for resolving payment disputes.

The Small Business Commissioner has played a crucial role in helping small businesses get paid on time since the role was introduced in 2016. However, this Government is aware of the challenges that small businesses continue to face with regards to late payment.

The Government is committed to consulting on proposals that would increase the powers available to the Small Business Commissioner in order to improve its effectiveness in tackling late payments and poor payment practices. The consultation outcome will be published shortly.