Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to launch their consultation on strengthening the powers of the Small Business Commissioner.

The Government is committed to delivering our manifesto commitment to strengthen the powers of the Small Business Commissioner and clamp down on late payments. Strengthening these powers will support small businesses who struggle to cover financial shortfalls and find temporary finance more expensive to obtain.

Good progress is being made on the policies announced in the Government Response to the Call for Evidence to assess what further steps and intervention may be needed to create a responsible payment culture.