Spring Statement: End of late payments could finally be in sight

Added by Love Business East Midlands | 14 March 2019

UPDATED: 14 March 2019

Spring Statement: End of late payments could finally be in sight

Responding to the announcement in the Spring Statement on addressing the late payments issue, National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), Mike Cherry, said:

“At a time of great uncertainty, the Chancellor has shown today that there is still plenty of scope to support the UK’s small businesses. Poor payment practices by big businesses towards their smaller suppliers are rife and pernicious, leading to the closure of 50,000 small firms a year.

“Four out of five small businesses have been paid late, and we told the Chancellor that today was the moment to act, to tackle this scourge once and for all.

“The commitment from the Chancellor that the Business Secretary will see this through is welcome, and we are especially pleased that the first measure has been announced – to make a Non-Executive Director responsible for the supply chain through the Audit Committee of every large business, and to report back through the Annual Report on their progress.

“The end of late payments could finally be in sight. It can’t come soon enough, to bolster small businesses at a time when they are in great need of support and a lift in confidence.”

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