The government plans to clamp down on late payments costing small businesses up to £22,000 a year leading to up to 50,000 business collapses
New legislation will require large businesses to include payment reporting in their annual reports, providing transparency when they are late with payments but details on the full range of measures is limited as no policy paper has been issued.
Up to 56m working hours – equivalent 2.3m working days – are lost annually due to late payments of invoices which the DBT says is ‘acting as a major brake on growth’.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said it will consult on tougher regulations which will hold larger firms to account and get cash flowing back into businesses, particularly benefiting small businesses and the self-employed.
