Backing small businesses
Blackpool’s small businesses are the backbone of our local economy – from family-run B&Bs and cafés to tradespeople, freelancers and independent manufacturers. But too often, they’re being let down by late payments from bigger firms.
Late payments hold businesses back – they make it harder for small businesses to plan ahead, put hard working people out of pocket and leave jobs and livelihoods at risk.
Clients not paying up results in the closure of 38 businesses every single day – that’s 266 a week, and over a thousand in any given month.
Under Labour, we’re changing that. The government has taken a huge step forward in supporting small businesses, sole traders and freelancers with the largest crackdown on late payments in over 25 years.
The Small Business Protections Bill (formally known as the Commercial Payments Bill) was introduced into the House of Lords last week. This Bill introduces landmark changes that will change how businesses pay each other, putting an end to excessive delays and unfair practices that hit small firms hardest through sweeping new reforms.
The legislation will deliver a new 60-day cap on payment terms for large firms, mandatory interest on late payments, action to ban the practice of retentions in construction and new powers to investigate poor payment practices, adjudicate disputes and fine the worst offenders.
Under stronger government action, the Office of the Small Business Commissioner has already recovered more money for small firms in the last year than in the previous four years combined. And we’ve introduced a raft of other measures too – backing our small businesses and giving them the support they need to grow.
We’ve created a Small Business Plan which will boost access to finance with £4 billion of additional support, make it easier to win government contracts and bring together advice and funding in one place through a new Business Growth Service.
We’ve also introduced small business rates relief of up to 100% for the smallest premises, raised the threshold at which small businesses start paying national insurance and cut electricity costs for thousands of manufacturing businesses.
We’re offering new incentives of £2,000 for SMEs who hire foundation apprentices aged 16-21, on top of a complete NICs exemption for employees under 21 and apprentices under 25, and made training for under-25 apprenticeships free for small businesses.
Alongside this, we’ve doubled eligibility for enterprise tax incentives to help fast-growing firms attract investment and talent, slashed red tape to boost our pubs, bars and cultural venues, and improved access to finance through Start Up Loans provided by the British Business Bank.
All this is in addition to cost of living support which includes halving childcare costs for small business owners and employees, putting more money in customers’ pockets by taking £150 off energy bills, and freezing rail fares and prescription charges.
Because when small businesses in Blackpool succeed, our whole town succeeds. Local businesses create jobs, keep our high streets alive and give young people opportunities close to home. This Bill is about fairness — making sure that if you do the work, you get paid on time, and that no small business is left struggling because a bigger company refuses to pay what it owes.
