The Department for Business and Trade has announced a series of measures aimed at helping female founders and boosting SMEs. A Fair Payment Code will help to tackle late payments while the Business Growth Service will aid businesses seeking faster access to government advice and support.
Fair Payment Code
The ‘Fair Payment Code’ aims to address the problems with late payments, with research showing that SMEs are on average owed £22,000 a year. It comes on top of an earlier announced consultation which will investigate the scale of the problem and best solutions.
The code, overseen by the Small Business Commissioner Liz Barclay, introduces a gold, silver, and bronze system to reward best payment practices and help smaller firms identify reliable and trusted partners. It aims to boost cash flow for small businesses which is crucial for their survival, by tackling late payments and lengthy payment terms that can lead to financial strain and failure.
Businesses can sign up from the 3 December on this website.
Female Founder Finance and UKEF partnership
Female-led businesses are set to gain support in the form of a new partnership between the organisation Female Founder Finance (FFF) and UK Export Finance. This will offer no cost services to improve access to finance and helping them grow their networks, making sure more women can seize vital opportunities to scale up and achieve their business goals.
You can find out more by contacting FFF here.
Business Growth Service
The service seeks to make it easier and quicker for SMEs to find government advice and support.
Small businesses consistently say that they find the business support landscape fragmented and complex, with only 26% of UK SME employers reporting in 2023 to have sought external advice or information in the last year.
It will be developed and will work in partnership with small businesses, local and devolved governments across the UK, with locally led delivery at its core, to ensure the service provides the information and resources smaller firms need from government.
The Business Growth Service will be an integral part of the Small Business Strategy that will be published in 2025.
