The Government have announced their Small Business Plan, claiming it will address the greatest concerns of SMEs across the country to streamline regulation and facilitate growth. At the centre of the plan are pledges to tackle late payments to suppliers, with the toughest laws in the G7 set to be enacted. This will include stricter maximum payment terms and mandatory payment of interest on late invoices.
Many businesses have raised concerns about accessing finance to scale-up. Therefore, the Government is launching a new £4 billion wave of financial support for SMEs, including a £1bn boost for new businesses alongside 69,000 Start-Up Loans and mentoring support.
In addition, the British Business Bank is being provided with a £3 billion injection – raising the total guarantee to £5 billion – to help lenders offer more small business loans through the ‘ENABLE programme’. A new £400 million Investor Pathways scheme will support more business and investors from underrepresented backgrounds by expanding support to diverse angel networks and supporting the Invest in Women Taskforce and other initiatives.
According to the Government, red tape will be slashed by 25% through a range of measures, while tax arrangements such as Full Expensing and the Annual Investment Allowance will be continued.
In order to futureproof business skills, the Government will work to help SMEs to adopt new digital technologies, particularly linked to AI and invoicing. Fast-growing businesses will be provided with specialist support to help with scale-up, including a dedicated growth scheme delivered by Innovate UK.
To aid exporting, the Government will improve access to export finance with a target of 1,000 new SMEs helped by UK Export Finance (UKEF) by 2029, as well as a new Export Insurance Product (EXIP). UKEF’s lending capacity will also be expanded up to £80bn.
On procurement, SMEs are set to be at the heart of the Government’s new procurement policy system to give them a fair chance at public contracts, with ambitious SME spending targets outlined for each department.
