A big year for prompt payment

This first full working week at the Office of the Small Business Commissioner started as it means to continue; full of activity to get money moving through the economy and into the hands of small firms.

You can expect to see in 2026:

• A concerted effort on ‘Business As Usual’: as we work on cases for small firms to retrieve payment on late invoices (building on the £10m retrieved announcement in December), expansion of The Fair Payment Code in terms of the number of Awardees, and a scaling of content on our website and across social channels on how small firms can contract well to get paid on time, plus interviews with exemplary businesses on the Fair Payment Code.
• Accelerated progress on digital projects: including building on our Marketplace & Payment Pledge with a Ministerial roundtable on 20th January with eBay, Stripe, PayPal and Temu (to name just a few) attending to take this partnership to the next stage, movement on development of a Prompt Payment Score in partnership with Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT), and a look at international best practice in faster payments with US contributors. This work will be supported with project management expertise from Sarah Atkins who brings prior experience from global digital organisation, GS1, and will help us realise results.
• Getting money moving at a local level: with a Post Office roundtable on 5th February with a stellar cast list (dedicated post to follow on this) discussing town-centred cash access and fund-raising, work with the High Street team at Department for Business and Trade on increasing footfall, and the monthly SME Safaris, with the first Safari of 2026 taking place on 28th January in Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland, hosted by Dan Wilson and visiting local businesses including Mourne Textiles Limited, Elk Books and WBR Credit Union.

This is also the year in which government delivers its response to the payment consultation which will form the basis of legislation to ensure the UK is doing all it can to enable small firms to be paid on time. This is an exciting development that could lead to a step change in payment culture and create a ‘level playing field’ where all businesses are paid within a maximum of 60 days, giving financial certainty to small firms to invest and grow.

Work will be delivered by my own team at the Office, alongside colleagues at the Department of Business & Trade who are working on policy, legislation, and analysis. You can see us in the image above spelling out our top priority for the year!

We will be boosted in 2026 by the arrival of new board advisors. Interviews have taken place this week with stellar candidates and I look forward to introducing you to the new recruits soon.

As ever, I will keep you updated through this weekly newsletter and would welcome your input on what more/less you think we should be doing to make your life easier as a small business owner.

Happy New Year!