- The Small Business Commissioner’s unresolved payment dispute service recovers £1.5 million in financial year 2025-2026.
- This is the highest figure in over 5 years and well above the Small Business Commissioner’s annual budget allocation of £1.23 million.
- This success comes as the UK Government announces strengthened powers for the Small Business Commissioner.
The Office of the Small Business Commissioner (OSBC) has supported small businesses to recover over £1.5 million in overdue late payments after they engaged with the OSBC through the enquiry service. Through the service, small businesses who have an unresolved payment dispute with a larger customer, which they have been unable to resolve, can reach out to the OSBC for support.
The OSBC is an arms length body funded by an annual budget allocation of £1.23 million from the Department of Business and Trade to tackle overdue payments and unfavourable payment practices in the private sector. In 2025-2026, the OSBC recovered more for small businesses than its allocated budget and operating costs, and outperformed the previous five years.
This success for the OSBC comes a week after the UK Government announced a package of measures to tackle late payments including new powers for the Small Business Commissioner. These measures would give the UK the strongest laws on late payments in the G7.
Duplikat Ltd was supported by the OSBC in getting back monies from an unpaid invoice for an order they provided for a football team. Services had been provided to the football team and despite Duplikat having made contact regarding the late payment no further headway or communication was received leaving Duplikat with an unpaid invoice for a further month.
Duplikat Ltd spokesperson said:
“We were struggling with a late payment and months of ignored emails from a large client. After contacting the Small Business Commissioner, the Caseworker was incredibly attentive and clear and communicated well at every step.
The very same day she contacted the client, they apologised by email and we finally received payment shortly afterwards. A vital, free resource for the small business community and one which we’ve told many others about already!”
Emma Jones, Small Business Commissioner, said:
“We are on a mission to cut the precious hours too many small firms spend chasing debt. The current situation is limiting their capacity to focus on growth, and we want to change that.
I am proud of the work my team has done to deliver for small businesses, getting them paid money owed and even prouder that the 2025-26 financial year was our best yet. Of course, fair and prompt payment should be the norm, and I will continue to work with the Government on their commitment to tackle late payments.”