Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress his Department has made on strengthening the Prompt Payment Code; and whether he plans to include in the Code a (a) formal accreditation and (b) revalidation process.

The UK is home to 5.7 million small businesses. These businesses are the backbone of our economy and a key part of our modern Industrial Strategy is ensuring we remain one of the best places in Europe to start and grow a small business.

The Department has now launched a call for evidence on how to eliminate unfair payment practices to small businesses. The call for evidence is open for 8 weeks, and seeks views on how we can build on the government’s existing late payment policies, including the Prompt Payment Code, to drive an end to late payments to the UK’s 5.7 million small businesses.