Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with the Small Business Commissioner on the (a) awareness and (b) use of mediation in the small business sector.

The department is working closely with The Small Business Commissioner (SBC) as we develop our proposals for the upcoming late payments consultation.

The Small Business Commissioners office continues to engage closely with businesses and stakeholders across the UK to raise awareness of the SBC service, which includes the role that the SBC can play in mediation between small businesses and their larger partners. Alongside mediation the SBC also conducts investigations into formal complaints of non-payments by large businesses and can provide additional support to small business as they try to deal with late payments.