Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment the Government has made of the potential impact of large businesses repaying SME invoices 60 or 90 days after receipt of the invoice on levels of interruption to SME cashflow.

On 31^st July DBT published new research showing that late payments cost the UK economy £11bn per year and closes down 38 UK businesses every day, with a disproportionate impact upon small businesses.

Government is putting in place the most significant legislation to tackle late payments in over 25 years, giving the UK the strongest legal framework on late payments in the G7. The consultation on stronger new legislative measures to ensure small businesses are paid promptly closes on 23 October.