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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress is being made towards appointing the proposed Small Business Commissioner to help small businesses resolve payment disputes with large businesses.

Government has taken powers to establish the Small Business Commissioner via the Enterprise Bill, which is currently waiting for Royal Assent. We have started the implementation process and will begin the recruitment of the Commissioner later this year with the expectation of appointing him or her in 2017. We are completing the rest of the implementation in parallel which includes: consulting on, preparing and laying secondary legislation; setting up the Commissioner’s office; and creating a web presence.