#PayIn30Days and the Small Business Commissioner
#PAYIN30DAYS AND THE POWER OF THE SMALL BUSINESS COMMISSIONER
I’ve just responded to the Government consultation on the role and remit of Liz Barclay and her team at the Small Business Commissioner’s office. I have recommended widening the remit and increasing the powers. Here are FIVE reasons why?
1. I want to see #payin30days or less as NORMAL in the UK as it is in many other countries before I die. I am the most UNSUCCESSFUL campaigner in history as I’ve been campaigning for 30 years for the Government not to buy from, fund or work with any organisation that does not #payin30days ALL its bills ALL the time.
2. I want to see the BENEFITS of #payin30days being normal before I die. My helping found or co-found many national small and micro businesses organisations to help level the playing field, including the new Micro Business Alliance, has not prevented an average wait of 68 days for payment.
This is sickening. It strangles enterprise and leads to debt, depression, loss of livelihoods, businesses, homes and, sadly, lives.
3. I want to see more #happipreneurs making the UK a better place to live and work. New micro-businesses provide most of the new jobs, business growth, innovation and positive impact on our communities. They are strangled by poor cash flow and exorbitant costs.
#payin30days or less allows them to survive and grow.
4. The slow payment – £23 BILLION log jam – for 6 MILLION businesses causes a destructive cash flow crisis and adds massively to the costs crisis in our economy. Exploitation by 200 of the LARGEST companies – all sector leaders – with their 45 to 120 days PAYMENT TERMS is a major cause of the crisis.
The Small Business Commissioner can fix this. ALL companies that want to sell to, be funded or be licensed by national, regional or local Governments would sign up to a #payin30days or less FAIR PAYMENT CODE (replacing the Prompt Payment Code).
All signatories would have to #payin30days or less ALL their suppliers ALL the time (EVEN OTHER LARGE COMPANIES). The SBC would have powers to audit, suspend and terminate membership of the FAIR PAYMENT CODE. So no more 45 to 120 days payment terms.
5 IT WOULD FIX THIS:
” A UK arm of Coca-Cola took an average of 107 days to pay bills, while HJ Heinz Manufacturing Ltd, part of Kraft Heinz, had not paid 79 per cent of invoices after 60 days. Tata Steel UK and Superdry were named among the “late” payers. It took an average of 98 days to settle bills.”
A spokeswoman for Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I said the figures were largely down to deals with large suppliers and that its smallest suppliers were almost all paid in less than 60 days last year”.
These largest companies believe they’re doing the “right thing” by paying their “SME” (up to 250 employees) suppliers PROMPTLY. The Small Business Commissioner remit only applies to payments from large companies to “small” businesses. 99% of 5.3 million micro businesses do not supply large businesses but suffer from the cash flow crisis.
It is UNFAIR.
PLEASE HELP US
MPs need to understand the importance of #payin30days or less. A website which MPs use to brief themselves on key issues and campaigns called PolicyInfluence has kindly allowed us to post an explanation of our #payin30days or less campaign. https://policyinfluence.org/policy-asks/10108/-payin30days-or-less?utm_source=share-button?utm_source=share-button?utm_source=share-button
Please click on this link, and on the right-hand side of the page, please click to support this. The more supporters the MPs see, the more likely they are to read about #payin30days or less. THANK YOU.
