in supporting businesses to invest in the infrastructure that will drive real change. This means enabling the adoption of technologies that make prompt payment by default, not the exception. Whilst we welcome the regulation, technology would be a more effective lever.”
A macro-level investment in SMEs These reforms do not exist in a vacuum. They follow the launch of the Prime Minister’ s Small Business Plan, which included the Business Growth Service and a massive £ 4bn( US $ 5.3bn) finance boost to increase access to capital for SMEs.
By combining legislative sticks, such as the 60-day cap and multi-millionpound fines, with the carrots of better growth support and financing, the government intends to make the UK economy more resilient to global shocks and help control inflation.
For the procurement and finance professional, the era of treating small suppliers as a source of liquidity is over. The focus must now shift toward reliability, transparency and the proactive adoption of payment infrastructure that ensures the survival of the UK’ s essential SME tier.
procurementmag. com
93