Workshopping late payments with the Small Business Commissioner

Every day, late payments bring down 38 businesses. AAT’s Members Advisory Council hosted Emma Jones CBE to discuss the problem.

AAT hosted the Small Business Commissioner, Emma Jones CBE, during a session of our Members Advisory Council (MAC) on 24 October. The workshop was focused on late payments, one of the biggest issues currently facing SMEs. Late payments are estimated to cost the UK economy around £11 billion annually.

Resulting cash flow issues affect over 1.5 million businesses. It holds back their growth and causes 38 businesses to shut down every single day.

The AAT Policy team recently submitted our response to the now-closed consultation on tackling late payments, and our response is now live.

The discussion

Members explored practical steps to help change payment culture, given legislative change will take several years to enact. The discussion included ethical considerations around payment practices and exploring practical measures such as the use of direct debits.

Driving digital adoption was a key element of the discussion. There are both psychological and financial barriers to its application, but many tools do exist. Examples included services which integrate chasing and payments.

The MAC also explored blockchain, since the technology can make payments self-executing once the job is done.

AAT’s stance and the Government’s package

AAT supports the Government’s move to take further action to ensure large businesses are held accountable for paying their suppliers on time. AAT has long championed fairer payment practices as vital to SME growth.

We believe reform must focus on tackling power imbalances, ensuring accountability and keeping rules simple, proportionate and practical. Measures should be backed by real consequences for persistent late payers and shaped by evidence from those most affected.

The Government’s package is significant and includes an expansion to the Small Business Commissioner’s powers. For example, additional powers to improve the ability to conduct investigations into poor payment behaviour, as well as to provide legally binding arbitration in disputes, and impose financial penalties.

The Small Business Commissioner’s office

Emma explained the work carried out by her office, which includes a dedicated casework team to resolve payment disputes between small and large businesses.

She highlighted the Fair Payment Code, introduced in December 2024. This new framework includes a tiered award system – Gold, Silver, Bronze – to reward businesses that consistently pay on time, and AAT is proudly applying to join.

Emma also spoke passionately about leveraging technologies, noting that businesses embracing digital solutions benefit from higher productivity and prompter payments.

Drawing on her experience founding Enterprise Nation, which supports more than 50,000 small businesses every month in the UK, she stressed the importance of digital solutions.

“As Small Business Commissioner, my mission is to make life easier for small businesses. So, it was a pleasure to join AAT members for this workshop and to share in their dedication to supporting small businesses by exploring practical solutions to change the culture around late payments. It’s through partnerships such as these, by sharing knowledge and tackling the problem from every side, that we will achieve the right outcome for small businesses.”

– Emma Jones CBE, Small Business Commissioner

Conclusion

Above all, action is needed urgently – too many small businesses are struggling because payments aren’t made on time. AAT stands ready to work with the Government, the Small Business Commissioner and business groups to deliver reforms that create a fairer, faster and more reliable payment culture. 

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