Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Small Businesses: Fiscal Support

Tuesday 19 December 2023 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Paul Holmes asked about the benefits of the autumn statement for small businesses.
  • The Minister thanked Holmes and mentioned extending retail, hospitality and leisure relief for another year.
  • Emma Lewell questioned why the new 55-day payment rule does not apply to microbusinesses.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Paul Holmes Con Hamble Valley
Business & Trade
Context

The autumn statement has been widely praised by the Federation of Small Businesses as a significant positive step.

Question

Merry Christmas to you and yours, Mr Speaker. The autumn statement was a huge success for small businesses across the country, with the Federation of Small Businesses describing it as “a game changer”. Will my hon. Friend outline to the House how the autumn statement package will benefit those small businesses in my constituency on which my towns and villages rely?

Answer from Nigel Huddleston

I thank my hon. Friend for his continuing support for small businesses in his constituency. Measures in the autumn statement to help them include extending the retail, hospitality and leisure relief for another year, which will support around 230,000 properties in England. That tax cut is worth nearly £2.4 billion. Meanwhile, by freezing the small business multiplier for a fourth consecutive year, we will be protecting more than a million properties from a multiplier increase. Other announcements that could benefit his constituents include the Help to Grow, management and Made Smarter programmes and moves to tackle late payments.

Answered
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Q2 Paul Holmes Con Hamble Valley
Business & Trade
Context

The autumn statement has been widely praised by the Federation of Small Businesses as a significant positive step.

Question

Merry Christmas to you and yours, Mr Speaker. The autumn statement was a huge success for small businesses across the country, with the Federation of Small Businesses describing it as “a game changer”. Will my hon. Friend outline to the House how the autumn statement package will benefit those small businesses in my constituency on which my towns and villages rely?

Answer from Nigel Huddleston

I thank my hon. Friend for his continuing support for small businesses in his constituency. Measures in the autumn statement to help them include extending the retail, hospitality and leisure relief for another year, which will support around 230,000 properties in England. That tax cut is worth nearly £2.4 billion. Meanwhile, by freezing the small business multiplier for a fourth consecutive year, we will be protecting more than a million properties from a multiplier increase. Other announcements that could benefit his constituents include the Help to Grow, management and Made Smarter programmes and moves to tackle late payments.

Answered
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Q3 Emma Lewell Lab South Shields
Business & Trade
Context

Microbusinesses often face longer waiting times than those with government contracts, despite being a significant portion of small businesses.

Question

The new 55-day payment rule will apply to only a few hundred companies contracted by the Government, yet microbusinesses, which do not typically have Government contracts, wait on average 68 days for payments. Those businesses make up the majority of small businesses across our country. Why will the Government not back the Micro Business Alliance's “Pay in 30 days” campaign?

Answer from Nigel Huddleston

As I mentioned, we are well aware of the issue of late payments, and we are in constant dialogue with the key stakeholders in this area, as well as colleagues at the Department for Business and Trade. We will always keep an eye on the measures, but the moves we have already made to tackle late payments, as announced recently, will make a big difference.

Partly answered

Not addressed: the specific support for the 'Pay in 30 days' campaign was not addressed

How: We Are Aware Of The Issue, In Constant Dialogue With Stakeholders

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