Don't Forget The Late Payers, Entrepreneurs Tell Ministers

Nov. 13, 2008 - PRLog -- Despite the attention being placed on how much money banks are lending to small businesses, a poll by UK Business Forums has revealed it is tackling late payment which entrepreneurs think the government should make their top priority.

As Alistair Darling prepares for his long awaited pre-budget report on 24 November, 40% of small business owners said customers settling bills within 20 says would be the one measure which would most help them survive a recession.

In contrast, just 8% of entrepreneurs responding to the poll by the UK’s most active online forums for entrepreneurs believed increased bank finance was key.  

Responding to the findings, Dan Martin, administrator of UK Business Forums, said: “Amid all the talk of how much money banks are providing to small businesses, it is interesting to see that the vast majority of entrepreneurs actually think that it is cash to which they are already entitled that should be the main priority of ministers.

“With the Federation of Small Businesses recently warning that big companies are holding their small business suppliers “to ransom”, it is vital that Alistair Darling includes in his pre-budget report measures to tackle the problem.

“The government’s pledge for public sector departments to pay small businesses within 10 days is welcome but that action needs to be extended to the private sector, and big businesses in particular, to ensure more small companies don’t succumb to the financial crisis.”

The second most popular choice in the survey was a cut in small business corporation tax cited by 18% of respondents. Another 13% demanded less red tape to help SMEs deal with the economic downturn and 7% called for a cut in National Insurance contributions.

Some 6% believed small business owners being able to delay their VAT payments was key, while 5% said lower bank charges should be introduced. The least popular option, chosen by 3% of businesses, was the delayed implementation of new employment regulations due to come into force next April.

Editor's Notes

For more details contact Dan Martin, administrator of UK Business Forums, on dan.martin@businesszone.co.uk or 0117 915 8638.

About UK Business Forums

UK Business Forums, published by Sift Media, is the UK's most active online forums for entrepreneurs providing reach to over 32,000 registered members. It is positioned solely as a website for discussion, engagement and interaction, generating 7,000 posts a week, and over 1,000,000 page impressions a month. For more information visit http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk. UK Business Forums’ sister website is BusinessZone.co.uk. For more information visit http://www.businesszone.co.uk.

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UK Business Forums, published by Sift Media, is the UK's most active online forums for entrepreneurs providing reach to over 32,000 registered members. It is positioned solely as a website for discussion, engagement and interaction, generating 7,000 posts a week, and over 1,000,000 page impressions a month. For more information visit http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk. UK Business Forums’ sister website is BusinessZone.co.uk. For more information visit http://www.businesszone.co.uk.