The Office of the Small Business Commissioner (OSBC) was established by the

UK government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

in Part 1 of the Enterprise Act, 2016. Secretary of State for Business

Greg Clark Gregory David Clark (born 28 August 1967) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2016 to 2019. He also was Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government from 2015 t ...

announced the appointment of Paul Uppal to the newly established post of Small Business Commissioner on 2 October 2017. On 20 December 2017, working with digital agency "dxw digital", an advice and complaints service was launched to help small businesses get paid on time and ensure fair payment practices. The role of the OSBC is to provide general information and advice to small businesses about payment issues with larger businesses, and direct them to services to help them resolve their payment issues. The Commissioner also offers a complaint service. Supporting the Britain's 5.5 million small businesses is a priority outlined in the UK government’s Industrial Strategy. The Office works across the whole of the UK.

Background

The Small Business Commissioner was established as a non-departmental public body by the

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom Government, from July 2016 to Februar ...

. It was announced in a discussion paper issued in July 2015 and was formally proposed for creation within the Enterprise Bill introduced into the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

in September 2015.

Anna Soubry Anna Mary Soubry (; born 7 December 1956) is a British barrister, journalist and former politician who was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Broxtowe (UK Parliament constituency), Broxtowe from 2010 United Ki ...

MP, the Minister of State for Small Business, Industry and Enterprise within the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, anticipated that the Small Business Commissioner would 'build the confidence and capabilities of

small business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have a small number of employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being ...

es to help them assert themselves in

contractual A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of those a ...

disputes and negotiate more effectively'.Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Government Response
Small Business Commissioner: Government Response
published September 2015, accessed 26 September 2015 Under the legislation, the Commissioner: *enables small businesses to resolve disputes and avoid future issues through general advice and information *signposts businesses to appropriate services e.g. sector ombudsmen or regulators, existing independent advice services, approved

alternative dispute resolution Alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or external dispute resolution (EDR), typically denotes a wide range of dispute resolution processes and techniques that parties can use to settle disputes with the help of a third party. They are used for ...

(ADR) providers or the Commissioner's own complaints handling function *considers complaints by small business suppliers about payment issues with larger businesses that they supply A proposal to give the commissioner a role in direct

mediation Mediation is a structured, voluntary process for resolving disputes, facilitated by a neutral third party known as the mediator. It is a structured, interactive process where an independent third party, the mediator, assists disputing parties ...

between businesses was not pursued as the government did not believe there was sufficient evidence of

market failure In neoclassical economics, market failure is a situation in which the allocation of goods and services by a free market is not Pareto efficient, often leading to a net loss of economic value.Paul Krugman and Robin Wells Krugman, Robin Wells (2006 ...

in relation to mediation services. Prior to its launch, the

Federation of Small Businesses The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is a UK business organisation representing small and medium-sized businesses. It was formed in 1974 as the National Federation of Self Employed (NFSE). The current name for the organisation was adopted in ...

(FSB) described the proposal as 'a step in the right direction'. The Office works with the FSB,

Confederation of British Industry The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is a British business interest group, which says it represents 190,000 businesses. The CBI has been described by the ''Financial Times'' as "Britain's biggest business lobby group". Incorporated by roy ...

and

British Chambers of Commerce The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC, formerly known prior to 1996 as the Association of British Chambers of Commerce) is the national representative body of 53 chambers of commerce across the UK. The chambers represent 50,000 businesses, whi ...

to promote timely payment of commercial debts.

Commissioner

On 1 Juny 2021 Liz Barclay, a broadcaster and former consumer advisor replaced interim Commissioner Philip King as the Commissioner.UK Government
Liz Barclay named as Small Business Commissioner to lead crackdown on late payments to small businesses
published 16 March 2021, accessed 5 February 2023

References

{{Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Small business Non-departmental public bodies of the United Kingdom government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Department for Business and Trade