Waverley council leader accused of bias over report
Mike Brennan, the chairman of the Surrey Conservatives, has called for the leader to resign because of what he has called "unethical behaviour"."This is shabby local politics at its worst and evidences why we need a smaller unitary authority to get people like Follows out," he added.
'No secret'
Councillor Follows said: "I was simply asking for the commentary included in the proposal to be explicit that of the two options, we preferred three unitaries covering Surrey, and the evidence clearly supports this."I have made no secret of the fact that I believe the interests of Surrey residents would best be served if the new councils cover consistent geographic and economic areas."The council leader explained that the proposals have to be agreed across all 11 district and borough councils in Surrey.
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BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Large companies could be fined for paying suppliers late
Large companies that persistently fail to pay their suppliers on time could face fines under government plans to help smaller businesses. Draft proposals unveiled on Thursday would also limit invoice terms to a maximum of two months, dropping to 45 days in five years' Secretary Jonathan Reynolds unveiled the plans alongside research blaming late payments for the failure of thousands of businesses a parties welcomed the move, but said firms were suffering under Labour due to National Insurance rises at the Budget. The government claims the change would mark the biggest shake-up in payment rules since firms gained powers to charge interest on late invoices in the research estimates around 1.5m businesses have been affected by late payments, with £26bn owed at any given issue poses a particular problem for small firms, which usually have smaller cash reserves and are more affected by time wasted chasing late the plans, Reynolds said late payments were the "number one issue" raised by small the new proposals, which will be subject to a 12-week consultation, the small business commissioner - a post introduced under the Conservatives in 2017 - would gain powers to fine late-paying companies. The new powers would apply to companies with more than 250 employees, which are already obliged to report their average payment times twice a year.A government policy paper suggested companies would be liable for a fine if they failed to pay a quarter of invoices on time within this six-month reporting would be double the amount companies owe their suppliers in late-payment interest, currently set at 8% plus the Bank of England base government has not set a timetable for the legislation required to deliver the change, adding it would be introduced as soon as parliamentary time allowed. New payment limits The government has also outlined plans to cut the maximum time businesses have to pay their commercial invoices are generally supposed to be paid within 60 days, although companies can ask for a longer settlement period if the supplier agrees and it is not not considered "grossly unfair".The business department said this exemption had allowed some larger firms to effectively impose long payment terms on smaller suppliers, which felt compelled to agree in order to secure added that removing the ability to agree payment terms longer than 60 days would address the "negotiating imbalance between small and large businesses".This blanket 60-day limit could be reduced to 45 days in five years' time, it added, in a bid to "further improve business cashflow".Conservative shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said the crackdown on late payments was welcome, but businesses were suffering from a "full-on strangulation of employment red tape" under also criticised the decision at the Budget to raise employers' National Insurance (NI), a payroll tax, branding it a "£25bn jobs tax".The Liberal Democrats also criticised the NI rise, adding that smaller firms had been "badly hit" by the spokesperson Sarah Olney also said the government needed to deliver a "proper plan" for companies, including "fixing business rates and cutting sky-high energy bills". Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.
South Wales Argus
3 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
Starmer: Small business owners should not have to put homes on the line
A crackdown on late payments that businesses waste time chasing is also being launched as part of the Government's newly published small business plan. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said late payments were the 'number one issue' raised by small businesses as he and Sir Keir Starmer visited a Swindon co-working space in a former train shed. The plan also aims to boost access to finance after small businesses said they were struggling to secure loans. Sir Keir Starmer and Jonathan Reynolds speak to staff members of small businesses at Workshed in Swindon (Anthony Upton/PA) 'I don't want anybody who is willing to take a risk and start a business to feel that their family home might be a risk if that doesn't go right, so working again with private lenders to give people that reassurance,' Mr Reynolds said. The Prime Minister said being an entrepreneur in the UK was a matter of putting 'your whole self' into it. 'You put your whole self in, you put your whole self in, you put your family in, you put so much into running a business.' But he said he wanted to make access to business finance easier, after hearing from the owner of a salon business who told him she had faced 'astronomical' interest rates when she had first opened her business and looked at a bank loan. He said: '(We're) making sure people can access that more easily, more readily, don't necessarily have to feel that they've got to put their equity, their house on the line.' He said he had been shocked to learn that £11 billion is lost through late payments annually and that it is often big businesses paying late. Upcoming legislation will introduce maximum payment terms of 60 days. The small business commissioner will also get new powers to fine large companies persistently paying suppliers late. The commissioner will also be able to enforce a rule that customers must pay their supplier within 30 days of receiving a valid invoice, unless otherwise agreed, with spot checks to help identify breaches. The plan will also pump £4 billion of financial support into small business start-ups and growth. This is set to include £1 billion for new firms, with 69,000 start-up loans and mentoring support over the next four years. And the British Business Bank will have its financial capacity increased to £25.6 billion. Andrew Griffith, the Conservative shadow business secretary, said: 'Cracking down on late payments will be welcome for small business but will mean nothing for the 218,000 businesses that have closed under Labour. 'The reality for businesses under Labour is a doubling of business rates, a £25 billion jobs tax and a full-on strangulation of employment red tape. 'Only the Conservatives are on the side of the makers and will support businesses across Britain to create jobs and wealth.' Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks to small business owners in Swindon (Anthony Upton/PA) The Lib Dems said the announcement 'falls far short' of a proper plan. Sarah Olney, the Lib Dem business spokesperson, said: 'Small businesses are the beating heart of our economy and our local communities, yet they've had to suffer through years of chaos under the last Conservative government and are now being badly hit by this Government's damaging national insurance hike. 'Ministers can't go on burying their heads in the sand about the huge challenges that SMEs face. We must urgently see a proper plan centred on scrapping the national insurance rise, fixing business rates and cutting sky-high energy bills.' Mr Reynolds said about half of all businesses in the UK were paying the same or lower national insurance employer contributions. 'But we will always acknowledge there have been some difficult decisions the Government had to make on the public finances. 'That makes it even more important to deliver on these measures that will make a practical difference to save businesses time and money wherever we can.' Sir Keir said rising business rates were a 'real cause of concern' and that his Government was going to stabilise it. 'So, it's not changing year on year. So, lower it because that's really important for these small and medium sized businesses,' he told ITV West Country.
Leader Live
3 hours ago
- Leader Live
Starmer: Small business owners should not have to put homes on the line
A crackdown on late payments that businesses waste time chasing is also being launched as part of the Government's newly published small business plan. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said late payments were the 'number one issue' raised by small businesses as he and Sir Keir Starmer visited a Swindon co-working space in a former train shed. The plan also aims to boost access to finance after small businesses said they were struggling to secure loans. 'I don't want anybody who is willing to take a risk and start a business to feel that their family home might be a risk if that doesn't go right, so working again with private lenders to give people that reassurance,' Mr Reynolds said. The Prime Minister said being an entrepreneur in the UK was a matter of putting 'your whole self' into it. 'You put your whole self in, you put your whole self in, you put your family in, you put so much into running a business.' But he said he wanted to make access to business finance easier, after hearing from the owner of a salon business who told him she had faced 'astronomical' interest rates when she had first opened her business and looked at a bank loan. He said: '(We're) making sure people can access that more easily, more readily, don't necessarily have to feel that they've got to put their equity, their house on the line.' He said he had been shocked to learn that £11 billion is lost through late payments annually and that it is often big businesses paying late. Upcoming legislation will introduce maximum payment terms of 60 days. The small business commissioner will also get new powers to fine large companies persistently paying suppliers late. The commissioner will also be able to enforce a rule that customers must pay their supplier within 30 days of receiving a valid invoice, unless otherwise agreed, with spot checks to help identify breaches. The plan will also pump £4 billion of financial support into small business start-ups and growth. This is set to include £1 billion for new firms, with 69,000 start-up loans and mentoring support over the next four years. And the British Business Bank will have its financial capacity increased to £25.6 billion. Andrew Griffith, the Conservative shadow business secretary, said: 'Cracking down on late payments will be welcome for small business but will mean nothing for the 218,000 businesses that have closed under Labour. 'The reality for businesses under Labour is a doubling of business rates, a £25 billion jobs tax and a full-on strangulation of employment red tape. 'Only the Conservatives are on the side of the makers and will support businesses across Britain to create jobs and wealth.' The Lib Dems said the announcement 'falls far short' of a proper plan. Sarah Olney, the Lib Dem business spokesperson, said: 'Small businesses are the beating heart of our economy and our local communities, yet they've had to suffer through years of chaos under the last Conservative government and are now being badly hit by this Government's damaging national insurance hike. 'Ministers can't go on burying their heads in the sand about the huge challenges that SMEs face. We must urgently see a proper plan centred on scrapping the national insurance rise, fixing business rates and cutting sky-high energy bills.' Mr Reynolds said about half of all businesses in the UK were paying the same or lower national insurance employer contributions. 'But we will always acknowledge there have been some difficult decisions the Government had to make on the public finances. 'That makes it even more important to deliver on these measures that will make a practical difference to save businesses time and money wherever we can.' Sir Keir said rising business rates were a 'real cause of concern' and that his Government was going to stabilise it. 'So, it's not changing year on year. So, lower it because that's really important for these small and medium sized businesses,' he told ITV West Country.
