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Posted: Mon 20th Jul 2026
6 min read
One year ago, the government published Backing Your Business, its first dedicated plan for small businesses in over a decade.
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has now published a progress report on how the first year has gone.
We've also put your questions directly to the minister responsible.
Blair McDougall MP, Minister for Small Business and Economic Transformation, joined a recent Enterprise Nation webinar to talk through what the government has delivered and where its focus turns next.
The plan set out nearly 200 commitments across five areas:
Fixing the fundamentals
Unlocking access to finance
Backing the everyday economy
Future-proofing business skills
Opening up opportunities
The government's stated aim was to make the UK the best place to start and grow a business. That's its own wording, and we intend to hold the government to it.
One year in, DBT says 98% of those commitments are in train and nearly half are complete. Here are the ones that matter most to our members.
Late payment has been one of the biggest frustrations our members have raised for years, and a new law is finally in Parliament.
caps the payment terms that large firms can impose on smaller suppliers at 60 days
makes interest on late payments mandatory at 8% above the Bank of England base rate
gives the Small Business Commissioner the power to fine persistent late-payers
The Commissioner recovered over £1.5 million for small businesses last year, more than the previous four years combined.
Permanently lower multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure premises with rateable values under £500,000 came in this April, benefiting over 750,000 properties.
Opening a second premises now comes with an extra two years of small business rate relief, and pubs received a rates cut with a two-year real-terms freeze to follow.
The British Business Bank's capacity has grown to £25.6 billion.
Growth Guarantee Scheme loans of up to £1.1 million can now run for up to 10 years, and Start Up Loans made 9,551 loans between August 2025 and May 2026, with eligibility widened to businesses trading for up to five years.
The Employment Allowance doubled to £10,500, softening the impact of higher employer National Insurance for the smallest employers, and the 5p fuel duty cut was extended to the end of the year.
The new Youth Jobs Grant pays £3,000 for every eligible young person a business hires, with more apprenticeship support arriving over the coming months.
The Business Growth Service launched as a single front door to national, local and export support, and more than 750,000 users have visited the website since it launched.
Pubs and licensed venues can also stay open after midnight for Home Nations games in the later stages of this summer's World Cup.
DBT's report also sets out what lands over the coming months. Here are the dates worth putting in your diary:
August: Apprenticeship training becomes free for small employers taking on young people aged 16 to 24, and the Small Business Regulatory Taskforce publishes its recommendations on cutting red tape.
September: Government departments publish their annual progress against SME procurement spending targets, and two new British Business Bank funds totalling £350 million launch for the South East and East of England.
October: A new £2,000 payment opens for small employers who take on an apprentice aged 16 to 24.
October to November: The e-invoicing roadmap is published, setting out the path to make all VAT invoices electronic from April 2029.
April 2027 and 2028: Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, which already applies to those with self-employment or property income over £50,000, extends to those over £30,000 and then £20,000.
Early 2027: The Small Business Protections Bill is expected to become law.
Much of this plan carries our members' fingerprints, because we've been in the room while it was shaped and delivered.
Enterprise Nation sits on the Small Business Regulatory Taskforce, working to strip out the rules that cost small firms time they don't have.
We also hold a seat on the Small Business Growth Forum, where founders' views go straight to the small business minister.
The government backed all 10 recommendations of the SME Digital Adoption Taskforce we sit on, drawing on what thousands of you tell us through our Tech Hub programme. And we're also a strategic partner in the government's AI Skills Boost programme.
Through Backing Your Business, our campaign with DBT, we turned the plan into plain-English guidance, webinars and founder stories.
And as departments start reporting on their SME procurement spend, our Supply Connect programme is helping founders get ready to win that work.
There's much more to do, and we'll keep working with the government to deliver this plan for small businesses across the country. As ever, we'll keep making your case where it counts.
We give small businesses a voice – in the media and in Westminster. See our latest press releases, policy insights and how we're championing small firms. Visit the media and policy centre
