Small business call for prompt payment laws

PROMPT payments legislation forcing government agencies and big business to pay small businesses is required urgently to prevent hundreds of firms from going out of business.

The ISME Credit Watch Survey for summer 2010 shows smaller enterprises are being placed under severe pressure by deliberately delayed payments from government agencies and big business.

ISME chief executive Mark Fielding said despite continuous warnings and corroborating quarterly statistics from the association, the Government refuses to tackle this issue as businesses and jobs go to the wall as a result of totally inadequate legislation.