Meet the UK’s new small business commissioner

Emma Jones CBE, founder of Enterprise Nation, has this week been appointed as the UK’s new Small Business Commissioner.

The Office of the Small Business Commissioner (SBC) was first established in 2016. It was set up to tackle the issue of late and unfair payments for SMEs, and its impact on cash flow. 

Jones will start the role next week. She takes over from Liz Barclay, who has completed her four-year term as the current Commissioner. Barclay was Startups 100 judge in 2023.

Small business minister Gareth Thomas described Jones as “someone who has long championed small firms and entrepreneurs across the UK. I am confident that her passion and expertise will ensure small firms have a powerful advocate fighting in their corner.”

Who is Emma Jones CBE?

Startups may already be familiar with Jones’ work. After successfully exiting her first business called Techlocate.com, a resource for investors, she went on to found Enterprise Nation, a support community of small businesses and advisors, in 2005.

Over the past two decades, she has led various initiatives designed to kickstart UK innovation. She joined the government’s entrepreneur collective, StartUp Britain, in 2011, as well as the SME Digital Adoption Taskforce last year. 

Last month, Jones announced she would step down as CEO of Enterprise Nation, presumably in preparation for her new role as SBC. The former CEO of Saga Media Aaron Asadi, has since been confirmed as her successor.

Commenting on her appointment, Jones said she understood the challenges facing the UK’s 5.5 million SMEs, having experienced them herself firsthand.

“I know the commitment it takes to start and grow a successful business. Founders tell me they are time poor and spending too many precious hours on non-productive work like chasing debt. This is limiting their capacity to focus on growth”, she said.

“Through the Office of the Small Business Commissioner, we will make life easier for small business owners by leveraging technology to speed up payments and access to support.”

What does the small business commissioner do?

Since it was created nine years ago, the SBC has aimed to tackle late payments and unfair payment practices. Intuit Quickbooks research found that, on average, SMEs are currently owed around £21,400 in late payments.

It’s a particular issue for small businesses. This group tends to have smaller cash reserves to keep them afloat. If a partner doesn’t pay them within the typical 30-day window, this can have a knock-on effect in terms of covering overheads, such as employee wages.

The previous SBC, Liz Barclay, set up the Fair Payment Code, a tiered award system for firms that exhibit fair payment practices. Companies that pay at least 95% of all invoices within 30 days are certified Gold. So far, 300 businesses have signed up to the code.

Later this year, Whitehall will publish the results of a public consultation on additional legislative measures to address long payment terms.