The Enterprise Act: cutting the cost of red tape by £10bn

Great news for UK startups – there’s a new piece of legislation fighting your corner, the Enterprise Act. Originally announced last year as the Enterprise Bill by business secretary Sajid Javid, the act is aimed at helping small businesses overcome challenges and grow. It’s now received Royal Assent, which means it’s officially law.

The act will help startups fight issues such as payment disputes, provide advice, and will generally reduce red tape – saving the UK’s businesses £10bn over the next five years. Measures include introducing a small business commissioner to help resolve problems such as late payments,  making resources and advice more accessible from local authorities, and establishing an Institute for Apprenticeships to ensure apprenticeships meet the needs of business.

Matt Doyle is a Virgin StartUp ambassador and co-founder of innovative software business Launchcloud, and he welcomes the new act.

“For startups, cashflow is key to survival,” he says. “As we grew at Launchcloud we had to start offering net-30 payment terms to the larger companies. This wouldn’t mean they would pay us in 30 days - it just meant we definitely wouldn't get paid for at least a month.

If government can help business to maintain cashflow, this could be a lifeline to businesses that would otherwise fail.”

What do you think? Tweet us over at @virginstartup with your thoughts!