Looking after the interests of small businesses has been downgraded by the Truss government as it now forms part of a much wider role, being one of 16 areas covered under the new position of “Minister for Enterprise and Markets”.

Dean Russell MP has been appointed Minister for Enterprise and Markets in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whose 16 responsibilities include postal affairs, consumer and competition policy, Pubs Code Adjudicator and Brexit opportunities.

This is the first-time small businesses have not had a dedicated ministerial title since the last Labour government. Mr Russell’s predecessor, Paul Scully MP, was the parliamentary under-secretary of state for small business between February 2020 until now.

Tackling late payments was one of the key roles of the Small Business Commissioner. Rightly so, as late payments are the single biggest killer of small businesses.

The new Minister for Enterprise and Markets, Dean Russell MP, has pledged that he “…will continue to champion our innovative and hardworking small business community ensuring they have a voice at the heart of government”.