Queen's Speech: what it means for UK businesses

Today (4 June) the Queen’s Speech marked the formal start of the parliamentary year and as is customary the monarch outlined some of the main policies and legislation on the Government’s agenda for the coming 12 months.

The general reaction to Elizabeth II’s parliamentary address has been positive – many have praised the fact that it actually tackled many of the key aspects of the economic recovery, a topic that still dominates politics at every level. Katja Hall, deputy director-general at the Confederation of British Industry, commented: “It was refreshing to see this Queen’s Speech focusing firmly on the economic recovery.

“The last thing businesses wanted was a raft of new legislation, so they will be bolstered by targeted measures to cement long-term growth, promote jobs and raise living standards. The recovery is already motoring ahead and this Queen’s Speech should help step it up a gear.”

So looking more closely at what exactly was said, on the small business, enterprise and employment bill, HRH stated: “Successfully getting credit to our small and medium-sized businesses will underpin the recovery, so we support action to match firms with providers and there is merit in formalising and extending existing referral arrangements.”

This is a proverbial hot potato that continues to be tossed around the political and financial areas, and it is something the current coalition government, in its final year before the 2015 general election, is clearly keen to sink its teeth into. Quite rightly too; gaining access to credit will be an essential part of enabling growth among SMEs – whether for business acquisition funding or simply to underpin more organic expansion – and these smaller companies will welcome hearing that they still sit high on the economic agenda.

Elsewhere she added: “Growing businesses rely on cash flow and are too often hampered by late payers, so we back a ‘comply or explain’ system for payment terms of more than 60 days.” This too has been an oft-cited problem for companies entering administration as SMEs struggle to cope with overdue payments.

The Queen also stated that there would be larger fines for those not paying the National Minimum Wage. There was also a desire expressed to protect the flexible labour market, with a ban on exclusivity clauses in zero hours suggested as a way of doing just that.

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