King Charles III has outlined the government’s legislative agenda for the next Parliament. It includes 37 Bills with some of direct relevance to small and medium sized businesses. Here’s what founders need to know about the 2026 King’s Speech.
The Bills outlined in King’s Speech 2026
Small Business Protections (Late Payments) Bill
The Bill looks to tackle the big issue of late payment suffered by small businesses from larger clients.
The government announced earlier this year that the legislation will include giving the Small Business Commissioner, who is currently entrepreneur and SMEWeb columnist Emma Jones, the ability to impose financial penalties on persistent late paying big businesses, settle late payment disputes out of court through a new adjudication function, and investigate big businesses suspected of poor payment practices or inaccurately reporting payment performance.
Other changes include a 60-day cap on payment terms for large firms when paying smaller suppliers and mandatory interest on late payments. All commercial contracts will need to include statutory interest set at 8% above the Bank of England base rate.
Additional measures are boards or audit committees of persistently late-paying large companies being required to publish explanations for poor payment performance and the actions they are taking to address it and a proposal to ban the withholding of retention payments under the terms of construction contracts.
Regulating for Growth Bill
This Bill “will make the UK’s regulatory system fit for the future so that it plays a full role in delivering growth and supporting innovation”.
Measures include:
- Elevating consideration of growth in regulatory decision-making without undermining regulators’ core objectives, such as on safety or the environment). It will give a list of regulators such as Natural England, the Environment Agency, and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), “a clear, statutory mandate to prioritise growth without undermining their important core functions, reducing unnecessary risk aversion and ensuring regulatory decisions support investment, infrastructure and market creation”.
- Cross-economy ‘sandboxing powers’ so that “businesses can test cutting-edge new products and technologies safely, prove what works and then scale up delivery of these changes more quickly”.
European Partnership Bill
This Bill aims to “improve the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU by facilitating the implementation of new deals agreed with the EU now and in the future”. This includes deals on electricity, emissions trading, and food and drink.
Measures include:
- Powers to fulfil treaty obligations in the agreements with the EU where it “serves the national interest”. The government says it “will enable the domestic implementation of relevant commitments so that the benefits of the agreements can be unlocked”. It added that the powers will mean that Parliament has its say before EU law is applied in the UK.
- A power to extend the application of the Bill to new treaties with the EU in the future.
Enhancing Financial Services Bill
The Bills aims to “modernise how the [financial services] sector is regulated, enable it to grow and to lend more to businesses, and make consumer protections fit for the digital age”.
Measuring include support lending and investment including by “updating the statutory
framework underpinning the ring-fencing regime, which requires major banks to separate their UK retail banking services from investment banking activities. The government said these reforms will unlock more finance for UK businesses, particularly small and medium-sized companies.
Overnight Visitor Levy Bill
This Bill will give mayors in England the power to introduce an overnight visitor levy.
The “tourist tax” will apply to visitors staying overnight in hotels, bed and breakfasts, guest houses and other accommodation. The money raised will be used to invest in transport, infrastructure and other local requirements.
Energy Independence Bill
This Bill aims to give “the government the powers it needs to fight people’s corner and go further and faster to deliver clean energy”.
Among the measures are ensure Ofgem can “act as a strong consumer champion with new
powers to protect families and business, including regulating energy brokers and third-party intermediaries to stop unfair practices”.
Draft Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Bill
This Bill aims to make taxi journeys “safer, fairer and easier”.
Measures include modernising taxi and private hire law to replace “a patchwork of outdated, Victorian-era rules with a single, consistent framework across England that passengers and drivers can trust” and a national database of licensed taxis to improve passenger safety.
The full list of Bills is here.
Reaction to King’s Speech 2026
Small Business Commissioner Emma Jones:
“Today in the King’s Speech it was confirmed that the government will be introducing a Bill to tackle late and unfair payments. This is excellent news for UK businesses. Currently late payments cost the UK economy £11 billion a year with founders spending over 86 hours chasing overdue invoices. I am committed to get money moving in the economy and free up small businesses time to grow and thrive. Ending late payments will be critical to realising this goal.”
Tina McKenzie, policy chair of the Federation of Small Businesses:
“The formal commitment to legislation to stamp out late payments is an historic moment for small firms, who have spent years battling a culture of poor payment practices by big businesses towards their smaller suppliers. FSB worked closely with the government to help shape these law changes and we’re grateful ministers have listened to the voice of small businesses.
“Late payment destroys thousands of viable small firms a year, damages growth, hits confidence, and keeps hardworking business owners up at night wondering how they will cover wages, bills, and tax payments. For too long, large businesses have used small suppliers as a free overdraft.
“Among the other measures, regulating unscrupulous third-party intermediaries, such as energy brokers and consultants, ending hidden commissions and cowboy sales tactics, is a much-needed move, and we hope the plans set out today will mean small firms finally get a fair deal and transparent energy prices.
“Proposals to raise visitor levies in England come at a time when the tourism and hospitality sectors are on their knees. If the legislation goes ahead, it must be designed with small firms in mind and avoid being a deterrent to tourism itself.”
Daniel Woolf, head of policy at Enterprise Nation:
“The political churn of recent days has cost small businesses time, confidence and momentum. Today’s King’s Speech signals a return to the practical issues facing entrepreneurs and local economies.
“New late payment laws will start to fix an £11 billion drain that closes 38 small firms every day, with 60-day payment terms, mandatory interest and stronger powers for the Small Business Commissioner. Reforms to open up SME lending, support innovation through regulatory sandboxes, strengthen trading ties with the European Union and roll out a national digital ID all address problems our 170,000 members live with daily.
“Whether these Bills deliver will depend on the detail. Enterprise Nation will bring our members into that design so the final laws reflect the realities of running a small business.”
Rain Newton-Smith, CBI chief executive:
“As the country continues to feel the effects of strong global headwinds, businesses were looking for the King’s Speech to put stability, resilience and growth firmly at the heart of the government’s legislative agenda.
“Moves to strengthen energy security, bolster transport connections and streamline financial services regulation are welcome, as are concrete measures to deepen ties with Europe. The EU remains our most important trading partner and the government is right to take steps to smooth UK-EU trade and help us realise the full potential of this vital trading relationship.
“Action to support prompt payment is positive and can help smaller firms build resilience, but this must be balanced carefully against the need to protect the competitiveness of larger businesses – particularly those operating across complex supply chains.
“Bringing British Steel into public ownership helps keep strategically important production in the UK, but it remains an expensive option of last resort. Meanwhile, hard-pressed hospitality businesses are calling for local authorities to avoid introducing a tourist tax that could make holidays more expensive for domestic and international visitors.
“Businesses are keenly aware of ongoing political volatility at home and are clear about the need for stability to protect investor confidence and breathe new life into the country’s growth mission. Firms want to go for growth, but they need strong leadership from government to reform an unfair business rates system, lower business energy bills, and find appropriate landing zones on the Employment Rights Act.”
Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce:
“Today’s King’s Speech had some positives for business with action to tackle late payments, simplify trade with the EU and strengthen apprenticeships.
“These steps can make a real difference to cashflow and confidence on the ground.
“But there are also significant gaps where the government has not gone far enough. Businesses will be disappointed to see no clear progress on reforming business rates, which remain a major cost burden for firms across the UK.
“With the Middle East conflict ratcheting up cost pressures, this was a critical opportunity to deliver meaningful change and give companies the certainty they urgently need.
“While measures on simplifying regulation and resilience are encouraging, firms need to see faster progress on grid reform, infrastructure and planning.
“Crucially, although there was a great deal of emphasis on the UK’s economic security there was little detail on strengthening our supply chains. In an increasingly volatile global environment, this must be a priority.
“Increasing the UK’s productivity is also a conundrum the government has yet to fully address, so any further changes to apprenticeships and skills must put employers’ needs at their heart.
“Businesses want to work in partnership with government to deliver growth. That means meaningful consultation, clear policy direction, and a relentless focus on reducing costs, boosting investment and improving competitiveness.
“The sooner we see that translated into action, the better the prospects for firms and the wider economy.”
Sami Kade, director of SME Innovation at Starling Bank:
“With 38 small businesses going bust every day, we support the government’s plan to lower the maximum number of days SME suppliers can wait to be paid to 60 days. However, at Starling we are more ambitious. Not only do we want to see legislation requiring companies to pay SMEs sooner, we believe the government should show leadership by lowering this to 30 days by 2029.”
Lisa Cleaver, COO of eCapital:
“Fines for late payments are a step in the right direction, but the issue will persist because, for an SME, challenging a big customer risks a relationship that takes years to build. Small businesses should not have to choose between getting paid and keeping a client.
“An act passed in 1998 gave small businesses the right to charge interest on late invoices, but most don’t. The answer is not to be braver about confrontation, it is to have the financial foundations in place so that a late invoice never becomes a crisis in the first place. By planning ahead, with tools such as invoice financing, business owners can help themselves avoid the pain of late payments.”
Berit Block, senior director at Constant Contact:
“The commitment to tackle late payments is one of the most meaningful things this government can do for small businesses right now. Cash flow unpredictability is already the second biggest financial stress facing UK SMEs, and late payments are one of its most damaging and avoidable causes.
“The pledge to reduce unnecessary regulation is equally welcome. Small business owners are spending time on compliance that they should be spending on growth. But legislation sets the direction; it doesn’t change the day-to-day reality overnight. Our data shows that concern about government and policy changes among small businesses has risen 50% in 18 months. Today is a start, now it needs to be followed through.”
John Haw, chair of the Energy Consultants Association:
“It’s clear the government sees business as a partner in delivering economic security, from infrastructure investment to tackling late payments. But what wasn’t mentioned was how thousands of UK businesses rely on brokers to navigate a complex energy market — yet the sector remains unregulated. The Energy Independence Bill is welcome, but the devil is in the detail. If the government is serious about protecting businesses, fixing the energy advice layer has to be part of it. We’re pushing for that to be in the Bill.”
Ben Willmott, CIPD head of public policy:
“We welcome the government’s continued focus on tackling youth unemployment and investing in apprenticeships and training opportunities for young people. However, there remains a significant gap between the government’s ambition and action, and we need to see more concrete proposals on this. There isn’t a single mention of apprenticeships in the government’s briefing document beyond the introduction, so it’s unclear how they will be addressing this beyond what is already planned.
“With almost one million young people currently not in education, employment or training, there is growing urgency to move beyond reviews and consultations towards practical action. Employers need clearer incentives and support to create sustainable entry-level opportunities, particularly in sectors and regions facing acute skills shortages.
“There is a strong case for an apprenticeship guarantee for 16-24 year olds to help ensure all young people can access high-quality pathways into work and help deliver the skills pipelines employers need to grow now and in the future.
“While it is positive the government is trying to minimise the regulatory burden on organisations through its Regulating for Growth Bill, work is needed to ensure key measures in the Employment Rights Act still to be finalised don’t undermine employment and growth.
“Some of the Act’s provisions, which are taking effect as employers grapple with rising costs and global instability, risk holding organisations back from the investment in their workforces that can generate the productivity and growth the economy urgently needs.
“The government can show it’s serious about being pro-business by restarting tripartite discussions with employers and trade unions to find compromises on key measures to ensure they are workable in practice before they become law.”
Edward Garston, partner at Spencer West LLP:
“It was encouraging to hear the announcement of the “Regulating for Growth Bill”, which seeks to streamline and update the regulatory environment. Even the government admits our regulatory environment has failed to keep pace with a world of accelerating change, and if this Bill is successfully adopted, then it could enhance the UK’s standing on the world stage in attracting AI and other emerging technology startups.
“But this initiative alone is unlikely to be the shot of adrenaline that SME businesses so desperately need, as they battle the many headwinds of increased employment costs and employment rights, business rates, and some of the highest industrial energy costs across the developed world.”