Have your say on the Enterprise Bill
3 February 2016 (updated on 3 February 2016)
Do you have relevant expertise and experience or a special interest in the Enterprise Bill, which is currently passing through Parliament? If so, you can submit your views in writing to the House of Commons Public Bill Committee which is going to consider this Bill.
Aims of the Bill
The Enterprise Bill is wide-ranging, and includes proposals to:
- Establish a Small Business Commissioner, to assist in payment disputes and signpost advice services for small businesses;
- Extend the Business Impact Target to include regulators, requiring them to assess the impact to business of their practices, and modify the way in which regulators engage with the Growth Duty and Regulators’ Code;
- Extend the Primary Authority Scheme;
- Introduce a target for the total number of apprentices working in public sector bodies, and protect the term ‘apprenticeship’;
- Introduce new measures intended to prevent the late payment of insurance claims to businesses;
- Allow the Valuation Office Agency to share business rates information about properties and ratepayers with local government;
- Reform the Business Rates Appeals system;
- Update the Industrial Development Act 1982; and
- Introduce a cap on ‘exit payments’ for public sector workers.
Follow the progress of the Enterprise Bill
The Enterprise Bill was initially published in the House of Lords and completed its Parliamentary stages there on 15 December 2015. The Bill arrived in the House of Commons on 16 December 2015 and had its second reading debate on 2 February 2016.
- Catch up on Parliament News: MPs debate Enterprise Bill
- Bills before Parliament: Enterprise Bill 2015-16
- Read Explanatory Notes: Enterprise Bill 2015-16
This Bill has now been committed to a Public Bill Committee which will hold its first meeting on Tuesday 9 February. Further dates will be agreed once the Bill Committee has met, although Bill Committees usually meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The Public Bill Committee is expected to finish and report the Bill to the House by Thursday 25 February 2016. Please note, there are no oral evidence sessions scheduled.
Deadline for submissions
The Public Bill Committee is now able to receive written evidence. Your submission should be emailed to scrutiny@parliament.uk The sooner you send in your submission, the more time the Committee will have to take it into consideration. The Committee is expected to meet for the first time on Tuesday 9 February; it will stop receiving written evidence at the end of the Committee stage on Thursday 25 February 2016. Please note that when the Committee reports it is no longer able to receive written evidence and it can report earlier than the expected deadline of 5.00pm on Thursday 25 February 2016.
For further details on how to submit evidence to public bill committee please refer to the Guidance on submitting written evidence.