Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015
The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, also referred to as SBEE, received Royal Assent in March 2015. Its contents include regulatory reform, public sector procurement and company director disqualification issues. Its passage reflected a commitment in the Queen's Speech on 4 June 2014 to introduce legislation which would
Provisions
Access to finance
The provisions mentioned in the long title regarding "improved access to finance for businesses and individuals" are incorporated in Part 1 of the Act. This part includes provision for regulatory control over contract clauses which "prohibit or impose a condition, or other restriction, on the assignment by a party to the contract of the right to be paid any amount under the contract or any other contract between the parties".Business impact target
Part 2 contained provision for the government to publish a "business impact target", which is Statutory guidance on this duty was published in January 2019.The relevant legislative provisions, namely sections 21 to 27 of the 2015 Act, were repealed, and the business impact target itself was abolished by the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023.
Public sector procurement
Part 3 concerns powers to make further regulations regarding public sector procurement, including processes for entering into contracts and contract management and investigations into procurement functions. One of the particular objectives underlying potential regulations would be to ensure that procurement functions are exercised in an efficient and timely manner. These sections were repealed by the Procurement Act 2023, although investigatory powers remain in place under Part 10 of the new procurement legislation.Examples of public sector purchasing practices identified in a Cabinet Office consultation regarding the proposed legislation in 2014, before it was enacted, included over-complicating requirements and 'gold-plating' specifications, being over-prescriptive for lower value procurements, complex tender documentation, and making inappropriate use of framework agreements when they can be a barrier for small businesses, and internal decision making procedures.