A PIECE in the money section of the FT on Saturday quoted a number of small business owners who described the Government's Prompt Payment Code as mere window dressing.

One even mentioned that one of the large companies signed up to the prompt payment scheme was one of their worst payers!

Of course, one of the big drawbacks of the scheme is that it is voluntary. Full marks to the ICM and the government for raising awareness of this serious issue......but will it ever make a difference? I very much doubt it. But then again, will government ever come to the rescue of SMEs who suffer tremendous cash flow difficulties because of the greed of the big corporates with muscle.

I think it's time for the government to act against large private organisations who find it difficult to forgo the obvious advantages of holding on to money that belongs to someone else i.e.smaller suppliers. Why should large organisations be able to unilaterally impose 90 days payment terms on suppliers when they demand their own invoices to be paid within 30?

How about this for an idea. government can appoint inspectors to do spot checks within the purchase departments of large organisations to check on the DPO (Days Purchases Outstanding).

If the figure looks particularly high, given that most business impose 30 days credit terms, a random check on some real invoices within the department can be undertaken.

Penalties could be imposed for any wrongdoing.

These things within a finance department would be very difficult to hide away from an inspector, so the spot checks should be very straightforward to achieve. Good idea or bad idea? I'd like to know your thoughts.

FOLLOWING SOME very gloomy assessments about the future of the retail sector, the Government has announced its intention to ask Mary Portas, TV 's so called Mary Queen of Shops, to investigate how Britain's high streets can be saved. Apparently shop vacancies in the high streets have doubled in three years.

My advice to Mr Clegg and his colleagues at BIS who have appointed the TV personality is very straightforward. If you really want to do something about protecting high streets from extinction, window dressing won't do it for you! Instead, why not direct your energy towards supporting your parliamentary colleagues Ed Davey and Andrew George and push hard to introduce legislation to appoint a grocery adjudicator as soon as possible.

This "Ombudsman" type person was recommended by the Competition Commission back in 2008 when looking into the excessive power of major supermarket chains, and how their purchasing power is used to drive supplier prices down, and fend off possible competition from smaller retailers.

News from Parliament is that a draft bill may now only be debated in 2012, which means that an adjudicator may not be seen until 2013/2014 - a full six years after the Competition Commission report was published. Call me a bit of a cynic, but maybe the supermarket chains' power extends way beyond price negotiating tables shared with grocery suppliers; I would imagine that they've got some pretty good lobbyists operating in the Westminster area too!!

HERE WE ALL ARE, ending an eventful year in which we've witnessed a change of government, the country coming out of recession, (albeit tentatively), announcements about huge public sector spending cuts on the way, and the ongoing debate about bank lending.

In 2010, we seemed to hear some good economic news one week, followed up quickly with not such good news.

Sorry to have to tell you, but I suspect 2011 will be a repeat performance.

On the plus side, I see bank lending start to get back onto a normal track, helping healthy businesses expand once more. Hopefully this will lead to the private sector recruiting some of the casualties from the public sector clearout. With the Eurozone and the USA expecting to see GDP growth of between 1 and 3% in 2011, i don't see any chance of a double dip recession for the UK. If anything, we'll see the slow road to recovery continuing.

From a business risk perspective, what worries me about the coming year is the impact of the VAT rise, the winding down of the HMRC tax deferral system, and the localised effects of public spending cutbacks on the financial viability of companies that provide services to local and central government.

I'm also beginning to worry about rifts appearing in the coalition government; political stability, not uncertainty, is what we really need in 2011. Senior Lib Dems, seeing their political support wane at grassroots level, should bite their collective lip for a little while longer for the good of the country, before deciding to stand up for what they really believe in and differentiate themselves as a party well in time for the next general election.

Merry Christmas to one and all!