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Small businesses get helping hand with strengthened debt advice

ended 04. June 2026

Small businesses and the self-employed struggling with their finances are to receive a helping hand through a new £4 million funding boost to business debt advice services through the Money and Pensions Service, the Government announced today.

The funding will go towards expanding access to expert support to help them get back on track, giving a leg up to an additional 16,000 businesses over the next three years to total 75,000 businesses. Meanwhile, an additional £2 million of funding this year will help modernise debt advice.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury Rachel Blake said: "From the plumber fixing your radiator to your local café, small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and we know they sometimes need a helping hand when times get tough. We’re building on the success of our expert debt services to help tens of thousands more get back on their feet.

  • As small business owners and the self-employed, what are your thoughts?
  • Will a £4m extra funding boost for just 16k small businesses achieve much in practice? Or is it a drop in the ocean?
  • Does this show the Government understands small businesses, or is massively out of touch?
  • Once again, you've been referred to as “the backbone” of the Uk economy. How does that make you feel?

5 responses from the Newspage community

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Matthew Knight
Chief Freelance Officer at Freelancing.Support
I've seen first hand just how important and invaluable The Business Debtline, and the broader work from the Money Advice Trust is. This investment hopefully starts to reverse the crumbling small business support landscape, which has been grossly underfunded for the last 15 years.

However, this is only one piece of the puzzle.

New business owners also need access to better education and training on how to structure and operate their businesses to reduce the risks of debt piling up in the first place, backing to tackle common issues like late payments, and better provisions for mental health at work for business owners not just their employees, to ensure this "backbone of Britain" can stay healthy in this challenging economic climate.
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Anita Wright
Chartered Financial Planner at Ribble Wealth Management
My first thought is to look at the arithmetic. £4 million pounds spread across 16,000 businesses is about £250 quid each. That isn't a lifeline, it's a token. Debt advice is welcome, but advice doesn't pay a tax bill. The problem these firms have isn't that they don't understand they're in trouble. It's that the numbers stopped working. So is it a drop in the ocean? It's a drop, yes. And I'd point out that the same Government offering the help is part of why the well ran dry, through higher employer costs, a heavier tax load and rates that have squeezed margins for years. As for being called the backbone of the economy, I'd treat that with the contempt it deserves. The backbone is the bit that carries the weight while everything else sits on top. Flattery tends to arrive just before another demand. If the Government truly understood small business, it would it would make being in business cheaper, not pay someone to explain why it's so expensive.
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Nouran Moustafa
Practice Principal & IFA at Roxton Wealth
Any extra debt advice for small businesses is welcome, but £4m over three years for 16,000 additional businesses is not a game-changer. It is support at the edge of the problem, not a solution to the problem.

The pressure on small firms is not just poor budgeting. It is higher tax, higher wages, higher rent, late payments, weaker consumer confidence and the cost of running a business rising faster than many can pass on.

Calling small businesses the “backbone of the economy” is starting to feel like a slogan. If government genuinely believes that, policy needs to match the language. Small firms need simpler tax, faster payment culture, better access to finance and a growth environment where hiring and investment do not feel like punishment.

Debt advice matters, but by the time a business needs crisis support, something has already gone badly wrong. The real aim should be helping firms stay healthy before they reach that point.
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Kate Underwood
Founder & Chief People Strategist at Kate Underwood HR and Training
Here's what people forget about small business debt: it's never just money. Behind every struggling business is an owner who hasn't slept properly in months, who pays the staff before paying themselves, and who feels like a failure for needing help. So yes, I welcome this. £250 a head won't transform anyone's books, but knowing where to turn before things spiral can save a business, and sometimes the person running it. The bravest thing a struggling owner can do is ask for help early, and most leave it far too late because of shame. If this gets 16,000 of them talking sooner, that's 16,000 fewer doing it the hard way, alone, at the kitchen table at 2 am. My ask of the Government: keep going. Debt advice treats the symptom. Late payments, rising costs and April's annual bill hike are the disease. Fix both, and small businesses might actually believe you when you call them the backbone.
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Thomas Boughton
Founder at Artillium Real Estate Finance
Small businesses have been described as the backbone of the economy, yet in reality it often feels as though business owners have been overlooked and pushed aside. While a £4M boost is a step in the right direction, spread across 16,000 businesses it amounts to just £250 per business. That simply isn't enough to make a meaningful difference, regardless of the size of the company. I started my business at 24. Two years on, I can say it's the hardest thing I've done. The pressure of looking after clients is constant, but the growing tax burden and rising operating costs are making it increasingly difficult for small businesses to thrive. This initiative highlights how disconnected policymakers can be from the realities facing business owners. It's no surprise that many small and medium-sized enterprises are choosing to close their doors or relocate abroad in search of a more supportive environment. As it stands, there is very little incentive to start a business in the UK.