Part 1: The Small Business Commissioner Section 4: The Small Business Commissioner complaints scheme
This section requires the Commissioner to establish a complaints scheme under which the Commissioner enquires into, considers, and determines complaints (subsection (1)). The Commissioner must establish and run the scheme in accordance with regulations to be made under section 7 (subsection (2)).
	The section also sets out the types of complaints which will be considered (subsection (3)). The Commissioner will consider complaints from a small business supplier, about payment issues with a larger business with which the small business has a previous, current or potential supply relationship. The Commissioner will consider complaints about payment in a broad sense: a complaint need not relate to the act of paying (or failing to pay), but any acts or omissions in respect of payment. Examples could be requesting a new fee, seeking to alter the price or fees agreed, or requesting payment of a fee which is provided for by the contract but has not previously been relied on.
	If a larger business seeks to prevent a small business supplier from complaining to the Small Business Commissioner, the small business may raise a complaint about this (subsection (4)(b)).
	Subsection (5) sets out exclusions from the scheme. The Commissioner will not consider complaints about: how appropriate a price is for goods or services; matters which are going through legal or adjudication proceedings; matters which are within the remit of an ombudsman, regulator or adjudicator providing statutory adjudication, or another public body which considers or decides complaints.
	The Commissioner will also not consider a complaint if it relates to an act or omission that occurred before the start date of the complaints scheme, or if the act or omission is allowed by a pre-existing contractual term and that term has not been varied after the start date for the scheme (subsection (5)(e)). For example, the Commissioner could not consider a complaint about a small business being asked to make a payment, which is payable under a pre-existing contract term. However, the Commissioner may consider a complaint about an act or omission which breaches or would amend a pre-existing contract term. For example, if a larger business proposes an amendment to a pre-existing contract, such as a new or increased fee, the Commissioner could consider a complaint about that proposed amendment. Or if a pre-existing contract required the larger business to pay invoices within 30 days and, after the scheme start date, they failed to do so, then the Commissioner could consider a complaint about that breach. The exemption in subsection (5)(e) applies by reference to a start date to be appointed by the Secretary of State, so that the exemption will reflect the date of which the complaints handling scheme starts. A different start date may be specified for different areas or purposes (subsections (7) and (8)), so that the exemption would still fit with the relevant start date for the complaints handling scheme, if the Government were to commence the complaints handling scheme in phases.
	Under subsection (5)(f), the Secretary of State may make regulations to exclude other matters from the scope of ‘relevant complaints’. Regulations to exclude any other matters from scope of the complaints handling scheme must be approved by both Houses of Parliament.