Leaders in Hertfordshire will have the power to decide whether to take advantage of "lighter touch" licensing rules in 'hospitality zones', Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The Government today (Thursday, 31 July) announced its Small Business Plan, which aims to help entrepreneurs with measures including stricter rules on late payments and increasing access to finance.

It also includes reforms to licensing and planning rules to make it easier for cafés and bars to open in empty shops, to speed up the process for businesses to get permission for pubs, bars and outside dining, and to protect long-standing venues from noise complaints.

'Hospitality zones' will be areas where permission for extended opening hours, outside dining and street parties will be fast-tracked. Mr Reynolds said it would be up to local authorities to decide whether and where they want to create such zones.

He said: "We all recognise the contribution this sector makes.

"Perhaps you're looking to open a business, to move a business. You'd want to go to that cluster of properties that properly reflects that and you'd want, I think, to take advantage of the lighter touch regulation that would exist within them."

While he wouldn't be drawn on whether he'd like to see the centre of Watford – Hertfordshire's largest town – designated as a 'hospitality zone', Mr Reynolds said: "I want to see town centres regenerated across the UK.

"We can look at it and say, have we got the right selection of tools, up and down the country, to make sure we can make town centres the success stories they should be?

"I still believe there's a fundamental need to have spaces where people come together, that reflect the local identity of an area, and I think we can make the overall policy framework that underpins that a much easier one for people.

"This is what it's about. Those decisions will be made locally, but I do think we're doing the right thing in having a better menu of options available for local areas to pick from."

Mr Reynolds hopes the broader reforms to help small businesses will benefit people in Hertfordshire, including those who run – or would like to run – stalls at markets in Watford, Stevenage, St Albans and beyond.

He focused on the Government's "crackdown" on late payments to small businesses, and said: "This is something which is usually cited as the single biggest concern to small businesses.

"It costs the country a staggering amount of money – it's about £11 billion a year. It's very significant and we will become the country in the G7 with the toughest late payment laws."

The Small Business Commissioner will be given stronger powers to take action against larger firms that "persistently choose to pay their suppliers late" and to enforce a 30-day invoice verification period.

New legislation will introduce a 60-day limit for paying up, which will reduce to 45 days in time.

There will also be a requirement for audit committees to "scrutinise payment practices" at "big companies".

Mr Reynolds said: "This applies to the public sector and the private sector. Any government department, or local council, I expect to abide by these terms as well.

"There's been some good consultations in the past on this. Nothing's really happened to the degree it is going to happen under this plan, so it's very significant."

Other changes include a "big financial boost to the number of start-up loans that are available to a new generation of entrepreneurs and small business owners" and additional "support for non-traditional lenders".

The changes should represent good news for some of the businesses hit by the Government's increase in employers' National Insurance contributions.

Mr Reynolds said: "I think business owners themselves recognise that sometimes you've got to make difficult decisions, and they recognise the scale of the funding challenge we inherited.

"I'm always trying, in the things that I've got control of in government, to make life easier for small business owners and to save them time and money if I can."