Government launches Small Business: GREAT Ambition initiative The key measures for the nation's SMEs include broadband vouchers, a new initiative to tackle late payments, further reform on the small business bidding process for public contracts, and a move to give these firms a fairer deal on energy. Under the broadband voucher scheme, from today small businesses will be able to apply for a £3,000 grant to put towards broadband set-ups fees. The initiative has been successfully piloted in a number of cities across the UK, including Manchester. Culture minister Ed Vaizey, who implemented the scheme, said: "This will not only stimulate the small businesses who want to access super fast broadband, it is also a great opportunity for the small businesses who provide the broadband." Late payment is another key concern for government. "We want to go as far as we can to improve the Prompt Payment code," said Mr Hancock. We will make sure that the government and the whole public sector is a prompt payer. But having grown up in a small family business, I also recognise the need for flexibility. We'll only legislate if necessary. In addition, government has taken on board recommendations from Lord Young to make it easier and quicker for small firms to win public sector business, removing the arduous pre-qualification process. A recent agreement from the major energy firms to end auto-rollovers for business customers, limit back billing and increase contract transparency, will also ensure a fairer energy deal for SMEs. "With Small Business Saturday today, we have brought together proposals from across government to drive improvements for small businesses," said Mr Hancock.