This week marks three months since the collapse of Carillion. It's therefore an appropriate time to take stock of where we are and look at how to ensure the small businesses who were affected receive the support they need.

Back in January, over £225m of funding was immediately set aside by major banks to support the firms affected. This was followed by another £100mmade available by the British Business Bank, through its Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) scheme, to help small businesses facing cash flow problems.

Banks have encouraged affected businesses to get in touch and discuss emergency measures such as overdraft extensions, payment holidays and fee waivers to help them stay on track. HMRC meanwhile provided guidance to those businesses concerned about their ability to pay their tax on time, advising them to get in touch with its Business Payment Support Service (BPSS) who will agree the best way forward.

The rapid action taken by the government and lenders following Carillion's collapse appears to have prevented some of the most damaging potential consequences. It was recently announced that over half of Carillion's pre-liquidation workforce, or 10,000 employees, have now found secure ongoing employment.

However, so far take-up for the various funding schemes has been fairly low, despite significant activity by banks to contact those firms affected. This doesn't mean that the impact on smaller firms has been modest. For those that are now unsecured creditors for a sizeable unpaid trade debt and who have lost what may have been an important customer, this will be a serious blow.

So we must not be complacent. The full impact of Carillion's collapse may well be delayed, including for the many firms who will have had cash buffers in place and so may only start feeling the pinch some months later. That is why it's crucial that we carry on closely monitoring the situation, raising awareness of the support available and keeping lines of communication with the businesses affected open. You can find an updated summary of the various support measures in place and contact points for the major banks on our website here.

It's also important that we address the root causes of this crisis. Crucially, the liquidation of Carillion has exposed the problems that late payments can cause for contractors, particularly in the construction sector. The fact that many suppliers had to wait 120 days or more to be paid is clearly part of the problem. The finance industry is looking at what it can do to help ensure smaller firms are paid on time and to address cash flow problems.

We are also engaging with the government and groups such as the Federation of Small Businesses over proposals to increase the use of specific mechanisms such as ?project bank accounts?.  These accounts are ?ring-fenced? and have trust status, which means that in the case of insolvency of the main contractor, monies in the account are protected. This could help ensure small business suppliers in the supply chain are paid on time and protect them from a similar collapse in future.

On the positive side, the setting up of a Carillion taskforce, made up of representatives from the government, leading business groups such as UK Finance, trade unions and the construction sector, has enabled a highly coordinated approach. We should be looking at how to replicate this to allow an effective response to similar crises in future. Whatever happens, the finance industry will keep on working to support the viable customers and small businesses affected by Carillion's liquidation, and to make sure that the necessary lessons are learned.