The snappily titled Business Contract Terms (Assignment of Receivables) Regulations has not been top of the political and news agenda, until now. In fact, it would be fair to say, the regulations have been considered glacial, sometimes stationary and occasionally a backwards movement.

Its parent legislation, the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act, hit the statute books just before Parliament rose for the 2015 General Election. One coalition, two prime ministers, three business secretaries and - sadly spoiling the pattern - five small business ministers later, the Regulations are now before Parliament. All being well, they will come into effect on 1 January 2019.

The relatively unheralded Regulations are a potentially significant boost for UK small businesses in accessing finance. They will allow them to release more of the working capital tied up in the funds owed to them by their client businesses.

They will also address the impact of the so-called ?ban on assignment? clauses that are often found in the contracts large businesses impose on their - frequently smaller - suppliers. Essentially, a ban on assignment is a clause in a debtor's terms of sale which prohibits the supplier from using the debt that arises under the contract - typically represented by the invoice - to access funding from a finance provider.

If the supplier has been contracted to supply widgets it is right that the buyer can make sure that's where the widgets come from. And it will retain all the rights it has to do so. But if the widgets have been supplied, there is no legitimate reason why the buyer should be able to prevent the supplier from using the debt owed to unlock invoice finance.

Whether this is done deliberately or is an unintended consequence is moot; the effect restricts access to finance for many small businesses. And the impact is particularly harmful in the context of other unacceptable payment practices such as late payment, the imposition of extended payment terms or other onerous contractual practices found where there is disparity in commercial power.

Invoice finance and asset-based lending supports over 40,000 UK businesses; at any one time UK Finance's members are providing over £21 billion to their clients through invoice finance and asset based lending facilities. These clients range from the smallest businesses right up to large global corporates. And these clients are found across most sectors of the real economy, from manufacturing to construction to services. Invoice finance is an essential source of business funding and this legislation will allow more finance to be provided to more businesses. By the government's assessment, the benefit for the UK economy will be getting on for £1 billion.

The government is to be applauded for taking action against such unfair practices between large and small businesses. There is more to be done, however, and the 2015 Act set a number of other balls rolling. The office of the Small Business Commissioner, whilst having somewhat limited formal powers and resources, is playing a role in nudging towards good payment practices and calling out bad. The Duty to Report on payment practices for large businesses is also starting to bite. Legislation is not always the answer, but when it comes to levelling the playing field, every little helps.