I'd like to apologise to all my fellow freelancers

I recently had an invitation to meet with the Government's Small Business Commissioner, after I was recognised by the new national Fair Payment Code as being the UK's first freelancer to gain this certification (and at the top gold level too!).

I'd already worked with their office to help them review and adapt their application criteria for this standard, (which originally excluded most of us freelance/self-employed types from being able to apply - because most of us don't have accountants, or use expensive accounting software), so that we could be on a slightly leveler playing field as everyone else. And this additional 'going beyond' made me think that the Commissioner might be especially interested in my ideas and experiences? (hence the invitation).

This invitation seemed a good opportunity for to me to help government bodies better understand just how important we are to the wider economy (and maybe a little more deserving of recognition in its policy?), if for no other reason than because I know from most of my conversations with a lot of my peers over the years, that we're actually much better than larger private businesses at paying our suppliers on time.

But as an unpaid carer, I had to decline the invitation - the Commissioner's office said I'd have to travel all the way into central London to meet with them in person: I live way 'up north', so the time needed for the travel wasn't possible against my ongoing caring responsibilities (which ironically, I'm not eligible for any support with, because government policy doesn't recognise that freelancers can also be carers). Despite offering to meet by zoom, or enter in an email dialogue, they simply said "sorry you can't take up the invitation, but keep up all the good work you're doing as an unpaid carer".

So to all my fellow freelancers out there - I'm sorry I wasn't able to represent us to government when I had a clear opportunity to. 

But hopefully more of us will start to submit ourselves to be certificated by the Fair Payment Code now that the application process allows us to, and the subsequent number of us doing so against other types of businesses might prompt the Commissioner to invite some of us round for tea and biscuits in the future, to re-start the conversation that I wasn't able to?