The Government will do everything in its power to drive the West Midlands economy forward, Gordon Brown has told the region’s business chiefs.

Speaking to the Express & Star last night after a visit to Birmingham to talk about the Government’s massive bank rescue, Mr Brown said the move would not only help credit crunch-hit businesses but families, homebuyers and savers too.

Last night he met with bosses from across the Black Country, Staffordshire and Shropshire at the Birmingham offices of accountants KPMG.

The Prime Minister said: “It has been a good visit because I have been able to talk to lots of business leaders and thank them for their contribution to the economy.

“There are some 270,000 businesses in the West Midlands. I talked to them about some of the things that we are doing and the action we are taking.”

One of the pressing issues Mr Brown pledged action to address was the impact of late payments on small businesses.

For small firms struggling in the current economic climate, receiving timely payments can mean the difference between trading profitably or not at all.

Mr Brown said Government departments would take the lead and set an example by paying their suppliers promptly.

“I told them we are going to replace the system of late payment which has been a problem for small businesses – early payments for small businesses within 10 days,” he said.

The trip was organised as part of a two-day whistle-stop tour of the country, which concludes today, to talk to people about the current economic situation.

Mr Brown continued: “I reassured them we are doing everything that we can to get the economy moving forward.”