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Written question asked by Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour) on Wednesday, 25 September 2019, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 30 September 2019. It was answered by Edward Argar (Conservative) on Wednesday, 2 October 2019 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

NHS: Billing

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of invoices received by the NHS are paid within 30 days; and how many incur 29 per cent interest for late payment of more than 30 days.

Answer

The Department does not centrally collect or hold performance payment data for the National Health Service. NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts are required to follow the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015) which states contracting authorities must pay valid and undisputed invoices within 30 days.

NHS Improvement monitors Better Payments Practice Code performance data on a monthly basis. Page 47 of the Departmental annual report shows an improvement in the percentage of invoices paid within target from 77% (2017-18) to 79% (2018-19). The report is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/832765/dhsc-annual-report-and-accounts-2018-to-2019.pdf

The Department does not hold information on how many invoices incur the 29% late payment interest.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
290600
Session
2017-19
Subjects
Billing NHS
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk