Written question asked by Lord Hanson of Flint (Labour) on Tuesday, 17 July 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 3 September 2012. It was answered by Lord Maude of Horsham (Conservative) on Tuesday, 4 September 2012 on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

Public Sector: Procurement

Question

(5) if he will make it his policy that Departments take steps to ensure that complete payments are made within 30 days throughout the full supply chains of any public sector contract; and if he will make a statement.

[118293]

Mr Hanson:

Answer

There is already a requirement in central Government contract terms for contractors to pay their sub-contractors within 30 days, and Departments are required to monitor prime contractors' performance against this commitment as part of the contract management process.

Additionally, we have pioneered the use of Project bank accounts through which Government makes direct payments to firms down to tier 3 of its supply chains.

At a meeting in June, I stressed the importance of this policy to the chief executive officers of some of the most significant suppliers to government and our Crown representative team is encouraging prime contractors to pay sub-contractors more quickly than the 30 days commitment on a voluntary basis.

Sub-contractors are encouraged to use the 'Mystery Shopper' service to report problems including delayed payment and we regularly publish investigated cases on the Cabinet Office website.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 118293; 549 cc324-5W
Session: 2012-13
Subjects: Billing Public sector
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk

Public Sector: Procurement

Secondary information

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