Fly-tipping
Debate between Earl of Courtown and Baroness Sharples
The Earl of Courtown
The noble Duke will be aware also that on public land it is the responsibility of local authorities to remove the rubbish. It is unacceptable wherever it happens. He referred to fly-tipping on his own land, and therefore he should be aware that the National Fly-tipping Prevention Group, as part of its representation, has members of the NFU and landowners who are looking at this problem. However, the noble Duke is quite correct that, for dumping on private land, it is the responsibility of the landowner. Of course, when enforcement takes place through the Environment Agency for large-scale dumping, it will make every effort to track down the person who has dumped the rubbish and prosecute them.
Commercial Debt: Late Payments
Debate between Earl of Courtown and Baroness Sharples
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, the noble Lord is quite right in what he says about late payment to SMEs. From my own experience in that area, having jointly run an SME, I know how difficult it is for a profitable and competitive SME if you get late payment from your customers and have to pay early to your suppliers. I should also make the noble Lord aware that the Government are taking significant steps to tackle late payment. In addition to the measures I have already outlined, we have strengthened the Prompt Payment Code to promote 30-day payment terms as a norm. The code will also enforce maximum 60-day payment terms for all signatories. At the moment, there are over 1,700 signatories to the Prompt Payment Code, many of which are some of our largest companies.
Baroness Sharples (Con)
Will the Minister tell us whether all government departments are paying their debts on time?
The Earl of Courtown
My Lords, as far as the public sector prompt payment measures are concerned—to pay 80% of undisputed invoices within five days and all within 30 days—my department, BIS, exceeded this target and paid 99.5% of its invoices on time in 2014-15.