Prompt Payment Code

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 8th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

I am very pleased to say that one of my local authorities, West Sussex county council, introduced a prompt payment code voluntarily some years ago. It realised that supporting local small enterprises in particular is good for the local economy, which, of course, benefits through business rates.

[Stephen Metcalfe]

My hon. Friend is entirely right. My concern is based on my experiences. One of my councils, Thurrock, has a 97% target to pay within agreed terms but, unfortunately, a recent cabinet report demonstrated that only four out of five invoices are being paid on time. It assures me that things are getting better, but that demonstrates the challenge. It is great to have a target, but we have to make sure that it happens, because it is the companies’ money—it belongs to them. If we want them to thrive in our local communities and the supply chain, we have to play our part and release the billions of pounds that are locked up back into the economy.