Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information he holds on the use of Project Bank Accounts by (a) his Department, (b) Government agencies his Department has responsibility for and (c) non-departmental bodies his Department has responsibility for.

Project Bank Accounts are used to ensure fair payment terms on Government construction contracts. As these are specific to construction projects, they are not used by the Department for Transport nor its Agencies. However, the Department’s large non-departmental bodies engaged in construction works do use them to improve cash flow, mitigate risk of payment delay and to reduce the risk of supply chain failure. Use of these provide transparency and assurance over payments to suppliers lower down the supply chain in particular.