Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to ensure that signatories to the Prompt Payment Code pay all invoices within 30 days.

Signatories to the Prompt Payment Code undertake to pay 95% of their invoices within 60 days, unless there are exceptional circumstances. If suppliers believe that a signatory has breached the principles of the Code, they can raise a complaint with the Chartered Institute of Credit Management who administer the Code on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS); they will then investigate further on a case by case basis. The government is serious about delivering a fair payment culture and at Spring Statement the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that BEIS will lead on a call for evidence; this will consider evidence to ensure unfair payment practices are eliminated for small business.