Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average time a business waits for the payment of an invoice from the Ministry of Defence.

As per Cabinet Office guidance, the Ministry of Defence aims to pay 90% of all undisputed and validated invoices for Small to Medium Enterprises within 5 days of receipt. Additionally, MoD is committed that 100% of all undisputed and validated invoices should be paid within 30 days.

Ministry of Defence reports its supplier payment performance, invoice processing and MoD contract payments in line with statutory requirements and reports its results quarterly at GOV.UK Ministry of Defence supplier invoicing and payment information - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Table below shows results for financial year 2023-2024 by quarter. Financial year runs from April 2023 to March 2024.

[1] This includes all suppliers not just Small to Medium Enterprises