Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of their commitment to pay (1) 90 per cent of undisputed and valid invoices from SMEs within five days, and (2) 100 per cent of all undisputed and valid invoices within 30 days, as part of their Prompt Payment Policy.

(1) In terms of the 90% of undisputed and valid invoices from SMEs within 5 days target: at the end of the previous financial year, 13 of 16 departments were exceeding 85% payment of all invoices within 5 days, with 7 departments paying over 90% of all invoices within this time period.

(2) In terms of the 100% of valid and undisputed invoices being paid in 30 days target: as of the same date, 14 of 16 departments were paying in excess of 95% of their invoices within 30 days, with 6 of these exceeding 99%. This information is published quarterly on GOV.UK.

Cabinet Office works with departments to improve payment performance. In addition, the Procurement Bill will ensure that 30 day payment terms are included in government supply chain contracts.