Businesses: Contracts and Payments

Lord Cotter Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd November 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Wilcox]

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Sugar, knows what a fan I am of his, so I will always try and please him. I am delighted to know that the previous regime did such work in this area and we intend to do good work to build on that. I hope he will give me time to get that all under way.

[Lord Cotter]

My Lords, can the Minister clarify one brief and concise point? When it comes to government contracts being given to big companies, is it not right and proper that those big companies should be required by Government to pay small suppliers within the same time that the Government undertake to do so?