Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 5 February 2018 to Question 126043 on Government Departments: Procurement, how many and what proportion of major government suppliers have been in compliance with the prompt payment code in each month since that code was introduced.

This information is not currently held centrally.

BEIS have recently introduced a payment reporting system, which requires large businesses to report on their UK payment practices and performance. Businesses must report 6 monthly on their payment performance starting with their first full financial year that starts on or after 6 April 2017:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-payment-practices-and-performance-reporting-requirements

This system is in its early stages and not all businesses have yet submitted reports. However, we believe this change will put more pressure on UK businesses to improve their payment culture.

We intend to take further steps to improve payment practices in government supply chains and we will be bringing forward proposals shortly.