Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 which impose a 30-day payment term duty on public bodies on improving payment behaviours in the construction industry.

Through the Public Contract Regulations 2015, public sector buyers must include 30-day payment terms in new public sector contracts; and require that this payment term be passed down the supply chain. Public sector buyers must also publish annually on their payment performance on GOV.UK.

We strongly encourage businesses to report poor payment practice and instances of late payment, including late payment through the supply chain, in public sector contracts to our Mystery Shopper service to investigate.

We are also working with public sector construction procurers to drive the use of Project Banks Accounts (PBAs) to facilitate faster, more transparent and certain payments in the construction supply chain. This eases cash flow through the system and supports closer working within the supply chain.