Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Young of Cookham on 22 January (HL12843), what is their estimate of the total value of overdue payments owed to UK businesses in 2018; and what proportion of the total value they estimate is represented by the £1.7 million resolved by the Mystery Shopper Service in that period.

The Public Procurement Review Service does not hold this data and is not able to estimate the total value of overdue payments owed to UK businesses. The service is only aware of the late payments owed to suppliers who contact PPRS for help. In 2018 the amount recovered for UK businesses in resolved cases totalled £1,706,377.13.