Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government which companies have been suspended or removed from the Prompt Payment Code; and what action has been taken (1) to prevent those companies from bidding for Government contracts, and (2) to ensure that those companies improve their performance on Government contracts already in place.

The Chartered Institute of Credit Management operate the Prompt Payment Code., The Code’s Compliance Board suspended the following companies from the Prompt Payment Code:

The following companies were suspended from the Prompt Payment Code:

• Atos IT Services UK Services Limited
• Balfour Beatty Plc
• British Sugar UK
• Costain Limited
• Engie Services Limited Group
• Interserve Construction
• Kellogg Brown & Root Limited
• Laing O’Rourke
• Persimmon Homes Limited
• Rolls-Royce Plc
• SSE
• Vodafone Limited

The following companies were removed from the Prompt Payment Code:

• BHP Billiton Plc
• DHL Services Limited
• GKN Automotive Limited
• John Sisk & Son Limited
• R. Twining and Company Limited

It is important to all suppliers, not least small businesses, that they are paid on time.