§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how often his Department and each agency within it has failed to pay invoices due to small businesses within 30 days in each of the last five years.[40519]
§ Mr. HowardThe information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Departments and their agencies are required to provide details of their payment performance in their annual reports. In its 1995 annual report the Home Office reported that 92 per cent. of all valid invoices were paid within 30 days. There is no reason to believe that analysis of payments made to small businesses would show a different percentage.