§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is the policy of his Department on the timely payment of debts; and what is his Department's record on the payment of debts in the current financial year. [9527]
§ Mr. Tom Clarke[holding answer 18 July 1997]: All Departments are required to pay all their bills within agreed contract terms, or 30 days from receipt of the goods or service or a valid invoice, whichever is later, where no such terms exist. Information on payment performance for the current financial year could be 608W provided only at disproportionate cost. The Government will publish a league table of departmental payment performance for 1996–97 in the autumn.