§ Mr. BettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of bills to his Department were paid in accordance with agreed contractual conditions or, where no such contractual conditions existed, within 30 days of receiving goods and services or the presentation of a valid invoice in the last year for which figures are available. [5708]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotMost of my Department's hills arc paid by the Defence Accounts Agency. The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency pays its own. I have asked the chief executives to write to the hon. Member.
Letter front John Chisholm to Mr. Clive Betts, dated 14 December 1995:
765WYou asked the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of hills to his Department are paid in accordance with agreed contractual conditions or within 30 days of receiving goods or services or presentation of a valid invoice. I am replying on behalf of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA).DERA contracts do not generally specify payment dates. It is. however. DERA policy to pay within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice. In fact. assuming that the 30 day period is measured front the point at which a validated invoice is received by our hill paying section. then virtually all bi[...] are settled within 9 days.I hope this information is helpful to you.Letter from P. J. Trevelyan to Mr. Clive Betts, dated 14 December 1995:
I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the percentage of bills to his Department which were paid in accordance with agreed contractual conditions or, where no such contractual conditions existed, within 30 days of receiving goods and services or the presentation of a valid invoice in the last year for which figures are available. This matter falls within my area of responsibility.Ministry of Defence contracts do not generally stipulate a payment date. Payment performance is calculated from the date of receipt of a valid bill in our Liverpool payment office, which pays the vast majority of MOD's contract bills.The last year for which figures are available ran from October 1994 to October 1995. During this time 99.99% of bills were paid within 30 days of receipt of a valid bill. The Liverpool payment office also measures its performance against the higher departmental standard of payment within 11 days; 97% of bills were paid within this period.