Invoices (Hansard, 22 November 1995)

§ Mrs. Roche
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many orders and firms are represented by the 5 per cent. of invoices not paid by her Department within 30 days or in accordance with contractual agreements in 1994–95; and how many of these are related to firms with fewer than 500 employees. [942]

§ Mr. Forth
A total of 6,419 invoices were sampled in four separate prompt payment of bills exercises during 1994–95. The result showed that 332 of these invoices were paid late—5 per cent. of the sample. The Department does not hold information on the number of employees in the companies involved.

§ Mrs. Roche
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the amount owed to those businesses whose invoices were not paid within 30 days in each of the last five years. [1079]

§ Mr. Forth
The Department does not maintain separate records of the sums involved when invoices were not paid within 30 days. The information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

§ Mrs. Roche
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how her Department publicises payment practices other than as percentages of invoices paid late. [955]

§ Mr. Forth
The Department publicises information on its prompt payment performance in the departmental report. The Department's contracts branch, leading buying units and purchasing sections, when negotiating contracts, inform suppliers of goods and services of the standard payment terms including the complaint procedure when negotiating contracts if the Department fails to pay on time.

§ Mrs. Roche
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the average length of time it takes for her Department to pay invoices. [933]

§ Mr. Forth
The Department does not have statistical information on the average time taken for the payment of invoices. Under an internal service level agreement, invoices are processed within five working days of receipt by the finance directorate. The Department is committed 185W to meeting the objective of the Confederation of British Industry's prompt payment code to pay all valid invoices within 30 days of their receipt.