§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will list the suppliers to her Department who are owed outstanding amounts, indicating the amounts and the due date on which the account should have been settled. [13539]
§ Mr. Paul Murphy[holding answer 30 October 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. Such detailed information on payment performance for the current financial year could 289W be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Treasury will shortly be publishing a league table of departmental payment performance for 1996–97.