§ Mr. CotterTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much money has been set aside in the current financial year to publicise the enactment of the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. [59144]
§ Mrs. RocheThe Government are committed to tackling late payment and are working in partnership with the business community to improve the UK's payment culture. We are supporting the Better Payment Practice Campaign which is disseminating information about the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
To date £186,459 has been spent to support the campaign of which £40,000 has been contributed by the private sector. The total figure does not include staff time, or time given by Members of the Better Payment Practice Group, or other resources. The Government's contribution has paid for the production of a User's Guide to the Act and a dedicated web-site.
In addition individual trade and business organisations have publicised the Act through trade publications at no cost to Government.