§ Sir Sydney ChapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations she has received about problems caused to United Kingdom companies by unpaid invoices to the EU for work undertaken as part of the Tacis Programmes; and what initiatives she is taking to resolve these problems. [70094]
§ Mr. FoulkesLate payment of Tacis invoices is a serious problem for UK companies, which the Government are working to help solve.
281WMy department maintains a regular dialogue with the British Consultants Bureau (BCB) on this subject. I met BCB representatives at the end of last year. The Chief Executive of the Association of Consulting Engineers wrote to me about the issue two weeks ago. Individual companies have also contacted my department, the DTI and the FCO.
Ministers and senior officials raised the issue with the European Commission on numerous occasions in the latter part of last year. We have received some indications that the overall situation has since started to improve. This is a Commission management issue, and immediate improvements in efficiency should be possible. In the longer term the Government are supporting the Commission's plan to bring forward a harmonised contracting regulation simplifying procedures for all external aid programmes, and pressing for reform to the EC Financial Regulation, which sets out procedures for the payment of invoices which are unduly onerous in some cases. We will continue to monitor this situation closely.