§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the instances in which her Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies failed to pay valid invoices within 30 days or after the agreed credit period in the financial year 2000–01. [32040]
§ Clare ShortDuring the financial year 2000–01 my Department received 42,171 invoices in respect of goods or services and 40,762 (96.7 per cent.) of these bills were paid promptly. However given the nature of my Department's work and the involvement of our overseas offices in the payment cycle it is more difficult for us to achieve a high level of performance than it is for most other Government Departments.