Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire, Conservative)
To ask the Attorney-General what proportion of invoices from small and medium-sized businesses were paid by the Law Officers' Departments within five working days of receipt in the last 12 months for which figures are available.
Edward Garnier (Solicitor General; Harborough, Conservative)
The Law Officers' Departments do not currently record or publish information about the size of suppliers as this does not fully reflect the number and size of businesses engaged in the supply chain for goods and services. They also do not discriminate by size of business because many small and medium enterprises can be found within larger supply chains.
The following table shows the proportion of invoices, from businesses of all sizes, paid by Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) within five working days of receipt in the last 12 months for which information is available:
Percentage of invoices paid in five days CPS SFO June 2010 26 29 July 2010 23 10 August 2010 32 22 September 2010 43 11 October 2010 38 16 November 2010 35 11 December 2010 31 12 January 2011 28 9 February 2011 29 5 March 2011 35 27 April 2011 16 n/a May 2011 23 n/a
The Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSol) target is to pay undisputed invoices within 30 days from receipt and the Department does not hold any data on the numbers which were paid within five working days and could obtain such information only at a disproportionate cost. Records show that around 87% of all invoices were paid within 30 days in the last 12 months.
TSol is also responsible for processing invoices for the Attorney-General's Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and figures for both organisations are included in the TSol records.