Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire, Conservative)
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of invoices from small and medium-sized businesses were paid by his Department within five working days of receipt in the last 12 months for which figures are available.
Chris Grayling (Minister of State (Employment), Work and Pensions; Epsom and Ewell, Conservative)
The Department does not currently record and publish information about the size of suppliers as this does not fully reflect the number and size of businesses engaged in supplying goods and services. We do not discriminate by size of business because many SMEs can be found within larger supply chains.
The percentage of all supplier payments made within five days of receipt of an invoice for the last 12 months are:
Five days of receipt ( percentage ) 2010 June 84 July 82 August 81 September 85 October 87 November 88 December 86 2011 January 89 February 86 March 85 April 85 May 86
The Department is therefore compliant with the Government's Prompt Payment Code target of 80% within five days of receipt.
The Department for Work and Pensions became a signatory to the Prompt Payment Code in March 2009 and set a target to pay 80% of correct invoices within five days of receipt. The Department also monitors payment within 10 days of receipt under the Prompt Payment Code which is as follows:
10 days of receipt (percentage) 2010 June 98 July 97 August 97 September 97 October 99 November 98 December 98 2011 January 98 February 96 March 99 April 98 May 98