Procurement Bill to mandate prompt payment
The Cabinet Office leads on how the Government spends some £300bn of public funds annually. It is currently navigating the post-Brexit Procurement Bill – which will shape how the public sector buys goods, services and works - through Parliament, on the way to it becoming law.
ECA’s Rob Driscoll Chairs the Cabinet Office Payment Advisory Group. This Group has been raising high level awareness that, while current UK enactment of EU law states tiers 1, 2 and 3 should be paid in 30 days under public sector contracts, there has been no reliable way of knowing if this really happens. However, following a meeting with Ministers Baroness Neville-Rolfe and Brendan Clarke-Smith MP this month, Rob Driscoll advises that the forthcoming Bill now includes provisions to establish 30-day payment within the public sector by:
- ensuring 30-day payment will be a mandatory implied term into tier 1, 2 and 3 construction contracts – overriding any other payment terms within relevant contracts (widely regarded as a milestone achievement); and
- requiring public sector procurers to report on their payment performance in the same way as the private sector.
Should the new provisions be enacted as currently proposed, non-compliance would then be dealt with by the Public Procurement Review Service, supported by the Small Business Commissioner.
This article first appeared on the ECA news and blog site under the same title dated October 14, 2022.
--ECA
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