LARGE CONSTRUCTION businesses will have to report the total value of all payments, late payments and payments in dispute.

The government has published its decisions following the consultation process for dealing with cash flow late payments in the construction industry. It says, overall there is a need to enforce better compliance with reporting requirements of payment practices in construction.

Government has decided to:

Extend payment performance reporting obligations to include the value of invoices, including invoices paid late, and disputed invoices. Reporting on retentions will also be introduced under the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017.
Data will be organised by sector so that it’s easier to see how different companies are performing.
The government says it will increase its messaging on payment times and highlight the Good Business Pays award scheme,
It will also ensure the payment data is accurate through increased enforcement activity.

Prompt Payments

Government is strengthening the powers of the Small Business Commissioner who will work with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) to contact construction companies that are not publishing their payment information.

There are also plans to integrate the work of Companies House with the Small Business Commissioner more so that companies can be identified which should be reporting their payment practices.

Companies will also be reminded to renew membership of the Prompt Payment Code which publishes the latest data submitted by businesses on their payments.

The government plans to exclude suppliers from public contracts worth over £5 million if they take longer than 55 days to pay from April 2024, and then 45 days to pay after April 2025.

Data collected by government shows around 25% of business to business payments are late (exceeding terms).

While the payment consultation said retentions were not part of its remit, the drive to report data on the issue signals that it is rising up the governmental agenda.

>> Read about late payments in the news

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