The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy has published a consultation on proposals to amend and improve the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations, and whether they should extend beyond their current expiry date of 6 April 2024.
This follows a recent statutory review which concluded that while the Regulations have improved transparency to the payment practices and performance of large businesses, there is an ongoing need to boost compliance in terms of prompt payment and to increase awareness of performance.
The consultation sets out proposals on:
- amending the expiry date to extend the Regulations beyond 6 April 2024
- including an additional value reporting metric
- referencing payment reporting in a company’s director’s report
- a clarification of how supply chain finance is reported
- including a new metric on disputed invoices
- retention payments in the construction sector
The consultation closes at 11:45pm on 28 April 2023. The consultation document and further details can be found here.
Build UK has been benchmarking payment performance in the construction sector since July 2018, and information for more than 100 of the industry’s largest companies is available on their payment performance table. An overview of the progress that has been made on payment practices by Build UK members can be found in its infographic. The latest results submitted under the Government’s Duty to Report on Payment Practices and Performance show that Build UK’s tier one Contractor members are now taking an average of 30 days to pay invoices. Read their press release here.
