Monitoring Payment Performance

The Cabinet Office has published PPN 021 encouraging contracting authorities to ‘spot check’ their suppliers to ensure that 30-day payment terms are being implemented throughout the supply chain on public sector contracts with a value over £5 million per annum, as required under the Procurement Act which came into force on 24 February.

From 1 October 2025, contracting authorities should include terms within their contracts to enable them to undertake payment spot checks and request the following information from suppliers at least once every six months:

• A copy of the payment terms for the contract
• Details of procedures for resolving disputed invoices promptly and effectively and evidence that these have been shared with their supply chain
• Evidence of payments made (and time taken to pay) in relation to the contract.

If it is discovered that a supplier is not complying with the requirement to pay within 30 days, a contracting authority may take a number of actions.

Build UK benchmarks the payment performance of more than 130 of the industry’s largest companies, and their table was recently updated with the latest results published under the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations.