Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the average time period within which invoices issued by small and medium-sized enterprises are paid by public sector bodies in England; and what evidence they have for that estimate.

This information is not held centrally, but public sector buyers are required to publish annually on their payment performance.

Central government departments are required to pay 80% of undisputed and valid invoices within 5 days, with the remainder paid within 30 days. Government departments publish performance against these targets on a quarterly basis on GOV.UK.

Data published in 2015-16 shows that by the final quarter all major departments, apart from one (at 76%), were meeting their 5 days target and that all departments were paying at least 96% of their invoices within the 30 day target, with several departments achieving 100%.