To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Callanan on 24 February (HL1666), what was the average length of time taken to pay invoices to SME suppliers by (1) the 66 businesses suspended from the Prompt Payment Code, and (2) the businesses that remain signatories to the Code.

The Payment Practices Reporting Duty data is used to monitor compliance with the Code, where companies are legally required to report their payment practices. The legal duty to submit data does not require differentiation in reports between payments to SMEs and payments to large companies. It requires them to report on payments of all invoices across the company. Additionally, the voluntary Code requires signatories to pay 95% of all invoices in 60 days and signatories are not required to provide information on payment terms and payment performance relating to SMEs as a separate requirement. Therefore, this data is not available.

We will shortly begin engagement with current signatories on the reform and strengthening of the Code.