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Departmental Billing

Volume 496: debated on Wednesday 16 September 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of invoices from suppliers his Department paid within 10 days of receipt in June 2009. (288913)

The Home Department has invested significantly in its people, with the creation of a professional Shared Service Centre and Procurement Centre of Excellence complemented by the creation of new processes and upgraded Procure to Pay systems.

The Department has been putting a firm focus on paying its suppliers on time when it is in receipt of a compliant invoice. It has been working closely with colleagues in the Department for Business Innovation and Skills reporting on both our legislative obligations of 30 days as well as the 10 day PM’s commitment for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for correctly presented compliant invoices.

The Home Office Headquarters and UKBA’s performance of paying SME compliant invoices within 10 days for June 2009 following the PM’s announcement is shown in the following table:

Home Office HQ and UKBA

Month: June 2009

Number

Percentage

Total number of all invoices paid

4,112

Percentage of total number of all invoices paid within 10 days

22

Number of SMEs’ compliant invoices, paid within 10 days

880

SMEs, percentage of compliant invoices paid within 10 days

99

Both the Criminal Records Bureau and Identity and Passport Service are working to identify SMEs and change their systems to pay compliant invoices within 10 days of receipt.