Only 1% of suppliers paid on time, research shows

Date: 19th March 2009

One per cent of government suppliers are being paid on time, despite recent pledges, new figures have shown.

Research by the credit reference group Graydon UK found that extremely few of the government's roster of supplier firms have been paid within ten days - the length of time promised by Whitehall in the autumn.

As a result, many companies could begin to struggle with cashflow - an area which accountants can provide extensive advice on.

A spokesman for the Forum of Private Business, Phil McCabe, said: "The government's ambitious target to pay its suppliers' invoices within ten days is welcome, but has obviously been impossible to achieve."

He added that statistics showing a third of businesses being paid within 30 days were "encouraging", but more needed to be done.

Research published by HSBC Commercial Banking earlier this week showed that 91 per cent of small businesses recognised the importance of good supplier relationships.