Cabinet Office fails to meet its own payment target

The Cabinet Office has failed to meet its own targets on prompt payment, the latest figures have revealed.

In March 2010, the government promised its departments would pay 80% of undisputed invoices within five working days, and that contractors on all new contracts would have to be paid within 30 days.

Since 2010, the Cabinet Office has had responsibility for the development and implementation of the prompt payment policy in the public sector and for the government’s procurement strategy.

However, the department’s own figures, released yesterday, showed that it only managed to pay 75.4% of invoices within five days in the first quarter of the 2018/19 financial year, before falling to 75.1% in the second quarter.

During the first quarter, 90.1% were paid within 30 days, falling to 88.8% in the second quarter.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “We experienced technical issues when moving to a new finance system but have resolved the situation and are confident about meeting future targets."