Stantec, Alun Griffiths, and various businesses of BAE Systems are also among those that have failed to honour their Code commitment to pay 95% of all supplier invoices within 60 days.

The Code is administered by the CICM on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Signatories pledge to uphold its best practice for payment standards to end the culture of late payment.

AB World Foods has been suspended from the Code with no action plan yet to be received.

The 17 companies suspended with an action plan received (or committed) include:

• Severfield (Design & Build) Ltd
• Stantec UK Limited
• Screwfix
• Prudential
• British American Tobacco (Holdings) Limited
• Galliford Try PLC
• Alun Griffiths
• Ferrovial Agroman (UK) Limited
• BAE Systems Global Combat Systems Limited
• BAE Systems Applied Intelligence Limited
• BAE Systems (Oman) Limited
• Centrica
• Maintenance Management Limited
• Fujitsu Services Limited
• De La Rue Holdings plc
• Domino UK Ltd
• BT plc

The Prompt Payment Code’s Compliance Board, chaired by CICM’s chief executive Philip King, includes the small business commissioner Paul Uppal, and regularly reviews the status of organisations to ensure they are upholding their commitments. Businesses suspended from the Code are invited to produce an action plan that leads to a substantial improvement in payment performance and are reinstated to the Code as soon as they demonstrate compliance.

Mr King said: “We will continue to challenge signatories to the Code if the obligatory Payment Practice Reporting data suggests that their practices are not compliant. We are encouraged that of the 18 who have been suspended or removed today, all but one has already submitted action plans to achieve future compliance, and we are working closely with those businesses to support a better payment culture.”

Paul Uppal added: “Large companies who are not currently meeting the Code Standards need to note their unethical payment practices will not be tolerated. The suspension of those who are failing to meet their obligations demonstrates Government is committed to ensuring small businesses are treated fairly.”

Small business minister Kelly Tolhurst said: “As a former small business owner I know how damaging late payments can be. Although the vast majority of businesses pay their bills on time, we recently announced ambitious new measures to level the playing field for small businesses as part of our modern Industrial Strategy. These include plans to hold company boards accountable for payment practices and proposed new powers for the Small Business Commissioner to tackle late payments through fines and binding payment plans.”

Cabinet Office minister for implementation, Oliver Dowden, added: “Paying invoices promptly is vital, particularly for smaller businesses, who are the backbone of the UK economy. So I hope that the companies who have been suspended from the code will now get their act together and work hard to improve their performance.

“From September 1st, 2019, any supplier who bids for a government contract above £5m per annum will be expected to answer questions about their payment practices and performance. If they are unable to demonstrate that they are paying 95% of invoices within 60 days, they may be excluded from the process.”