The update reiterates the government’s announcement that from September 1, any organisation that bids for a central government contract worth over £5 million a year will need to demonstrate it has effective payment systems in place to ensure a reliable supply chain.

A standard of 95% of all supply chain invoices to be paid within 60 days has been set for organisations who want to do business with the government. Suppliers who do not comply with this standard could be prevented from winning government contracts.

BESA has urged businesses bidding for public sector procurement to ensure their organisation is publishing payment reports where required and to read latest piece of guidance to understand how government departments will be implementing the changes from 1 September and what is expected of them.

BESA CEO David Frise said: “This is a very important step towards tackling late payment and retention abuse in the industry. For progress towards responsible payment practices to be made across the whole economy, the public sector must lead the way by example.

“The UK lags behind other countries that enacted legislation cracking down on retention abuse like Germany, France, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

“BESA strongly backs the Aldous Bill to establish a retention deposit scheme and has played a crucial role in building a coalition of supporters for this important reform to deliver payment certainty for our members.

“BESA understands that maintaining the status quo is unacceptable and that retention reform is essential for small and medium businesses. This campaign still has a long way to go but it’s important that we acknowledge the positive efforts currently being rolled out in the public sector.”