We want your views on combating late payment in commercial transactions

Payment practices in the construction industry have been a source of concern for decades, particularly for SMEs. Businesses in the supply chain often struggle with extended payment terms, late payment and poor cashflow. Whereas initiatives like the Fair Payment Campaign have helped, particularly in the public sector, figures gathered from Experian have suggested that construction insolvencies are still running at over 200 a month.

The NSCC have prepared a draft response to the consultation on Combating Late Payment in Commercial Transactions, September 2012 (BIS Directive 2011/7/EU) and we would be delighted to feedback any views on the response that BWF members might have in order to help tackle the payment issues affecting their business.

The response answers the specific questions raised in the consultation. It provides a worked example at appendix B on page 8 to illustrate the damage that extending payment periods from 30 to 60 days can do, especially to SMEs. It also shows the economic boost that effective payment legislation could provide at no cost to the taxpayer.

The BWF is a strong supporter of the Fair Payment Campaign and is firmly of the view that limiting payment periods to a maximum of 30 days will help SMEs such as those manufacturing and installing joinery products to survive and grow, to the benefit of the UK economy. We fully support the implementation of the Directive and the maintaining and widening of the UK public sector commitment to mandatory 30-day payment.

In order to ensure the response meets the consultation deadline we would welcome any comments which should be sent through by Wednesday 17 October, although we may be able to use later responses. Log in below to view the draft response and feed your views back to BWF.