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Business: Payments

Asked by Dr Al PinkertonLiberal DemocratDepartment for Business and TradeTabled Answered 10 July 2026UIN 15863

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on GDP of reducing average business-to-business payment times by one day.

Answered by Blair McDougall

The Department has not made a separate assessment of the GDP impact of reducing average business-to-business payment times by one day. Late payments are estimated to cost the UK economy almost £11 billion each year. The Commercial Payments Bill is designed to improve payment practices, strengthen cashflow for small businesses and to reduce their time spent chasing late invoices. It supports productivity, supply chain resilience and growth across the wider economy.

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