Research and analysis

Late Payments - Tackling Poor Payment Practices: options assessment - RPC opinion (green-rated)

Regulatory Policy Committee opinion of the Department for Business and Trade’s options assessment (OA) in respect of proposals that are the subject of a consultation

• From: Regulatory Policy Committee
• Published: 1 August 2025

Documents

RPC Opinion: Late Payments - Tackling Poor Payment Practices

PDF, 255 KB, 9 pages

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Details

The OA considers seven policy proposals that form part of a package designed to address poor business-to-business payment behaviour, including late payment, long payment terms, disputed invoices, compensatory interest on invoices paid late, additional reporting of this by large businesses and penalties for those which pay late persistently, and unfair practices around retention payments in construction contracts.

A sufficient assessment of the rationale for intervention has been provided based on the continued prevalence of poor business-to-business payment behaviour despite previous interventions. This could be strengthened by including more discussion of the lessons from previous evaluations and post-implementation reviews. The assessment includes a suitable evaluation of the short list of options, although this should be expanded with external stakeholders, post-consultation, with greater monetisation. The SaMBA provided is sufficient. The assessment includes a good regulatory scorecard and monitoring and evaluation plan.

The RPC considers the OA to be fit for purpose (green-rated).

Published 1 August 2025