Public sector

A little-known HM Treasury department called the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation regularly produces lists of designated persons and entities against whom sanctions have been levied. But how are these lists being used and can they help create the pressure needed to encourage regimes to consider peaceful options?

The Public Contracts Regulations (2015) already require 30-day payment terms to be passed down the supply chain on those contracts that relate to public sector work. From 1 April 2022, suppliers bidding for central government contracts worth more than £5m per annum, will need to demonstrate that they pay at least 90% of their invoices to suppliers within 60 days in one of their previous two published payment reports, or risk being excluded from the procurement.

The FSB has expressed its fears that more than 440,000 small firms nationally may be threatened by closure due to late payment issues.