Lords committee stage. Clauses 1 and 2, as amended, agreed to. Clauses 3 and 4 agreed to. Clause 5, as amended, agreed to. Clauses 6 and 7 agreed to. Clauses 8 and 9, as amended, agreed to. Schedule 1, as amended, agreed to. Clauses 10 to 17 agreed to. Schedule 2, as amended, agreed to. Clauses 18 and 19, as amended, agreed to. Schedule 3, as amended, agreed to. Clauses 20 to 25 agreed to. Schedule 4 agreed to. Clauses 26 and 27 agreed to. Clause 28, as amended, agreed to. Clauses 29 to 32 agreed to. Bill reported with amendments (HL Bill 45).

Lords committee stage. Clauses 1 and 2, as amended, agreed to. Clauses 3 and 4 agreed to. Clause 5, as amended, agreed to. Clauses 6 and 7 agreed to. Clauses 8 and 9, as amended, agreed to. Schedule 1, as amended, agreed to. Clauses 10 to 17 agreed to. Schedule...

Moved by

Lord Holmes of Richmond

1: Clause 1, page 2, line 5, at end insert—

“(1A) The purchaser must advise the supplier how the supplier should submit notice as set out in subsection (1).

(1B) Where the purchaser fails to advise the supplier on how to submit notice, the supplier may rely on...

Moved by

Lord Holmes of Richmond

1: Clause 1, page 2, line 5, at end insert—

“(1A) The purchaser must advise the supplier how the supplier should submit notice as set out in subsection (1).

(1B) Where the purchaser fails to advise the supplier on how to submit notice, the supplier may rely on...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to start this Committee on the Commercial Payments Bill. In doing so, I declare my relevant technology interests as adviser to the Crown Estate and Simmons & Simmons LLP, and as non-executive director of the Avalanche Foundation and Avalanche (BVI) Inc. The Bill is...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to start this Committee on the Commercial Payments Bill. In doing so, I declare my relevant technology interests as adviser to the Crown Estate and Simmons & Simmons LLP, and as non-executive director of the Avalanche Foundation and Avalanche (BVI) Inc. The Bill is...

My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 10 in my name. Before that, I commend the noble Lord, Lord Holmes, on Amendments 1 and 9. These seem to be eminently sensible suggestions. I wonder whether, if the Small Business Commissioner makes very clear their view on when the clock starts...

My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 10 in my name. Before that, I commend the noble Lord, Lord Holmes, on Amendments 1 and 9. These seem to be eminently sensible suggestions. I wonder whether, if the Small Business Commissioner makes very clear their view on when the clock starts...

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Holmes of Richmond for introducing this debate. I welcome all noble Lords back for what will, I am sure, be a productive Committee stage.

I shall begin with Amendment 1. I understand the principle behind my noble friend’s approach. The Bill performs a...

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Holmes of Richmond for introducing this debate. I welcome all noble Lords back for what will, I am sure, be a productive Committee stage.

I shall begin with Amendment 1. I understand the principle behind my noble friend’s approach. The Bill performs a...

My Lords, first, I thank all noble Lords for their contributions to this short debate; I thank in particular the noble Lords, Lord Holmes and Lord Fox, for their Amendments 1, 9 and 10. I pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Holmes, for all his work in the area...

My Lords, first, I thank all noble Lords for their contributions to this short debate; I thank in particular the noble Lords, Lord Holmes and Lord Fox, for their Amendments 1, 9 and 10. I pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Holmes, for all his work in the area...

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have taken part in this debate and the Minister for his response. Amendment 1 is not seeking to be overly prescriptive but merely to be clear. While I understand the Minister’s points, there is still a gap in the middle with the...

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have taken part in this debate and the Minister for his response. Amendment 1 is not seeking to be overly prescriptive but merely to be clear. While I understand the Minister’s points, there is still a gap in the middle with the...

Moved by

Lord Holmes of Richmond

2: Clause 1, page 2, leave out lines 8 and 9 and insert “30 days”

Member's explanatory statement

This amendment seeks to make the maximum payment period 30 days, instead of 60 days, where the purchaser is not a public authority.

Moved by

Lord Holmes of Richmond

2: Clause 1, page 2, leave out lines 8 and 9 and insert “30 days”

Member's explanatory statement

This amendment seeks to make the maximum payment period 30 days, instead of 60 days, where the purchaser is not a public authority.

My Lords, there is a wonderful structure to the groupings so far. Group 1 started with Amendment 1 and group 2 starts with Amendment 2—we are all following so far. In moving Amendment 2, in my name, I will speak to Amendment 7.

Amendment 2 is simply a probing amendment and...

My Lords, there is a wonderful structure to the groupings so far. Group 1 started with Amendment 1 and group 2 starts with Amendment 2—we are all following so far. In moving Amendment 2, in my name, I will speak to Amendment 7.

Amendment 2 is simply a probing amendment and...

My Lords, I rise to follow my indefatigable noble friend Lord Holmes and congratulate him on his Amendments 2 and 3. I agree that there is a real risk that 60 days will become the default, whereas 30 days is the market norm. I took the trouble to check with...

My Lords, I rise to follow my indefatigable noble friend Lord Holmes and congratulate him on his Amendments 2 and 3. I agree that there is a real risk that 60 days will become the default, whereas 30 days is the market norm. I took the trouble to check with...

That was a hint to rise. I will speak to my Amendment 52, but I must first apologise to the Committee that I was unable to speak at Second Reading, my scrutiny hours having been occupied in the passage of another Bill, which also accounts for why this was rather...

That was a hint to rise. I will speak to my Amendment 52, but I must first apologise to the Committee that I was unable to speak at Second Reading, my scrutiny hours having been occupied in the passage of another Bill, which also accounts for why this was rather...

My Lords, I will begin by picking up where I left off in group 1, by briefly touching upon Amendment 7 in the name of my noble friend Lord Holmes of Richmond. Just as we should not define a payment as complete until it has passed through an intermediary and...

My Lords, I will begin by picking up where I left off in group 1, by briefly touching upon Amendment 7 in the name of my noble friend Lord Holmes of Richmond. Just as we should not define a payment as complete until it has passed through an intermediary and...

Your Lordships have shown a degree of creativity on this group. We have talked about end-of-month processing, public holidays and the effect on privatisation, nationalisation or special administration, and we have just heard about crypto payments. Of those four, I ask that the Minister focuses first on the special administration...

Your Lordships have shown a degree of creativity on this group. We have talked about end-of-month processing, public holidays and the effect on privatisation, nationalisation or special administration, and we have just heard about crypto payments. Of those four, I ask that the Minister focuses first on the special administration...

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords for their contributions and amendments in this group. The Government share the objective of fair payment rules and are committed to ensuring that businesses, especially SMEs, are paid promptly. The 60-day period was set following extensive consultation with industry, with more than 850...

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords for their contributions and amendments in this group. The Government share the objective of fair payment rules and are committed to ensuring that businesses, especially SMEs, are paid promptly. The 60-day period was set following extensive consultation with industry, with more than 850...

Does the Minister have an analysis of the various levels and sizes of the entities that responded to the consultation, married to the length of time that they sought? If he does not have it at his fingertips, he could write. In effect, does the research show an interesting picture...

Does the Minister have an analysis of the various levels and sizes of the entities that responded to the consultation, married to the length of time that they sought? If he does not have it at his fingertips, he could write. In effect, does the research show an interesting picture...

I am sure we do; I will speak to officials and make sure I share that information with all noble Lords.

This represents a significant strengthening of existing law, where payment terms of more than 60 days are often imposed on suppliers. Some smaller businesses argue that 60 days remains too...

I am sure we do; I will speak to officials and make sure I share that information with all noble Lords.

This represents a significant strengthening of existing law, where payment terms of more than 60 days are often imposed on suppliers. Some smaller businesses argue that 60 days remains too...

Before the Minister sits down, may I push him a bit on a point he made? He said that Amendment 43 could not be accepted because it would cut across all insolvency legislation by not treating all suppliers or creditors equally. Does he recognise the special situation of certain suppliers...

Before the Minister sits down, may I push him a bit on a point he made? He said that Amendment 43 could not be accepted because it would cut across all insolvency legislation by not treating all suppliers or creditors equally. Does he recognise the special situation of certain suppliers...

I am grateful to the noble Lord for bringing that specific example. I need to be very specific about this, because it refers to a particular organisation; I need to get my facts correct and will write to him.

I am grateful to the noble Lord for bringing that specific example. I need to be very specific about this, because it refers to a particular organisation; I need to get my facts correct and will write to him.

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who participated in this debate and tabled amendments, and I thank the Minister for his response. It was already clear but is particularly so with that final exchange: the SAR provisions are particularly significant and could barely be more up to the minute,...

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who participated in this debate and tabled amendments, and I thank the Minister for his response. It was already clear but is particularly so with that final exchange: the SAR provisions are particularly significant and could barely be more up to the minute,...

Moved by

Lord Leong

6: Clause 1, page 3, line 2, leave out “(implied payment terms in certain public contracts)”

Member’s explanatory statement

This minor amendment omits a description of sections of the Procurement Act 2023 which was not wholly accurate.

Moved by

Lord Leong

6: Clause 1, page 3, line 2, leave out “(implied payment terms in certain public contracts)”

Member’s explanatory statement

This minor amendment omits a description of sections of the Procurement Act 2023 which was not wholly accurate.