Scottish procurement: policy manual

Prompt payment

Section 15 of the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 requires contracting authorities to set out in their Procurement Strategy how they intend to ensure all payments made to contractors and sub-contractors are paid within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice. The Scottish Government is committed to paying its contractors promptly, targeting to pay valid invoices within 10 days of receipt, going beyond the contractual commitment to pay within 30 days.

SPPN 2/2022 provides guidance to ensure contracts are awarded to bidders with a good payment performance history and systems in place so that their supply chains are paid on time in accordance with the terms within their contracts. 

Prompt payment should be monitored as part of the contract management activity, addressing any shortfalls with the prime contractor during the life of the contract to ensure the reliability of the supply chain. It is the prime contractor’s responsibility to monitor and support prompt payment to all sub-contractors involved in delivering a public contract.