Thank you for your request for information about the following:
Request
Government procurement policies PPN018, PPN 021, and the guidance laid out at laid out at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/prompt-payment-policy set out how payment approaches should be taken into account in the procurement of major government contracts.
These rules apply to the major contracts of central government departments, their executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies.
Importantly, the rules state that “any supplier bidding for a central government contract above £5 million per year has needed to demonstrate that they have effective payment systems”.
For suppliers to have an effective payment system they must demonstrate that: “95% of invoices in their supply chain are paid within 60 days and that they pay their invoices within an average of 55 days or fewer.”
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, please provide the following information:
Question 1
As part of your tendering and procurement processes, the total number of bidders excluded - in financial years 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 to date (September 2025, as the most recent quarter for which data is held) - from public procurement processes for contracts valued over £5 million per annum due to non-compliance with the prompt payment policies mentioned above.
If providing the data for all three years would exceed the cost limit, please provide whichever years are available within the limit.
If a bid was excluded for multiple reasons, and poor payment practices is one of the tracked reasons, please include this in the total number.
Question 2
Provide the total number of bidders who have been asked to provide a detailed action plan outlining the steps to get back into compliance with payment performance policies mentioned above, in financial years 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 to date. If providing the data for all three years would exceed the cost limit, please provide whichever years are available within the limit.
Question 3
Provide a list of names of the organisations which have been excluded from central government procurement processes for contracts valued over £5 million per annum due to non-compliance with the prompt payment policies mentioned above. If providing all organisation names would exceed the cost limit, please provide up to the first 10. If a bid was excluded for multiple reasons, and poor payment practices is one of the tracked reasons, please include this in the list.
There is a clear and compelling public interest in the disclosure of this information. Given the large amounts of taxpayer money at stake, the public has a right to know how these funds are invested and whether the systems in place are effective. Government policy sets a basic standard of conduct for organisations receiving public funds, concerning their payment practices to suppliers in their supply chain. It is therefore in the public interest to understand which organisations are successfully meeting this standard, and, equally, which organisations that attempt to access state contracts fail to meet the criteria.
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 23 September 2025.
We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
Our response
The below response relates only to procurement activity carried out by the NHSBSA. We can confirm that the requested information is held by the NHSBSA.
Question 1 - As part of your tendering and procurement processes, the total number of bidders excluded - in financial years 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 to date (September 2025, as the most recent quarter for which data is held) - from public procurement processes for contracts valued over £5 million per annum due to non-compliance with the prompt payment policies mentioned above.
2022/23 – 0 bidders excluded
2023/24 – 0 bidders excluded
2024/25 – 0 bidders excluded
2025/26 year to date – 0 bidders excluded
Question 2 - Provide the total number of bidders who have been asked to provide a detailed action plan outlining the steps to get back into compliance with payment performance policies mentioned above, in financial years 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 to date.
2022/23 – 0 bidders asked to provide a detailed action plan
2023/24 – 0 bidders asked to provide a detailed action plan
2024/25 – 0 bidders asked to provide a detailed action plan
2025/26 year to date – 0 bidders asked to provide a detailed action plan
Question 3 - Provide a list of names of the organisations which have been excluded from central government procurement processes for contracts valued over £5 million per annum due to non-compliance with the prompt payment policies mentioned above.
2022/23 – 0 bidders excluded, thus no names
2023/24 – 0 bidders excluded, thus no names
2024/25 – 0 bidders excluded, thus no names
2025/26 year to date – 0 bidders excluded, thus no names
Please find the attached spreadsheet showing which procurements fell within the parameters of the FOI request.
Data Queries
Please contact foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data.
Reusing the data and copyright
If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.
The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement: “NHSBSA Copyright 2025”. Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence.
Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.
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